CADDrones Draws Up New Open-Source Ideas

The growth of the drone sector has certainly garnered the attention of worldwide media lately – whether it be the continuing evolution of Amazon’s delivery business model or the debunking of UAV myths. But at its core, the drone revolution is not playing out in shiny boardrooms or in TV Talk-show studios. Drones are and have always been embedded deeply in the DIY community and can be found flourishing in virtual spaces like Joshua Johnson’s CADDrones.com. The 23-year-old college student is part of a growing number of hobbyists who are evolving their love of drones away from simply a pastime and into an open-source, full-time business.

Johnson launched CADDrones.com last year as an open-source clearinghouse that would allow UAV hobbyists to share ideas, projects, drawings and 3D models primarily centered on CAD software like Autodesk Fusion. The site also focuses on the intersection of drone design with 3D printing.

“Growing up I always had a passion for robotics and remote controlled vehicles. I’ve always wanted do something with my adult life associated with either of those two childhood passions,” Johnson said. Those twin passions brought Johnson to the attention of 3D Robotics founder Chris Anderson, who appointed Johnson assistant administrator of Anderson’s online community DIYDrones.com.

CADDrones.com is also a vehicle for Johnson to develop his own projects as well. He and his fellow hobbyists are developing CAD Quad, a 3D-printable multi-rotor drone for hobbyists. Once the project is live, users will be able to download spec files, documentation, 3D visualizations and other open-source resources on the project.

Johnson’s latest labor of love is the All-in-One Drone Parachute Recovery Pack. The product include a parachute, parachute pack, and spring pop chute and gives drone users peace of mind should their UAV fail midflight.

“The advance in drone technology that I am most concerned with is safety and recovery,” Johnson said in explaining his interest. “For the drone industry to flourish commercially, the safety and recovery technology in the commercial sector needs to be far ahead of many of the leading advances that are already taking place. We believe CAD Drones LLC can bridge that gap by bringing together and organizing customers, experts, and companies in the drone industry to get this technology on pace with the rest of the technology that goes into drones.”