There’s something about drone technology which seems to resonate on crowdfunding platforms. A quick scroll through Kickstarter and Indiegogo and you’ll find plenty of young, ambitious and (sorry) occasionally naive startups seeking financial support to bring their big dreams to fruition.
There are many success stories, and the concept of crowdfunding our way to innovation in certain sectors of the drone industry is an exciting one. But it seems that for every Oculus Rift there is a Zano, so caution has to be advised before buying in to some of these projects.
Anyway, with that caution in mind, there’s one exciting drone project you might want to get involved in…
Have you ever got to work and had that nagging feeling that you’ve left the back door open? Or maybe been on holiday and wanted to check back home and make sure everything is okay? These are the kind of itches that Rook, the first drone from 89Robotics, has been designed to scratch.
Rook has been labelled the world’s first ‘fly from anywhere’ drone, as it connects to your home Wi-Fi network and can be easily piloted through a smartphone or tablet from any location. You’re then free to buzz around the house to your heart’s content, check up on the pets and generally make sure everything is how it should be.
It seems like a pretty clever idea. If a drone you can pilot from the beach hundreds of miles away isn’t enough, Rook also comes with soft propellers in case of a crash and an automatic charging dock. On top of that, as it’s been designed for use in the home, you won’t need to worry about registering it with the FAA.
89Robotics is funding its home surveillance drone project through a campaign on Indigogo, and has already more than doubled its $20,000 target. If everything goes to plan the Illinois-based team plans on shipping Rooks out at the end of 2016. You can pre-order one now for under $200.
Malek Murison is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for tech trends and innovation. He handles product reviews, major releases and keeps an eye on the enthusiast market for DroneLife.
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I was waiting for this drone to be ship to my house before Christmas on 2016.It not true,l was told that l will get this by November,2017.Well let hope that l will get this drone by that date before Thanksgiving on 2017.Did you know everything went well with Appbot Riley and I got it at the right moment.Let me tell you about the Riley,it the BEST product l ever seen in the market!Now the Robo Buddy is already in the market this month that also go for Mebo Robot which come with the clipper,but that that one don’t operate like the Riley ,the Rook and Robo that you can operate these devices from oversea by a smartphone Mebo will be upgrade like that at the same time when the Rook is ready.
This has to be a joke – Its a Syma X5 with a different camera – The idea of flying it around the inside of the house, through hallways, up stairs, etc.. from outside the house is ridiculous and the fact that you would write an article supporting it makes you look far less than knowledgeable
Honey, our home security system is stuck in the tree again.