As drones increase their sales and struggle to improve their legal situation, there are projects seeking to lower the entry barriers to this world, both economically and technically. This time we came across PhoneDrone, an initiative that aims to develop a special case to turn compatible smartphones into personal and portable drones.
The latest drone news brings us to companies like Amazon and Google, which insist on turning these devices into an exclusive means of transport for online purchases. Needless to say, the law has another opinion on the matter, and although different tests have been approved, the commercial application of drones remains in limbo, even with a new wave of “good will” from authorities. Meanwhile, personal-use drones continue to expand their popularity. The initial investment can be a problem in some cases, but there have been price drops on specific models, and there is always the option of building one yourself. What we have here today is a kind of middle ground: a drone that uses a smartphone as its brain.
The project is called PhoneDrone, and its mission is to develop a special case to transform a smartphone into a personal drone, compact and easy to control. PhoneDrone can fly autonomously by pre-programming the flight route on the smartphone it carries, or through the user, using a secondary mobile device to run the software. The PhoneDrone weighs just over 400 grams, its internal batteries provide 20 to 25 minutes of flight, the maximum speed is 56 kilometers per hour, and the main link is established via WiFi. According to its creators, PhoneDrone can accommodate any smartphone from the iPhone 4S onward, and in the case of Android, from the Samsung Galaxy SII onward (they also mention smartphones of a similar generation, but they don't provide additional details).
PhoneDrone is making its rounds on Kickstarter, with the plan to raise 250 thousand dollars. Users have decided to contribute just over 25 percent, and the campaign still has 36 days to go. The most affordable version of PhoneDrone is already sold out, and the next entry point requires a payment of $229, with shipping to almost anywhere in the world. PhoneDrone already has a prototype and the overall structure of its software, but the first deliveries are expected in November.
