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Lily – Drone camera

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Re: Lily – Drone camera

#101

Post by jamie_ca »

bezaorj wrote: post #72
gambiter wrote: post #24

I'm very impressed by the capabilities. I've seen 'follow me' drones before, but I don't know if I've seen any that are waterproof or as compact as this. And the smiling face on the front is a nice touch. It's still hard to part with my money (even at 50% off) when the ship date is next year though. I've been burned by various kickstarter projects that get delayed ad infinitum.

From the FAQ: "What is your policy on refunds? If you decide to cancel your pre-order before Lily ships, we will provide a full refund to you."

And if you believe that, read up on the drama with https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pirate3d/the-buccaneer-...

TLDR; during development of the printer, a number of things have changed (including a noticeable reduction in print volume). Refunds were offered August of last year, and the vast majority of refund requests are still pending (and currently half a month behind their own deadline for the latest update.

Not that I have any knowledge on whether the people behind Lily have better or worse communication and management skills, but just because they're happy to offer refunds doesn't mean they'll offer them promptly.

Re: Lily – Drone camera

#102

Post by TeMPOraL »

monk_e_boy wrote: post #62
josefresco wrote: post #19

I wonder how this handles obstacles. The trails we ride are not wide open ski slopes, or rivers, often times they are tight/wooded trails. Would like to see how it handles "close following". Lastly, the part in the video where the guy just tosses it into the river was definitely mind-blowing.

Wonder if you can buy a few and tell them to follow each other.

You could probably just duct tape the tracking device to another drone. Looping them together like ants would be cool! :D.

Re: Lily – Drone camera

#103

Post by grecy »

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #63
snomad wrote: post #52

Just idle speculation, what happens when 30 follow-me drones are on the slopes at the same time? Will they all be able to avoid each other?

The minute drones like these start shipping they'll be banned from all ski resort faster than you can say pow. Also, with a top speed of 40 km/h this isn't able to keep up with anyone who's past the rookie stage skiing/snowboarding. So their marketing is very misleading, either by intention or because these guys don't know shit about skiing.

Anyone going faster than about 40km/h isn't really doing anything worth filming anyway, other than ski racers.

All the interesting stuff for filming on the slopes happens at relatively low speeds - park, moguls, jumps, butters, etc.

Re: Lily – Drone camera

#107

Post by jonknee »

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #53
josefresco wrote: post #19

I wonder how this handles obstacles. The trails we ride are not wide open ski slopes, or rivers, often times they are tight/wooded trails. Would like to see how it handles "close following". Lastly, the part in the video where the guy just tosses it into the river was definitely mind-blowing.

The biggest showstopper for me on this is the hugely disappointing top speed (40 km/h). I'm an alpine skier (ex-racer) and the only times I go that slow is on transport stages. This thing literally wouldn't be able to keep up with Usain Bolt running the 100m. It needs at least twice the top speed.

That's actually pretty speedy for a quad, especially to remain stable. If you want to race at 100MPH and have gyro-stabilized video you should get a helicopter and a camera crew.

I for one would prefer the aerial robot following me to not be traveling at 60MPH. That's asking for a serious injury.

Re: Lily – Drone camera

#108

Post by freehunter »

jonknee wrote: post #100
semi-extrinsic wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but I bet he accelerates faster. Edit: he accelerates from standstill at 9.5 m/s^2. I couldn't find data on what drones do.

Drones usually accelerate quite rapidly (electric motors and all).

Well electric motors can accelerate rapidly, but if they're pulling something heavy, all you'll get is rapidly spinning electric motors and a slowly rising object.

Re: Lily – Drone camera

#109

Post by blackkettle »

josefresco wrote: post #19

I wonder how this handles obstacles. The trails we ride are not wide open ski slopes, or rivers, often times they are tight/wooded trails. Would like to see how it handles "close following". Lastly, the part in the video where the guy just tosses it into the river was definitely mind-blowing.

I wonder how well it will work for surfing. Probably great for small crumblers and open faces; probably not so great at the Right: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N_-vxfz4uw . Can you imagine how sick it would be to get this thing to follow in a tube at Teahupoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7w... !!
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