- Eric Geller -
Drones have many practical uses, from surveying crop fields to filming movies to documenting climate change. But the best technology is part practical, part recreational. That's where the Millennium Falcon comes in.
Han Solo's heavily modified YT-1300 light freighter from the originalStar Wars trilogy is one of the most iconic spaceships in pop culture. It's no wonder, then, that a drone enthusiast named Olivier sought to combine the affordable power and speed of today's drones with the irresistible shape and design of the Millennium Falcon.
In a Reddit thread on the site's DIY forum, Olivier explained that he built the Falcon around a powerful quadcopter model. The quadcopter "is an overpowered little beast," he wrote, adding that it was "easily capable of 90km/h [56 miles per hour] horizontal speed." With his special customizations, however, that dropped to "probably about 30km/h," or 19 mph.
"If I try to go faster with more angle it's making a cool backflip," Olivier added.
The entire project cost just over 1,000 Euros, or $1,142, with the vast majority of that going into the quadcopter unit and its radio controller.
You can watch the radio-controlled Falcon's first two flights below.
I found this particular article, along with its videos, to be very intriguing because drones are probably the most advanced equipment in the field of robotics and electronics. You always see the drones in the movies, but it is not everyday that you see one in person. The creation of this "Falcon Drone" made me excited because not only can you experience seeing one, but if you save enough of your allowance, you could potentially own one. I had the pleasure of controlling a different model over the summer. That particular model had a high resolution camera built into it and it was an absolute spectacle. The possibilities with drones are endless. They may very well be the FedEx of tomorrow.
This is so cool! I was just wondering what other uses this drone could be used for. How is this drone different from other types of drones? The drone seems kind of cheap considering the technology. Where can I buy one!
ReplyDeleteYou've got to wonder as to what these drones are going to be used for. I know they can certainly be used for good, as in delivering items quicker, but there's also the question as the whether or not these drones will be used for things like warfare. It should be quite easy to attach bombs to these things and fly them into spaces that are too small for conventional bomb dropping. Plus, these things would be easier and cheaper to produce, which can open up a whole new field for warfare.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the quad-copters can be used commercially. I think I heard that Amazon was using it. There are some problems with that though, like the fact that they would have to be regulated, and the fact that somebody could throw a rock at it, and take the contents. Still, I think that this is a an expanding field of transportation.
ReplyDeleteI think human's are making sci-fi the real world now. If you see today's technology, we are creating things people make up in sci-fi movies such as star wars. It's unbelievable to see how far technology has come, making peoples sci-fi dreams, coming true in reality. I can't wait to see what else people come up with. Very interesting article.
ReplyDeleteEven though it happened "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." it's interesting to see people making fiction into reality. I found this article quite enjoyable, especially since episode VII is about a year away. It's nice to see people shaping technology to their advantage and having fun being creative instead of getting bogged down in shooter video games. Imagine if George Lucas had seen this coming when he made the first Star Wars film in 1977.
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