
3D Robotics unveiled sweeping changes by closing its San Diego facility, reducing staff at its Berkeley headquarters and in Austin, TX, and acknowledging that co-founder and president Jordi Muñoz left the company at the end of 2015.
Following a Kubrick’s 2001 lookalike teaser video, 3D Robotics (3DR) presented their most ambitious product yet, ‘SOLO’ – an advanced quadcopter that above all focuses on ease of use and hassle-free operation, along with some quite unique features.
3D Robotics has unveiled DroneKit, an open-source development kit for app development. This is a clear invite for the wider development community to build upon 3DR’s flight control software.
3D Robotics, the largest drone manufacturer in the United States, has announced its latest version of the Flight Controller App ‘Tower’ to the open-source community. Tower acts as a powerful ground control station to command any 3DR-powered drone. Tower is only available on Android at the moment, and forms the latest iteration of DroidPlanner.
How do I get to MVP? How do I take my existing technology to a different market? The IROS 2014 Industry Forum brought together entrepreneurs, researchers, venture capitalists and funding agencies from across the globe to shed perspective on these questions and engage in open dialogue about some of the pitfalls of commercializing robotics technology. Here are the 10 best quotes from the event.
Last week USA Today reported that Amazon, 3D Robotics, Parrot and DJI had banded together to form a “Small UAV Coalition”, hiring DC-based lobbying firm Akin Gump to represent their interests before US regulators and ease the way for the commercial drone industry in that country. Akin Gump lobbyist Michael Drobac says that, since the USA Today report was first published, Airware and GoPro have joined the fold and others in the small UAV business will soon be following suit. But does the small UAV industry need its own lobbying effort, and how will the inclusion of retail giant Amazon impact its ability to represent the broader group?
3D Robotics acquired Sifteo, the start-up which developed Sifteo Cubes and their associated game applications, for an undisclosed amount. Sifteo will help 3D Robotics expand their electronics capabilities for their UAV products as 3D Robotics continues to grow. Sifteo will also continue to provide support for their Sifteo Cubes clients.
3D Robotics’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing John Cherbini prepares to launch a plane at Small Vines Wines in Sebastopol, Ca Sept. 13, 2013. The plane can help day-to-day operations on a farm via aerial imagery. Photo credit: Sally French, 3D Robotics.
Hear the word “drone” today and you’ll probably picture some kind of flying weapon, snooping or raining Hellfire missiles from above. But in reality, the first drones you’re likely to see actually in use are more likely to be closer to crop dusters, buzzing over farms. Rather than taking pictures and videos of people, they’ll be surveying fields, using their high-resolution sensors to improve crop yield and decrease agricultural water and chemical use.
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending VLAB: Drones – The Commercial Era Takes Off at Stanford GSB. The event was truly fantastic and the panel was amazing. The moderator was Chris Anderson, former editor at Wired and CEO of 3D robotics. I’m really struck by how much he has become the face of the commercial drone industry.
Chris Anderson, CEO of 3D Robotics, former Editor-in-Chief of WIRED and author of The Long Tail, Free and the newly published Makers, speaks about the new industrial revolution, how easy it is these days to start a hardware company and how he’s putting it into practice with 3D Robotics. (question at 36 mins)
Read more from our Startup Series.
Anderson has held the editor-in-chief position for 11 years during which time, in addition to his work at Wired, he authored three books and founded DIY Drones and co-founded 3D Robotics. He also grew Wired’s circulation and won eight magazine awards. In 2010, Adweek named Wired its magazine of the decade.
February 24, 2021
Need help spreading the word?
Join the Robohub crowdfunding page and increase the visibility of your campaign