Those who frequent Starbucks have had a quad shot drink before. This is not one of those. Instead, it’s a remote control aircraft that combines the functionality of a helicopter and an airplane.
The small company has raised over $37,000 so far, well above its goal of $25,000, and will be funded on September 17th. What makes it special beyond the functionality is the way it was designed. Using open-source hardware and software, they created a unique airframe design that combines the best of both types of flight. By creating a “brain” called Lisa/M that is the size of 3 quarters, they were able to equip it with an Inertial Measurement Unit complete with 3-axis solid-state accelerometers and gyroscopes.
Basically, it keeps the aircraft aware of where it’s going and how it’s oriented despite the complications often associated with vertical and horizontal flight capabilities.
They were able to get funded very quickly because the weren’t just asking for donations – they were looking for early adopters. Depending on the level of support people pledged, they’ll receive discounts on unassembled kits as well as fully-assembled aircraft for greater donors. People got to invest and get toys as well.
Here are some videos of Quadshot in action:
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