When 3D Robotics announced its Solo quadcopter, one of the more intriguing features was an accessory bay. Instead of opening up the Solo and wiring in, or screwing on an accessory (as is common with hobby drones \u2014 including the ubiquitous Phantom 2), you would simply \u201cplug and play.\u201d Until now, that\u2019s all we really knew, but today the company is announcing \u201cMade for Solo\u201d \u2014 a program that will standardize, and encourage the development of third-party accessories for the self-proclaimed \u201csmart drone.\u201d If you make infrared cameras, for example, you could make a version just for Solo and have it work seamlessly with the drone\u2019s GPS and smart flight modes. Basically, any gadget, sensor or product that could squeeze into, and be lifted by, a quadcopter could be integrated into the Solo as if it were native to the product.<\/p>\n

By turning the Solo into a platform that hardware makers can build for, it\u2019s not hard to imagine a new wave of specific peripherals that might not have been viable before. 3D Robotics says that it\u2019s already been working with select partners, including Epson and Kodak. Epson is making tools that will provide Augmented Reality flying to work with its Moverio AR Glasses; Kodak is integrating its PIXPRO SP360 camera for aerial VR video. Anyone joining the program will get access to 3DR\u2019s open hardware bay, but also official 3DR endorsement of compatibility \u2014 a la \u201cMade for iPhone\u201d \u2014 and, curiously, the Solo warranty.<\/p>\n

3drsolo<\/p>\n

For businesses and researchers the benefits are practical \u2014 concentrate on what you\u2019re good at, let 3D Robotics handle the drone part. In many ways, Made for Solo is a hardware version of 3D Robotic\u2019s DroneKit tools for app developers. For consumers, it\u2019s potentially more exciting. You can start off with a drone that flies with a camera, but over time, add functionality with more accessories \u2014 perhaps a carry cradle, quick release mechanism, ground avoidance sensors, or even artistic tools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When 3D Robotics announced its Solo quadcopter, one of the more intriguing features was an accessory bay. Instead of opening up the Solo and wiring in, or screwing on an accessory (as is common with hobby drones \u2014 including the ubiquitous Phantom 2), you would simply \u201cplug and play.\u201d Until now, that\u2019s all we really … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “3D Robotics\u2019 Solo Drone Is About to Get a Lot More Useful”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":238,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions\/238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedronefiles.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}