The main idea is to mount a camera and possibly a shotgun mic to a quadcopter in order to catch epic film.

Inspiration

This concept was featured on Gizmodo here  and another place here was just so cool. We are especially impressed by its mobility, and have already thought of dozens of shots that would be really cool to take with this.

Here is more footage of the inspiration (named CineStar) operating.

Web Research Archive

• Seemingly Legit Build Archive link
• Instructables Links:
• Good Basics for Quadcopter link
• Extension of above: Picopter link
• Great info on small Quadcopters link

Considerations

• Load: Camera/Mic + 2x (Safety Factor) = about 10-15lbs
• Camera Aiming System: Similarly mounted webcam streaming to nearby computer
• Guidance System: Quadcopter controlled by either radio or computer/app over wifi (or similar technology)

-Interested in wifi in order to stream webcam video too

Here is where additional info will be posted for the project. Currently all info that we do have is in the below-pasted proposal, and past experience designing and building a lightsaber hilt.

Maker’s Club Seed Money Proposal

Lightsaber Construction Quest

What is It?

The idea is to make a Lightsaber that is suitable for using as a dueling prop. The project entails machining an aluminum bar stock to the correct internal dimensions to fit the blade, as well as to be aesthetically pleasing (AKA awesome looking).

Origin:

Devon and I have been very interested in fan videos and spinoffs of the Star Wars series since we first watched it. Indeed we have produced a few videos inwhich we wield the iconic weapon in an attempt to destroy eachother. It has been a lot of fun so far, but we would like to step it up to the next level (being that of Ryan Wieber, who lead the charge in fan-made lightsaber videos). Quality props would allow us to increase the realism of the scenes as well as reduce the number of props needed due to breakage.
Design and Considerations:

The general construction philosophy is based of Ryan Wieber’s Novus at www.sabershop.com (and his carbon fiber blade will be used for the blade itself). Techniques will be drawn from the many sabers created at www.slothfurnace.com. We plan to use the lathe and mill to shape the aluminum into the hilt, and create a pin mechanism to hold the carbon fiber blade steady against the inside of the hilt. It will be important to not have sharp edges around the lip of the hilt so as to reduce fatigue and chance of breakage of the blade. We also plan on machining the hilt in several interlocking parts such that shock absorbing o-rings can be used on the inside to extend the life of the blade itself.

Skills Needed:

The main skill needed in this project will be operation of the lathe. It will be important to have knowledge of how to safely use the lathe to create the shapes that we create. A secondary skill will be use of a CAD package in order to have an idea of how we want the lightsabers to look. Additionally, with interlocking parts the solid models will be useful for guaranteeing the feasibility of the interaction. One thing that Taylor brings to the project is the experience of using a lathe to make a similar prop (also out of aluminum, but for a different size blade), and can guide the process down the right path.

Bill of Materials:

Goals and Scope:

This project is fairly simple in its setup (requires us to model the lightsaber in CAD). Realistically this project can be complete in about two weeks, so We could have some really cool props to show off by the end of the semester, even if we take a little longer than two weeks to finish.