Currently, most consumer drones only have four high-speed propellors with which to wreak havoc on the humans walking below. But if we attached metal claws to amateur-piloted quadcopters, just imagine all the accidents fun we could have.
Rather than using a heavy, expensive motor-powered claw, Ben Kardoosh’s design relies on gravity to open the device and then hold on to whatever it picks up. It hangs from a Kevlar cord underneath the drone, and doesn’t have anything by the way of controls or wiring: just lower it onto your object, hope it sticks, and fly away. At 20g for the lightest version, it’s a payload that should be easy to add to most consumer drones.
There’s a trio of different claw designs: the £25 ($51) claw is made of aluminium; a more hardcore £67 ($137) model, made from stainless steel, is perfect for “picking up a 2kg hot coal covered in acid”; the £133 ($273) version is the same, but finished in silver plate.
The different versions are up for pre-order on Kickstarter right now, with delivery slated for April next year.
[Kickstarter via Gizmag]