Who would have thought that those little Lego bricks can turn into a DIY drone kit? The Flybrix team did not set out to make a flying machine from those toys, either but look at what they have invented!
The Flybrix team is composed of Amir Hirsch, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Robb Walters, a PhD degree holder from Cal Tech, and Holly Kasun who worked in several companies like Nike and Nokia in the marketing department. The three were supposedly working on making a micro drone, not a flying machine made of Lego bricks.
According to Kasun, their goal was to make autonomous flight micro drones with the use of computer vision. In the process they learned more on how drone works and a realization that Lego bricks help people make their DIY drone kit.
People do not need to pay tens of thousands of dollars just to own a flying machine. The Flybrix team is now selling a basic Lego drone kit worth $150, and a deluxe kit for $190 for a limited time. The basic kit comes, of course, with a handful of bricks plus a beginner's electronic supplies to let you make your own hexacopter, octocopter or quadcopter. If you want a remote control, you need to buy the deluxe kit instead.
The Lego drone kit also includes other mechanisms like accelerometer, barometer, magnetometer. The owner can add GPS and Wi-Fi if they want, while the software is also open for customization. The instructions are very simple as it takes only 15 minutes to assemble a quadcopter according to Kasun.
One of the best things of having a Lego drone kit is being able to crash it and rebuild it by spending only an affordable amount. It will surely be a fun activity making your own flying machine with your family and friends.