What does a toaster, a bike wheel and a dinner plate have in common? Thanks to a new “Drone It Yourself” kit, those objects can now be converted into makeshift unmanned aerial vehicles.
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Developed by Jasper van Loenen, an interactive designer and drone hobbyist from the Netherlands, the DIY kit includes 3D-printed plastic clamps, four motors, a receiver-equipped control unit, four electronic speed controllers, a Bluetooth module and an OpenPilot CC3D flight controller. Just attach the clamps and propellers, connect all the wires and, my friend, you have yourself a drone.
While Van Loenen doesn’t give any weight stipulations, it’s pretty safe to say if your drone can’t achieve liftoff, you’re going to need to find a lighter object.
There is one catch, however. You need to have a 3-D printer to get your hands on the Drone It Yourself Kit. Van Loenen hasn’t started manufacturing stand-alone kits. He’s only made the drone-making blueprints available for download, which is a really big asterisk next to the the phrase Some Assembly Required.
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Check out this video of a bike wheel being converted into a drone.
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