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The campaign promised delivery of all reward drones in an equally staggeringly short production window - in June 2015, just six months away.Īt the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas a few weeks later, Engadget shortlisted Zano for its official Best of CES Award, one of just 49 nominees among an estimated 20,000 new products at the world’s biggest trade show. There were drones costing 10 times as much that couldn’t match Zano’s specs. Reedman touted extras like facial recognition and 360-degree panoramas soon - and all for a pledge as small as £139 (about $210). As pledges smashed all Reedman’s “stretch goals”, they unlocked additional features: built-in storage, high-def (1080p) video recording, thermal imaging cameras, wireless charging, the ability to fly upside down, and more. Torquing met its initial funding target in just 10 days, then blew right past it. Kickstarter itself selected Zano as a Staff Pick, which gave it prominently placed promotion on the site (the company now calls these Projects We Love). Zano was then shown filming rock-solid footage of a mountain biker, following a motocross rider’s gestures, and automatically returning to land at his feet. Drinkers at a Welsh pub smiled as a Zano flew up and hovered over them, displaying a countdown on built-in LEDs before snapping a photo that they immediately examined on a smartphone. Torquing’s promotional video showed some impressive footage of the drone in action.
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“Our supply chain is 100% ready to go, from vital components that make Zano fly, to the very boxes that Zano is packaged in.” “Zano is up and flying, holding position, avoiding obstacles, streaming live video back to a smart device, capturing video and photos,” said the Kickstarter campaign page.
RISE OF THE THIRD POWER KICKSTARTER FULL
Reedman’s goal was modest: £125,000 (about $190,000 at the time) to enable him to move his Zano prototype into full production. The Zano would dispense with fiddly on-screen controls in favour of mimicking gestures from a Wi-Fi linked smartphone, automatically tracking and following its operator, avoiding obstacles, and even shooting “selfie” photos and videos - for up to 15 minutes at a time. The key to Torquing’s growth, Reedman believed, would be a cutting-edge consumer quadcopter developed from his experience working on a surveillance drone for a local defence contractor.Įighteen months later, flush with an investment from another company at the technology park, Torquing Group launched a campaign on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter for a palm-sized drone called the Zano. “Torquing Group’s work is an excellent example of a successful small business with their sights firmly set on growth and expansion,” enthused Jones later. On a windswept campus at the western tip of the country, Jones heard Torquing Group’s enthusiastic managing director, Ivan Reedman, share a vision of Welsh-made autonomous robots for industry, commerce, and the military. In spring 2013, the Secretary of State for Wales at the time, David Jones, visited a young company at the Pembrokeshire Science and Technology Park. (Read this for the background on my commission, or skip to the very end of the article for a brief summary of my findings, some additional details and disclosures.) Kickstarter had an advance look, but wasn’t allowed to make changes. Kickstarter tasked me, a freelance reporter, to find out why a highly funded crowdfunding campaign for a palm-sized drone flamed out in order to give backers the full story, and provide lessons for itself and others. One of only four Zanos ever to make it to a Kickstarter backer / Mark Harris