Hardware Battlefield entrant Pocket Drones blew past their initial goal of $30,000 last night after launching on our stage at CES 2014. The company, run by long-time friends and moderators of the Drone User’s Group, Tim Reuter, TJ Johnson, and Chance Roth, built their drones as an alternative to expensive, bulky toy drones.
They are currently at $51,000 on Kickstarter and rising.
“We’re a mission-driven company,” Reuter said. “Our goal is to put flying robots in the hands of as many people as possible. We think it’s empowering to democratize the sky.”
The drones can carry objects as heavy as a GoPro camera and folds up to fit inside a (big) cargo pocket or backpack. You can control it with your own RF controller or, with the right module, your tablet. The drone costs $415 for a model without a controller and $455 with controller. You can pledge here.