Hi, my name is Koby and before you stop reading, the reason for this post is not to ask for money or for a drone, but it is to ask for help to collect funding to buy a drone and to collect ideas on how to raise the money.

Who we are:
I am writing this on behalf of myself and my friend Alex. We are both teenage, learning programmers who are excited by technology and especially excited by drones.

Experience:
I have piloted many types of quadcopters including the DJI Phantom 2 Vision, and different helicopters (I own two quadcopters including a Parrot A.R. Drone, which really doesn't count in my opinion, and different helicopters). My friend has flown Helicopters and a small amount of planes and knows C++, Java, HTML, CSS, and C. I am currently in the process of learning python while increasing my knowledge of the amazing world of Java!

What we want to do with the drone:
We have been looking at the Inspire drone since it was announced, we would love to have our hands on this amazing system for many different reasons. One of these reasons is to create applications using the new SDK. We have been thinking of many different original ideas which we rather keep to ourselves at the moment. One idea that we would like to share however, is building on three dimensional mapping software. Using different systems to map areas, we would like to use the quadcopter's amazing stability features to our advantage. We have thought of different systems, some using a pixy camera, and some using a complex system of small sensors attached to the drone.

Why we made this post:
We made this post with the idea of how to get this Inspire quadcopter, without breaking the bank. Of course saving money is an option, however the price is still upwards of three thousand dollars. We know that the DJI community is really "taking off" (Dronepuns anyone?... No?...) and we would like to be a part of this personal drone revolution.

Thank you very much for any ideas you can contribute!!!

For some clarity:
I hope that most people on this forum understand that our age has nothing to do with our maturity and motivation. We do not want a big toy to pilot around, we want to add to innovations and ways to utilize these amazing quadcopters. We are also thinking about the inspire rather then other systems because it really does have everything that one would want in a drone. Thank you again!

I hate to burst your bubble....but the SDK is not available for the Inspire....only for the Phantom series. I suggest you buy a used one and start your experiments.

pete1144@me.com Posted at 2015-1-3 12:28
I hate to burst your bubble....but the SDK is not available for the Inspire....only for the Phantom  ...

During the release event they said they would be releasing it

KobyLazar Posted at 2015-1-3 13:39
During the release event they said they would be releasing it

thats what i heard on during the release as well. i applaud your motivation. hopefully someone will have better input.

No...only the SDK for the Phantom.

pete1144@me.com Posted at 2015-1-3 14:23
No...only the SDK for the Phantom.

However, it makes complete sense that they will release the SDK for the Inspire

pete1144@me.com Posted at 2015-1-3 14:23
No...only the SDK for the Phantom.

Thank you for your input and concern, I am now looking at the vision now again.

SDK will be available for the inspire. It was already announced by Eric C. In his faq.

Blade_Strike Posted at 2015-1-3 23:47
SDK will be available for the inspire. It was already announced by Eric C. In his faq.

Thank you for the clarification!

OP, I would suggest to find local investors. People that know you, school science clubs get donation all the time.

OP, you've shown great motivation posting here. And I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate the thought you put into the proposal, but you need to do a better job at proving you're not just trying to get a fun quad-copter to use with your friends.

As was suggested above, your best bet is finding someone local. My initial reaction is: Why should I help these people, if people who know them (friends, families, local businesses, and teachers) aren't helping them? They know your personalities, drive, and potential much better than we can gauge from one forum post.

Second, build a proof of concept using lower-cost items. For example, your mapping idea. Get an Arduino and some sensors and build a prototype (with code) to demonstrate how your system works... and how it works better than current solutions. You don't need an Inspire yet. Hang your prototype from a few helium balloons on fishing line and just prove it works. Document it on video. Then show people locally or even come back here.

If you can show us (or anyone) a working prototype of something genuinely innovative, you'll be in a much better position. Ideas are essentially worthless. That's why you can't protect an idea with a copyright or patent. They're the catalyst of great inventions, but you need something tangible to demonstrate you have the ability to execute that idea.

Pick your favorite idea that you feel is most novel (which will impress the most people), preferably in an area that's currently under-served. We call that a "white space" opportunity. You don't want to be going up against something already being heavily worked on by Google or Autodesk or DJI. Build a cheap prototype, demo it on video, and then come back here and show us.

For example, if you built a little tracker you could wear and demonstrated you could add "follow me" functionality to the Inspire, you'll start seeing people coming out of the woodwork to help. You could even do a Kickstarter/Indiegogo at that point. But you need to show something tangible before anyone is going to just "invest" in your ideas.

I hope that helps and best of luck!

mark@22digital. Posted at 2015-1-4 04:03
OP, you've shown great motivation posting here. And I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate the tho ...

Hi, thank you so much for your input. We currently are working on a quadcopter that will be small, but functional. We should have the first prototype to test with in a few months. We have access to a 3d printer too. Thank you again for your input!!!