First there was the Millennium Falcon drone. Then came the Tie Intercepter drone. And now, thanks to MIT-grad/aviation nut Adam Woolworth, we can add yet another badass Star Wars vehicle to the list of things that have been drone-ified. Say hello to the 74-Z Speeder Bike drone.
This one is a little bit different than the previous two vehicles though. Rather than using a custom foam “skin” that fits onto the body of the drone, Woolworth constructed the first-person video (FPV) speeder by modifying an off-the-shelf Star Wars toy. The body is a 1:6 scale Hasbro Power Of The Force series Speeder Bike that’s been hollowed out to cut weight.
In order to keep the drone light and nimble, Woolworth gutted the stormtrooper model that sits on top and replaced all the heavy plastic components with pipe cleaners and pieces of foam. After that, he mounted the speeder onto a custom-built quadcopter he designed from scratch.
And the coolest part? The stormtrooper’s head can actually be swapped out for a small video camera and transmitter, allowing the pilot to get a first-person view of the action as they zip the speeder through the trees.
Unfortunately the drone isn’t for sale at this point, but the good news is that you can build one yourself if you feel inclined — Woolworth has posted the instructions for his creation online at Make.
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