Glad to see that the announcement crept over from Facebook onto FPVLab
This quad is very real, it is another product that we designed because it is what we wanted to fly personally, and not because it was a potential revenue stream. In the history of ImmersionRC this recipe has worked well time and time again.
We have been flying this in various forms for about 1 year now. Every time we pull it out of a backpack it draws a lot of attention, and a steady stream of 'where can I get one' comments.
The basic design goals were extreme portability, and vibration free video/photos. Both of these I think we achieved quite nicely, and we have been having a lot of fun with it over the past 12 months.
We have crashed them, for various reasons, one being the fact that the 8" DJI props have a habit of fracturing about 1/2 way down the blade, generally when the quad is more than 50 feet in the air. The resilience of the frame has surprised us, although partly because of some smart design decisions. There aren't many quads that you can drop from 50 feet and get back in the air after changing a prop!
5mm Aluminium doesn't like to break, although it will bend a little in a hard crash. Getting it back into shape can be done in the field, and doesn't require running to the local store, and ordering more plastic arms.
The 'vibrating' section with the arms, motors, etc. is isolated from the battery with ZenMuse-style vibration dampers. In a very hard crash these simply pull out, and the vertically mounted connectors on the center plate pull out with them.
All this means that assuming a few spare props are thrown in the backpack with the quad, the chances of a crash ruining a days FPVing/Filming are very low. There is nothing more frustrating than hiking up to the top of a mountain, all set to film some wonderful scenery, and not being able to because of a mechanical issue with the FPV platform.
We are currently producing a number of beta units, which will make their way into the hands of some FPVers that we feel will give us some good honest feedback. Assuming that goes as well as we expect, we'll fire up a much larger build to satisfy the initial demand.
