State-of-the-art flying drone propels aerial photography, raises over $450K in one month
TORONTO, Nov. 4, 2014 /CNW/ - Thanks to the stunning success of their crowd funding efforts - quadrupling their initial goal and raising over $450,000 in one month on IndieGogo - DreamQii is pleased to announce that they will be bringing the PlexiDrone to market in the spring. The small, sophisticated and easy-to-use drone is operated by a smart phone or tablet and allows users to capture breathtaking aerial photography with unprecedented ease. The device is the first of its kind to be designed and manufactured in Canada.
Leading camera retailer, Henry's, will also carry the Canadian-made drone. Shoppers can look for the PlexiDrone in stores and online next spring. Combined sales through crowd-funding and retail agreements exceed $1M USD.
A team of Canadian designers, engineers and entrepreneurs built the PlexiDrone with consumers in mind. The device snaps together in under a minute and requires no tools for set-up. PlexiDrone offers simplified multi-vantage-point swarm filming, GPS "follow me", advanced obstacle avoidance, and retractable landing gear that provides a 360-degree unobstructed field of view allowing users to easily produce professional level shots.
"Since we launched our crowdfunding campaign, the response from our backers has been overwhelmingly positive and we are well ahead of our sales projections," said Klever Freire, an aeronautical engineer and co-founder and CEO of DreamQii. "We are truly grateful for the worldwide support from everyone who funded the campaign."
Relationships with Henry's and BublCam bring added strength to the PlexiDrone product line. These partnerships have allowed DreamQii to bring different perks throughout the crowdfunding campaign, offering both backers and prospective buyers many reasons to support the campaign.
"DreamQii's PlexiDrone camera platform meets the needs of our customers with features like GPS follow-me and a 360-degree unobstructed field of view," said Mark Wolfson, Vice President of Sales at Henry's. "With its ease of use, extreme-portability and industrial design, PlexiDrone is a great product for film makers and photographers, which is why we will support it through all our retail stores, on-line, and through our flight schools."
"We love the PlexiDrone. Bubl and DreamQii agree that portability and ease-of-use are design essentials," said Sean Ramsay, CEO of Bubl. "Together, we are transforming aerial photography, bringing an unobstructed 360-degree view to consumers."
"We could not be more thrilled for the DreamQii team. They are exemplary members of our startup community who have proven that they are market leaders, consistently delivering ahead of their business targets," said Valerie Fox, Executive Director at the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University.
Beyond its strong technical specs, the PlexiDrone is also fun to use. This social robot offers customizable voice prompts designed to engage, inform and entertain the user. Instead of watching for status indicators like blinking or color-coded LEDs, PlexiDrone talks to the user in its default upper-crust British accent. The voice can also be swapped out for a fully customized experience.
About DreamQii
DreamQii is a robotics company based at the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University (DMZ) in Toronto. The company develops easy-to-fly drones, powered by next-generation control software with industrial strength capabilities. Its first product is the PlexiDrone, a consumer grade professional-use drone that snaps together in under a minute, with no tools required and works with your favorite camera and mobile device. DreamQii is the brainchild of co-founder and CEO, Klever Freire, who was previously employed as a flight design engineer at Bombardier. Klever assembled an experienced team of aeronautical and electrical engineers as co-founders, designers and developers to work on the DreamQii vision: to bring an easy drone-flying experience to consumers. For more information about DreamQii, visit www.plexidrone.com.
About the Digital Media Zone
The Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University (DMZ) is one of Canada's largest business incubators and co-working spaces for entrepreneurs. The DMZ is a hub of innovation, collaboration and experiential learning. Since opening in April 2010, the DMZ has incubated and accelerated 168 startups which have collectively raised more than $40 million in funding and fostered more than 1,460 jobs. For more information about the Digital Media Zone, visit http://www.ryerson.ca/dmz.
Video with caption: "Video: A team of Canadian designers, engineers and entrepreneurs built the PlexiDrone with consumers in mind. The device snaps together in under a minute and requires no tools for set-up. PlexiDrone offers simplified multi-vantage-point swarm filming, GPS "follow me" and advanced obstacle avoidance, allowing users to easily produce professional level shots". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9OwUOtU380
Image with caption: "Klever Freire, Founder and CEO of DreamQii, holds a B.Eng in Aerospace Engineering and has 6 years of experience in aircraft certification, design assurance and performance optimization with Bombardier Aerospace. (Photo credit: Michael Barker/michaelbarker.ca) (CNW Group/Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University) (CNW Group/DreamQii)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141104_C9348_PHOTO_EN_43168.jpg
Image with caption: "PlexiDrone by DreamQii is a small, sophisticated and easy-to-use drone for professional quality aerial photography. The device is designed and manufactured in Canada and has raised over $450K in crowdfunding in just one month. (Photo credit: Michael Barker) (CNW Group/Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University) (CNW Group/DreamQii)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141104_C9348_PHOTO_EN_43169.jpg
SOURCE: DreamQii
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