Cheap-to-buy, easy-to-build mini Lego drone is the stuff of childhood dreams

By Luke Dormehl January 24, 2017

Mini Lego Drone Kit on KICKSTARTER from Kitables

What self-respecting kid (or, perhaps, what kid who would rather stay indoors than play outside) didn’t at some point use their Legos to piece together a futuristic flying machine? The only problem was that no matter how many propellers, aerodynamic wing sections or ultra-cool stickers you added, the finished product could never actually fly.

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That’s all changed thanks to a new Kickstarter campaign from Kitables, the maker company that offers a range of simple DIY kits. They’ve created a new mini Lego drone kit which allows users to build their very own UAVs — with nothing more complex than a few bricks to snap together and some incredibly basic electronics.

“The premise of every kit that we do, including this one, is to lower the barrier to entry,” Kitables CEO Arieann DeFazio told Digital Trends. “We’ve made this as simple as it could possibly be. Almost everyone has used Lego at some point. There are also just four soldering points on the whole thing, and after that you’re ready to go! There’s no software to download and it comes with a controller, so it’s basically plug-and-go. It’s incredibly easy.”

Building a flying LEGO quadcopter

There are a few nifty things about Kitable’s Lego drone. The first is the pre-order price point, which is just $50 for a Lego frame pack, motor set, receiver board, controller, Lipo battery and charging cable, and propellor set.

Next is the size, with this being firmly on the tinier end of the drone spectrum. Sure, you may want a larger, kitted-out UAV as well, but there’s something undeniably fun about flying a drone the size of your palm.

The last big selling point is its sheer durability. No, Lego kits aren’t particularly sturdy, but the fact that you can rebuild them easily means you don’t need to constantly live in dread of your next drone crash. If Kitable’s creation hits and wall and explodes (well, explodes into Lego pieces), all you have to do is pick them up and put it back together. Simple, right?

If you’re interested in getting involved, the kits can currently be pre-ordered on Kickstarter with shipping set for April.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…

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