The Bay Area Maker Faire: A Showcase of Innovation and Creativity

As Adam Woodworth sat down with us at the Bay Area Maker Faire, it was clear that he was excited to share his latest creation with the audience. Despite the rain outside, the indoor drone exhibition was in full swing, and Adam's Lego copter was one of the main attractions. The original copter had been around for six or seven years, and it had been a favorite among fans, particularly when it came to its jet engine.

Adam's decision to build his own custom drone using Lego bricks was inspired by his love of aerobatic airplanes. He wanted to create something that would be less stressful to fly than the original copter. To achieve this, Adam scaled up the design to 10 times the size of a minifig, resulting in a remarkably lightweight and sturdy structure. The fabrication process involved using laser-cut parts, which were then assembled together like a paper model.

One of the most impressive features of the drone was its ability to rotate and spin, thanks to a small propeller attached to the top. However, the actual lift came from a quadrotor system hidden in the legs, which used multi-rotor technology to create stability and control. Adam had done extensive testing and calibration to ensure that the drone flew smoothly and stably. He was careful not to add too much detail until he had proven that it could fly, and even then, he preferred to leave some aspects of the design open to experimentation.

Adam's creativity and resourcefulness were evident in every aspect of his build. From the intricately designed canopy, made from vacuum-forming a soda bottle material, to the clever use of PT G as a form for the plywood structure, it was clear that he had put a lot of thought into every detail. As he shared his process with us, it became clear that this drone was not just a toy, but a true marvel of engineering and design.

The Future of Drone Design

As we chatted with Adam about his latest project, it became clear that he is always on the lookout for new challenges and opportunities to push the boundaries of what is possible. His current focus is on submarines, which he has been fascinated by since childhood. Using a combination of Star Wars plastic models and internal submarine components, Adam has created a series of miniature submersibles that can be flown through water using computer controls.

The result is a truly immersive experience, with the ability to film and capture realistic underwater movements. It's clear that Adam has a passion for creating innovative and interactive projects, and his work is constantly inspiring and motivating others. As he shared some of his latest designs with us, it was evident that he is always on the lookout for new challenges and opportunities to push the boundaries of what is possible.

The Legacy of Lego Drone Design

As we concluded our conversation with Adam, it became clear that his Lego drone design has left a lasting impact on the world of drone enthusiasts. His innovative approach to building and flying drones using Lego bricks has inspired countless others to try their hand at creating similar projects. As he shared his thoughts on the future of drone design, it was evident that Adam is committed to continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible with these incredible machines.

The canopy made from vacuum-forming a soda bottle material was another impressive feature of the drone, and it's clear that Adam has a talent for finding creative solutions to complex problems. From its use as a form for the plywood structure to its unique appearance, every detail of this design was carefully considered to achieve maximum stability and control.

In the end, Adam's Lego drone design serves as a reminder of the power of creativity and innovation in shaping our world. By pushing the boundaries of what is possible with Lego bricks and drone technology, Adam has created something truly special – a testament to the human spirit and its ability to imagine and create something entirely new.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: eneverybody's norm from tested here onceagain at Bay Area Maker Faire meeting upwith Adam Woodworth Adam how you doingBrad having fun even in the rain yeahit's a little bit rainy outside butthankfully all the drone stuff ishappening indoors and if you've seen ourpast videos seen Adams videos you makesome incredible custom drones this isamazing is of course Lego copy you havethe original copter here is probably sixor seven years old it was from thatInternational Jetport set as a hair poorwith a little jet it was always myfavorite of the helicopters and a coupleyears ago I did the big lego airplaneyeah and I wanted to do somethingthere's a little less stressful to flyso I put this guy together okay so acouple things wants all about one justfabrication right this is scaled up howmany times the size of minifigs scale sothis is 10x minifig scale and it worksout nice so that you have one instantrelation foam with a couple pieces ofdepron foam which is like what they usedto make those indoor aerobatic airplanesyes so you got very lightweight sturdyrigid fabrication wise a lot of curveshere very neat as this all bandsaw is itcnc'd how did you make this it's mostlylaser-cut so there's a bunch of freeLego CAD programs so I made a 3d modelof this and then pulled all the 2dsurfaces off of it so I could do all thecuts and then assemble it like a papermodel basically even have the fullminifig inside that is so cool I see thelight boat in right there that's reallycleverokay so fabricated this together ofcourse it needed to this rotates oh mygod Wowhow does it all fly yeah so obviouslylike a big square blade is not gonnaproduce a ton of lift so the the rotorup top is just kind of decorative but Iwanted to make it spin so there's alittle propeller on here that pulls itaround slowly as it's flying around andthen the actual lift comes from aquadrotor that's kind of hidden in thelegs you design systems areuntraditional using multi rotor ray likethis is quadrotor now how much testingor how much calibration is needed so thestable so I did a fair amount of tuningbefore I painted it I'd like to put thelittle guy in it and did all the detailsmodern kind of quad flight controllersare pretty good out of the box so it'sjust kind of tweaking it to match thedynamics to the aircraft then you're allgood but I always have a rule that Inever like do all the detailing onsomething until I've proven that itflies so you don't need to like addweight in a certain place change thecenter of gravity much the controller'sgonna I mean this is light enough thatthe whole thing's only about four poundsso for something this size the dynamicsare pretty slow very very cool uh whatother projects are you working on I seeon your Instagram AJ would peace youguys have a lot of projects yeah so Ialways like to kind of keep something onthe backburner working right now I'mkind of on a submarine kick so I've beentaking a bunch of like Star Wars plasticmodels and then putting submarineinternals inside of them and kind offlying them around in water so lets youget that like cool space motion yeah atlike a scale that I can work on in thebackyard it's almost a computer controlright then you can film it and it can dospins and and multi axis movement thegreatest compliment I got on one ofthose is like somebody's like this lookslike kind of lame CGI I was like I knowit's real it's real that's exactly whatthe old movies were like right awesomeone last thing this this canopy herevacuform yeah it's a big back form pieceoff of I think it's PT G so like a sodabottle material and I made a big plywoodform same process like pull all the 2dsurfaces off glue it together and thenit took a few poles to try to get onethat came out right but it came outpretty good I hope you don't stop makinglarge size Lego flying Lego because thisis such a cool thing you're gonna takeit up I'll take it up for you guys andshare you flies all right let's go look\n"