I drop in here occasionally out of professional curiosity. Don't have time to read everything but I did put the view, just before the infamous video was launched, that the Roam-e was somewhat flawed as a flying machine. At the time, AFAIK, all the photos released of the Roam-e looked like this, which I'll call Roam-e Version 3
Photos also showed it in flight but quite clearly, if it ever did, it did so badly. I think the "in-flight" photos of V3 were CGI. I'm happy to describe why, aerodynamically, that Roam-e V3 wasn't viable but I don't think it is of much general interest.
As I said, I haven't time to read all the posts here, but I was curious to see a new Roam-e, let's call it V4, just now in a big blow up photo behind Simon's head in his latest 'talking head' video. Has anybody else noticed that V4 is substantially different to V3? OK, obviously the blades are bigger and better shaped but it has some other new features too:
1. Proper shaft setup to allow blades to contrarotate.
2. What appears to be a mechanism to allow the rotors to be inclined away from the vertical. This, if properly done, will allow the Roam-e to fly backwards and forwards, and left and right under control.
3. More robust folding mechanism.
When I look again closely at the warehouse dance party video, it is this version that is airborne - not V3.
So, yes. V4 is capable of controlled flight, so long as the controlling software and the link to the phone is good enough. Is it? I'm not qualified to answer that.
The only concern, from an aerodynamic point of view, is that the speed is limited to 15 km/hr, I think it is. Sounds like a lot but that is only 8 knots. So in any breeze greater than, say, 10 knots the Roam-e will blow away downwind faster than it can fly forwards so it will not be able to fight its way back upwind to be retrieved.
If you were wondering what V1 looked like I went through the photo archives and this is V1
Clearly was never going to fly. And here is V2, which also wouldn't be up to much and is probably just a 'conceptual design' thrown together for the point of sale marketing folks. It was never going to be a flyer, either.
1. Proper shaft setup to allow blades to contrarotate.
