Behind The Crash Of 3D Robotics, North America's Most Promising Drone Company
From some posts and articles it seems GoPro took in some displaced 3dr people.
Did the same problems tag along?
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Former employees told FORBES that they noticed issues with Solo as soon as the devices hit the shelves of Best Buy in June 2015. “Things were never going to plan after the Solo launch,” said one.
The drone’s GPS system sometimes failed to connect correctly to ensure stable flight, causing the drone to fly away or crash. The gimbal, or camera-stabilizing device, faced production delays and the first Solos hit the market without this add-on, making it unsuitable for photos and video, the chief use of most consumer drones. “Making the gimbal was harder than making the drone,” said Guinn, who noted that the devices didn’t get to customers until August, a full two months after Solo’s launch.
Still, 3D Robotics executives remained bullish on Solo’s potential, forecasting huge sales for the holiday season. According to one employee, CFO John Rex and Anderson, who had already committed to make 60,000 of the quadcopters with contract manufacturer PCH International, decided in mid-June with less than a month of sales data that an additional 40,000 devices should be built. That represented a significant commitment, said another person who helped engineer Solo, because each drone and its gimbal cost more than $750 to manufacture and ship to retailers. Though the company was able to raise $64 million in 2015, most of that was sunk into manufacturing costs, sources told FORBES.
Multiple people blamed the 3D Robotics’ bold projection for Solo’s failure, including one former employee who said that the fatal mistake was in basing predictions off of “sell in” versus “sell through” figures. The company forecasted Solo sales erroneously based on the inventory it was distributing to retail channels like Best Buy--a poor indicator of consumer demand because retailers can send back unsold inventory--and not on the number of devices actually purchased by customers from those stores.
A person, who worked for 3D Robotics’ marketing team, also questioned the company’s practices when displaying the drone to the press. The demo with The Verge in the spring of 2015, for example, featured a drone that was “worked over and souped up” and did not feature the typical parts you’d find in an off-the-shelf Solo. “We knew the drone would work,” he said, noting that there was an improved GPS component that wasn't shipped in regulars Solos.
From some posts and articles it seems GoPro took in some displaced 3dr people.
Did the same problems tag along?
Comments? Opinions?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk