Mar 19, 2016 | By Kira
The votes are in and the winners have been announced in Parrot and MyMiniFactory’s 3D printed Drone Accessory Design Challenge. Out of nearly 100 submissions, three grand prize winners were chosen by the MyMiniFactory community, and not surprisingly, two of them are Star Wars-themed.
Launched back in January, the Parrot Official Accessory Design Competition invited 3D designers from around the world to submit their original add-ons and accessories to pimp-out the range of Parrot drones. The 3D models had to be uploaded to MyMiniFactory’s “guaranteed 3D printable” collection, where members of the community, as well as Parrot judges, could vote based on functionality, originality, commercial viability, and overall design. The grand prizes included up to $2,000 worth of Parrot goods, as well as a chance for the 3D designer to work with the Parrot team and have their 3D printable product sold in stores.
After two weeks of receiving votes, MyMiniFactory and Parrot have announced the official winners, and if we’ve learned anything from this challenge, it’s that a) 3D printing makes drones awesome, and b) you can almost never go wrong with Star Wars.
The 1st place winner is Italian 3D print enthusiast Luca Ariedi, who created the Parrot-BB8, a simple 3D printed add-on that transforms the Parrot Minidrone into an adorable BB-8 droid. We have seen a lot of 3D printed BB-8 droids since Star Wars: The Force Awakens came into our lives, and while this one is potentially one of the most simple, it just goes to show how much fans truly love the little guy. As 1st place winner, Ariedi was awarded a Parrot Bebop 2 and a Sky Controller.
2nd place in the 3D printable drone accessory challenge went to 3D artist Khaled Alkayed, who made it to the podium with his professionally designed Zombie Killer Parrot Jumping Drone. Created for a dystopic, Zombie-infested universe, the 3D printed Zombie Killer weaponizes the Parrot Minidrone for full-on Zombie destruction. Though mostly conceptual, its features include several cannons, a flamethrower, jumping abilities, and excellent skull details. For his exceptional creative efforts, Alkayed won a Parrot Bebop 2.
Finally, 3rd place went to French ‘lifehack designer’ David Jeuniaux, who brings us full-circle with the Star Wars drone theme. His 3D printable drone add-on is a Millennium Falcon Bumper for Parrot’s aerial Rolling Spider. Not only does this design transform your standard flying drone into the most iconic spaceships from the Star Wars universe, it also protects it from nasty crashes. Jeuniaux gets to select and take home Parrot Minidrones.
The three winning designs, along with all 3D printable submissions, are available to download for free via MyMiniFactory. While the winning designs probably won't revolutionize how we see and create modern UAVs, Parrot and MyMiniFactory’s 3D Printable Drone Accessory Challenge was a fun creativity-booster that managed to perfectly capture two the biggest cultural crazes of the day: drone technology and Star Wars Mania.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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