Bladeless Drone: First Flight

[@YSALF]

That design could be an option for residential deliveries in a near future delivery service ...

[@ZeroxSensei]

thought exactly the same thing and your comment is from 13 min ago :D. Sell to Bezos

[@DaneH64]

Yeh, just have to make them broom and bullet proof

[@octaviusgalacticus2253]

Or just a good pilot that can avoid drone catchers

[@americanairlines3945]

Ducted fans are extremely loud and extremely inefficient, the noise pollution would render it a disturbance and the range would be very limited due to the poor thrust to weight ratio achieved by the ducted fans. Thus this design shall not see use in package delivery. however it is a facinating experimental design

[@YSALF]

I wanted to refer to the idea of ​​having the drone propellers spinning inside a protective liner like some helicopters tail rotor. I don't know anyone who hasn't cut their fingers on the current design

[@JerryRigEverything]

Nice work! Super impressive.

[@multiarray2320]

true

[@leolmelo1]

As a professor in IT and Engineering, for me It is very enjoyable to see young people using their creativity to develop new and revolutionary ideas! Congratulation!!! (Y)

[@richardcarew4708]

;;☆》♡♡♡.... i worked for a Boeing subsidiary for a while, then Raytheon, as lead programmer for the Engineering division in Colorado.... It's so much fun... I would have paid them for the opportunity to play with Boeing's fabrication of light weight composite materials.... prior to that I was an exotic car technician, working on Jaguars for my apprenticeship and Alfa Romeo and BMW before the yuppies found them... I build stuff... for other people.... I am autodidactic ... I program in 8 languages and work with Microsoft software... when I find people who are self motivated.... I latch on.... because they are our future

[@richardcarew4708]

Want to know the best way to create your future? ==>> turn off your television ==>> please 🙏 It's not accurate information.... it's propaganda and brainwashing that teaches one thing and one thing only ==>> how to be a passive observer Turn it off... you really DON'T need it

[@surfcitiz]

The solution appears to be much safer. If you work out how to increase the power, minimise the noise level and reduce the power consumption, one day, it may start bringing you some good money. As for now, it is a leaf blower on steroids.

[@AndreAndFriends]

Sikorsky? The helicopter guy?

[@motosk8er2]

So increase the power and decrease the power at the same time. Makes sense. Never seen a leaf blower that can fly and hover.

[@smartereveryday]

Great job Stefano. Your tether tests are incredibly similar to how NASA is testing next generation landers.

[@FinlayPacks]

hi

[@DermotiusOfficial]

Whoa

[@hafizfirdausabdulgafar2786]

Opal stone, i like how aussie develope something

[@rocketman5167]

Yep - I work at JSC and see them test the Morpheus all the time same way.

[@weeral1]

@@shellyoung2646 lol.. that escalated quickly. Less caffeine... maybe.

[@hacksmith]

Damn dude! Impressive work!

[@igy_jo]

the Hacksmith hi

[@seashellfishtrading8884]

more like impressive fake

[@thanotoast.5468]

@@seashellfishtrading8884 Well he is actually Hacksmith

[@grancito2]

If those motors drew 120 amps, they would have car starter motor size wiring, and be as big and heavy as a V8 starter motor.

[@matthewevans4296]

Cool idea, I love the sound it makes. But there are a few issues. - The fans you're using are designed for high airflow, not high pressure. Having long tubes, AND sharp corners will limit airflow and increase pressure and therefore reduce your performance and efficiency. I would not be surprised at all if you found you're only producing half the rated airflow. - Generally, ducted fans are specifically designed to be used in an open environment, any custom ductwork added will reduce performance & efficiency. - Mounting motors horizontally instead of vertically means that you can not leverage the effect of the motors torque to rotate/yaw the aircraft If the goal is to simply reduce incursions into the props, simply adding a wire mesh guard around the props would be significantly cheaper and lighter. If you mount those ducted fans all vertically, and add mesh you can reduce the size of the aircraft by a huge margin, increase the flight time, performance, and handling.

[@richarddadzie8366]

Thanks Matthew. People should be smart enough to learn from the way you criticize and share your ideas

[@andrewkelly1885]

Yeah very informative. Love fly my drones, I get a real kick out of it. Unfortunately not good with electronics, so when they malfunction does my head in.

[@12vibaba]

funny to see people commenting and giving all their "advise" while they never even accompliced something like this by themselves. I would say build the perfect one yourself and then you have something to say.

[@-TheBugLord]

@@12vibaba I think giving advice is valuable nonetheless. At least in my case, I work with this stuff as a career.

[@alvinboby9962]

Fun Fact: This drone actually has blades, just that they're inside

[@chabhishek3282]

Yes, ofc... Afterall anti gravity isn't discovered yet

[@treeinafield5022]

Thank you Mr. Obvious

[@johndizon735]

I wished it truly had no blades and it would be controlled by air pumps

[@alvinboby9962]

@@treeinafield5022 u must say that to the video title

[@legendarypot8oanimates160]

@@chabhishek3282 technically ion propulsion is possible, but I guess it's not mass manufactured enough to actually be useable on drones yet.

[@philipbowers3671]

From someone whos been building FPS drones for years, this is a really cool build man. I hope this inspires you to build more awesome builds, we need fresh minds like yours to build the future.

[@matthewsuthers7634]

Simple problem, simple solution. Damn good work! Innovators like you are the future of humanity. Keep it up!

[@MrMateuszw106]

Simple solution? Come on...

[@MrMateuszw106]

@@brendandsouza5331 Of course it is! I would simply put a tube around the blades and cover an inlet and outlet with a mesh and it would give the same result. No need to act like it needs to be a "hi-tech" solution to this simple problem! But well... it wouldn't make so many views, would it?

[@ChadKapper]

Stefano - This is an awesome and amazing accomplishment!! Congratulations for doing something special. I don't think most people can even realize the magnitude of your innovation. You will get a lot of jealous haters because you are making great progress. Expect it... use it to drive you forward, confirming you are on a path to doing something spectacular!!!

[@DavidRTribble]

I am constantly amazed by the fact that this generation can produce such sophisticated engineering projects from relatively cheap off-the-shelf components. Commonplace technology has advanced incredibly since I was in college.

[@byteme11]

To all of you taking shots at this young guy, just remember. No one ever built a monument to a critic! Well done Stefano. You might want to study the environment carefully so what you eventually come up with will be unique, patentable and able to be a good earner for you.

[@redj59]

Holy crap. That is one of the most impressive efforts that i've seen in a while. Awesome. Patents? Should. Great.

[@eddiewakefield1604]

Safety is no.1, there is nothing out there to compare to this well done and good luck for the future!

[@chucklesamalu3030]

I am impressed and excellent example of thinking outside the "blade"....

[@spankyhappy2767]

All the negative comments... I give the kid respect for using his imagination and trying to do something better with safety in mind. Fact is. He is on to something. Everyone hating on him. Yet. Where is your designs?

[@The1wsx10]

you don't need to know how to fly a helicopter to know the guy in the tree fucked up

[@ronronblas4993]

SO MANY HARSH COMMENT.... but you don't all listen to the intention of the design and engineering. Good work bro! Keep inventing...

[@austinsears1637]

Agreed! He needs to continue and keep on keepin on! This dude is one intelligent beast! Props on the homemade carbon works!!!

[@humanbeing1429]

Wow that's innovation you need to patent it. There will be positive reviews and negative comments as well but u know better than let those things affect you. Keep your brilliant mind buzzing with those ideas and I wish you the best.

[@redryder6987]

Thats not an innovation, its not even something that you could get a design patent on.

[@AJ-Palermo]

I think "bladeless" drones are the future of drone delivery and drone medical assistance, cuz it prevents idiots from getting injured by the blades and possibly suing the companies.

[@ec2sit617]

Exactly.... Mente

[@laStar972chuck]

This is utterly amazing, dude! Wow!! Congrats and hope you get the recognition your invention deserve.

[@broaddesk2651]

Pure Genius. Bravo to you on this invention. Now file a patent ASAP!!!

[@pavankharche7014]

Finally Time has come. Dude hardwork pays off. 2 year after everyone got this video in their recommendations . Every comment is new here.

[@allwayne]

Wow. Great build. Using CFD software, carbon fiber structure, safety focused. This is awesome. You're a man with a bright future.

[@dagg497]

You could drastically make this design more efficient! * Have 1 motor with opposite spinning blades like the russian Kamov KA-50 - save weight. * Duct the Air via servo controlled ports for balancing and speed - save weight. * Longer flight time with a RC model petrol engine - save weight to power ratio. * Work on the CFD of those tubes so the airflow is better It didn't look optimal. * Make the nozzles like Dysons or a Hovercraft with a narrow slit in them, this raises the static pressure from the nozzle outlets and thus lift force.

[@johnnypaintsticks8027]

Single motor with ports same tging i was thinking

[@LZE.]

With a single engine you'll need a larger blade - just like a helicopter.

[@GundamReviver]

And a stupidly simple change: let the thrust come from above the centre of mass, not below. Should make it vastly more controllable.

[@eugenes9751]

Considering how insanely inefficient it will be that way, wouldn't it just be easier to put some large cowls around some normal blades? If you're already using a ducted fan, why add 2x 90 degree bends when you could just put the fans themselves at the end of the arms and use the duct as protection? This'd be really cool if you could run it all off one large jet and have each arm control the amount of thrust through something like a throttle body.

[@charlesb4308]

Neat! My first thought was flight time. Not to crap on your success but I would assume that the efficiency is pretty bad. The ducting and the fact that the air has to make 2 90 degree turns has got to add a lot of turbulence to the airflow, whereas a normal quad's air path is straight through the props. Second thought was "how the hell does he control the yaw" but I figured it out. The slight angular offset in the ducting would allow the controller to control it the same as a normal quad. Really neat how the thrust offset has the same effect as the rotational mass of the props! Awesome project man!

[@fizfizfizfizfiz]

who know maybe this is the future of every drone, good job mate !

[@midgetman4206]

no, it adds unnecessary weight. just cover the intakes

[@fizfizfizfizfiz]

​@@midgetman4206 I'm not saying this version of drone is the best one, but for sure this add variety to the drone design, this version also more durable to weather i believe, but on the other hand it consume more of power and lack of stability due to unnecessary turbulance

[@robinsonmitchell9995]

Fantastic work! Great result too with a safer quadflyer. Note: When cutting and sanding carbon fiber it's a really good idea to wear a filter mask. Bits of carbon fiber can have really nasty long-term effects when inhaled.

[@bangurhead4027]

GREAT WORK MAN!!👌💯👍 Amazing design and build, one of the best I've seen, period.

[@AndyEMcCall]

Really impressive. Have you thought about controlling the angle and iris of the jets and the via a controller? If they could rotate you might be able to use a single larger turbine and alter the drone by swivelling the outlet and/or reducing the iris. This would give much finer control, but obviously at the cost of complexity.

[@goliathonscave9834]

I gave a positive comment before I clicked to see Stefano's other videos or read the comments. There were no follow-up videos and after reading some of the comments, outside my DARPA joke, I can see why. Wow internet. This teenager spent a year, pouring what was clearly A LOT of ingenuity, passion, effort, skill, and time into creating something never, or at a minimum, scarcely, seen before. But instead of seeing a flood of comments congratulating and encouraging this young man for his accomplishment, I see a horde of negative, petty comments, attacking him for such nonsense as the semantics of "bladeless" (thus apparently this is clickbait!!??), the noise factor (on a proof of concept demo!!??), to the "gay music" used in the background. Essentially, and unfortunately, the problem is that KZbin is replete with people who are simply toxic. I swear, a video of God, manifesting into physical form, then delivering to humankind the meaning of life, physics, existence, and the path to eternal happiness and bliss, would be followed by a series of disgruntled comments and 10% dislikes. Good luck, Mr. Rivellini. You are a unique individual and I hope you are knocking it out of the park in school. I Hope DARPA lets you post some follow-up videos of the unclassified stuff you're working on next!

[@adam31178]

No matter what anyone says... youre a thinker and i hope karma is real to those nay sayers, good job kid... keep that mind open.

[@inocent8969]

I'm telling you, this young kid have a nice future.... I don't think it will fit for commercial drones market.... but I see a much bigger fit on aircraft new technology.

[@aaronraj2105]

@@noteden3446 ur a piece of shit

[@jamescole6846]

I am over 50 and been an engineer most of my life. Don't pay attention to the negative comments on here written by 14 yo's because it doesn't work and look like their 29.00 Walmart drone they got for Christmas. This was a true achievement in thinking outside the box and designing and building something that actually works. Most people that have idea like this never get them off paper and if they do, they never actually get a working prototype. Thomas Edison built and tested over 3000 prototypes of the electric bulb before he got it right and now look what it is today. Keep up with your good work. You may have something that is very valuable someday to all of society or even the future of mankind.

[@MakatiSuites]

Except it, please explain how it can Yaw, and I'm over 50 too and build dozens of drones.

[@MakatiSuites]

Please explain to me, technically, how this drone can YAW, given that the motors are laying on their side? If the tubes could vector that would be a way to YAW. This design is great, it's really innovative, but it has a massive design flaw.

[@jeffkunkler9299]

@@MakatiSuites I believe it is in the offset of the outlets, note that they are at a slight angle, so that one side has the ducts facing each other just a little bit and the opposite side the same. By adjusting motor speed to one set of ducts that are angled in same direction more than the others it will yaw. Cool!

[@jeffkunkler9299]

Right on Bob Green, I too am a product designer and mechanical engineer and am over 50. Glad to see anyone making something themselves, especially as challenging as this! lots of great fabrication done himself, so screw the naysayers!

[@DerEchteBold]

Are you sure Edison really did much own testing with the light bulbs? As far as I've heard he mostly ripped other people off who did that for him (or before him). And what it is today (or was) is a gigantic scam, btw. But of course you're right about the achievement in this video!

[@oby-1607]

And you have only begun. Can't wait to see your evolution on this.

[@NexxuSix]

Stefano, first and foremost, congratulations on your project. While I haven’t flown my RC helicopters or drones for sometime, I can assure you they can be dangerous, and require utmost respect whilst flying them. For the rest of you that complain that this drone is not truly blade-less, I suggest you have a look at some of the RC helicopter and drone forums in the “Accidents” section. There you will find picture of operators who have met up with the exposed blades of their RC craft. Trust me, there are some gory pictures to see, not to mention, learn from. BTW, one of the main reasons I gave up RC helicopters was the fact that within a 3 week period, two people were killed by their RC helicopters. Yes. Really. So, again, congratulations on making this a safer hobby! Much respect!

[@yagovillar6871]

No blade-less, thanks a lot. Compresors uses blades to generate airflow, but they are hide into a box. Good video.

[@macrumpton]

The efficiency must be pretty bad as the turbulence in those bent tubes is really intense. If you just mounted ducted fans in the corners extending the duct long enough to keep fingers out you would get safety with much more efficiency. or you could just put a wire mesh over a standard ducted fan intake and exhaust.

[@5yfyguy218]

So basicaly 4 variable speed leaf blowers connected to a central hub. NICE!!

[@seashellfishtrading8884]

hahaha thats right

[@bigtopmedia]

Looks like this is coming up in everyone’s recommend😂😂

[@drumarrero6163]

Lmao tru

[@fox25_fpv19]

It did in mine😂😂

[@ToBeIsWasWere]

@@fox25_fpv19 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@evilchaperone]

Wow. This is amazing 👏🙌 bravo. The noise reduction is absolutely incredible. This kid is going places.

[@ViperNg1990]

RC hobbyist , aeronautical engineer here. This is a really fantasic project. Thumbs up for effort. However this design wont be really useful yet in the market due to the inefficiency of ducted fans. High air velocity with lower mass flow is only meant for " fighter jets" . The air exit velocity of the ducted fan can be above 80km/h while what you really need is just 20km/h or less but with alot of air mass flowing through like a giant prop for efficiency. So like some of the comments below say. Build one giant ducted fan and split them into 4 tubes. Like a harrier. The engineering portion is up to your creativity!

[@david_burville_burvilleorg2409]

Have you heard of the "coanda" effect? It uses a shaped dome over which the air is blown, it increases the airflow and makes the machine more efficient, have a look for the coanda effect on Google and KZbin, it might be something you could incorporate into a drone design. Fantastic job on this one! Best wishes David Burville

[@lifehackertips]

Yeah I was wondering why he didn’t do that like the dyson fans do.

[@bmull81]

@@lifehackertips - the substantially flared intakes perform a similar function. Dyson 'fans' are expensive and inefficient.

[@TheElusivePanda]

This is NOT safer if you have a fear of being attacked by a flying octopus.

[@dc2houston2]

Lol

[@onepogi]

Lol 😂

[@imperialsecuritybureau6037]

Ducted fans seem cool, idk about their thrust:diameter ratio but I'm sure it's good, however their overall thrust:cost ratio seems very high. I've always wondered if adding multiple turbine blades/ducted props to the same motor would work better? Of course it would come at a cost to efficiency but so do coaxial propellers, though most importantly they are great for saving space. This guy seems to be doing it right, props to him and his dad! Putting a patent in, using this as a project for his degree, this guy's going to go far!

[@pvanb291]

Great concept and awesome implementation!! Of course it had to be carbon fibre to keep the weight down, but man, you've done an outstanding job with all the fabrication!!

[@ihaveone6086]

Great work.... really impressed..... one suggestion...(up to you weather you gonna heed the advice) Use a down draft table and a dust mask when cutting trimming sanding any artificial man made material (Plastic, fiberglass, carbonfiber, kevlar, etc.) ... fibrosis is usually the illness suffered by people working with artificial materials.... particles don't break down and usually in-bed themselves into the lung tissue..... think about it..... 1000 years from now you and I and many of our future generations would long be gone and that material is going to stay there..... Just a friendly advice.... and also it helps if you use respirator when you do your resin mixing.... those fumes are not the best either.... lol.... Stay safe....

[@P44man]

Small EDFs are inefficient. The weight of the tubing and the airflow resistance inside the bends will make this a lot worse. No wonder you dont mentioned flight times. Are you getting more than 6 minutes? Maybe with a single, central, large fan in the middle and some sort of valves inside the tubes or thrust vectoring nozzles you could make it a lot better. Using a DJI controller is also the silliest idea ever for a DIY project, when there are a bazillion opensource flight controllers out there that are way more configurable, cheaper and overall better. I will give you props for the look of the thing though. It looks really cool.

[@bonanzabiker]

My thoughts exactly with central power source and valves etc.

[@P44man]

@@bonanzabiker straight valves would hurt efficiency too though, it would require some clever engineering to rebalance airflow/thrust across 4 pipes without inducing too much drag, or for that matter, extra weight. You might be better off just using vanes on a single shrouded prop.Plenty of those designs around.

[@Tony-i4k2w]

It looks like a flying desk chair base haha. Great work man super cool. Definatley has some professional applications.

[@zoolkhan]

energy efficieny (read: battery life) will make this useless in practise - while simple propellerguards will cover the "safety aspect" to a sufficent degree on a more energy efficient drone. (also, dont fly drones in living beeings faces - that helps a lot with "safety") the idea of such jets is not new (harrier jets i.e.) - but he has put real effort into building, and he has a clever way of testing his construction so i must say well done.

[@alienorbiter]

Now imagine this: 1) One large intake, one engine. 2) Three distribution ducts that are able to turn 180° each. 3) Three output cones that can regulate its own diameter in order to change output pressure. 4) An arduino board to control them all, and it darkness bind them in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

[@neilhoogendoorn8045]

Almost exactly what I was going to say, almost.

[@kennyt930]

Having one central motor will cause the multicopter to spin in its use axis as a result of the motor’s torque. A drone’s yaw axis is controlled by increasing the throttle for two motors spinning the same direction and lowering the throttle for two others spinning the other direction. Thereby increasing the moment force for one direction. Helicopters are an easy example of only having one motor. If something happens to the back rotor, theres a dramatic spin out and crash

[@gsisk911]

@@kennyt930 the output of the ducts can be used to offset the rotation of the fan.

[@davidd5966]

Totally don't understand why you don't just put a mesh above and below the fan to stop people putting their fingers into it. The drag losses would be much less than the weight/drag of your carbon fibre tubes with identical safety levels.

[@WillyWillis1965]

Because the aerodynamic arm/moment would be unstable. The arm is required to prevent thrust differences beyond the guidance capabilities of the drive chip.

[@seashellfishtrading8884]

thats right why dont they just put mesh on a quadcopter readily available and make fake stunt that obviouly fake to idiot people in the internet?

[@ToBeIsWasWere]

@@seashellfishtrading8884 what?

[@albeit1]

This has a great future in the leaf blowing industry :-)

[@Stoney3K]

Tip: Add a nozzle to the ducted fan to turn it into a compressor which provides more thrust. Propellers aren't designed to produce thrust, they're built to "pull" the aircraft through the air using lift, while ducted fans (model jet engines) are built for air flow. Air flow + nozzle = compression, and thrust. Added bonus is that you can gimbal the nozzles for thrust vectoring.

[@spaceexpander360]

This is actually an innovation like no other. He solved a problem of crossing a dangerous mode of transport into and incredibly safe one. If you built this design much larger so a person could ride it, it would basicly be a flying car.

[@Rex-sy8ye]

Now you just have to focus on increasing power because of the covers and then from there make it hearing safe when you sit on it- Honestly I dont think this is the answer for flying vehicles.

[@falljazz]

Efficiency would be an issue. Basically you are pushing the air through a pipe which will cause massive head loss (loss of force). Another issue with a quadcopter design is that in the case of an engine failure it cannot autorotate and land safely like a helicopter can. If one of the four motors/engines dies it would be game over.

[@spaceexpander360]

@@Rex-sy8ye yeah i know what you mean. But they have some 1 man "drones" and yes the same problem applys, but what i mean ultimately is that the idea of internerlizing the blades or jets is a geinus Idea. It stops a big problem of not only danger but direction.

[@ahsanmohammed1]

Great job! I hope some company will hire you and give you a few million dollars to produce a larger product, one in which people could fly! Great going! Keep it up!

[@livecanadiangirls2216]

I gave him a million dollars. ..... He spent it on cocain and hookers 😐😑😕

[@coloneljp]

@@livecanadiangirls2216 lmao true

[@hermanwooster8944]

What everyone calls it: Bladeless What it really is: Covered blades Still very sweet.

[@DashDrones]

The amount of power that uses is insane. Awesome though

[@jackd6134]

Quick! Get the patent on the first autonomous leaf blower! ; )

[@jbritain]

And here's another video everyone suddenly got recommended. It's still cool though.

[@christophernunez6802]

This is a great start. Well done. Solve the noise issue and I'm on board. The lack of comments that mention noise leads me to believe there is quite a bit of knee jerk enthusiasm and acceptence.

[@skinnyway]

the noise is my first thought/comment. I'm not the biggest fan of technology like this but I do keep up.

[@K3Flyguy]

Very well done young man! Don't let them internet haters get you down. Keep on your plan, this will lead you to something awesome! Been there, done it! You can too!

[@jimo1268]

Great work, hope you took out a patent pending before releasing this video

[@adwood201]

Very well done young man! I hope you have a long bright and successful future, with smarts like that I can't see how you could fail.....Just watch out for jealous people though.

[@OneTequilaTwoTequila]

"Here's a demonstration of how safe it is to fly next to people"... almost pokes himself in the eye with the not-smooth gear leg. LOL!

[@Rfcvdnerd1]

You should probably be using a respirator when working with the carbon fiber and epoxy

[@Graybear78]

Congrats!!! This kid is making his own future! Outstanding! As far as those haters, only one word applies: JEALOUSY!

[@entellreef4586]

Thank you Lee, so much hate in the world. Some even want to dispute the fact that its called bladeless, that's so damn needless. A simple appreciation of effort would be a whole lot better.

[@obancameron]

Great work! People are quick to judge on here and dont seem to realize the potential of this machine and the fact that this is a hand made prototype. sure lots can be improved but it the first step to mass production or a line of custom one off pieces made for the needs of the individual customer. PS dysons "bladeless fan" uses a turbine. Also, always use a mask/filtration when working with carbon fiber etc, it really does cause damage to your lungs (carbon etc wont break down)

[@fadelgibani9085]

Great job! Thinkers like you is what our future needs. Now for the next step. Carrying people.

[@sixstringedthing]

"But it still has blades...." Ah yes, if we listen closely we can hear the squawking of people who don't actually have the creativity and skills to build something like this themselves. So instead they take pride in calling out errors of terminology. Some people live pretty sad lives I guess. Great job mate, definitely a market for something like this if it can be further miniaturized. Keep working on your design!

[@tonynotstated695]

Fancy tube work, but the added weight and redirecting airflows through two 90 degree turns decreases overall efficiency. Instead, why not just make a shorter straight tube that protects your hands and such? Wouldn't look as fancy but from an engineering perspective, it would be more efficient and thus increase your flight time. There is at least one benefit with your current design and that is that added benefit of torque while maintaining the Cg close to the vertical center line.

[@yuehhtewbb427]

An empirical rule of thumb I discovered is that you lose about %15 thrust for every 90 degree bend, so you're losing 30% thrust on the bends. I have a few ideas how to fix that but I'm not sure if you want to do it.

[@kevinwelsh7490]

I cant see how bends in the duct are even necessary. just use ducted fan with longer (vertical) ducts and maybe gapped guard across the top. use 6 thrusters, shut down in opposing pairs if 1 fails.

[@shawnhollahan590]

I’m curious how much force is lost by making the ducted air take two 90 degree turns before exiting the vent

[@strictnonconformist7369]

A huge amount on a good day. A better design would have had the bladed fans in a straight pipe only long enough to ensure you can't get nailed by the fans.

[@shawnhollahan590]

@@strictnonconformist7369 I love that all the weight is centralized though.... I have a vintage alfa with a rear transaxle.... it wastes a huge amount of power from the engine but balances the car 50/50 so it handles amazing.... so there are tradeoffs.

[@joshrandall3632]

Almost zero. There is a lot of energy wasted by sending the air through the ducts, but not so much the bends. Also, EDFs aren't known for their efficiency. Still a very cool design though.

[@strictnonconformist7369]

@@shawnhollahan590 there are always tradeoffs. As to the previous comment by another poster about amount of energy lost as a result of 2 90 degree turns, I’d love to see that measured and verified, having had a certain amount of formal training in hydraulics and pneumatics for robotics/automation purposes. The higher the pressures involved, the farther away from zero energy lost it becomes: this is how and why Tesla turbines work, because boundary layers of air have a very measurable amount of viscosity and air hates to change directions to flow against it. 2 90 degree turns creates air boundaries out of airflows, above and beyond the walls. This is why hydraulic and pneumatic circuits try to minimize the number of bends required, including ordinary plumbing, because you lose head that way.

[@Solid_Pepper]

Stefano tested that and found NO reduction in thrust.

[@KTMcaptain]

You could’ve just put safety mesh on the ducted fans and had the same protection. Now you have a much heavier solution that will tank your efficiency. Not to mention the added weight can hurt someone in a different manner than a bladed drone.

[@Spedley_2142]

Not necessarily, the inner part of a fan provides very little thrust so they end up large and cumbersome. Having a single high speed turbine with ducting could be provide more stability and a weight saving. Overall the whole thing could be smaller and more efficient. Large scale is probably not good but smaller sized machines could be workable.

[@KTMcaptain]

Jake S I originally thought of a central centrifugal compressor that had 4 outlets and intake air directly above. But then you’d need some way to control thrust at every outlet. Utilizing several motors allows for instant torque changes and better control. The excessive ducting adds weight unnecessarily and drops efficiency.

[@chrisryanh3758]

I took the blades off my drone and now mine is bladeless too

[@sean1816]

Not exactly bladeless but great idea non the less. Maybe a future build could include rotatable outlets?

[@monojitchakraborty1259]

I am an Engineering student and I am blown away. You are a Genius. Science and innovation has been possible because someone somewhere had an unsolved question and a thirst for adventure.

[@philup4947]

Please explain why he is a genius there is nothing new in this drone I expect you are a poor student.

[@msmith2961]

That high pitch squeal will give you noise induced hearing loss. Need to make the duct exits sawtooth shaped to reduce the noise. Look at Boeing 787 GEnx engine nacelle or the article on noise suppression by Purdue School of Aeronautics to see what I mean.

[@frenchonion4595]

So thats why they do that. Always wondered about those thanks

[@dallin5861]

bro I work with carbon fiber on a daily basis good job on your molds and bagging! But man wear a respirator when cutting carbon fiber! That stuff will cut your lungs to pieces!

[@PiefacePete46]

This cannot be emphasised strongly enough! You have taken a safe approach to your project, and safety is the major point of your design. Do not let a few minutes of unsafe work practise destroy your enjoyment of later life... you cannot put a bandaid on your lungs! Great project.

[@flogozgeik1898]

Your neighbours must be happy to have you...

[@robertobruselas3952]

Amazing idea and design. you have found a good solution for the dangerous blades! Great Job!! Can't wait to see more upgrades to your vessel!

[@oM477o]

You could probably increase the lifting capacity of this drone by attaching a single large dusted fan to the top of it, using the existing 4 motors just for control and having the big motor provide most the lift.

[@robertgeorgewerner]

Best wishes to you. I can see how this could have a great application in agriculture where you would be flying in and around branches, leaves, and other detritus. Next question, of course, is can you get the engines quieter (that's a hard engineering problem, I'm sure)? Wow, really impressed with you and your dad. Great work!

[@dharmeshsolanki4354]

after two months youtube decided to put this in our recommendations 😂

[@ChazBword]

This is an old video yes, but damn is it still interesting as heck in 2022. Outstanding job.

[@Jer_Schmidt]

I'm sure this comes with significant inefficiencies but still that's a great idea. This should be better any time someone needs to film a festival or the likes where there are lots of people.

[@theyareherebecausetheyputu7962]

Solution: tethered Balloon Cams

[@benth162]

I believe your father did a little more than just help you. If you did this on your own I would consider you a young genius, but alas you're just smart as hell. a suggestion if I may: Try decreasing the exit tube diameter thus giving you more thrust, but it must be done such that it does not over heat your turbines or ducted fans trying to push air through a smaller opening. By gaining more thrust you can carry more weight or use less battery power if you don't have any added weight.

[@HectorNGama]

Awesome... Half way to the discovery of the Harrier Jet Aircraft

[@chrisknight6884]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5vVZmuKaNyNepo How right you are ....

[@SewayPL]

A young man creating the future. Fantastic stuff

[@thorjor1]

Why not a way shorter pass-thru at at perhaps a 60 degree angle, using maybe a computer fan guard at the top? You are losing a TON of intake and even more output with these big bends. You could focus the output as well into an even more powerful jetstream. The air-churn baffle inside those tubes between the engine and the last output bend is also horrendous I would imagine. Now don't get me wrong, I love the effort and experimentation put into this design, yet I think it could be way more efficient if not overbuilt. Some single wall ABS as well could be used here to cut quite a bit of weight.

[@Snarkapotamus]

I'm no expert on propulsion, but would "rifling" help with the air-churn and possibly increase the air speed at the output nozzle? I can't help but think it'd be more predictable..

[@thorjor1]

@@Snarkapotamus Some pretty dramatic rifling on the intake port perhaps. I would taper output at 3.5% per inch up to 21% (this completely depends on how large/long you want your output port to be) making sure there is nowhere for any air to baffle inside of the output chamber (the curve at the bottom of the housing of the enclosed motor for example) at all. Keep in mind tapering the output is going to lead to control issues that will have to be tuned and compensated for. Rifling the output would dramatically cut output energy and add drag to the air stream, while rifling input would certainly help force more air into the intake once the motors are spun up, creating way less drag on the motor so it could operate more efficiently. Also, since we no longer need an enclosed motor to make this all work, we can achieve maximum airflow, with another smaller motor and prop spun up at the top of the intake. All we are really trying to do is force air at the main motor to make it as efficient as possible. I think if I were to tackle a project like this, I'd use an input motor, and a high powered output motor with stream cones attached to each. My design also would absolutely minimize/avoid any bends in the enclosure at all.

[@karthurjr]

I find it downright amusing seeing all the Monday morning suggestions. My question is, why didn't you guys come up with the effort and time as this young guy did? We wouldn't have anything to say if he didn't do the work, would we?

[@thorjor1]

@@karthurjr Absolutely not. I think what he did was great. I hate that people cannot understand the difference between criticism and input. I've been done with drone experimentation for about 3 years. Hopefully Stefano takes some of that input and light bulbs start going off above his head, Wile E. Coyote style :).

[@defendingthekingdom]

Yes, you def have to change the title of this video since there are still blades.

[@1dir951]

Hope you patented it a year ago when it was only an idea... ;)

[@RhythmicDias]

future kids will never know drones had exposed blades!!, well done Stefano.

[@davidgolden6068]

That gives me a thought: could that concept be achieved with a single large central impeller and 4 valved outputs?

[@anymany1543]

interesting

[@thegrumpytexan]

Or 4 gimballed nozzles instead of 4 motors.

[@admniyeokuyorsun...3044]

I'm not an aerospace engineer, but I'm still an engineer that got aerodynamic courses. That design you offer would have some serious problems. Firstly energy would be wasted on lets say valves that are closed to block airflow for manuever. It might also create an unnecessary turbulance which may lead to a lack of stability. Also it should be something like a 4 step & 1 powerful servo motor rather than 4 semi powerful servo motors. I'm just thinking roughly though, but I don't think calculations will state otherwise.

[@nanasab2015]

No

[@ThalassTKynn]

That is basically how the harrier jump jet worked.

[@MangeDT]

Cool concept but increasing weight that much while also decreasing propulsion efficiency (large prop/EDF) would surely slaughter the flighttime and therefore usability of the drone. Imo just go for efficiency or power depending on what you want to do with the drone. Drones are not that dangerous if piloted correctly.

[@wetnoodle1]

The induction fan produces more thrust and uses less power. The power to weight ratio is on par with other quality drones.

[@MangeDT]

@@wetnoodle1 Well. If they are better in terms of power and current draw, why do no professional drones use EDFs? The aerodynamics that I have been learned says that a bigger propeller running at a lower rpm is generally more efficient than a smaller one spinning faster. But ducting could partly make up for the difference. Im not claiming to be an expert but look at what companies like DJI are doing on their biggest and most expensive film rigs (where cost doesnt really matter). No EDFs there.

[@9Llamaboy]

Your right, this is a cool concept but not practical. It’s a nice though but it’s going to take far more work than just the thought to really make this work. Also the amount of tools, materials, experience he had his dad was most likely a machinist or Mech Eng. Also having built a custom 17in quad your right most EDFs pretty much draw tons of current and have very very heavy motors inside for the performance they offer. Overall the “safety factor” of all the extra weight and the impracticality would take a lot more deep thought and work to execute. Even then would be much harder to build but could be cool. Might try my own shot someday given I have the money to blow lol.

[@MangeDT]

@@9Llamaboy What i dont get is why you wouldnt just stick EDFs on the ends of an X shape and just put saftey grills on top and bottom. No way to touch the blade then. Would also result in less weight and you dont have to bend the airstream two times. My opinion: Its cool, but not very well thought out and therefore horribly over-engineered.

[@BruceSMaher]

Well young man you have thoroughly impressed me. Sounds like a damn good idea. There's so potential in the future of this inducted fan idea. Adding directional nozzles (thrust vectoring) would really increase its flight capabilities. And I'm sure it's payload capacity is far greater than a conventional drone. So keep up the good work young man and you may be president someday {wink} {wink} 👍👍👍👍

[@ClearAdventure]

You should call it a the "Hover Duct" drone. Fantastic job! 🤘😁

[@TylerDavis1998]

I know this video is old, and I hear you guys' complaints. Yes this is a large drone, yes it is loud, and will cost more than your DJI drone, but so will any drone that big. It is loud but, sounds way cooler than a normal drone, plus, the fact that there are no exposed blades, honestly makes me feel like this would be a great idea to implement on delivery drones, camera drones, etc., especially if drone deliveries become a thing. Honestly who doesnt want a drone that sounds like its powered by jet engines?

[@Maulinator69]

This is amazing work, son... Seriously well done. It's not new technology because various VSTOL aircraft such as the Harrier jump jet, have been using ducted propulsion and lifting for decades. Admittedly they use powerful jet engines, but I can't believe nobody has yet applied this concept (that I've seen) to Drones. I love Drones and have had a few for years, but they are potentially lethal with the high RPM those blades spin at and I've known someone to lose fingers and another have his head slashed open. But ducted fans like this could be a way forward for different applications and it would not surprise me if (if you haven't already) you get interest from some commercial enterprise. I wish you all the best because without the ingenuity of young people like you, and various brave test pilots at the dawn of aviation, we wouldn't be enjoying the aviation that we have in the world today! Keep it up!!!

[@Kabab]

That is really awesome. Couple questions. First off, with the motors oriented horizontally, how did you get it to yaw? Is that why the tubes are a little tilted? If so, I'm impressed at how sharp the yaw is still. Also, is there any particular reason you went with a DJI controller over a typical FPV/race/freestyle/betaflight controller? I would bet you could get that thing up and running way quicker with betaflight onboard. It was probably quite a challenge wrangling the DJI system in to comply. With turbines like that and kinks in the path of flow, I would assume efficiency and flight endurance is a bit of a struggle. Is there a particular reason why you didn't go with more of a pyramid-like structure to have a more direct path of airflow? Lastly, what happens if a leaf or a small stick gets sucked into the duct? :-/ Nonetheless, awesome work. Really amazing. Oh yeah, what's the tail on the thing for?

[@phoobindustries8905]

He needs mesh covers for the intakes

[@Kabab]

@@phoobindustries8905 that's going to further kill what little efficiency there may be.

[@ryankraft9897]

At 2:24 you can see him using a Horus. So he probably is using some kind a betaflight controller over frsky. The yaw is likely due to the tilt of the ducts (but still uses the normal spin two motors faster yaw control), but this tilt also reduces the downward thrust vector, further reducing efficiency. I'm all for innovation (as do you... I follow your FPV channel), but did he really need to make it this scale? A 5 inch quad seems to be a sweet spot for power to weight and with many motor pulling over 1500g of static thrust, it wouldn't be too difficult to retrofit some ducts and still have plenty of power. Plus with how easy it is to change betaflights PIDs (through Bluetooth or in the goggles), I can imagine creating a stable tune in only a few packs. In my opinion vacuum forming the duct halfs from thin plastic and with a couple 3D printed parts, have a "bladeless drone" for less than what he paid for his Horus (a normal Taranis QX7 would probably have worked just a well). Although he did think of this idea and he made it happen, so props to him for getting it done! Just have my doubts that the benefits outweigh the negatives

[@ryankraft9897]

Thinking about this more, why not create a design similar to the link below. Propellers are fully protected. Losses due to the grate are likely less than or equal to the duct design, and it likely is lighter... aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/24357/what-are-the-physical-aerodynamic-implications-of-designing-a-prop-guard-for-mul/24360

[@Kabab]

@@ryankraft9897 so what he's made is pretty awesome no doubt. The fact that it seems to fly as well as it does with so much airflow restriction is damn impressive and is also what I find most interesting. However, I cannot think of any applications for such a craft or ducting system. A cool novel idea, but maybe closer to something out of a novel rather than the future. Also, you can use any DJI controller with any radio. They're designed to be used with whatever. They take sbus crsf and whatever else just like any other FC.

[@finecutpost]

Excellent work I think you have an exciting, enjoyable future in front of you.