We’ve seen the Geeksvana “Hot Takes” commentary about the challenges we had with Micro Drone 4.0, and while dramatic takes make for good clicks on social media, they definitely don't tell the whole story. So here’s what actually happened, focused on what really matters.
We’ve been here since 2011.
Micro Drone didn’t appear overnight. We have been designing, building, and shipping innovative small size drones since 2011. Over more than a decade, we’ve built a reputation for making high quality, great value products that we would use ourselves.
In 2016, that work was recognised with the Queen’s Award for Innovation which reflects years of real-world delivery and trust.
Crowdfunding Done Right (and at Scale)
Before Micro Drone 4.0, our last Indiegogo campaign for Micro Drone 3.0 became the most successful crowdfunded drone campaign of all time, raising $3.5 million and shipped to 18,000 backers worldwide. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because of our team effort and communnity who believe in our values, the mission and because we deliver.
Micro Drone 4.0: The Reality Behind the Headlines
Micro Drone 4.0 has had challenges. Real ones. Hardware innovation at the edge involves pushing boundaries on size, technology and design that is difficult enough at the best of times.
4.0 was due to start shipping in January 2020, but when the pandmic broke out, this wasn’t a minor inconvenience or a short pause - it was a systemic shock that hit hardware companies harder than almost any other sector.
What we didn’t do is panic.
There was still work to do - improvments and optimisations to make before scaling up mass production. We didn’t make knee-jerk decisions to rush something out of the door because of Sean Hickey's criticism that grew wilder and crazier. That kind of reaction puts backers, safety, and the long-term viability of the project at risk. We refused to do that.
Instead, we chose the harder path:
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Focus on the product
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Protect backers from Sean Hickey's attempt to undermine the project
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Preserve the integrity of the product - not shipping early with defects but continue work on making it ready
That’s responsibility.
We’re about Solutions
We are in this for the long term. That means:
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Engineering-first decision making - even if we have to postpone the project until it is ready, that is the better choice than shipping a product that is incomplete
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Transparent progress, even when it’s uncomfortable, we have been posting project updates and communicating with backers, explaining the problems and focusing on action that progresses the project forward
- It's not all for nothing -
It's about Progress
Even though Micro Drone 4.0 has been postponed, it's not all for nothing. We won't let let the technology, engineering, and hard learning from the project disappear. We want it to carry forward for the benefit of the drone community and future Micro Drone products. Cancelling the project as Sean Hickey advocated would have been the real waste: years of progress written off, no technology preserved, and no value created for backers or the ecosystem. We chose the responsible path - protecting the work, sharing what we can, and ensuring it continues to move forward rather than throwing it all away. It can be made open source for the wider community, it can be built for the benefit of developers and it can create new drones that benefit from the work.
Micro Drone has always been about developing, experimenting, and enjoying this incredible technology. That ethos will never change.
Moving Forward
Hot takes come and go. Engineering realities remain.
We’ve been building Micro Drone for over a decade. We’ve shipped at scale. We’ve been recognised at the highest level for innovation and we are still here - working through problems, not running from them. We will continue to work on the 4.0 and outlive the menace of Sean Hickey, until such time it is ready.
Because real progress isn’t loud, isn't drama.
It’s deliberate.
And it lasts.
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