Open-source drones for fun and profit

Friday is Fly Day at 3D Robotics, a maker of small robotic aircraft. So here we are, on a windswept, grassy landfill with a spectacular view of San Francisco\´s Golden Gate Bridge, looking up at a six-prop copter with a gleaming metal frame. It\´s like a spiffy toy from the future. Buzzing like a swarm of bees, it lifts off smartly, hovers, then pinwheels. "Jason\´s making the hex twirl," says CEO Chris Anderson, a trim man in jeans and an untucked oxford shirt. "That\´s just for show-a human pilot couldn\´t do that." That\´s because Jason, the flight tester, did nothing more than figuratively push a button. The hexarotor-technically, the 3DR Y-6-is on autopilot, which it demonstrates by zooming off on a preprogrammed route. The Y-6 sells for US $619. That\´s a lot for a toy, but it\´s chicken feed for a capital investment. These mini unmanned aerial vehicles, a.k.a. UAVs, a.k.a. drones-are changing from toys into tools, as businesses worldwide awaken to their importance.