We have defined four phases that our projects pass through on their way from idea to finished product. The phases are described below, and this is intended as a guide for the community to understand when a product is available and what to expect from it.
Idea and prototype phase
Someone comes up with an idea for a new cool gadget. We try to validate if this idea can be turned into a product by building prototypes, examining possible solutions and toying with the idea. This is what we use Fridays for, we call it Fun Friday.
If you have an idea that you think we should take a look at, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Alpha phase
The idea has matured into something more concrete that we think could be useful for people in the community. At this stage we probably manufacture a small test batch of the hardware, that we and a few selected users can try out. The firmware/software is on an experimental prototyping level in this phase. The main goal here is to get feedback from the users and understand if the hardware design is good enough, and to probe what kind of software support is needed.
Early access phase
We have finalized the hardware design and we produce the first batch and start to sell it online. This enables anyone to get access to the latest hardware as soon as possible.
The firmware/software is still in a very rudimentary state, there are probably basic drivers for communicating with the hardware, but no higher level functionality.
This is the stage where we develop the software and this is also where we hope the community is interested in helping out. We will run this as an open project in collaboration with the community to design and implement the software.
Read more about how “Early access” works from a developer point of view.
Product phase
The product is now “ready”. For us that is when the product can be used “as is” to some degree. For instance, the LED-ring deck deck can be plugged into the Crazyflie and be controlled from the PC client without any programming. On the other hand, if coding is your thing, you can still dive into the code and do your thing. The functionality that is implemented will act as a starting point or example for further exploration.
We are still more than happy to accept updates, modifications and improvements from the community at this point. Please share your cool work through pull requests on Github.