KDE Direct News Releases

  Viewing our world from above is a unique experience; it forces our perspective to change. Aerial photography has been used for everything from geographic mapping to artistic endeavors to spy missions, giving people a realistic vantage of the world few had seen before. In the recently released book Above the World: Earth Through a Drone's Eye, today’s top aerial photographers offer vivid displays of color, shadow, and pattern that couldn’t have been accomplished even ten years ago. Drones have launched a new era in photography and continue to change our view of the world. A drone’s ability to hover...

  As of 2018, KDE Direct has expanded into several new industries, including robotic applications. Since the launch, we’ve received a few questions regarding brushless motors for a wide variety of robotic applications, from BattleBots to microrobotic systems. Here is our roundup of common robotic questions along with our answers so you can get to building.   What Counts as a Robot? The definition of the word “robot” isn’t as broad as you’d expect. A robot is a man-made mechanical device that can move by itself, whose motion must be modeled, planned, sensed, actuated and controlled, and whose behavior can...

  You know what motors you’re using for your latest drone project. You’ve picked out your weather-proof ESCs. But which propellers will be holding up your rig? We’ve broken down everything you need to know about KDE Direct’s propeller blades so you can get right to flying. Folding Propellers Over Fixed Propellers Our idea for propeller blades over fixed propellers came out of the helicopter technology that was the predecessor to KDE Direct before the rise of drones in our industry. The performance benefit of folding propellers is the lead-lag operation of propellers (the same as on a helicopter), that...

  You know that brushless motors are a great way to keep drones airborne. But where else can brushless motors be used? From underwater mapping for marine applications to PAP respirators for medical uses, here are some of the most popular uses for brushless motors today. Aerospace and Defense Today’s big aerospace players like NASA; brushless motors even qualified as the prime movers for the Apollo spacecraft’s life support blowers. Brushless motors have also been used to circulate oxygen in the Lunar Portable Life Support System. Brushless motors are better able to survive extreme environmental conditions than their brushed counterparts...

The new year has arrived, and with it new trends and forecasts for the UAV and brushless motor market. Today’s drones are used for everything from wedding photography to recording climate change to surveying and mapping. But where are we going next? From motors the size of your fingernail to flying cars, here’s what we’re watching out for in 2018. A Growing Demand for Miniature Motors—Especially in the Medical Industry Bigger isn’t always better. While we don’t expect to see a drop in oversized motors for heavy lift drones, we predict an increase in the need for smaller brushless motors,...