considering a little bit the idea of a zeppelin-or-blimp-drone-for-high-altitude-projects [...
basically we'd need something that can compress into a pocket, and also self-navigate :s i'm not sure of all the constraints but it sounds like there are more options this means making navigation work! it would need a power supply as well as thrust. we could assume that it has the option of some kind of powered home. for example, it could optionally have a tether with a wire that plugs into an electrical outlet and charges it. i dunno if that would give it enough power to travel a long distance though. it'd be nice if it could travel a thousand miles. but i suppose it's fine if it does it slowly. it kind of seems like it would have to be solar-powered and go slowly! and it would be messy cause it's like preprototype! although that could possibly change. i'm avoiding making it into a robot to make it seem easier to reach so basically a solar panel might hang from a balloon and ... hrm ... ok 4 challenges: - brains/remote control - horizontal propulsion and direction - vertical ascent/descent (possibly optional? maybe i could catch it with a kite or something?) - power if we skip vertical assent and give it a low altitude (??? is this reasonable? i guess the altitude would be defined by air density?) then we might have say an arduino on a balloon with 4 directional fans affixed to it and a solar panel hanging from the bottom. and like a sealed lead acid battery and a couple buck boost regulators. and a simple 8-line motor control board to turn the fans on and off.
