/diy/ - Do It Yourself

I intend to establish a floating hamster colony in the sky, suspended by helium, which a passenger drone can deliver the hamsters to one at a time. The transport drone is largely sorted (see pic)

The structure of the colony itself is also mostly finished. I have a single 7 foot diameter balloon but have thought better of it, since if it bursts, the entire thing plummets to Earth.

I was thinking of switching to a cluster of much cheaper 3ft diameter party balloons. Is there increased reliability concern here? Is the volume decrease from one large balloons to several small ones burdensomely steep?

The other issues are drone related. How to stably suspend a large enough rigid surface from a balloon (or balloon cluster) stable enough to land a drone on for example. How to keep the fishing lines coming from the corners spaced far enough apart so the drone props don't get tangled up in them. Whether inductive charging a drone from flexible solar panels on the balloon(s) is feasible.

Lastly, is there a premade remote control payload release mechanism for drones, that would spare me from having to 3D print one and learn mechatronics? The leg extensions existed already as a consumer product for like $7.

I am glad I checked before spending $50 to get a set printed by Shapeways. Is there similarly a premade mechanism for remotely dropping what the drone is carring, or opening the door on the passenger capsule?

What is the point of a drone if there's no passenger?