Notifications
Clear all
Topic starter
2019-07-25 11:34 am
Hi everyone
As many of you know I stopped doing sponsored reviews at the beginning of the year. This was mostly because of a couple of unpleasant experiences doing this - one of the companies (I won't say who) was really pushing me to make them more like advertisements and another (again I won't say who) copied some of my articles and posted them on their blog without giving credit to me or linking back to the dronebotworkshop.com site.
I also didn't want my viewers/readers to feel that I was recommending a product simply because I was paid to do it. I assure you that I never did this, nor would I ever do it, however, I could see how people might get that impression.
Despite putting a notice on my contact page about this I still get several requests every week to review something. I usually just ignore them, however, I received one this morning that I must admit intrigued me.
The product is a stereo camera, described as a "3D vision sensor", that is designed for robotics and self-driving vehicles. And, I have to confess, it looks pretty neat. It might be a great component to serve as the "eyes" for the DB1 robot.
This is the product page - http://www.myntai.com/
I'd like your opinion as to whether I should review this product.
- Do you feel a review on this product might be interesting to you? Or is it too esoteric for you?
- Is this the type of product you'd consider buying? It's a bit more expensive than the average component we purchase for our designs, but it also looks like a very powerful device.
I haven't responded to them yet and I don't know what compensation (aside from the free device) that they are proposing. So it might not happen anyway, as the DroneBot Workshop channel is about to reach the 100K subscriber mark the days of just reviewing something to get a free product are behind me.
But before I talk to them I'd like to see how you all feel about this. Please let me know.
Thanks!
?
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
2019-07-25 12:23 pm
Wow, pretty impressive! Are they going to send you one each of the EYE S and D series along with a CUBE and a SDeno Robot? ?
Looks like the prices could be real steep but didn't see that anywhere on the site.
Review might be interesting, but the product could be out of reach except for those with deeper pockets. Right now I think I'd like to concentrate on getting Willy Nilly moving around on his own and looking at these products a little further down the road.
SteveG
DroneBot Workshop reacted
Topic starter
2019-07-25 12:41 pm
Are they going to send you one each of the EYE S and D series along with a CUBE and a SDeno Robot
Now THAT would be cool, I'd even do a review for free if they did that LOL.
There actually is a Buy button for each of the items, although they don't make it obvious, you need to search for it in the description of each device.
As I said I haven't got back to them yet, wanted to solicit a few opinions first. Thanks for providing yours Steve!
?
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
2019-07-25 12:41 pm
Just do it!
You'll be damned if you do or damned if you don't, now.
There will be enough bleating if the piece is very expensive, but if you think it would add value to your own robot project and you would use it, then a review would do no harm. You could also temper the negative reactions by mentioning more affordable alternatives.
Great Scott complained bitterly that a Chinese dealer had used one of his YouTube videos with obtaining permission.
But this is the nature of the Internet, it is considered a "free for all". And that was pretty obvious during the pirating of music and films, and it hasn't stopped there.
DroneBot Workshop reacted
2019-07-25 12:44 pm
Nice looking on paper and the cost is not as high as I would have thought it would be.
It seems similar to the new Microsoft Kinect DK, but $240USD vs $400USD. I was very impressed with MS offering seeing it in person, but not the price, though as I said in another post, MS is probably not making money off of it with the components used.
Scott
DroneBot Workshop reacted
Topic starter
2019-07-25 12:49 pm
Great Scott complained bitterly that a Chinese dealer had used one of his YouTube videos with obtaining permission.
And he has every right to complain, he makes some of the best instructional videos on YouTube and he puts a lot of effort into them. I don't mind if someone embeds my video as it actually promotes the channel, as long as I get credit for it.
But I do tend to think along the lines you do about doing it, which isn't surprising as I seldom disagree with someone who quotes Pink Floyd in their signature!
?
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
Topic starter
2019-07-25 12:53 pm
It seems similar to the new Microsoft Kinect DK, but $240USD vs $400USD.
Being in Canada I can't purchase the Microsoft product, only available in the US and China. And I also did think that the price of the Myntai device was pretty reasonable, considering its capabilities.
Thanks, Scott, I appreciate your input!
Bill
"Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window." — Steve Wozniak
2019-07-25 12:58 pm
In general I would welcome reviews of products pertaining to the subjects the forums cover, even if they be sponsored, as long as it is stated that the review is sponsored.
There is no harm in being paid for reviewing something that is relevant to the issue discussed in the forums.
my two cents
hj
hj
DroneBot Workshop reacted
2019-07-25 12:59 pm
Yeah, I saw US and China thing this morning getting the link :/ Are we at war with Canada again? 😉
Even at $240 I would wait as I have plans to get a CNC machine this year. Probably try one of the Banggood specials and hack on it 🙂
Scott
2019-07-25 1:04 pm
I think you should review this product. I do not have any issue about sponsored products being reviewed by you as Im very confident this would not sway your write up in any way. And good luck to you if you are well rewarded for doing so. ? . Indees I hope you are. Of course the sponsorship should be made clear, but that is clearly what you do. Go for it, it seems very much to be of interest to all even if we choose not to go for it ourselves.
DroneBot Workshop reacted
2019-07-25 1:06 pm
You can't buy Microsoft products in Canada, or large capacity Canadian toilets in the USA.
I thought you guys had a free trade agreement, that used to be called NAFTA and with no real changes, renamed USMCA.
Bill, you will have to make a deal with someone in the States, and if you fill the toilet with Maple Syrup, it will be all the more worthwhile. ? ? ? ? ?
2019-07-25 1:09 pm
Yeah, I saw US and China thing this morning getting the link :/ Are we at war with Canada again? 😉
Even at $240 I would wait as I have plans to get a CNC machine this year. Probably try one of the Banggood specials and hack on it 🙂
Scott
Scott, you never were at war with Canada, it was us the British!
1814 - "Burning down the house" - was a top 10 hit in the UK! ?
2019-07-25 1:11 pm
Sorry, it was a South Park reference 🙂 though today I think we are at war with most places due to the current environment. :/
2019-07-25 1:32 pm
Looks pretty neat. The only comment I would have is that the website doesn't give a price for any of their products (not even the robot, which I want) which usually translates to "if you have to ask how much it is, you probably can't afford it"
I don't think I would be making any ground-breaking newsflashes by saying that your target audience is basically hobbyists, and the most expensive thing that most of us are willing to shell out our hard earned bucks for is probably the Jetson Nano, which many of us here found even THAT to be too expensive. Most of us are probably going to be using a PiCam (or two) or one of the Logitech cameras (which work right out of the box with the Jetson) or maybe even something like an X-Box Kinect.
With all that being said, if they're going to GIVE you one of these things for FREE, to KEEP, hey, go for it
triform reacted
Page 1 / 3
Next