Miguel testing the original LEGO Palocam on a pole next to Google headquarters in Mission, California.
Palocam: A Unique Father-Son Adventure
Hi! This is Miguel.
My dad and I created Palocam, the world’s first pole-climbing device to record sports from a high vantage point.
I have a mechanical design background (BCIT Honors Graduate 1999) and have spent my entire life building mechanical contraptions.
Meet Domingo (my pops): The Electronics Wizard
I’m the luckiest son ever. My dad has been the mastermind of many of the technical breakthroughs that made Palocam work the way I envisioned.
My father Domingo is an incredibly talented electrical engineer with over 40 years of experience working in automation and instrumentation for brands like Nissan, Seat, Raute, and Iberdrola.
Domingo (Pops) testing a new transmission and Arduino program for Palocam.
The Idea: It All Started With LEGO
Most of my inventions started as prototypes made of Lego Technics (the best mechanical prototyping tool in the world!), and eventually, some of them became actual products, including, of course, Palocam.
Here is a video I made describing how I came up with the idea for Palocam and how I built the first LEGO prototype.
Building Palocam – The Evolution
Palocam is a project that has taken many iterations to get to the point where it is today.
After the initial Lego prototype was built and worked (i.e. it was able to climb poles), I bought a 3D printer and taught myself how to use Adobe Fusion 360 to model multiple iterations of the enclosure for Palocam.
Overall, it took sixteen revisions to get to the final prototype. You can see a few of those iterations in this picture.
Hundreds of hours modelling and 3D printing were required to build the first prototype.
Do you want to join us?
Palocam is still in development. Currently, we’re working with a contract manufacturer in China to mass-produce it.
Up to now, all Palocam units are built and assembled by hand by my dad and I.
It takes about 10 hours to put each unit together. It’s truly a labor of love since, if we account for all the assembly labor, we actually lose money on each sale.
That’s why we can only sell a few units every month and the reason why we’re looking to automate their production via a manufacturer.
Manufacturing products costs a lot of money. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to get a prototype designed for manufacturing (DFM) and tens of thousands of dollars are needed to build the initial plastic injection molds to create all the plastic parts.
If you are interested in investing in this unique father-son project just email me at Miguel @ Palocam.com
Record From Above!
Miguel (son) & Domingo (pops)
Our Advisors
We’re incredibly lucky to have some fantastic people contributing to Palocam’s success with their expertise.
Eric Migicovsky
Pebble founder. Pebble is the most successful Kickstarter project to date raising over $20 million.
Steven S. Supron
Associate Director – CREA (Center for Regional Economic Advancement) at Cornell University
John Teel
Founder and Lead Engineer at Predictable Designs and the Hardware Academy
Charles Lin
Vice President, eServices Division at TechDesign.com, Expert in operational supply chain and procurement .
Order Palocam!
Palocam is the best solution to record your games from above. Get beautiful coverage from 30ft or higher!
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