Parrot AR.Drone hands-on: a quadricopter for the rest of us
By Sean Cooper 
posted January 7th 2010 12:37PM
posted January 7th 2010 12:37PM
The Parrot AR.Drone was definitely one of the highlights of our day; how can you top a quadricopter that can fight with another using augmented reality, is easy to fly, and only needs an iPhone to control it? You simply can't -- this is just pure joy and is exactly what a gadget should be: it's an electronic aircraft, has multiple cameras (two to be exact), uses WiFi for control (via an ad-hoc connection), and likely has more intelligence on board than a lunar lander. This early version can only be controlled via iPhone, or iPod touch, but Parrot's Henri Seydoux mentioned that it could be (and we're really hoping will be) controllable by BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and so on. The AR.Drone uses a pile of pretty sophisticated magic to enable it to fly -- those aforementioned cameras are just the start (one forward facing, one facing down running at 60 fps that allows stability in light wind) because you've also got two ultrasonic transmitters for vertical stability, a three-axis accelerometer, and a two-axis gyroscope paired with a single-axis yaw precision gyroscope for good measure. Needless to say, casual gamers and folks looking for a nice $30 gift need not apply. Read on for more impressions and video!
Control is really pretty simple: hit the take off button and the AR.Drone lifts off and then hovers at about 3 feet. The controls in the app include buttons to rotate left and right, a slider to climb, and a button that -- once pressed and held -- allows the iPhone to be tipped to tilt and fly the AR.Drone in any direction. If your WiFi connection drops while playing, the drove will stabilize and then land itself without damage or drama. Parrot's demo games are fun, too -- you can choose to fight against a computer opponent that you'll see on your iPhone's display (when you're shot, your drone actually rocks back and forth) or dogfight with a friend. Sadly, release date and pricing remain a mystery, but we're already lined up and we're not worrying about the cost. No doubt, this will be a contender for CES 2010's best remote controlled flying quadricopter, and deservedly so.
@Isidith
Good point...I don't doubt that.
Aside: I actually wrote Moller about this product and one of their people actually wrote me back...
Very clever.
I think the news about DARPA's Transformer TX is more interesting and relevant.
Regards,
B---
Actually, an Apple II had more technology than the lunar landers...
@rmanke
okay?
Combine this with the new battery charging mats and you should be able to remotely control this from a great distance and have it return to charge when needed. Just a thought...
This is a half @ss company. Why would anyone want to spend their money on something that has such limited support?
I have to have an iPhone to use it...please, that's ridicules. So they take the easy way out and post up the code so hopefully someone will do the work for them and make an app. for other phones? Consumers need to hold onto their money and not let incomplete products like this survive.
@KingJustin did you not see that they are releasing an open SDK? Do you know what that means? ANY device...
@adma84
What I was getting at is it isn't RTR unless you have an iPhone. Some amount of work will be involved otherwise.
I want one nao plz kthnx. ^_^
I'm hoping I receive one of these next Festivus!
So you can only control it with an iphone....wow what a stupid idea. Great idea to allow this as an option. But you illuminate everyone who doesn't have an iphone as a customer.
No Android? Well fuck you then.
wow really? This is basically a black Silverlit X-UFO controlled by an iPhone. These things are a pain to fly and you can't keep them in the air for more than 10 seconds.
This looks very entertaining!!!!
I can see the next version would be like this: If the WiFi signal is lost, the chopper can return to the preferred location using on-board GPS navigation. Even with GPS, anyone can pre-program the flight path without worrying about losing WiFi signal!
Damn, these things are becoming just sexier!
Wow great piece of kit. I'd love to get hold of the open source software too. Maybe a port to Android could be an idea.
http://www.ingenious.com.mt
I'll try it tomorrow.