quadricopter
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Tracing the origins of the multirotor drone, for business and pleasure
We humans have searched for ways to join our avian friends in the air for ages and while some have gone the distance, most of us will settle for the secondhand thrill of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Although full-sized military tests of propeller-laden vertical take off and landing (VTOL) crafts may have underwhelmed, a variety of scaled down multirotor drones have found their niche. Recent improvements in programming, stabilization, power and price have turned these backyard playthings into high-definition eyes in the sky -- for better or worse. This week's Rewind skims the history of these flying machines over the years as they've grown fragile buzzing toys into tools for capturing majestic scenery, inspecting machines and structures, scouting dangerous terrain and occasionally having a little fun.
We take flight with Parrot's new Oculus-friendly Bebop drone
Parrot still hasn't released that MiniDrone we saw at CES, but its already got something new up it's sleeve: BeBop. Unveiled Monday, the indoor/outdoor quadricopter has a new accessory for extended-range flights, and gives fliers the ability to control its camera using a virtual reality headset. Bebop isn't expected to hit store shelves until later this year, but Parrot let us take one of its few prototypes out last week for a maiden voyage in San Francisco.
Alcatel-Lucent flies Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over 3,280 feet using LTE: reach out and buzz someone (video)
The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 is many good things, but "long-ranged" isn't what comes to mind with a 165-foot maximum distance between pilot and quadrocopter. Not to be daunted, Alcatel-Lucent has conducted a test with an ad hoc LTE network, a USB modem and a smartphone to see just how far the remote-controlled aircraft could go on 4G. In practice, quite far: thanks in part to the inherently wide coverage of the 800MHz band in France, the team flew the AR.Drone more than 3,280 feet (one kilometer), all while streaming 720p video of the farmland below. Besides giving us ideas for a North by Northwest remake, the flight emphasized the possibilities that come when we have access to a long-distance wireless link with high bandwidth, such as monitoring crops or some very literal field journalism. The challenge will be convincing Alcatel-Lucent to share its trick and let us pester our not-so-next-door neighbors. [Thanks, Vincent]
Parrot AR.Drone now available for pre-order at Brookstone
Good news, everyone! The long-awaited Parrot AR.Drone (as seen being crashed into one of Parrot's PR reps by yours truly) is finally available for pre-order over at Brookstone. And as promised back at E3, the iPhone-controlled quadricopter will be available for US $299. It's available in a couple of different color schemes, comes with a free "flight bag" (if you're within the first 300 orders), and requires a shipping fee of $10. Unfortunately, there's no shipping outside of the United States, and of course, the iPhone or iPod touch is sold separately. According to the pre-order page, orders are "expected to ship" on September 3rd, 2010; that's just over a month from now. The $299 sticker price is a little steep if you ask me, but then again, if you have a need for an iPhone-controlled quadricopter with not one but two cameras on board, you probably have a couple hundred bucks to put into it. If you do order one, be sure to keep us updated on when it ships, and let us know what you think of the device. Happy flying!
Parrot AR.Drone hits the US this September for $299, we go hands-on with video!
Parrot promised to reveal the launch details for its AR.Drone at E3 this week, and it's now delivered -- the remote-controlled quadricopter will be available in the U.S. this September for $299. Of course, this is hardly your ordinary remote-controlled quadricopter, as it's not only controlled via WiFi, but via an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch -- something we got well acquainted with both at CES and on the Engadget Show back in January. Incidentally, an Android app for the device was also recently demoed by the company, but it's apparently still not quite official. Head on past the break for the complete press release, and hit up the gallery below for a closer look at the Drone itself in some of its various configurations. Update: We swung by the company's demo station outside the show floors here at E3, spoke with the company CEO, got a little more information about the post-release plans for this thing, and dive-bombed a few PR reps before running for the hills. All those details and a funky fresh new video are waiting for you after the break. %Gallery-95346%
Parrot AR.Drone to get official launch, price, street date at E3 2010 (update: Android client video!)
If you've been chomping at the bit to get your hands on the AR.Drone iPhone controlled, augmented reality-sporting, WiFi quadricopter (and you know we have been) we've good news for you. According to a brief blip on Parrot's Facebook page, the thing will get its official US launch, complete with pricing and street date, at E3 come June 15. Sort of makes WowWee's Tinkerbell look silly in comparison, don't it? Update: As our main man Kefs has pointed out, the gang at Parrot demoed the AR.Drone Android client at Google I/O last month week. Now we're waiting on news of a BlackBerry client -- which we sure hope makes the scene at E3! See it in action after the break.
Macworld 2010: TUAW attacks San Francisco with the Parrot AR.Drone
OK, let's face it. It is the coolest iPhone accessory since, uhhhhhh, the iPad? We're talking about the Parrot AR.Drone, the iPhone / iPad touch-controlled quadricopter that, when it finally ships later in 2010, will be one of the hottest geek toys on the market. TUAW bloggers Mike Schramm, Dave Caolo, Steve Sande, and David Winograd visited with the oh-so-lucky dudes from Parrot yesterday pre-Macworld, and had a chance to try our hands at flying this incredible little device. No, we don't know what this is going to cost, nor do we know when it will ship other than "in 2010," but if you have your geek on, you're going to want one of these. Watch the above video by our awesome videographer Chad Mumm for the scoop.
Macworld 2010: Hands-on with the Parrot AR.Drone
We first heard about the Parrot AR.Drone, an iPhone-controlled RC quadrocopter, back when it made such a big splash at CES, but unfortunately, since we weren't there, we didn't get to see it in person. Fortunately Parrot did come by Macworld, and the day before the show, we finally got to see their iPhone-controlled, dual camera-equipped, high tech toy in action. So what's the verdict? It's not super easy to fly (we crashed it into the walls, the ground, and even their marketing guy), but it's the real thing -- the extremely light (3/4 of a pound, as our own Steve Sande estimated with remarkable accuracy) quadricopter is packed with all kinds of fun gadgets, including variable speed rotors, the ability to lift off, hover, and land on its own, and super-sensitive touch controls along with two 640x480 VGA camera feeds running back to the iPhone via 802.11G Wi-Fi. We're not sure how ready it actually is for market (or what it'll cost yet), but the AR.Drone does what it says on the not-yet-designed box: Allows you to control a real quadricopter with and through your iPhone. Read our impressions of the hands-on below, and don't forget to stay tuned -- we'll have video of our demonstration later on. %Gallery-85172%
