Macworld 2010: Attack of the Parrot AR.Drone [video]
by at February 12, 2010 7:52 pm
Sections: Apple News, Appletell Videos, Conferences, Features, iDevice Accessories, iPhone, iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, iPod touch, Macworld
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Walking outside the Moscone Center at Macworld 2010, congoers were likely to be under attack by flying robots: the AR.Drone by Parrot. The quadricopter is controlled by an iPhone or iPod touch over a wifi network created by the drone itself.
It’s an astonishing piece of hardware; flexible rotors, extremely light, with two cameras that can stream live video to your screen. Once you connect to the drone’s adhoc network, you control it by tilting the iPhone. The drone uses its bottom camera to identify the ground and stabilize itself (you can also switch your view from between the front and bottom). You can rotate the drone or change its altitude using buttons on the iPhone screen, and it has a maximum speed of about 18 mph.
It comes with a lightweight cover that circles the flexible rotors. If the drone flies outside of network range (about 50 meters), it will stop, return to its startup altitude (about a foot), then shut itself off. Flight time is about 15 minutes using the rechargable battery.
No word yet on pricing, but they’re hoping to begin selling them sometime this summer.
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