CHILDREN

Parrot AR Drone released

October 8, 2010

AR Drone has hit the market

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Parrot's AR Drone, the iphone-controlled, twin-camera packing RC quadrocopter we first saw in action at CES 2010 has now been released. The US$300 flyer features interchangeable hulls for indoor and outdoor use, flight stabilization, autopilot technology, plus it can be networked with other drones for multi-player gameplay.

So you'll know who's who in aerial battles, three different color hulls are available and Parrot has also released a range of spares and repair tutorials for fixing the drone after it inevitably hits the deck.

The AR Drone can be controlled by iPad and iPod touch as well as the iPhone and will be available on other, non-Apple platforms in the next few months.

Parrot is also hoping that its open API will encourage a rapid expansion of available applications and games.

See Gizmag's previous coverage or the AR Drone site for more info.

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5 Comments

That's pretty awesome, but I am disappointed in the shroud design. I would have thought that anyone involved in this quadrotor would know that the shroud's effectiveness is (nerd alert)inversely proportional to its distance from the blade. There seems to be a substantial gap there. Also, since they are molding that shroud, they could make it any shape they wish, making me wonder why they went with a square cross-section. If they had bell-mouthed the shroud on both sides (intake and exhaust) it would further increase the effectiveness of the rotors.

Blixdevil
9th October, 2010 @ 08:28 am PDT

Neat concept, but a disappointment (though not a surprise) that the launch price in the UK is not $299 but £299 ($475).

Good luck with that guys.

Booleanboy
11th October, 2010 @ 08:23 am PDT

I think the shroud is more for civil liabilities and prop protection than areodynamic considerstions as it wouldn't need to be as thick as well. I doubt this quad has any problems with areodynamic performances.

Joseph J Shimandle
9th January, 2012 @ 02:30 pm PST

It seems the shroud design could accomplish both 'more' aerodynamic quality while maintaining a structural integrity.

Drifter
3rd January, 2013 @ 08:28 am PST

Hey everyone the shroud is for protecting the rotors while piloting

indoors. The outdoor hull does not have the protective rotor guard attached. It doesn't have the optimal fit for the guard because it is designed to come off for outdoor flight.

squidfish
3rd January, 2013 @ 08:57 am PST