Augmented reality is really starting to make real-life video games more and more interesting, and Parrot’s Ar.Drone is definitely a step up in how far the technology can go. The Ar.Drone is a 4-propeller flying device which is controlled using WiFi signals from your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad.
The Drone uses a front facing camera which streams back to your Apple device at 640 x 480 resolution, with a HUD for playing games with the device. This means you can control the device even when it is out of sight, perfect for the battle games you can play with other owners of the Drone. There is also a second vertical camera used to keep the device stabilised.
The controls look fairly easy to use, with the player using their thumbs for steering on the touchscreen, and shaking the device to launch missiles.
The Ar.Drone itself seems very well built, using a carbon fiber body which would stay sturdy incase of a crash, but also incredibly lightweight. The Drone’s propellers can be covered by a Hull which makes it ideal for indoor use. The propellers also automatically lock into place if they come into contact with anything, so there is low risk of propeller damage if they get caught on anything.
The Drone’s batteries unfortunately only last around 12 minutes (although this is typical for a RC flying device), so long plays are out of the question unless you have extra batteries. Also, at the moment the device can only be controlled with Apple devices, although the software is open source so it may be controllable on other OS’s in the future (it goes without saying but, Apple device is not included).
The Parrot Ar.Drone doesn’t exactly come cheap, but is currently available for just under £300 and if you don’t have an Apple device already, you could be looking at topping that off with another couple hundred pounds. The price comes with the drone itself, an indoor hull and outdoor hull, a battery, a charger, various adapters for different countries, a sticker used for indoor multiplayer battles, and a quick start guide.
The device looks like a lot of fun to play with and is sure to keep someone amused for a long time (especially if you have friends with one too).
[product#567]
