Parrot, the company behind the iPhone-controlled AR.Drone Wi-Fi quadricopter, revealed two new products at CES 2014 including the MiniDrone, a smaller version of the AR.Drone, and the Jumping Sumo, a robotic car with individually controlled wheels.
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Like Parrot's other products, the MiniDrone is controlled using an iOS app, allowing a user to adjust the pitch, yaw, altitude and rotation with ease. Parrot's MiniDrone also comes with large wheels that act as a protective barrier around the rotors, allowing for the device to be durable when bouncing off of objects. The Verge also explained the device's internal features:
On the tech side of things, Parrot's using an accelerometer, ultrasonic sensor, gyroscope, and downwards-facing camera to give the drone all it needs to stay aloft. Unlike the AR.Drone, there's no usable camera on board and no video output — you'll have to make do with watching the MiniDrone buzz around the room. Bluetooth 4.0 is used to communicate with the drone, and the company says that offers a maximum range in clear air of about 160 feet.
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Meanwhile, Parrot's Jumping Sumo is controlled by a system that uses swipe gestures, accelerometer detection, and gyroscope movement to navigate and turn. The device itself includes an onboard QVGA camera and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi to communicate with the included iPad app, as users can view the perspective from the robot in real-time.
Both drones are expected to be released later this year, with pricing info to be determined.
Top Rated Comments
AirDrone Mini has no camera? Sorry no camera, no buy.
I was interested in this until the part that said no built-in camera(s).
Exactly. Without a camera, it has no use.