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.

parrot_mini_drone_verge
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

Antares Avatar
150 months ago
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.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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