Parrot AR.Drone:The invasion begins… Tuesday, 27 December 2011 03:00

Parrot AR.Drone:

The invasion begins… 

                                                           

The first quadricopter for video games piloted by Wi-Fi

will be available in the UAE from January 2012 for under AED 1499

   

Qatar, December 27, 2011: - Parrot, leader in wireless peripheral for mobile phones, today unveils the final version of the Parrot AR.Drone, a quadricopter using augmented reality and piloted using an iPod touch^®, iPhone^® or an iPad^™.

 

With incredibly intuitive handling, the Parrot AR.Drone achieves spectacular flights and enables video games play in augmented reality.

 

Become the pilot of a one-of-a-kind quadricopter, where the real and virtual worlds come together to offer unparalleled gaming experiences…

 

The front-camera broadcasts and streams what the drone is ‘seeing’ onto the iPod touch or iPhone screen; and the image processing allows the integration of real-time special effects of augmented reality…

 

With its shaped cockpit driven by 4 propellers with brushless motors, the Parrot AR.Drone offers great manoeuvrability and stability during piloting.

 

The Parrot AR.Drone generates its own Wi-Fi network (there is no need for an Internet connection or router) and you simply need to connect an iPod touch or iPhone. Once the “AR.FreeFlight” application has been downloaded, the iPod touch/iPhone turns into a true piloting station.

 

 

Two piloting modes are available:

-          Beginner: two tactile piloting buttons to control the accelerometer / the direction of the AR.Drone and to perform ‘figures’

-          Ace: expert mode with a single tactile button to pilot the AR.Drone

 

Touch the take-off button on the screen of the iPod touch/iPhone and the Parrot AR.Drone starts its engine, takes-off, stabilises a few feet from the ground and waits for the pilot’s instructions.

The player needs to put their left thumb on the screen and a control button will position under it. The accelerometer of the iPod touch/iPhone detects movements. The Parrot AR.Drone moves forward, backwards or sideways depending on the inclinations and movements of the iPod touch/iPhone.

Another command button on the right of the iPod touch/iPhone screen controls the AR.Drone to ascend, descend or rotate.

In Ace mode, a single button enables the player full control to pilot the AR.Drone.

 

Touch the landing button and the quadricopter will land and stop its engines.

 

 

 

The Parrot AR.Drone is made of carbon fibre and high resistance PA66 plastic.

 

The heart of the AR.Drone contains MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanicals Systems), 3 axes accelerometer, 2 gyrometers [1 axe & 2 axes], one ultrasound sensor and two cameras:

 

• The first camera, located underneath the body, is connected to an Inertial Measurement Unit which enables the AR.Drone to measure its horizontal speed and perform incredible stationary flights. The system of images comparison allows for compensation of turbulence due to the wind during outside flights.

These technologies are usually used for professional or military applications and have been adapted to the gaming universe for the first time.

• The second camera, at the front of the quadricopter, broadcasts and streams what the drone is ‘seeing’ onto the iPod touch/iPhone screen, as if the player was in the pilot’s position.

This camera plays a major role for video gaming due to its use of form recognition, consequently allowing for augmented reality.

For example, the front camera will recognise another AR.Drone in the game battle between two quadricopters, or recognize tags which will turn into obstacles, monsters or robots on the screen of the iPod touch/iPhone …

 

Video streaming has been enhanced compared to the development version of AR.Drone introduced at CES 2010. Further, the front of the hull has been strengthened to better protect the camera.

 

Players can choose the camera they prefer or display the two cameras simultaneously on the screen of the iPod touch/iPhone.

 

 

 

With the AR.Drone, Parrot brings together the worlds of video gaming and radio-controlled models.

In fact, this unique quadricopter enables to recreate a large number of video games in the real world and also offers a multi-player possibility thanks to augmented reality.

To allow unprecedented gaming experiences for pilots, two games will be available for download on the App Store^SM:

 

• AR.FreeFlight

-          Application that is mandatory to fly and pilot the AR.Drone.

-          Two piloting modes: beginner or expert.

-          Downloadable for free on App Store

• AR.FlyingAce

-          Story: For the first time, you will be able to use a radio-commanded quadricopter to perform aerial battles of World War II flying aces.

-          £2.99 on App Store

 

 

 

The Parrot AR.Drone is designed for flying inside and outside.

 

For a flight outside, a shaped hull reduces the area to the wind and offers extreme manoeuvrability of the quadricopter.

3 hulls are available:

-          orange and yellow

-          orange and green

-          orange and blue

 

These vivid colours enable the pilot to easily follow the movements of their AR.Drone.

These colours are also easily ‘seen’ by the front-camera of the AR.Drone, which enables the AR.Drone to identify a competitor for two-player battles.

 

For indoor flight, a specific hull –with a white, grey and black cockpit- surrounds and protects the propellers if the AR.Drone hits an obstacle. Stickers, with colours similar to the shaped hull, can be fixed on each arch to enable drone battles inside.

 

Finally, electroluminescent diodes (green at front, red on the back), are positioned on the landing gear and enable the pilot to easily position his/her AR.Drone for piloting. These diodes also activate and react according to the action from the game.

 

 

 

Available via www.ardrone.com, AR.Drone-Pilot Academy will be a website dedicated to Parrot AR.Drone users and fans.

 

This website will host approximately twenty videos and detailed information on the AR.Drone.

 

• Training Zone

This area of the website contains everything that will help the pilot, from the first encounter of the AR.Drone to tips for piloting.

How to prepare your AR.Drone (installation of the battery, configuration Wi-Fi / iPod touch - iPhone…), pilot (control of the accelerometer…), perform sophisticated figures (circles, « 8 », half-turn, slalom, obstacles race…), practice aerial battle (offensive and defensive manœuvres, indoor and outdoor battles…)

 

• Community Zone

Here pilots will be able to post their videos, share and discuss on forums and follow AR.Drone news (via Facebook, Twitter…)

 

 

 

Since the introduction at CES 2010, the Software Development Kit, which was updated in May 2010, is available for the developers to create games for the AR.Drone. Source code porting on other platforms is also feasible from the SDK.

 

To date, more than 450 developers around the world have registered on the Parrot AR.Drone platform.

The only limits of the forthcoming games for the AR.Drone are the imagination and ingenuity of the fans of Parrot’s quadricopter.

 

To download the SDK or get more information, visit https://projects.ardrone.org

 

The development of the AR.Drone required more than four years of research and development, and the creation of about 20 patents.

For the first time, a consumer product encompasses:

• A quadricopter made in carbon fibre and high resistance PA66 plastic, with 4 brushless engines embedded
• An inertial unit with MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) combining video processing with an automatic piloting software to ensure very intuitive piloting of a radio controlled object
• Wi-Fi and video streaming for a modern gaming interface with an iPod touch/iPhone
• Images processing software for augmented reality

 

Parrot has worked for 15 years on wireless technologies. Engineering is the keystone of the work of Parrot and the R&D department of the company consists of 150 engineers.

Parrot concentrates on the maintenance of its investments in R&D to a high level, with an important focus on the software and the signal processing. Parrot develops complete products in taking care of their use; because of this, software, electronics, design and also manufacturing costs are the daily work of the research department.