Commercial use of drones isn’t widespread, but with the recent announcement of Amazon Prime Air, it looks like it may only be a matter of a few years before we see drones moving packages and products to and fro. Many people have expressed concerns, for example, what’s to stop someone from shooting down an Amazon drone and stealing the package? That may not be the only threat that these drones, or other similar drones, might face. SkyJack is a drone that’s capable of hacking drones flying near it and handing over control to the attacker.
The world is ever changing, and in the next half a decade or so, we could find ourselves living in a science fiction-esque world where our goods are delivered by drones – except when hijacked by other drones. Such seems to be the idea behind the SkyJack, a drone constructed from a Parrot AR.Drone 2 […]
This week the folks at Parrot have announced that they’re working with Microsoft closely to release not only apps and connections between Windows Phone and their Parrot.AR Drone 2.0 and Zik, but Windows 8 as well. This means that you’ll be able to work closely with the Zik headphones and pilot this beastly drone from […]
The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 has been on the scene essentially dominating the press for its unique segment – smartphone-controlled drones – for some time, but until now only in a couple of color combinations. Here in the Fall of 2013, the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 suits up for hunting season. Three different color combinations are set […]
It’s not often that you hear about a device – what’s essentially a high-powered toy – breaking records flying across international waters. That’s what’s happened this week, though, as Parrot engineers have successfully programmed their AR.Drone 2.0 to fly across the Bosphorus Straight in Turkey – that’s more than a kilometer – with a single […]
Drones are very fun, is something that I recently realized playing with a Parrot AR Drone 2.0 for the first time. But the image on the screen you see from most drone cameras is laggy, pixelated and generally sub-par, even if the camera on your drone itself is capable of recording much higher quality video. Sky Drone FPV aims to improve that, with a new crowdfunded project that will provide full streaming HD video to your tablet or smartphone of choice live from your flying robot.
Drone hobbyists are a fanatic group, and quality is important to any fanatic. The Sky Drone FPV wants to make the lived reality of flying drones more similar to the videos and photos uploaded to YouTube, which often reflect the HD capture, not the actual first person view you’ll see on a device while piloting. It promises to offer 1920×1080 full HD streams at 30 frames per second, unlimited range so long as there is cell tower coverage via 3G or LTE networks, a heads-up display (so long as you have the required circuit board) and 5 megapixel still shots. It also works with just a smartphone or tablet, and requires no additional antennas or gear.
Finally, the feed is encrypted via AES-256 encryption to prevent any spying eyes from taking a peek at your feed, and there’s an HDMI out option to connect to virtual immersion goggles, with Oculus Rift support listed as one of the company’s stretch goals for the Sky Drone FPV.
The project is designed to help wean drone hobbyists and FPV enthusiasts off of their clunky analog solutions by addressing the three big problems of current digital offerings, which include achieving low latency; performing consistently and reliably, and doing so at a cost that isn’t absurd.
Backers can reserve a Sky Drone FPV set for $349, which gets them a kit including a cellular modem, USB hub, cables, a controller, a camera and an AP cable and uBEC. The package also includes the Sky Drone FPV groundstation app, which allows you to control exactly what you see on your screen, configure your HUD and actually view the stream live from your remote-controlled flying device.
The Sky Drone FPV is currently functional on BlackBerry 10 and Playbook devices (yes, the devs used BB as a starting platform, likely because BlackBerry VP of dev relations Alec Saunders is a founding investor) but will be build for Android and iOS too, which is what the funding will help with, as well as refining the still image capture mechanic. The Hong Kong-based team aims to deliver by December, 2013, so you could be flying in glorious HD in time for the holidays.
We’ll say this about the AR.Drone’s battery life up to now: it always seemed perfectly suited to our short attention spans. For those able to focus on flying objects a bit longer, however, there’s the AR.Drone 2.0 Power Edition. The quadricopter’s already gotten some love abroad and is set to hit our shores this month, priced at $370 over at that fine purveyor of massage chairs, Brookstone. This time out, the limited edition phone-controlled device brings 36 minutes of flight time (not the first boost we’ve seen from the company), thanks to two 1,500mAh lithium-polymers. Also new are sets of color blades (including black for when you’re feeling a bit stealthier).
While it might seem a little absurd to fly the mobile device-friendly AR.Drone 2.0 with more propellers then it already has – have no fear – the “Power Edition” of the device delivers said extras as replacements for customization only. This reboot of the rather popular AR.Drone 2.0 works with the same base device as […]
A little good / bad news for those dads who scored an AR.Drone 2.0 for Father’s Day over the weekend. It’s already time to upgrade. Starting next week, Parrot will be offering up those new add-ons it announced way back at CES. The “black box” Flight Recorder has been priced at $130, adding the ability to save flight data and GPS information from runs, which can be viewed in 3D through AR.Drone Academy maps. The device plugs into the quadcopter’s USB port, bringing 4GB of storage that can also be used to save up to two hours of HD video. The Recorder also lets users perform simple piloting maneuvers via smartphone and tablet. The high density battery, meanwhile, has been priced at $70, bringing 18 minutes of flight time to the ‘copter. Both are available now through Parrot’s store.
On the software side, the $3.99 2.0 piloting app brings Director Mode to the flier, giving users more control over the video they shoot with their drone, including editing and picture settings like white balance and saturation. Parrot’s offering the Rescue Mode update for free, meanwhile, with random shake and over balance settings to help rescue your drone from quadcopter-eating trees.
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