[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z39SaTOxGO0[/youtube]
Thanks to those from Orange Romania I had the opportunity to play with one of the coolest toy helicopters available on the market. Parrot AR Drone is a quadricopter that can be remotely controlled using an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad tablet and a dedicated application from the AppStore. The quadricopter makes a Wi-Fi HotSpot to which we can connect with our terminal and using the free application Free Flight we can fully control the device. Of course, in the AppStore there are also applications such as AR Pursuit that have implemented augmented reality and allow us to transform the environment into a battlefield, but to use an application like this, you need 2 drones.
It was the first time I played with a remote-controlled helicopter, so I was absolutely not familiar with the control mode, but the Parrot AR Drone is built in such a way that even a beginner like me "learned" in a short time. the secrets" of piloting. Ar Drone has 2 VGA cameras mounted, one in the front of the device and one in its "belly" and using them we can guide the device when using it in an "open" environment. To ensure that customers are not left without devices, Parrot has set a height limit up to which we can raise the device, more precisely AR Drone will not climb higher than 6 m high and we will not be able to control it if it moves away from more than 50 m from us considering that it can only be controlled via Wi-Fi. When the device reaches these limits, it stops automatically until we reach the HotSpot's range or we lower it to a distance of less than 5 m.
Unfortunately, I only had the opportunity to test it in a closed environment, i.e. in the room in the first video clip, so I can only tell you that when you buy one, use it only and only outside, because outdoors the device enter the "bars". The device is controlled using the buttons of the applications available in the AppStore plus the accelerometer of our device. Let's take the Free Flight application as an example, where we have the take-off and landing button in the bottom middle, the button to increase/decrease the altitude on the right and the button that controls the direction of the device on the left. In the application, we have in the upper right part the indicator for the battery autonomy of the device and in the upper left part the indicator for the strength of the Wi-Fi signal. These 2 components must be carefully monitored because they indicate if the device has enough power to operate and if it is not too far to be controlled.
The Free Flight application is not the only one for Ar Drone and if you search in the AppStore you will find similar but much more interesting ones. In addition to those with augmented reality, there are applications that allow the use of built-in cameras to record video clips in flight or to take pictures, so you will be able to record all the action around the device in your terminals. Unfortunately, on the day I tested the AR Drone, the Free Flight app was updated and with it the firmware of the device, so I could not record video with other applications specially made for it.
When you go out with the device in the open air, you will be "hit" by that "WOW effect" and you will see how time "flies" when you play, but after about 15 minutes of playing, the application will warn you that you no longer have available battery. The device has a maximum autonomy of 15 minutes, after which the battery must be charged, the process lasting a maximum of one hour. I have to tell you that I had so much fun with the device that I didn't even realize how time flew by and we had to insert a second battery and I personally think it's worth the €320 that Orange is asking for it .
The Parrot AR Drone comes "equipped" with 2 cases: one that does not cover the propellers and can be used in the open air; and the second covers the propellers and allows the device to be used in closed spaces. The one for open spaces is only a design element, but the one for closed spaces is extremely important because it protects the device from impacts. In closed spaces, you can bring the device closer to a wall, chair or table, and the material that surrounds the propellers will protect them against impacts.
I recommend you to at least test the Parrot AR Drone because you will be pleasantly surprised by the way you can use an iPhone, iPod Touch or an iPad tablet, but also by the technology used in one of the most interesting gadgets on the market. The Parrot AR Drone is now available now in many of the Orange Shops in the country, but you can also purchase it from online shop of Orange for €320.
I want to thank again those from Orange because they gave me the opportunity to test this extraordinary toy!
PS: This was my first video review, so please be "gentle".
