What is an AR Drone
Te AR Drone is a four-rotor aircraft that is designed to be used in augmented reality games, hence the AR in the name. Parrot, the company behind the AR Drone is marketing the AR Drone as a “flying video game” since it combines actual flying of the aircraft, real time video streaming to the controller, and the ability to add real-time gaming with hunter-seeker style gaming. If you have ever dreamed of your video games coming to life, than the AR Drone may be right up your ally.
Indoor Hull
Unlike the current crop of low-budget helicopters, the AR Drone is controlled by your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch or Android device via the AR Drone’s built-in WiFi system. The plus side of this system is that the cost of including a radio transmitter is eliminated but the downside is you are limited to the range of 802.11G Wifi signal which is about 150 feet.
The AR Drone ships with an indoor hull that provides foam padding to protect the rotor blades during the inevitable bumping into things when flying indoors. Also included is an outdoor hull which is lighter weight providing faster speeds and slightly longer run times.
The AR Drone features a 3-axis accelerometer as well as a 2-access gyroscope. The sonar provides altitude stabilization up to about 20 feet. Above the range of the ultrasonic sonar, the drone goes into a blind-flight mode that requires more control input to maintain height. Radio range is limited by WiFi communication distance to about 150 feet.
The AR Drone is outfitted with two color cameras. The front camera is VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels) at 15 frames per second. The downward looking camera is QCIF resolution (176 x 144 pixels) at 60 frames per second.
Outdoor Hull
The AR Drone is available from Brookstone or on Amazon for about $300. This site will continue to provide you with up-to-date information, news, modification, hacks, and more.