Info Space Blog: Hands-on: Parrot AR Drone 2.0 packs new features and better hardware

In many ways, you could attribute the current rush of
~~toys~~ accessories powered by our smartphones to the Parrot AR Drone. The ability to fly a really cool looking quad-copter through the office with your smartphone was enough to excite any geek, and Parrot made that happen. The eventual growth to include both iOS and Android software to control the drone meant a massive market of people to enjoy the device. Now, as other smartphone-controlled gadgetry, like Sphero, is hitting the market, Parrot felt the need to refresh the AR Drone and give it some new bragging rights with the Drone 2.0.

New and Improved Hardware

The original AR Drone is still incredibly fun to operate, but the first thing anyone does with one is crash it into something. Unfortunately, for some, that’s the last time your AR Drone 1.0 is intact. Parrot redesigned the hulls for the Drone 2.0 to handle much more stress. When using it indoors, the foam composite hull that goes around the blades has been improved, without being any heavier. In the demonstration, the AR Drone 2.0 rammed the wall of the convention center as fast as it could go, and bounced off without a scratch.

When you take the Drone 2.0 outside, you remove that outer hull and let the new aerodynamically engineered EPP hull protect the quad-copter without risking it being blown away. EPP is a damage resistant plastic commonly used in car bumpers. The Parrot guys weren’t quite as willing to crash the AR Drone 2.0 with the foam core off of it, since your blades are exposed in that configuration.

The camera on the AR Drone 2.0 took a big boost as well, offering a 720p view of the world from your controller. The camera records at 30 fps, and allows you to upload the videos to YouTube as soon as you are finished recording them. Since your only rage limitation is how far your point to point WiFi connection with the Drone 2.0, the end result is a high definition aerial view that you have complete control over.

All New Software

The App Store and the Android Market are now serving up the AR FreeFlight 2.0 app to complement the new hardware from Parrot. This update includes a significant UI update and several new features to play with. With FreeFlight you can control the drone and record your flights or take pictures as you fly around, but you can also take the flight data and share it with other AR Drone users. Altitude, duration, location, and speed information are all recorded and easily shared through the app. To compliment this ability, the AR Drone Academy function lets you see how-to videos and location data for the best flight zones in your area.

Firmware updates for the AR Drone 2.0 are also handled through the app. When an update is available for your drone, the icon will light up, and you can install the update with a tap. The update is sent over the WiFi connection with the Drone, so everything can be done quickly and efficiently.

As more developers take advantage of the open development platform for the AR Drone, the AR Games section of the app will fill with more augmented reality, tag, and other inventive ways to play with the Drone.

When you fly the AR Drone, you can do it by looking at the drone and piloting with the FreeFlight controller, or you can use Absolute Flight, and use just your smartphone or tablet. The app will show you from the camera how the world looks from the drone’s perspective, but there are a few more things going on here. Absolute Control uses a 3D magnetometer to keep itself oriented. Using your controller as the orientation point, you no longer need to worry about how level the Drone is. However, if you’re an experienced Drone pilot, you can make the Drone 2.0 do aerial somersaults and exert much more control over how this version performs.

Final Thoughts

All across the board, the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 feels like a solid upgrade. It is much easier to fly, built better, and the 720p camera does a great job of catching cool aerial shots. With all of those upgrades, the AR Drone 2.0 is still $300. While it may be the most expensive accessory you buy for your phone, it is by far the most entertaining.