As I mentioned earlier, we’ve got an AR Drone to play with. One of the common mods that popped up on the internet were ways of extending the range on the AR Drone. It normally uses a local Wi-Fi connection to your phone or tablet for control and video signals. Many found this quite restrictive and have gone pretty far in extending that range. The first and easiest was just to set up a higher power Wi-Fi Bridge where you’ll be flying. The Drone only has about 15db of wi-fi magic in it, so anything stronger than that is an improvement. There were too many variations on this to delve into the details, but as you see, there’s not much too it. The second method is to completely replace the Wi-Fi control system with a nice R/C controller. This will greatly increase your range as well as give you extra channels for triggering different attachments (usually lights).  I’ve seen two main methods used. One is called “MacGuyver mod”. This one is a plug and play kit that doesn’t seem to have much info along with it.

The other is called “MiruMod” and the creator has shared all the information they can.  You can find a parts breakdown as well as schematics, wiring diagrams, instructions, and software. [Miru] uses an Arduino Pro Mini or an Arduino Nano as a go-between from the receiver to the serial port on the AR Drone. parrot ar drone release dateYou can see in the wiring diagram below that it is a fairly simple install, and all [miru] asks for is that maybe you donate some beer money if you appreciate his mod.buy a drone londonFrom :One of the common mods that popped up on the internet were ways of extending the range on the AR Drone. buy parrot ar drone 2This one is a plug and play kit that doesn’t seem to have much info along with it. The other is called “MiruMod” and the creator has shared all the information they can.  

The Fighting Walrus Radio allows iOS devices to communicate with unmanned aerial vehicles by radio frequency, instead of Wi-Fi One of the things that many people like about the AR Drone is the fact that the user’s iPad doubles as the quadcopter’s control unit. While using a tablet as a controller does have its advantages, there is one drawback – because the iPad communicates with the drone via Wi-Fi, its range is quite limited. The designers of the Fighting Walrus Radio are attempting to remedy that situation, by allowing newer iPads, iPhones and iPod touches to communicate with unmanned aerial vehicles via longer-range radio frequency.The aluminum-bodied Fighting Walrus Radio attaches to the side of an iOS device, and will be available in both 30-pin and Lightning connector versions. It’s based around a HopeRF HM-TRP Transceiver module, and is able to communicate not only with the AR Drone, but with any UAV utilizing the MAVLink Micro Air Vehicle communication protocol.Its line-of-sight range is one mile (1,609 meters) – quite a bit farther than the AR Drone’s current Wi-Fi range of 165 feet (50 meters).

Using the open-source software, users can steer their aircraft in real time, monitor flight systems, log flight data, and add mapped way-points to the programmed flight path of GPS-enabled UAVs. AR Drone owners can use a modified version of Parrot’s FreeFlight app, although they will lose the feed from the onboard video cameras as the quadcopter moves out of Wi-Fi range.The San Francisco-based designers of the Fighting Walrus are currently raising production funds on Indiegogo, and are working with Apple to ensure that their device meets the company’s requirements. A pledge of US$99 will get you a Walrus of your own, when and if they’re ready to go.More information is available in the pitch video below.Say hello to Bebop, aka the AR Drone 3.0. This is the latest drone from Parrot and it’s a big upgrade from the much-loved AR Drone. It’s essentially a flying camera that can even pipe imagery directly into an Oculus Rift headset, taking flying in the clouds to a whole new level.

Sticking out of the center of the small drone is a 14 MP camera with a fisheye lens. This setup, along with some nifty software tricks, allows the drone to capture silky-smooth video — the video can even pan and tilt while the drone hovers. Essentially, thanks to the 180-degree field of vision allowed by the fisheye lens, the software captures more video than it needs. It then uses home-brew software to cut out the desired bits and discard the rest. This allows the angle of view to remain fixed even if the drone is swaying in the wind. This setup gives the Bebop a unique selling point over competitors, including models from Phantom that rely on more traditional camera and gimbal rigs. Like previous AR Drones, connectivity is achieved through Wi-Fi and the Bebop has four antennas and can ride on 2.4GHz and 5Ghz frequencies. Still, range through Wi-Fi is limited to, well, the range of Wi-Fi. The Bebop can do much more. Along with the Bebop, Parrot is introducing the Skycontroller that extends the Bebop’s range to 2 kilometers.

The tablet or smartphone used to control the drone just mounts in the middle of the controller. Using an assortment of antennas and boosters, the controller boosts the controlling tablet’s signal by 36dBm. If that’s not enough, the Skycontoller can also output the field of view streamed from the drone to an Oculus Rift. You become the Bebop. Early reports state there is a bit of lag. The drone also packs a GNSS chipset that uses GPS, GLONASS and GALILEO data for autonomous flight and return to take-off position. Sadly, like the AR Drones before it, flight time is limited to a paltry 12 minutes. Parrot has yet to release pricing for the Bebop, instead stating it will cost a bit more than the $300 Parrot AR Drone 2.0 and the $1,000 models from Phantom. It’s expected to be released in the fourth quarter of the year. The Bebop will likely be a hit. This marks Parrot’s third-generation drone. Thanks to the AR Drones before it, the company figured out the way to market and sell drones to the general public.