Just in time for the E3 Expo, Parrot has released new augmented reality video games for its awesome AR Drone. Able to put any geek into a fit, the flying quad-copter is piloted using an iPhone App and two onboard cameras. I got to play with one of these things at CES this year, and it was more fun than I think I deserved. Now, Parrot has unveiled three augmented reality games which overlap digital graphics with the live video feed from the drone. You play the games the same way you normally fly the drone - through iPhone apps. Check out a trailer for the AR Drone games, along with footage of all three in the videos below. As awesome as the AR Drone may be, the three games debuted aren't mind-blowing in their scope. Free Flight let's you fly around, Drone Gate lets you battle a virtual swarm of badies, and Flying Ace lets you dogfight other AR Drones. All pretty standard video game fare. But you can't forget that you're playing these games with a real-life flying machine. We've shown you augmented reality video games before (including some from Nintendo).

We've shown you some amazing quad-copters. Parrot's AR Drone is both amazing technologies rolled into one. You can't get any geekier or cooler than that. If the videos leave you aching for your own system, you'll have to wait. parrot ar drone set upIt won't go on sale in the US until Septemeber (MSRP = $300, not bad). parrot ar drone lightAvailability and pricing for other regions will be announced in the next few weeks. parrot ar drone onlineAs for the games, Free Flight is available now for download on iTunes, the others are coming soon. parrot ar drone repair manualIt's hard to say whether or not the AR Drone will be a one of a kind novelty, or if it will spark a trend in drone-based gaming. parrot ar drone usb

Certainly augmented reality has the potential to revitalize everything from marketing to education. It will be interesting to see if Parrot's pricing and first generation games are able to attract enough attention to keep the project going. ar parrot drone cut out emergencyI certainly hope that's the case. ar drone parts amazonAs far as I'm concerned, September can't come soon enough. I wonder if I can classify the AR Drone as a business expense. [screen capture and video credits: Parrot] Singularity University, Singularity Hub, Singularity Summit, SU Labs, Singularity Labs, Exponential Medicine, Exponential Finance and all associated logos and design elements are trademarks and/or service marks of Singularity Education Group. © 2017 Singularity Education Group. Singularity University is not a degree granting institution.

Drone is a remote controlled flying quadcopter helicopter built by the French company Parrot. Drone was revealed at the International CES 2010 in Las Vegas along with demonstration of the iOS applications used to control it. Freeflight, the application designed for free operation of the drone, Parrot also released AR.Race, allowing users take part in solo games, or interact with other drones in combat simulations. The airframe of the AR.Drone, constructed of nylon and carbon fiber parts, measures 57 cm (22 in) across.[4] Two interchangeable hulls were supplied with the airframe, one designed for indoor and one for external flight. The indoor hull is made from EPP foam, and encases the circumference of the blades for protection. The outdoors use hull is made from lightweight plastic, and allows for increased maneuvrability. In total, the AR.Drone has six degrees of freedom, with a miniaturized inertial measurement unit tracking the pitch, roll and yaw for use in stabilisation. Inside the airframe, a range of sensors assist flight, enabling the interface used by pilots to be simpler, and making advanced flight easier.

The onboard computer runs a Linux operating system, and communicates with the pilot through a self-generated Wi-Fi hotspot. The onboard sensors include an ultrasonic altimeter, which is used to provide vertical stabilisation up to 6 m (19 ft 8 in). The rotors are powered by 15 watt, brushless motors powered by an 11.1 Volt lithium polymer battery. This provides approximately 12 minutes of flight time at a speed of 5 m/s (11 mph). Coupled with software on the piloting device, the forward-facing camera allows the drone to build a 3D environment, track objects and drones, and validate shots in augmented reality games.Drone 2.0 in flight with outdoor hullDrone 2.0 in flight with indoor hull The successor to the original drone, the AR.Drone 2.0 was unveiled at CES Las Vegas 2012. Rather than redesigning the product, improvements were made to its functionality, along with developing a larger ecosystem to support pilots. The equipment on board AR.Drone 2.0 was significantly upgraded to improve the drone's function.

The camera quality was increased to 720p, and many of the onboard sensors were made more sensitive, allowing for greater control. The ultrasound altimeter was enhanced with the addition of an air pressure sensor, allowing for more stable flight and hovering. The resources available to the onboard computer were also improved, and the Wi-Fi hardware was updated to follow the new 802.11n standard. Other sensor improvements included an upgraded 3-axis gyroscope, along with a 3-axis accelerometer and magnetometer. At CES 2013, Parrot announced the Flight Recorder add-on for the AR.It adds 4GB of storage to the drone, along with GPS tracking and flight data recording. It will allow pilots to define a flight path by selecting a series of waypoints that the drone will follow. Flight Recorder features can be controlled via mobile phone and desktop applications, with "Director Mode" and "Rescue Mode" included. An extended battery designed to increase flight time by up to 50% was also launched alongside the Flight Recorder.

Previously known as AR.Freeflight, provides piloting function for AR.Drones, and the ability to take photos and videos. Drone was launched in 2010 alongside the original drone, and provides piloting capabilities via iOS devices.[8] It allows pilots to record video or capture images from their drone's onboard cameras. When originally launched pilots could control drones by tilting their device, and data from the onboard accelerometer was converted into flight controls.[9] On-screen controls provide joystick-style movement, and other functions that allow pilots to perform aerobatics, play games, or update their drone's firmware. The app also integrates with AR.Drone Academy, where pilots can map and share flight details with other AR.Drone is available on the Google Play store, where it has kept the name AR.Race is a piloting and multiplayer gaming application for the AR.Using a target included with the drone, pilots can define a race course with a start and finish line. The drone will then detect when it crosses this line, and records the flight time in between these two events.

Pilots may invite other AR.Drones to join the race, and scores are aggregated into a leaderboard.[11] The application also integrates with AR.Drone Academy and, when the AR.Freeflight application was removed from the iOS App Store, was updated to include basic piloting controls. Race 2, and its predecessor AR.Race are only available on for iOS devices. A single-player augmented reality application for iOS devices. It uses the target provided with the AR.Drone 2.0 to build a 3D environment in which pilots must perform tasks. The object of the game is to construct a rocket out of pieces that are placed into the physical environment by the drone's software. Along with these pieces, enemies are generated that must be fought. The drone also records the time it takes to complete this task successfully, and this is recorded in AR.Drone Academy, where a global leaderboard is generated, and videos and images can be shared amongst the community. An augmented, multiplayer game that allows pilots to engage a human target with virtual weapons within a 3D space.

Unlike the other multiplayer games made by Parrot, AR.Hunter only requires one AR.Both the pilot and the 'target' have the application installed on iOS devices, and the 'target' uses theirs to fire their virtual weapons at the drone. In order for the drone to recognise and engage the 'target', they must wear a colored cap, purchased separately from Parrot. The game can be played without the cap, but the drone is unable to engage the 'target', and the pilot must instead evade detection or attack. Hunter is not compatible with the AR. Lithium polymer battery for Parrot AR.Drone with JST-XH connector (right) and mini-Tamiya connector (left) [13] To aid third party developers, Parrot launched the AR.Drone open API game development platform.[14] Due to this open platform, affordability, and wide range of onboard sensory equipment, the AR.Drone is becoming an increasingly popular tool in research and education.[16] It has been used for experiments with visual-based autonomous navigation,[17][18][19] autonomous surveillance,[20] and human-machine interaction.

[21] Research in these areas has resulted in third party applications being released, some open source, that extend the official capabilities of the drone. In France, the AR.Drone 2.0 was tested by a Special Operations unit for aerial reconnaissance,[22] whilst other companies have been developing software that allows the drone to track sports activities,[23] and generate training feedback.Drone was used by Tim Pool during the Occupy Wall Street protest, running modified software that allowed it to stream directly to an internet channel. He theorised that a chain of command could be set up, where multiple people could step up and take control should the primary operator be detained by police. To further this, he began development of a new control system, replacing the existing Wi-Fi hotspot with a 3G chip. This would allow users to control drones via the internet, and potentially from remote locations. An open source framework "Yet another drone", developed by students at University of Hamburg will allow programmers to easily build applications for AR Drone in Java.

Since the launch of the original AR.Drone, around half a million units have been sold.[26] It received a 2010 CES Innovations award for Electronic Gaming Hardware.[27] It was awarded Best Smart Product of 2015 according to Wellbots Top 25 Smart Products Ranking of 2015.Drone 2.0 was praised for the relative ease with which pilots could learn how to fly it; the original release required more intense practice. Since its initial release, individuals,[30][31] organizations, and governments have expressed concern over the use of AR.Although the technology required to feed and record live video taken from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) existed prior to the release of the AR.Drone, it was not widely available to members of the public. In Germany, consumer affairs minister Ilse Aigner described the drone as a privacy threat, and called for restrictions to be placed on the use of cameras mounted on aerial platforms.[32] A UK advertising campaign, showing an AR.Drone being flown into the grounds of Buckingham Palace was withdrawn after concerns that it was demonstrating illegal use of the drone.