There is nothing worse than getting a FedEx tracking number late on a Thursday, knowing full well that your package will not arrive until Monday. Even as an adult, I'll still obsessively refresh tracking information, even when I know something won't be delivered for days. Still, that didn't stop me from tracking the Parrot AR.Drone all weekend, or getting up and looking out the window when I even thought I might have heard the sound of tires on gravel in the distance all day today. Surely any self respecting geek knows the feeling as they anxiously await their newest techno-toy.Drone arrived mere moments ago, and after carefully opening the packaging I was greeted with the wondrous quadricopter that we've been drooling over since we first caught wind of it back at CES in January. Since then we've had a brief hands-on and later discovered that it would sell for $299.99 available for preorder through Brookstone. In the demos we've been given in the past, we've never actually been able to touch the unit, only fly it around for a few seconds inside of the controlled environment of the Parrot booth at conventions.

My first impression as I took it out of the box was just how amazingly light and delicate the whole unit feels. I suppose it makes sense that it's light because it has to fly, but it feels like nothing. In the box with the unit is a brief quick start guide which explains to first charge the battery, how to install the battery, and the basics of getting the Parrot AR.Drone in the air. Like any impatient man child, I immediately installed the battery, and paired it to my iPhone which was as simple as downloading the free Parrot AR.Drone Free Flight app and connecting to the WiFi network it creates. After that, you launch the app, it connects to the quadricopter, and you're met with a screen that looks like this: Unfortunately, since I skipped that whole "charge the battery first" step, the AR.Drone only flew for about 45 seconds before it ran out of juice. I'm currently impatiently waiting the light on the charger to flip from red to green, and daylight is fading fast. I hope to have some extensive video of how the unit works, how it is assembled, and flying it in the not too distant future.

(All depending on how long it takes to charge of course.) Following that, I'll be doing a full review of the Parrot AR.Drone, so if you have any questions that you'd like answered or anything you want me to do as I put it through its paces, post a comment on this story. With the sun about to set I grabbed the battery with as much charge as the charger was able to give me and headed out to shoot some video. The companion app initially showed that I was at around 30% battery, which seemed to last for about 10 minutes of outdoor flight time. Here's a video of my first real flight outdoors with the Parrot AR. Something that immediately struck me was how awesome the device is at steadying itself, even with the breeze outside. In the video I am actively trying to get it to lose control, by having it bank in to the wind and the onboard flight controller just automatically leveled the quadricopter without any issues at all. Also, it's really cool how low it will fly to the ground, automatically adjusting its height as it goes up or down hills.

Buzzing over the grass at about a foot off the ground was a truly impressive display of how accurately the AR.Drone can hold its altitude. While none of these things are really new revelations from our previous hands-ons at conventions, all of those were always indoors in a very small controlled environment with no winds at all. A part of me was expecting everything to fall apart once the AR.Drone got outside of the calm 10x10 Parrot tent on the show floor... x rebirth hacker drone missionBut it performed flawlessly.ar drone battery discharge The strangest part about flying the AR.parrot mini drone kaufenDrone is trusting the iPhone display over just watching it fly through the air and controlling it like a normal RC helicopter. parrot ar drone magnet

This is even more disorienting when you notice that you can see yourself in the image. Drone is always controlled from its viewpoint, creating a brain-bending situation where you can see the device with your eyes, you in the devices eyes, and everything is backwards as you're facing it. At demos in the past, controlling the AR.Drone seemed really easy, and it is when you're limited by about 10 feet in any direction. When you actually get outdoors, and have tons of obstacles to fly around, piloting the device actually seems to take a bit of skill-- Even with all the automated flight systems it has.eve drone boat frigate Just as I was getting good, I was met with this yet again:storm drone ff flying platform So far I'd really advise anyone who already had one of these preordered to buy as many extra batteries as you feel comfortable purchasing.

Drone is really cool, but having it run out of battery, then sitting and waiting for the battery to charge sucks just as much as it did when I was a kid waiting for the NiCD batteries of my various RC cards to juice back up before I could play again.NEW LONDON, Conn. — Across the region, police officials have big ideas about how drones could bolster residents' safety and well being. They could spot missing people, houses with blight or uncovered manholes. They could document accident scenes from the sky. They could determine when a roof is so hot it's about to collapse, and be sent to find obstacles in tactical situations. Few are disputing the likely value of the technology, still in its infancy. But locally, many police chiefs are waiting for state lawmakers to establish legislation concerning drone use before they invest in the technology. "I would kind of like to have one," said Groton City police Chief Thomas Davoren, noting that it could be used to track down blight.

"But the rules are changing so quickly. I would hate to invest in something and then not be able to use it." Such legislation has been proposed in Connecticut and passed one chamber in each of the last two legislative sessions. But it's failed -- primarily because of time, not opposition -- to pass both and be signed into law. According to David McGuire, executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the ACLU, the organization is pushing to have similar legislation proposed again this year. "This is useful technology that can help increase public safety," McGuire said. "We in fact want police to be able to use it, but to use it appropriately without violating people's privacy." Last year, the bill included provisions that would ban the use of weaponized drones in most situations, make police get a warrant to collect footage except during certain emergencies and give police-related organizations just more than a year to provide recommendations for policy regarding the retention of data collected by drones.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 131-14. It never made it to the Senate floor. McGuire suggested the public should be louder about the legislation so it gets considered and passed. He said it's "a really good sign" that law enforcement officials are looking for guidance, but that police using the technology without regulations is problematic. "Law enforcement by their nature in trying to keep us safe often push the limits," McGuire said. "We want them to vigorously defend our safety. But without meaningful rules, it's impossible to know where the lines are." Across the state, McGuire said he knows of three police departments that are using drones: Hartford, Woodbury and Plainfield. In Plainfield, police were able to purchase a drone with a thermal-imaging, high-resolution camera and an ability to go 60 mph solely because of a $10,000 donation, according to the Norwich Bulletin. There, police reported planning to use the drone to find missing people and document crash scenes.

But cost is not the barrier most chiefs expressed. Groton Town police Chief Louis J. Fusaro Jr., whose 21-plus years with the state police include time in the counterterrorism and emergency services units, brought up the use of helicopters as a point of comparison. He estimated it takes between $800 and $1,500 to keep one in the air for an hour. The cost to put a drone in the air for the same amount of time? Still, Fusaro said his department hasn't discussed acquiring one. Privacy is an issue, he said, and so, too, is safety. Should a drone go out of range or run out of battery power, he explained, it could hit somebody or something on its way down. "There are definitely advantages, but the technology is relatively new," he said. "Just like a lot of other things, the laws haven't caught up to it." According to Stonington police Capt. Todd Olson, his department isn't planning on using a drone anytime soon. Ledyard police Lt. Ken Creutz said his force has discussed the devices conceptually but also is waiting for policy before making any moves.

"We're relatively new here as independent police department and trying to get normal operating scenarios down smoothly before we try to introduce newer-edge technology like that," he said. "But I'm sure it will be a consideration down the road." In Waterford, however, police Chief Brett Mahoney said his department, along with other town agencies, has seriously discussed bringing a drone on board. Like Plainfield, Waterford is a heavily wooded town. Since police purchased ATVs years ago, Mahoney said, they've been deployed countless times -- sometimes to recover stolen vehicles, sometimes to find people who've gone missing. Drones, he said, could expand the department's search capabilities "tenfold." Mahoney, however, said he and others envision any drone that comes to Waterford as a town-wide asset. In large-scale storms, emergency management officials could use the drone to map the damage and let residents know what's going on. In fires, the drone's thermal camera could warn firefighters a roof is hot and susceptible to collapse.

When manhole covers are stolen for scrap, the drone could make the pollution control authority aware of it sooner. As for privacy issues, Mahoney said Waterford's drone would be used solely "from a community safety perspective" and wouldn't be used for surveillance. He said the department is looking for grant opportunities so the town doesn't have to foot the bill. From there, it will have to apply for licenses, get approval, set policy and then buy the equipment and train some officers and other officials. Mahoney expects all of that will happen within the next two years. Drones are "another thing we're going to have to deal with," Mahoney said. "If we're going to have to deal with it, we should also be allowed to take advantage of it." (c)2017 The Day (New London, Conn.) Request product info from top Police Drones companies I recommend or purchase products for my department Purchase soon (3-6 months) Purchase later (7-12 months) Research only at this time