Author Topic: ANother new toy thread  (Read 605 times)

Offline Sol75

  • Nickel Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 773
ANother new toy thread
« on: August 13, 2011, 12:44:30 AM »
Got a new toy today, called a Parrot AR Drone.
You can fly it via iPhone/iPAD, ANdroid, or a Windows PC or Linux PC....

I have flown it via my Galaxy Tab today, its VERY cool!  Setting it up on my laptop tomorrow to fly with my CH rig! Should be awesome!

It has 2 cameras on it, that stream live video, one on the front, and one on the belly... watch for some interesting vids to pop up on my youtube hehe!

link:

http://ardrone.parrot.com/parrot-ar-drone/usa/

Youtube Video of it being flown via iPhone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRDYdZxkXnQ

Flown via PC with stick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rslHrWzheLE

Note the video is much smoother than it look on the PC in this video, not sure why it looks so choppy on his, video gets 20-25fps or so...
80th FS "Headhunters"

S.A.P.P Secret Association of P-38 Pile-its
In-Game as Castiel
Recently Touched By The Noodle! ALL HAIL THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!
Pastafarian for life

Offline smoe

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 941
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2011, 06:32:44 PM »
Pretty cool, but u know what these will be used for next.

Offline Killer91

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 801
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2011, 06:53:39 PM »
must.. have.. one.. :drool
someone named pervert is thanking someone named badboy for a enjoyable night?

Offline F22RaptorDude

  • Persona Non Grata
  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3641
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2011, 07:06:25 PM »
Could I use one with my droid?
Reaper in a T-50-2 Scout tank in 10 seconds flat

Offline Krupinski

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2085
      • Twitch
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #4 on: August 13, 2011, 07:28:34 PM »
That's cool man, I'm jealous.  :aok

You still around?

Offline Sol75

  • Nickel Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 773
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #5 on: August 14, 2011, 12:13:22 AM »
Yep, works with Android as long as the firmware in the drone is up to date... the older firmware did not support droid..

I fly mine on my Galaxy Tab (Android) and my Droid X2, and for the first time today, my PC!!

was pretty cool, i got video, need to post it...
took the bird outside, and flew it from the PC (inside) around mine and the neighbors house... kinda scary that you can get a "toy" with this kind of capability....
Turns out the Drone itself is running a Linux kernel.. which means all kinds of mods are possible, I was able to SSH in to it, and gained root access...
First thing im going to try is putting it on my actual wireless network, since I have a booster strong enough to reach down to the end of the street :)
It communicates via standard TCP/IP so it should work fine..one of the neat things is if there is any glitch, or loss of signal, the drone automatically goes into a hover, unless the battery is dying, then it will auto land itself...
Then I am going to forward a port to it on my router, and try to fly it via the internet from a remote location...there will prolly be some latency, but with the autohover and collision avoidance in the drone, it shouldnt be that big of an issue...




Krup: Yea, im around, not doing any cartoon flying right now, too busy with RL... probably will be back around when the weather turns though, definitely getting the itch again :)

Sol
« Last Edit: August 14, 2011, 12:16:34 AM by Sol75 »
80th FS "Headhunters"

S.A.P.P Secret Association of P-38 Pile-its
In-Game as Castiel
Recently Touched By The Noodle! ALL HAIL THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!
Pastafarian for life

Offline B-17

  • Persona Non Grata
  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2672
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2011, 03:36:01 AM »
How much $? And how flyable is it from the PC? Top speed? Manouevring capabilities? :cheers:

Offline phatzo

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3734
      • No Crying
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #7 on: August 14, 2011, 06:55:06 AM »
At least you wont cut a finger off with it.  :)
No thank you Turkish, I'm sweet enough.

Offline oboe

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 9805
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #8 on: August 14, 2011, 07:32:33 AM »
I think I have a work application for this.   How powerful is it?   Could I attach one end of a small rope or cord to it, and fly the drone around an object that is too large to reach around, and then I would have encircled the object with a rope?

Offline Sol75

  • Nickel Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 773
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #9 on: August 14, 2011, 07:49:46 AM »
Top Speed? dont really know, if I had to guess.. 30mph? its not fast, it is designed for stability....the amount of "tilt" it will do is adjustable in the app, which affects speed, and sensitivity, so it would be kind of a balance...
HIGHLY manueverable, I was able to fly it around inside my house with ease, even hovered it in front of my wife while she was taking a nap.. prolly a bad idea lol...
I found a new feature on it I did not know, it has the capability to "auto track" an object.  You basically designate an object int he camera view, and the drone will maneuver itself to keep it in view, automatically!
I did this with our cat, and it chased the cat throughout the house... it adjusts altitude, speed, and heading automatically to follow the object, and has some rudimentry collision avoidance as well.. (although even if it DOES collide with an object it pretty much bounces off due to the rotor guards)

as for power, I would think you could attach a very small rope to it, I really dont know as I haven't experimented with its carrying capacity....

As for price, it cost 299.00 with one battery.  Includes the charger as well... Batteries last about 6-10 minutes depending on flying style...

80th FS "Headhunters"

S.A.P.P Secret Association of P-38 Pile-its
In-Game as Castiel
Recently Touched By The Noodle! ALL HAIL THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!
Pastafarian for life

Offline F22RaptorDude

  • Persona Non Grata
  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3641
Re: ANother new toy thread
« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2011, 08:22:51 AM »
I know what my next major purchase will be, I envy you!  :aok
Reaper in a T-50-2 Scout tank in 10 seconds flat