Russell HollyJan. 10, 2012 3:13 pmHands-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 SoftwareThe 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 ThoughtsAll 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.

親身實踐：Parrot AR Drone 2.0具有新特性和更好的硬件

鸚鵡AR無人機2包新的功能和更好的hardware

在很多方麵，你可以把玩具配件通過我們的智能手機對鸚鵡AR無人機的電流沖擊。飛真的很酷的四直升機通過辦公室與你的智能手機是足以激發高手的能力，使發生的鸚鵡。最終的生長包括iOS和Android軟件來控製無人機意味著人的巨大市場享受裝置。現在，其他智能手機控製設備，如球、打市場，鸚鵡覺得需要刷新AR無人機，給它一些新的無人機2吹牛的權利。

新的和改進的硬件

原AR無人機依舊非常有趣操作，但第一件事任何人都冇有一個是它撞到東西。不幸的是，對於一些，這# 8217；是你最後一次AR無人機1是完整的。鸚鵡重新設計了無人機2的外殼來處理更多的壓力。在室內使用時，泡沫複合材料船體周圍的葉片已經得到改善，冇有任何較重。在示威中，無人機2在會議中心的牆上撞上了它可以去的，而且冇有一個劃痕就跳了下來。< / P >

當你把無人機2外，你拆下外殼，讓新的空氣動力學設計的EPP船體不冒這被吹走保護四直升機。EPP是一種常用的抗損傷塑料汽車保險杠。鸚鵡的家夥不是# 8217；不太願意崩潰的AR無人機2與泡沫芯關閉它，因為你的葉片是配置曝光。

相機在AR無人機2拿了一個大的提升，提供世界觀從720P你的控製器。在30幀的攝像機記錄，並允許你上傳視頻到YouTube一旦你完成錄製他們。因為你唯一的限製是你的憤怒程度的點對點的無人機2 WiFi連接，最終的結果是一個高清晰度的鳥瞰圖，你可以完全控製。< / P >

所有新軟件的App Store和Android市場現在提供的AR FreeFlight 2應用程序補充新的硬件的鸚鵡。此更新包括一個顯著的用戶界麵更新和幾個新功能的發揮。在自由飛行可以控製無人機和記錄您的航班或拍照一樣飛到你的身邊，但你也可以把飛行數據和與其他用戶分享ar。高度，時間，位置，速度信息都記錄下來，很容易通過應用程序共享。為了配合這個能力，AR Drone學院功能讓你看視頻和位置數據在您的地區最好的飛行區。

固件更新的AR無人機2也通過App。當一個更新是可供您的無人機，該圖標將點亮，並且您可以安裝更新的水龍頭。更新是在無人機的WiFi連接發送的，所以一切都可以做到快速有效。

為更多開發者利用開放平臺開發的AR無人機，對APP的AR遊戲節將充滿更多的增強現實，標簽，和其他創造性的方式玩無人機。

當你飛的AR無人機，你可以通過看無人駕駛的自由飛行控製器做它，或者你可以使用絕對飛行，隻使用你的智能手機或平闆電腦。該應用程序將顯示你的相機如何世界看起來從雄蜂和# 8217；的視角，但也有一些事情在這裏。絕對控製使用三維磁力計以保持自身導嚮。使用你的控製器作為定位點，你就不再需要擔心無人機的水平有多高了。然而，如果你# 8217；是一位經驗豐富的飛行員，可以使無人機2做空中翻筋鬥和施加更多的控製如何執行這個版本。< / P >

最終thoughtsall一刀切，鸚鵡AR無人機2感覺像一個堅實的升級。這是飛，更容易建立更好，和720p的攝像頭能夠很好地捕捉涼爽的航拍。隨著所有這些升級，無人機2仍然是300美元。這可能是你買的最昂貴的配件，但它是最有趣的。