Jude 2

The Parrot AR.Drone was definitely one of the highlights of our day; how can you a top a quadricopter that can fight with another using augmented reality, is easy to fly, and only needs an iPhone to control it? You simply can't -- this is just pure joy and is exactly what a gadget should be: it's an electronic aircraft, has multiple cameras (two to be exact), uses WiFi for control (via an ad-hoc connection), and likely has more intelligence on board than a lunar lander. This early version can only be controlled via iPhone, or iPod touch, but Parrot's Henri Seydoux mentioned that it could be (and we're really hoping will be) controllable by BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and so on. The AR.Drone uses a pile of pretty sophisticated magic to enable it to fly -- those aforementioned cameras are just the start (one forward facing, one facing down running at 60 fps that allows stability in light wind) because you've also got two ultrasonic transmitters for vertical stability, a three-axis accelerometer, and a two-axis gyroscope paired with a single-axis yaw precision gyroscope for good measure. Needless to say, casual gamers and folks looking for a nice $30 gift need not apply. Read on for more impressions and video!