When drones meet VR: Parrot Disco promises first-person flight experience
Unveiled at the CES tech show in Las Vegas in January 2016, the Parrot Disco is a first-person view, wing-shaped drone that soars through the skies like a bird. The Disco goes on sale in September in a pack including the drone, its remote control unit and a virtual reality headset.
The Parrot Disco is a wing-shaped drone with a 115cm wingspan and a lightweight 750g build. This sturdy UAV has been designed to optimize speed and stability, promising flight speeds of up to 80km/h (50mph) and resistance to winds of up to 40km/h (25mph).
The Disco is launched by hand, a bit like a paper airplane. It's then controlled via the Parrot Skycontroller2, a new MIMO wifi remote control unit with a theoretical range of 2km (1.24 miles). This new controller is more compact than previous models from the French brand. It also features a smartphone holder, so handsets running the FreeFlight Pro application (available for Android and iOS) can view live video feedback and alter drone settings in flight. Note that hobbyists can control the Parrot Disco manually via an RC transmitter by means of a special converter module (sold separately).
The Parrot Disco promises 45 minutes of flight time and comes with 32GB of onboard memory for storing plenty of video footage.
The Cockpitglasses headset takes users straight to the heart of the action for a first-person view of their drone flights. The wearer sees live images filmed by the drone's 14-megapixel front camera, as well as telemetry values, for a genuine bird's-eye view of the soaring skies. Although this makes prime use of virtual reality technology, the headset wearer will need to call in a copilot to fly the drone.
The pack sells for $1,299/€1,299 and is already available to preorder on the Parrot website. Shipping is set to begin in September.
This latest device will no doubt further fuel the debate about laws and regulations concerning drones and privacy rights, especially in urban areas.
Check out the Parrot Disco drone in this video: youtu.be/m1Fpq4inefg
