ar.drone

[Peter Rogers]

Just got a email fron catch of the day. The AR drone is currently $199.

 

What do people think of this quad copter?

 

I have been tossing up on this for a while. Slightly bad timing for this but at that price is it worth grabbing?

 

Andy, hows your go?

 

Peter

[Andy Gelme]

hi All,

If you want a buy-and-fly quadcopter that just works out of the box and is easy to control (from your smartphone).  And, you'd like inexperienced people and young kids to fly it with just 30 seconds of instruction.  And, is robust.  And, if you do try hard and manage to damage it ... doesn't cost a lot and is easy to repair.  Something for a bit of fun inside or in the park (on a mild day).

Then, the AR.Drone is definitely worth getting.

It is also possible to write code to control the AR.Drone from your laptop ... https://github.com/geekscape/Cockatoo

However ...

If you want to perform serious stunts (loop-the-loop, fly upside down).  Or, carry heavy weights (more than 165 grams ... I've measured it) ... like an additional camera or water-bomb !   Or, fly for longer than 12 - 15 minutes without changing the batteries.  Or, seriously hack into the flight control and do your own firmware.

Then, you will find the AR.Drone limiting.

If your criteria match what the AR.Drone is (a consumer friendly introduction to quadcopters) ... then I recommend it.

-- 
-O-  cheers  =  /\ /\/ /) `/ =
--O                           --  http://www.geekscape.org     --
OOO  --  an...@geekscape.org  --  http://twitter.com/geekscape --