The Drone

Just recently, one of my roommates brought to school a toy unlike no other. When he pulled out a simple helicopter, I about started to walk away when he began talking about it. He called it the AR Drone Helicopter and he seemed very eager to demonstrate it for us. After grabbing his iPhone, it dawned on me that this was no ordinary helicopter, but it was just another wonderful idea that Apple had its hands on. With one touch of the phone, the helicopter revved up and began to rise. Hovering about three feet off the ground, the Drone remained still. It wasn’t until my roommate tilted the phone forward that the Drone began propelling forward. His hands leveled out, and the drone leveled out. He tilted the phone left, the Drone spun to the left. It was, by far, one of the neatest toys I have seen in a while.

For a price just under $300, anyone with an iPhone or iPod touch can add this to their list of hobbies. This unique helicopter was an instant hit in our household, and the same reaction has been seen and heard across the country. It is very unique in many aspects and the different capabilities and accessories it has make it a one of a kind remote controlled helicopter.

The helicopter is propelled by four independent rotors, allowing it to move quickly and precisely around even the tightest of obstacles. Like I mentioned earlier, it is steered by two variations of flight control, one using the iPod’s level as a steering mechanism and the other using controls displayed on the monitor of the hand-held device. The Droid puts out a wireless hotspot that allows the iPod to be constantly connected to the internet, allowing the flight to commence. Mounted on the front, and belly of the Droid are cameras, allowing the controller to see what is in front and what is below at all times. This comes in handy because the controller doesn’t have to see the helicopter to fly it about the sky.

Although I think this concept is very neat and creative, there needs to be some work done on the price, as well as, quality of the units. My roommate has had to replace many parts of the helicopter, but if constructed better, there would be no need. Having said this, I would like to go on record saying, I to have had a good time playing with this toy and expect to continue enjoying it.