Aerial video footage just got even more easier and fun with Parrot’s new ‘Beebop’, a 14MP fish-eye camera that has the ability to take video and pictures of the world in a 180° field.
FSM EXCLUSIVE DEAL The Bebop comes equipped with the same sensors — including an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, pressure sensor, vertical camera, and ultrasound – but it also includes a built in GPS, allowing it to fly autonomously and return to its takeoff location on its own if a problem arises.
It weighs just 400 grams fully loaded ( 20g less than the AR.Drone 2.0 ) and the battery is bigger at 1200mAh, although the flight times remains at 12 minutes.
Parrot has also released the Skycontroller, which acts as a dock for the iPhone, iPad and/or other device that is being used to fly the Bepob, giving users the ability to use a physical joystick for piloting and a built-in amplified Wi-Fi radio will allow users to control the Bebop from up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away.
Users can also use an Oculus Rift or other virtual reality headsets to fly the Bebop simply by looking around. A complete list of compatible headsets was not announced, though it will likely support the same hardware as the AR.Drone 2.0, including the Epson Moverio and Zeiss Vison Cinemizer OLED glasses.
Parrot says the Bebop and Skycontroller are set to ship in the fourth quarter of 2014, though pricing has yet to be revealed.
