Parrot AR.Drone
Encyclopedia
The Parrot AR.Drone is a RC quadricopter
with cameras attached to it built by Parrot
. It is designed to be controllable with iOS devices (such as the iPhone
, iPad
, or iPod Touch
) and with Android devices, (such as the HTC Hero and the Sony Ericsson Xperia). Unofficial apps are available for the Samsung BADA and Symbian
devices.
International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2010. It is made of plastic and foam and about a foot long. It connects to an iOS / Android device using Wi-Fi
to control its action and has two cameras which can be viewed through the device's screen. It also has the ability to recognize 3D stages, compatibility with augmented reality
flying games, and an ultrasound altimeter that lets the Drone hover.
operating system. Communications are through Wi-Fi
(b/g) and USB
.
The inertial guidance systems use a MEMS 3-axis accelerometer
, 2-axis gyrometer and a single-axis yaw precision gyrometer. An ultrasonic altimeter
with a range of 6 meters (19.7 ft) provides vertical stabilization.
The structure is constructed of Carbon-fiber tubes. The 15W electric motors are brushless type driving high-efficiency propellers. Power is from a rechargeable Lithium polymer battery pack
delivering 11.1 V, 1000 mAh. With a weight of 380 g or 420 g (with "indoor hull") it can maintain flight for about 12 minutes with a speed of 5 m/s (16.4 ft per second) which is 18 km/h (11.2 miles per hour)
Two cameras are fitted, a wide-angle (93°) at the front which can supply live stream (640x480 pixels VGA) to a remote monitor, and a high speed vertical camera (64° lens) which can supply 60 frame/second.
The front camera can be used with software to detect a second AR Drone at 0.3-5 m (1 ft to 16.4 ft) giving
The AR Drone features a 6 DOF, MEMS-based, miniaturized inertial measurement unit
. It provides pitch, roll, and yaw measures.
Inertial measurements are used for automatic pitch, roll and yaw
stabilization and assisted tilting control. They are needed for generating realistic augmented reality
effects. An ultrasound telemeter provides with altitude measures for automatic altitude stabilization and assisted vertical speed control.
Parrot has launched ARdrone.org Open API
game development platform, to gather game studios and developers.
Quadrotor
A quadrotor, also called a quadrotor helicopter or quadrocopter, is an aircraft that is lifted and propelled by four rotors. Quadrotors are classified as rotorcraft, as opposed to fixed-wing aircraft, because their lift is derived from four rotors...
with cameras attached to it built by Parrot
Parrot (company)
Parrot SA is a wireless products manufacturer company based in Paris, France. It was founded in 1994 by Christine/M De Tourvel, Jean-Pierre Talvard and Henri Seydoux and is currently a member of the CAC Small 90.- The company :...
. It is designed to be controllable with iOS devices (such as the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
, or iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
) and with Android devices, (such as the HTC Hero and the Sony Ericsson Xperia). Unofficial apps are available for the Samsung BADA and Symbian
Symbian
Symbian is a mobile operating system and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Accenture. The Symbian platform is the successor to Symbian OS and Nokia Series 60; unlike Symbian OS, which needed an additional user interface system, Symbian includes a user...
devices.
Design and development
It was introduced at the Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2010. It is made of plastic and foam and about a foot long. It connects to an iOS / Android device using Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
to control its action and has two cameras which can be viewed through the device's screen. It also has the ability to recognize 3D stages, compatibility with augmented reality
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is...
flying games, and an ultrasound altimeter that lets the Drone hover.
Technical specifications
It uses an ARM9 468 MHz embedded microcontroller with 128 Megabytes of RAM running the LinuxLinux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
operating system. Communications are through Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
(b/g) and USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
.
The inertial guidance systems use a MEMS 3-axis accelerometer
Accelerometer
An accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration, also called the four-acceleration. This is not necessarily the same as the coordinate acceleration , but is rather the type of acceleration associated with the phenomenon of weight experienced by a test mass that resides in the frame...
, 2-axis gyrometer and a single-axis yaw precision gyrometer. An ultrasonic altimeter
Altimeter
An altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth underwater.-Pressure altimeter:...
with a range of 6 meters (19.7 ft) provides vertical stabilization.
The structure is constructed of Carbon-fiber tubes. The 15W electric motors are brushless type driving high-efficiency propellers. Power is from a rechargeable Lithium polymer battery pack
delivering 11.1 V, 1000 mAh. With a weight of 380 g or 420 g (with "indoor hull") it can maintain flight for about 12 minutes with a speed of 5 m/s (16.4 ft per second) which is 18 km/h (11.2 miles per hour)
Two cameras are fitted, a wide-angle (93°) at the front which can supply live stream (640x480 pixels VGA) to a remote monitor, and a high speed vertical camera (64° lens) which can supply 60 frame/second.
The front camera can be used with software to detect a second AR Drone at 0.3-5 m (1 ft to 16.4 ft) giving
- Validation of shots fired at enemy drones
- Positioning of virtual objects
- Calculation of markers of virtual objects
Sensors and inertial measurement unit
The AR Drone has several motions sensors located under the central hull:The AR Drone features a 6 DOF, MEMS-based, miniaturized inertial measurement unit
Inertial measurement unit
An inertial measurement unit, or IMU, is an electronic device that measures and reports on a craft's velocity, orientation, and gravitational forces, using a combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes. IMUs are typically used to maneuver aircraft, including UAVs, among many others, and...
. It provides pitch, roll, and yaw measures.
Inertial measurements are used for automatic pitch, roll and yaw
Flight dynamics
Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...
stabilization and assisted tilting control. They are needed for generating realistic augmented reality
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is...
effects. An ultrasound telemeter provides with altitude measures for automatic altitude stabilization and assisted vertical speed control.
Augmented Reality Games
Parrot demos the AR.Drone with 2 games, a virtual combat called "DRONE WAR" with solo and multiplayer mode and a "ROBOT" solo game demo against a virtual Robot.Parrot has launched ARdrone.org Open API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
game development platform, to gather game studios and developers.