Parrot has announced what it claims to be the fastest drone to hit the home use market, reaching speeds of up to 50mph and flying at altitudes of up to
The Parrot Disco can fly for up to 45 minutes on a single charge and its flight can be fully automated via a smartphone app or virtual reality headset, which you use to take control too.
To launch the drone, you can simply throw the unit up into the air and it will take flight, circling overhead and turning autonomously to avoid objects, until you take control of it via the app.
‘There is a wi-fi connection on the sky controller and you can control the Parrot easily,’ Parrot’s Frederick Pirat told the Daily Mail. “So if you want to go to the left, you just turn the stick to the left, and you don’t have to control the pitch or roll. It’s all automatic.”
If the drone loses its Wi-Fi connection, it will switch to GPS in order to find you, all the time communicating with the smartphone, table or VR headset you’re using to control it.
This is achieved via the array of sensors onboard the Disco, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, barometer and GPS that are all used to control its flight around the skies.
However, there’s no sense and avoid system onboard, so you’ll have to keep track of the drone at all times to make sure it doesn’t some into contact with anything that could disable it, such as a tree or a wall.
The Parrot Disco weighs 700g, with a 14-megapixel camera built in to record its surroundings. However, there aren’t any wheels bult into the unit, so you’ll have to ensure you’re situated somewhere with a soft surface to prevent the device becoming damaged following a crash landing on a hard surface.
The Parrot Disco drone is due to be available for purchase later in 2016 and prices have not yet been disclosed.
