Parrot, French purveyor of drones, mini-drones, and car speakerphones, unveiled their Parrot Disco prototype at CES today. It’s an ultra-light airplane-shaped drone with fixed wings on the side, a 1080p camera on the nose, and a propeller in the rear. Its wings are detachable for easy travel and to start flying, the pilot simply tosses it into the air.
The Disco can be controlled using Parrot’s Skycontroller, connected via extended range WiFi, or with Parrot’s Flight Plan app. Disco contains the same 3-axis digital camera stabilization that Parrot uses in their Bebop drone camera to enable smooth first-person view on the controller. For ease of use, the Disco also takes off and lands on it’s own thanks to the built-in GPS technology. Parrot is also working on an “autopilot” mode that allows users to control some of the flight while ensuring a smooth flight with no crashes or stalls.
Check out Gear Diary’s Quick Look from the floor of CES, below:
See below for the full list of the Parrot Disco prototype’s features:
- Front nose camera FullHD 1080P
- First person view thanks to live video stream
- Lightweight and robust design to ease maneuverability
- Automatic take-off and landing thanks to ground sensors
- Easy to pilot thanks to assisted flying modes
- Flight time around 45 minutes
- Waypoints with Flight Plan (* in-app purchase)
- GPS return home
- Extended Wi-Fi range with Parrot Skycontroller
- Detachable wings for easy transport