The Parrot AR Drone 2.0 is the newest installment of the AR Drone line. Like the original AR Drone, this quadcopter is operated over a wifi signal using an iPad or iPod device.
It comes with an indoor hat and outdoor hat and as Josh Scott would say, similar to a "bike persons helmet". Though an iPad/iPod is not included, you do get a battery charger that has direct contacts to balance charge the battery.
The onboard camera returns a pretty nice recorded HD video and the live stream over wifi, is much better than the original. This model features an onboard USB adapter which allows you to record HD 720p video directly to a USB device without slowing down the FPV video stream while flying.
You will need to supply your own USB flash drive for recording HD video with the onboard adapter. You still have the option to record the video on your iPad, iPod device but the updated USB option improves your FPV experience!
An interesting function is the "Absolute Control" feature. It's designed for the beginner in mind. This option allows you to fly the AR Drone 2.0 so the various controls command the drone to move in relation to it's launching point. So forward causes it to fly away, right causes it to fly absolute right from the starting postion, etc.
We found that by switching the controls to "joypad mode"and "left handed" made it easier to fly for those who fly mode 2 on a traditional R/C TX.
The AR Drone 2.0 features a safety hover mode that kicks in if the operator removes his hands from the controller or if the wifi signal is interrupted.
Also, the Drone has a stabilization system that helps keep it flying even if it's pushed…literally! Chad tested how well it worked by pushing it while it was flying and it works surprisingly well.
The Parrot AR Drone 2.0 has been updated with many new features and improvements from the original. The landing mode is much smoother, the FPV video feed is smoother as well (when recording to the onboard USB)
The Parrot AR Drone 2.0 is a definite improvement from version 1.0. However it'll probably still be considered a novelty by most R/C pilots.
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