AR.Drone Quadricopter - Augmented Reality Flying Machine
The cool new AR.Drone Quadricopter is a state of the art flying machine that you can wirelessly pilot using the on-screen controls and movement of your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Just download the free App, sync it with the AR.Drone and its two integrated video cameras will stream back realtime video via Wi-Fi... you see what the pilot sees on your mobile device. Now use the on-screen controls to lift off, hover and maneuver around, indoors or out. Even cooler, is that it can fuse reality with virtual reality by generating a video game directly over the video to create an "augmented reality gaming environment complete with air-to-air missiles, interactive targeting systems, and fiery explosions". For example, you can not only buzz your sleeping cat, you can fire missiles at as well... virtually of course.
You don't need to be professional to pilot the AR.Drone. It's easy and intuitive to fly because it incorporates advanced dual ultrasonic altimeters, a three-axis accelerometer, multiple gyroscopes, and an embedded Linux platform to continuously stabilize itself during flight. It even detects and compensates for wind. The body is constructed from durable carbon fiber and high-resistance plastic and it even includes a removable indoor hull that you can slip on to protect the rotors from collisions with walls and furniture. It also features two integrated video cameras, one on the front and one underneath facing the ground, that you can quickly switch between by pressing a button on-screen.
This is definitely the future of video gaming... or maybe it's the future of remote controlled vehicles... or maybe it's just something entirely new and very, very cool!
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