CES 2010: The Hottest iPhone Game in the World
Parrot's AR Drone Quadricopter plays games through the iPhone
LAS VEGAS – The hottest iPhone App at CES 2010 came from Parrot, which is better known for making wireless peripherals for mobile phones. Now Parrot has jumped into the augmented reality gaming experience with the AR.Drone for use with the iPhone and iPod touch. The intuitive Parrot AR.Drone, a quadricopter piloted with an iPhone or iPod touch, allows adults or kids to fly in a real-world environment while simultaneously playing a video game from the device’s screen.
The Parrot AR.Drone combines the best of today’s wireless, video and gaming technologies to allow real-world objects and conditions, like a tree or wind, to become a part of the video gaming experience. The device received a 2010 CES Innovations award for Electronic Gaming Hardware this week.Parrot has been building innovative wireless technologies for vehicles, home and beyond for more than 15 years. The AR.Drone project brings Parrot’s expertise in wireless technology to the gaming community.
“At Parrot, we have been developing wireless concepts for video games for four years. said Henri Seydoux, founder and CEO of Parrot. "Our first project was a Bluetooth race car. We’ve developed it, but I was not satisfied. A video game should contain a part of a dream that I missed with the Bluetooth car. It should fly! So I started the idea of the AR.Drone. With video cameras and a powerful computer, we have developed a very stable drone that is easy to control and flies like a dragonfly.”
The AR.Drone is a quadricopter that consists of a central cockpit surrounded by four propellers, each driven by an engine. It offers amazing possibilities for piloting, excellent maneuverability and extraordinary stability.
The heart of AR.Drone contains all electronic components and two cameras: The first camera, located underneath, connects to an Inertial Measurement Unit, which allows the AR.Drone to measure its speed and perform flawless stationary flight. Parrot Smart Piloting (PSP) technology compensates for wind and other environmental conditions during outside flights. For the first time, these technologies, used primarily for professional and military applications, have been adapted to the gaming universe. The second camera, at the front, broadcasts and streams to the iPhone or iPod touch screen, what the AR.Drone sees, as if you were sitting in the cockpit. This allows for the augmented reality gaming experience.
The AR.Drone generates its own Wi-Fi network that simply connects to an iPhone or iPod touch and turns it into a true piloting station. An unseen mix of captors (wide angle camera and high speed camera, MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanicals Systems), 3 axes accelerometer, 3 axes gyro, ultrasound sensor) associated with a powerful computer make the piloting easy and accessible even for the youngest or non-technologically savvy.
Thanks to the accelerometer of the iPhone or iPod touch that detects user’s movements, the AR.Drone is very easy to pilot by leaning the iPhone forward to move forward or sidewise to corner or change direction. On the touch pad of the iPhone, command buttons also indicate some actions such as rise, down, rotate, move back, move forward. Observing the AR.Drone obey to each movement of his hands is an extraordinary experience for the player.
The AR.Drone is designed for flying inside and outside. For a flight inside, a hull surrounds the propellers and protects the AR.Drone if it hits an obstacle. For the outside, a shaped hull reduces the area to the wind for a better maneuverability. Each flight with the AR.Drone will always be a new experience. Outside, players will have to take into account the changing elements of the real environment, like the wind, the sunshine, the shading areas or any other obstacles.
The gaming device offers unprecedented multi-player possibilities. Thanks to augmented reality, it is possible to recreate an aerial fight between two drones. The worlds of video gaming and radio controlled devices collaborate for the first time evolving simultaneously in both environments. Since it is built on an open platform accessible to game developers, gamers will be able to download new games on a regular basis once the product ships this year.
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About the Author
John Gaudiosi
Editor-in-Chief
John Gaudiosi has been covering videogames for the past 17 years for outlets like The Washington Post, CNET, Wired Magazine and CBS.com. He has focused on the convergence of entertainment and videogames for outlets like Video Business, Home Media Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Gamerlive.TV and is also a freelance game columnist for Reuters and writes for outlets like Playboy Magazine, NVISION Magazine, GamePro Magazine, Official PlayStation Magazine, EGM Now, Maxim.com, AOL GameDaily.com, GeForce.com, and Yahoo! Games. John also serves as the video game expert for NBC in Washington D.C. John was named one of the Top 50 Game Journalists in the world by Next-Gen.biz in 2007. He is the co-author of Scholastic Books' How to Get into Videogames, Prima Publishing's Madden: Twenty Years of Videogame Football and Electronic Arts: The Official History.
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