I tried Parrot's new drone "Bebop Drone" that I can pilot with my eyes.

The drone (Quad Copter) on the palm of your handRolling SpiderAnd can be steered with iPhone / iPadAR Drone 2We are sending drone products such asParrot, But a new drone that can maneuver while seeing the image of the camera built into the main body "Bebop DroneWe announced. In Japan we were able to borrow a new drone that will be released in April, so we decided to try out what kind of flight is possible.

Bebop Drone Sturdy ultralight Quad Cotter, 14 million pixel fish-eye lens camera, resolution: Full HD 1080p, Sky controller, 3 axis base image stabilizer
http://www.parrot.com/jp/products/bebop-drone/


The actual machine of Bebop Drone which Kore arrived at the editorial department. The main body size is compact with 28 × 32 × 3.6 cm, weight is also about 400 grams and finished lightweight.


When opening the cover of the front part of the main body, the 14 million pixel HD camera appeared. It has a fisheye lens with a field of view of 180 degrees, but as you can see in the latter half of the movie, the picture actually taken is very natural. Images taken with the camera can be saved in the internal memory, connected to the PC with the USB cable can also be taken out.


Bebop Drone is a quad-cotter with four rotors. The aircraft is painted in front and back two tone color, the rotor is also the same color stylish. The color is red, yellow and blue, and the three colors are lineup.


By the way, the package bundle is like this. It is possible to attach a hull (bumper) that covers the fuselage and rotor and secures surrounding people and objects safely, and it is a nice place to have two batteries from the beginning. There are four outlet receptacles that can be used in various countries around the world, a USB cable, and a rotor for replacement are 2 × 2 color sets.


It is like this when Hull is installed. Since the outer periphery is made of soft polystyrene foam, it does not seem to worry about injury even if you hit it suddenly.


The detachable battery is a black part behind the main body.


From the back, you can see the compactness of the aircraft well. The aircraft made of ABS resin reinforced with glass fiber has high durability against the impact of the crash.


If you look closely, you can see that the main component of the aircraft is mounted on the red rubber. By doing this, it seems that we are improving the quality of the video by shutting out the vibration of the rotor. Inside the compact body, sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers are built in to enhance the stability of the aircraft. In addition, it is said that vertical cameras, ultrasonic sensors, pressure sensors, etc. which measure ground speed by photographing the ground are also installed.


When I looked at the aircraft, I decided to skip it. Before turning on the power of the main unit, prepare an application for operation first. The applicationAndroid versionWhenIOS versionAlthough it is released, this time I decided to install it on the iPad Air 2 and try to operate it.


The power button on the main unit is this small button at the rear of the aircraft. Turn on the power, then connect with the smartphone / tablet via Wi-Fi.


Connect to the item "BebopDrone ******" on the Wi-Fi setting screen. Bebop Drone uses multiple antennas and frequency bandsMIMO(Mimo), and said that it realized stable communication. Although 2.4 GHz band and 5 GHz band can be used for the frequency band, attention is necessary since it can only use 2.4 GHz because it is permitted and approved when using outdoors.


When the Wi-Fi connection is completed, launch the application.


Tap "START" on the application screen to enter the maneuvering mode. In addition, at this point, the image already captured by the camera is displayed on the screen.


In the place where preparation is completed, it immediately enters the flight. Basic maneuvering is only to tilt the tablet back and forth and to the left and right while touching the screen, it is possible to operate intuitively if you get used to it. Since the posture of the aircraft is stable, you can steer without being too careful about too much. Regarding the main FPV function, although there is a latency (= delay) of about 0.5 second and the moment when the movement is slightly challenging, it is within the range of practical use unless it is intense movement It seems to be said that. Although I am not good at avoiding obstacles that appeared suddenly, it seems to be said that it is perfect to fly slowly in a wide open space which opened wide.

I tried FPV piloting at Parrot's drone "Bebop Drone" - YouTube


I could not use it this time, but Parrot can be equipped with a physical joystick to navigate with the radio control feelingSky ControllerAlso a lineup. You can also enjoy full flight while watching the images sent to the tablet.


Parrot's "Bebop Drone" is accepting reservations at the site for release in April. At the time of writing the article can be booked at Yodobashi.com and Yodobashi.com, and the price of the single item of Bebop Drone is 70,000 yen excluding tax to 76,570 yen including tax, while the set with "Sky controller" is 130,000 900 It was 143,370 yen yen yen including tax.

Parrot Japan - Where to buy - Parrot Bebop Drone Skycontroller
http://www.parrot.com/jp/store-locator/parrot/parrot-bebop-drone-skycontroller/JP/ecommerce/