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Another toy quadcopter from CES, begging to be made autonomous

Posted by Chris Anderson on January 12, 2010 at 9:08am

The Parrot AR.Drone was not the only quadcopter at CES. From ArsTechnica, a report on a toy quad with impressive-sounding specs ($299 show price; $399 MSRP). Gyro stabilization and some sort of altitude control (ultrasound). Sounds like it will quickly be sued into extinction by Lucas, but the trend here is clear. The era of cheap and capable quads is upon us. We'll be modding these things for full autonomy and good cameras in no time. What does this mean for the expensive (multi thousand $s) quadcopters from the semi-pro world, such as the Draganfly and Mikrocopter? I know they're more capable, but is it enough to justify the price difference?
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Comments

  • Ho-Chung Chang January 13, 2010 at 4:18am
    Good job!!
  • Moderator
    Gary Mortimer January 12, 2010 at 9:59am
    I want one, for my Star Wars mad 9 year old of course.
  • tycinis January 12, 2010 at 9:50am
    Website

    USA shipping only
  • Overwatch January 12, 2010 at 9:47am
    +$200 for a brushless conversion, +$100 for GPS and baro, $100s for a better RX, up/downlink, and so on... it would definitely be cheaper than DF or MK, but I doubt it would beat the usability/cost ratio of all the really-DIY, off-the-shelf quads like AeroQuad and similar.
  • tycinis January 12, 2010 at 9:38am


    Some spec from the second video :

    ten minute runtime
    forward/backward
    up/down
    translation left and right
    40 MPH max speed
    2000feet max altitude ( 600 mettres )
    1 mile range
    indoor and outdoor with low wind
    beginner / easy to fly

    If this retail price in Eu is +- 200 € , i will buy one.
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