Parrot AR.Drone
A pioneering quadcopter controlled by mobile devices with augmented reality games.
The Parrot AR.Drone is a discontinued remote-controlled quadcopter built by the French company Parrot. It was unveiled at the International CES 2010 in Las Vegas and designed to be controlled by mobile or tablet operating systems such as iOS or Android. The drone gained attention for its use of augmented reality games and its open API platform, which encouraged third-party development.
Quick Facts
- Aircraft Type
- Unmanned aerial vehicle
- National Origin
- France
- Manufacturer
- Parrot SA
- Construction Date
- 2010–c. 2018
- Introduction
- January 2010
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The main airframe of the AR.Drone is constructed from PA66 plastic and carbon fiber tubes. Two interchangeable hulls were supplied: an indoor hull made of expanded polypropylene foam with propeller bumpers, and an outdoor hull. The drone is powered by four brushed or brushless DC electric motors depending on the version, and a 1000 mAh lithium polymer battery gives a maximum flight time of 15 minutes. It has an embedded computer with an ARM9 processor and a Linux operating system. The drone was released alongside several augmented reality games, allowing users to race through obstacle courses or engage in simulated dogfights between multiple AR.Drones.
The successor, the AR.Drone 2.0, was unveiled at CES Las Vegas 2012. It is outwardly similar but has brushless motors, an ARM Cortex-A8 processor, a 3-axis magnetometer, an upgraded 720p camera, and a pressure sensor. Parrot claimed the pressure sensor allowed flight up to 164 ft, though Popular Science found the WiFi link would disconnect before reaching that altitude. The AR.Drone 2.0 was released with a new flight app backwards compatible with the original. At CES 2013, Parrot announced the Flight Recorder add-on, adding 4GB storage, GPS tracking, and flight data recording, along with an extended battery increasing flight time by up to 50%. By February 2018, the AR.Drone 2.0 Elite Edition and Power Edition were no longer being sold.
Reader's Guide
The AR.Drone and its successor sold around half a million units by early 2013. It received a 2010 CES Innovations award for Electronic Gaming Hardware and was awarded Best Smart Product of 2015 according to Wellbots Top 25 Smart Products Ranking of 2015. The AR.Drone 2.0 was praised for the relative ease with which pilots could learn to fly it, while the original release required more intense practice. Parrot launched an open API game development platform to aid third-party developers, and due to this openness, affordability, and wide range of onboard sensors, the AR.Drone became a popular tool in research and education. It has been used for experiments with visual-based autonomous navigation, autonomous surveillance, and human-machine interaction. In France, the AR.Drone 2.0 was tested by a Special Operations unit for aerial reconnaissance. An AR.Drone was used by Tim Pool during the Occupy Wall Street protest with modified software to stream directly to an internet channel. Concerns were raised over its use for surveillance; in Germany, consumer affairs minister Ilse Aigner described the drone as a privacy threat and called for restrictions. A UK advertising campaign showing an AR.Drone flown into Buckingham Palace grounds was withdrawn after concerns it demonstrated illegal use. In the US, use of AR.Drones is governed by the Federal Aviation Administration and local jurisdiction, restricting small UAS above 400 ft.
Did You Know?
- The drone's main airframe is made from PA66 plastic and carbon fiber tubes.
- The AR.Drone 2.0 features a pressure sensor that Parrot claimed allows flight up to 164 ft.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Parrot AR.Drone?
It is a consumer-grade quadcopter helicopter produced by the French company Parrot, first unveiled at CES in January 2010. Rather than relying on a conventional RC transmitter, it was designed to be piloted through a smartphone or tablet running iOS or Android.
How do you actually fly the Parrot AR.Drone?
You steer it wirelessly from a mobile app that streams a live video feed from the drone's forward- and downward-facing cameras. On-screen controls let you adjust altitude, tilt, and rotation, replacing the need for a traditional handheld transmitter.
How long can the Parrot AR.Drone stay in the air on one charge?
The original model delivered roughly 15 minutes of flight from its 1000 mAh lithium-polymer battery. The AR.Drone 2.0 extended that window to 15–25 minutes, while the Power Edition reached about 18 minutes with a larger 1500 mAh high-density cell.
What made the Parrot AR.Drone different from other RC aircraft of its era?
It shipped with augmented-reality mini-games and a fully open API, inviting hobbyists and third-party developers to build custom software on the platform. That combination of mobile-device control and developer accessibility made it a landmark project in the early consumer-drone scene.
Is the Parrot AR.Drone still available to buy?
No—Parrot has discontinued the line entirely. The original appeared in 2010 and the AR.Drone 2.0 in 2012, but both have since been superseded by newer Parrot products, leaving the AR.Drone as a sought-after collector's item among RC enthusiasts.
More in Radio-Controlled Helicopters and Model Aircraft 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced