Parrot AR.Drone WiFi Helicopter Revealed [Parrot's AR.Drone Helicopter Is Controlled Via WiFi, iPhone, iPod Touch]

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In a departure from the brand’s bread and butter, Bluetooth device manufacturer Parrot has logically released a product that flies.  The Parrot AR.Drone is a WiFi-enabled quadricopter– a four-propeller, camera-equipped drone aircraft that can be controlled by an iPhone or iPod Touch.

The Parrot AR.Drone helicopter features WiFi remote control, two on-board video cameras and an array of stabilizing sensors and gyroscopes.  Add the ability to control the Parrot AR.Drone with your iPhone, and this becomes arguably the coolest app yet.  Shift and turn your iPhone, and the accelerometer translates these to steering controls on the AR.Drone.  The pilot can view the flight of the AR.Drone on the iPhone’s screen, either from the flight cam or the unit’s auto-pilot camera.

The Parrot AR.Drone is designed as an r/c toy, much in contrast to the CyberQuad UAV we covered back in December.  Yet this quadricopter does employ similar military-grade technology of helicopter UAVs, including wind compensation, gyroscopic balance technologies and more.  The AR.Drone is also designed to work in tandem with other AD.Drones, giving two users the ability to battle-it-out using games developed by Parrot and third party developers.

Pricing info is not yet available, nor is a concrete ship date.  Want to terrify your friends with the threat of an alien invasion?  Yeah, there’s now an app for that.