Parrot launching smartphone-controlled drones

SEYDOUX: Users get to 'fly' like a bird or an insect with Parrot's latest product. -AFP photo

SAN FRANCISCO: Wireless products maker Parrot unveiled a drone Sunday aimed squarely at smartphone or tablet owners keen on getting bird's eye views of the world.

Parrot billed its Bebop Drone as a flying high-quality camera that will land in the market in the final three months this year.

The Paris-based maker of wireless accessories for automobiles and handheld mobile devices did not disclose how much it plans to charge for the drones.

"The experience is like being a bird, an insect," Parrot founder and chief Henri Seydoux said while providing an early look at Bebop drones in San Francisco.

"You fly through the device and see the same thing as if you were a bird."

A Bebop drone can be controlled using smartphones or tablet computers powered by Apple or Android software, displaying on screens what is captured by its high-definition camera with a 180-degree "fish-eye" view.

The drones can also synch to Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets, letting wearers essentially look around by moving their heads as though they are actually flying.

Consumer targets for the drones, which are essentially motion-stabilized cameras, include people who want to capture aerial shots for movies made using smartphones or tablets.

Bebop drones link to mobile devices using standard Wi-Fi connections and have ranges of about 980 feet (300 meters).

Parrot said it will sell separately a Skycontroller accessory dock for mobile devices to boost flying distances to about 1.2 miles (two kilometers).

A homing feature lets people controlling Bebop drones order them to return automatically to where they took-off using GPS capabilities, according to Seydoux.

A 2.2-pound (one-kilogram) Bebop drone, whose camera is taken aloft by four propellers, buzzed like a swarm of bees as it swooped, circled and hovered in an inner courtyard at a historic former US mint building in downtown San Francisco.

The drones are designed to fly indoors or outdoors.

Imagery captured by drones is stored and can be digitally downloaded after Bebops return from flights, according to Parrot product manager Francois Callou.

Bebop drones will debut as communities and regulators grapple with privacy concerns, aviation risks and other issues raised by personal or business use of such devices in the skies. - AFP 

Kekecohan dipercayai dilakukan oleh orang luar - Johari

Kekecohan dipercayai dilakukan oleh orang luar - Johari

PETALING JAYA: Jawatankuasa Pemilihan Pusat (JPP) PKR percaya bahawa pemilihan pimpinan di 10 Cabang PKR di Selangor yang berakhir dengan kekecohan itu dilakukan dikalangan orang luar dari parti tersebut.

Pengerusi JPP, Datuk Johari Abdul berkata parti tersebut tidak bertoleransi dengan budaya samseng namun berdasarkan apa yang berlaku, terdapat perlakuan samseng yang dilakukan oleh orang dari luar parti itu.

"Sebagai contoh, kita ada rakaman video dalam pemilihan di Kuala Langat semalam di mana sebelum berakhirnya sesi pemilihan tersebut, datang lima orang remaja menyerbu masuk ke kawasan pemilihan dan menendang peti undi sehingga terkeluar kertas-kertas undi yang berada dalam peti itu," katanya dalam satu sidang media di Ibu Pejabat PKR di Tropicana disini tadi.

Tambahnya lagi, meskipun kekecohan itu berlaku, pemilihan di kawasan tersebut tidak dibatalkan.

"Sehingga semalam, jawatankuasa telah bersepakat membatalkan pemilihan di 10 cabang iaitu Hulu Langat, Sabak Bernam, Sungai Besar, Subang, Klang, Selayang, Kota Raja, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor dan Kapar,".

- Astro Awani