Alcatel-Lucent flies Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over 3,280 feet using LTE: reach out and buzz someone (video)

AlcatelLucent flies Parrot ARDrone 20 over 3,280 feet with LTE reach out and buzz someone video

The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 is many good things, but "long-ranged" isn't what comes to mind with a 165-foot maximum distance between pilot and quadrocopter. Not to be daunted, Alcatel-Lucent has conducted a test with an ad hoc LTE network, a USB modem and a smartphone to see just how far the remote-controlled aircraft could go on 4G. In practice, quite far: thanks in part to the inherently wide coverage of the 800MHz band in France, the team flew the AR.Drone more than 3,280 feet (one kilometer), all while streaming 720p video of the farmland below. Besides giving us ideas for a North by Northwest remake, the flight emphasized the possibilities that come when we have access to a long-distance wireless link with high bandwidth, such as monitoring crops or some very literal field journalism. The challenge will be convincing Alcatel-Lucent to share its trick and let us pester our not-so-next-door neighbors.

[Thanks, Vincent]

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Mind-controlled Quadcopter Drone: Telekinesis Tech

The newest model of the Parrot AR.Drone can be controlled via the iPad. Fancy eh? Well, researchers at Zhejiang University have come up with a way to control the quadcopter using a person’s brain waves. That’s telekinesis, Kyle.

flyingbuddy 2 mind controlled parrot drone

Or not. Even though the dude above looks like he’s got a Professor X thing going on, the real magic isn’t in his DNA but on a PC. An EEG wired to his head reads his signals, which is processed on his laptop, which in turn wirelessly sends the equivalent command to the drone. The goal is to help disabled people be more independent and to be able to explore their surroundings, but there’s no reason normal people can’t enjoy this technology as well.

Combine the FlyingBuddy 2 with the ShockDrone and you have one hell of a party game.

[via The Verge]


Hack a Day’s Drone Will Tase You, Bro

Hey Range, you wished for a taser-equipped quadrotor drone right? Hack a Day has served as your genie. The folks who run the site managed to modify a Parrot AR.Drone to deliver a shock on contact.

taserdrone by hack a day

Hack a Day ran two strips of aluminum tape along the outline of the indoor variant of the Parrot AR.Drone. The tapes were connected to the capacitor of a disposable camera. When the parallel strips are connected – like when they come into contact with human skin – the circuit completes and electricity flows through the tapes, resulting in this:

taserdrone by hack a day 2

That’s right: the current will turn you into a white dude’s forearm. Seriously though this thing can pack a punch, but fortunately not a Fist of the North Star caliber punch. Watch it chase and tase in the video below:

Head to Shock Hack a Day to find out how to build your own TaserDrone.