Fun drone specialists Parrot have unwrapped an ultra-light ‘copter that can also roll, and an 80cm jumping robot insect, at CES.
The uninspiringly-named MiniDrone is a miniature drone, connected to a smartphone or tablet with Bluetooth Low Energy, which flies as a quadracopter or rolls around on two detachable lightweight wheels.
The Jumping Sumo is a robot insect which is controlled via 5GHz Wi-Fi with a smartphone or tablet. It spins, jumps up to 80cm and makes 90-degree turns.
The MiniDrone is very lightweight and easy to fly, and its powerful motors allow the MiniDrone to fly at high speeds and perform impressive acrobatics.
The wheels are very light, which enables the MiniDrone to climb along a wall or glide across a ceiling before zooming off again into the air.
The insect-inspired Jumping Sumo comes with a gyroscrope and an accelerometer which provides good control, whilst also allowing it to roll and turn at 90 degrees with speed and precision.
It can also jump up to 80cm into the air, and comes with an embedded camera to capture the fast-paced movements, which can then be streamed onto the controlling smartphone or tablet’s screen.
The MiniDrone and Jumping Sumo will be available to buy in 2014.
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