Parrot’s AR.Drone at CES

Heading between halls, I stopped by the Parrot tent to see the AR.Drone, their iPhone-piloted quadricopter that’s been building buzz all through CES.

Flying the copter is really easy — you’ll hear the demoer (a member of the drone’s dev team) explain the controls in the video below — and while I didn’t get to try any of the augmented reality games, the piloting app and craft’s movements were fluid and responsive.

I do wish they’d had two drones up and running to allow folks to duel, as I wonder how difficult it’s going to be for players to maintain the drone’s orientation while flying aggressively and constantly looking up and down from the craft (and opposing drones) to the iPhone.

Inquired about gaining a seat in Parrot’s dev program, as the AR.Drone would be a blast to design for, but not sure if we’d want to throw down the $1200 entry fee for an entirely unproven device just yet.

Still, as long as Parrot can price the AR.Drone reasonably for retail, this thing is gonna be a hit.

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