We got our hands on the Parrot Bebop Drone back in May during a demo session with Parrot CEO Henri Seydoux. At that time, the company neither disclosed the complete feature list nor the price.
Video capture with drones is getting some unexpected traction, so we can imagine that Bebop may be able to trigger some creative minds, due to its relative “low price”. The drone will retail in December from Apple and BestBuy for $499, and for that price it comes with two batteries.
The Bebop is equipped with a 14 megapixels full HD (1080×1920) “fisheye-lens” front camera that streams the view of the flight in real-time on your smartphone or tablet while you are controlling the drone.
The image quality is quite impressive, Parrot developed a unique algorithm that leverage the Parrot SoC (P7 CPU+GPU+ISP) and the four shock absorbers to remove any image distortion and deliver a good 3-axis image stabilization. According to the company, this allows the viewing angle to remain stable without distortion, regardless of the inclination of the drone or the turbulences.
A few image settings are available from the FreeFlight 3.0 mobile application such as image ratio, fish eye, white balance, saturation and more.
Parrot Bebop Drone, Freeflight 3.0 app for iOS and Android
The bebop is extremely light, it weighs only 390g without its hull (410g with it) and is packed with sensors (see description in the image below).
Regarding connectivity, you get two WiFi antenna on board that deliver 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz I MIMO format. The bebop will maintain a connection with your smartphone or tablet up to 250 meters.
For $899 you can purchase the Bebop Drone Extended that comes with the Skycontroller, an RC-like remote control that features a WiFi amplifier for a more powerful WiFi connection with a range of 2 km (!).
Parrot Bebop Drone specifications:
- − CPU Dual core A9
- − Linux
- − Open source SDK
- − Wi-Fi:
- . Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
- . Wi-Fi MIMO 2.4 et 5GHz
- . 26dBm
- − GNSS: GPS+GLONASS
- − Inertial unit: Gyroscope, Accelerometer,
- Magnetometer, Altimeter, Ultrasound, Vertical
- camera
- − Battery: Lithium Polymer 1200mAh
- − Flight time per battery: about 11 minutes (2 batteries
- included)
- − Compatibility: iOS, Android and Windows Phone
- smartphones/tablets
- − Weight: 390 g without hull – 410 g with hull
- − Dimensions: 33x38x3.6 cm with hull
- 28x32x3, 6cm without hull
- – 8 Gb flash memory
- Photos:
- – 4096 x 3072
- – Format jpeg, RAW, DNG
- Video:
- – 1920 x 1080 (30fps)
- – Format H.264 (MPEG 4)
Parrot Skycontroller specifications:
- − Processor ARM dual-core, 8 Gb memory
- − Android 4.2
- − Wi-Fi:
- . Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n up to 36dBm
- . Antennas directive range up to 2km (Range in
- theory, depending on national regulations)
- . Wi-Fi MIMO 2.4 and 5GHz
- . Second chipset Wi-Fi to connect to a tablet
- − GPS
- − USB, HDMI connectors
- − Sun-visor and strap included
- − Weight: 1550g
- − Dimensions: 37 x 23 x 19cm
- − Autonomy: about 1h40