Parrot Bebop Drone And Skycontroller: HD Video Eye In The Sky
Introducing The Bebop Drone
Many of us have gazed in awe at some of the gorgeous, high-definition videos captured with ultra-expensive drones, and wished we could produce the same kind of imagery on our own. But for most of us, budgets would not allow it. With that in mind, Parrot sought to integrate a quality, full HD video camera into a lightweight drone, built with safety and accessibility as top priorities. The company also wanted to produce a drone that offered an engaging piloting experience with substantial range and an expertly designed, custom controller kit. The end result is the Bebop Drone and Skycontroller kit we'll be showing you here today.
In this piece, we'll try to asses whether Parrot succeeded and focus on just how affordable, usable and robust the Bebop Drone and Skycontroller kit can be. But first, we have some specifications and features to share along with a video of the Bebop in action...
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Connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Wi-Fi antennas: MIMO dual-band with 2 double-sets of dipole antennas for 2.4 and 5 GHz
Sending power: Up to 21 dBm
Signal range: Up to 250 meters
Structure
4 Brushless Outrunner motors
Glass fiber reinforced (15%) ABS structure
High-resistance EPP outdoor hull: Clip and unclip easily to adapt to indoor and outdoor flight, protects the propellers against potential bumps, can be removed to reduce wind factor
Three-blade auto-block propellers in Polycarbonate with fast disassembly system
Anti-vibration bumpers
Speed
13 m/s
Camera
CMOS 14Mpx, 1/2.3"
"Camera with "Fisheye" lens 180° 1/2,2"": 6 optical elements and 14 Mega pixels sensor
Video stabilization: Digital on 3-axes
Video definition: 1920x1080p (30fps)
Photo definition: 4096x3072 px
Video encoding: H264
Photo file format: JPEG, RAW, DNG
Internal memory: Flash 8 GB
Battery
Lithium Polymer
Lithium Polymer 1200 mAh
Flight time: 22 minutes with 2 batteries included
Processor
CPU: Dual-Core
Mother board:
Parrot P7 dual-core CPU Cortex 9
Quad core GPU
8Gb flash memory
All fixed on a magnesium shelf that acts as electromagnetic shielding and as a radiator
Operating system: Linux
Developping: Open-source SDK
Sensors
3-axes
3-axes magnetometer
3-axes gyroscope
3-axes accelerometer
Optical-flow sensor: Vertical stabilization camera (Every 16 milliseconds, an image of the ground is taken and compared to the previous one to determine the speed of the Bebop Drone)
Ultrasound sensor (Analyzes the flight altitude up to 8 meters)
Pressure sensor
Geo-location
GNSS
GNSS (GPS + GLONASS) (fig.6)
Dimensions
28x32x3.6cm
28x32x3.6cm without the hull
33x38x3.6cm with the hull
Weight
400g
With battery, 400g without the hull and 420g with the hull
Compatibility
iOS, Android, Windows Phone Smartphones/tablets
Connectivity
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Although some may scoff at a brightly colored drone with (gasp!) an integrated camera, Parrot has succeeded in bringing a very good quality video experience to a lightweight and surprisingly sturdy drone. I have been using the Bebop and Skycontroller for a couple of months now and have shot some very nice footage over scraggly rock peaks, bright sandy Pacific beaches, and a collection of urban parks. I have even crashed the drone into a tree, a brick wall and, my TV, and other than a few scratches on the propellers everything came away unscathed.
