Parrot Takes Flight With Bebop Drone and Skycontroller

Pepcom’s Digital Experience gives the media a chance to take a sneak peek at some of the coolest gadgets as CES kicks off, so we checked out the latest gear from HP, Patriot, and the like. This year we found ourselves dodging a number of drones, including Parrot’s Bebop, which hovered at about eye-level, taking in the show with its built-in camera.

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Parrot is touting its Skycontroller remote, which looks a bit like an oversized console remote at first glance. But plug your tablet or smartphone into the Skycontroller and you’re in for an entirely different experience. With the tablet as a display, The FreeFlight 3 app lets you see what the Parrot is seeing. Big Brother implications aside, the drone is fun to watch – it’s reasonably quiet and moves surprisingly quickly.

The Skycontroller has a Home button that instructs the drone to return to you its starting position (determined via GPS). The FreeFlight 3 app supports video recording, which is also activated by a button on the controller. You can add a pair of FPV glasses for privacy or to get a better viewing experience. Drones are still too new to be inexpensive, unfortunately: the Bebop and Skycontroller will set you back about $900.