Parrot Announces New Drone Features at CES

As one of the world’s top names in UAV innovations, Paris-based manufacturer Parrot is spreading its corporate wings in new directions for 2015. The company announced several new drone products at the Consumer Electronics Show 2015 (CES 2015) in Las Vegas this week. While some products are improvements for older models, Parrot is sure to wow drone enthusiasts with upcoming launch plans.

In the mini-drone world, the quirky Jumping Sumo line continues to grow as a family with the announced release of a new, unnamed rover drone equipped with headlights and a cross-country model with a stronger “backbone” to allow easy rolling action over several obstacles.

Although details are sparse at this point, Parrot announced a conceptual addition to the Rolling Spider family with a flight-capable UAV dubbed the Mechanical Firefly (no, Joss Whedon fans, this is NOT what you think). The company reports the Firefly will allow a user to “explore the most obscure areas thanks to its two headlights” — more details to come, no doubt.

Fans of the Bebop drone will no doubt be bopping with excitement with Parrot’s announced “final version” of the third-generation quadcopter.

“Equipped with a Full HD 14 megapixel camera stabilized on a 3-axis framework, the Parrot Bebop Drone takes video and pictures of the world in a 180° field with remarkable image quality,” a Parrot said in a press release. (We saw it on the floor and it worked pretty well, even if the resolution left something to be desired.)

Parrot’s subsidiary SenseFly unveiled more information about the previously announced eXom.

Described as a “light, safe and highly intelligent quadcopter,” the eXom offers a fully automated system that offers professionals such as civil engineers and surveyors the situational awareness to perform inspections and close mapping projects.

eXom boasts five vision sensors that allow the user to see in the direction the drone is moving – “automatically and without needing to turn the system’s main camera head.” The new model also features five ultrasonic proximity sensors that “work in harmony with its visual sensors to ensure the operator always knows the drone’s distance from nearby objects.” The drone can capture 270-degree videos, hi-res still images and thermal data as well featuring an autonomous mode.

“We designed eXom to be unlike any other rotary drone system,” said Jean-Christophe Zufferey, CEO and co-founder of senseFly. “We created an integrated imaging platform, rather than simply a remote-controlled aircraft with cameras attached. And because this platform’s sensors provide such full environmental awareness, our professional customers can focus on their work, not on flying.”