As reported on TechCrunch.
by MATT BURNS
It was hovering. Just sitting there. The livery was different. A black body with different color blades. Something was clearly different about this Parrot A.R. Drone 2.0. It wasn’t as colorful as the ones he had seen before.
He sat there for a lot longer. This drone was clearly hiding something under the piano-black shell. Eight minutes passed. 16 minutes passed. Then, just before the 36 minute mark, the drone, nearly silently, returned over the trees.
But before he could react, another one appeared. And then another. A pair this time. Two second generation Parrot A.R. Drones. This time, instead of just hovering, the two made slow passes. Back and forth. Over and over.
He had seen this before. They were controlled, not by a smartphone, but by an internal black box and satellites high above. GPS. These modules were easy to obtain and configure, at just $130. He had previously learned that they connect to the drone’s USB ports and not only provide geolocation and route planning, but also record a lot of flight data.
He sat there a bit longer. A lot longer than normal. Soon he couldn’t take it.
The others were signaled. They downed the drone with a bed sheet. It fell harmlessly to the ground.
He ran over and grabbed it. He knew one of the two cameras on the other drone had seen him. They had to. But he had to risk it anyway.
Soon the cover was off the drone. He was shocked. There were two 1,500 mAh batteries inside. Two. This was something new, indeed. That explains the longer flight time. It almost exactly matched that of the normal Parrot A.R. Drone 2.0 equipped with the new HD battery.
The black exterior was slick, he admitted, a touch impressed. The standard A.R. Drone 2.0 always looked like a toy to him. But the new paint job adds a menacing touch.
Suddenly, as if on commend, the drone’s colored blades whirled to life. Damn, he thought. I should have unplugged the Flight Recorder, as the drone rose quickly through the air. Apparently she discovered it was missing and activated the return home command built into the Flight Recorder. He was careless. Again.
She knew he would take the bait. The new drones, appropriately called the Power Edition, cost her the majority of her remaining cash from her birthday. $379. Just $80 more than the standard A.R. Drone 2.0. But it packed two HD batteries that allowed for 36 minutes of flight time. And then, the flight recorder, was just the added touch.
Sure, she knew, that for a bit more she could get an entry level quadcopter that offered more flexibility, allowing for add-ons like better cameras. But she didn’t care. The Parrot A.R. Drone 2.0, and now the Power Edition, was very easy to fly. Even her mom could do it.
Best yet, her two friends purchased one, too.
He returned back to base. His friends were already there. He took off his spy gear and stored it in the box his dad built into the tree house. His birthday was just two months away. Right before Halloween. He was going to be Lion-O. They were going to be Tygra and Panthro.
It was getting late. His mom was calling him into dinner. She was going to be there. Sitting across the table from him. Smirking. Oh how he wished he hadn’t wasted the money his grandma gave him on a Wii U. He so wanted an A.R. Drone 2.0 like his little sister and her friends. Just two more months. And sweet, sweet vengeance would be his.