AR Parrot Drone by Parrot
Fly an AR.Drone from ARC
The Parrot AR.Drone is a Wi-Fi quadcopter with a built-in camera. Synthiam ARC flies it from a Windows PC and turns it into a flying robot: joysticks, voice commands, scripts and camera tracking can all control it.
How the AR.Drone works with Synthiam. You do not plug the drone into an EZB or into your computer with a USB cable. The drone makes its own Wi-Fi network, your PC joins it, and ARC's AR Parrot Drone Movement robot skill flies it, much like connecting to a home router. The AR.Drone is supported in ARC only; there is no ARCx skill for it.
What is the AR Parrot Drone?
The AR.Drone is a small quadcopter from Parrot, controlled over Wi-Fi. It has a forward camera and a downward camera, runs Linux on its onboard computer, and came with an indoor hull that guards the propellers and an outdoor hull for flying outside.
There were two generations: the original AR.Drone (v1), announced in 2010, and the AR.Drone 2.0 (v2), announced in 2012 with a 720p front camera. ARC's skill supports both; you choose which one you have in its configuration.
Discontinued. The AR.Drone is no longer made or sold by Parrot, and Parrot's current drone range does not include it. If you have one, ARC can still fly it and give it new abilities.
AR.Drone at a glance
| Type | Wi-Fi quadcopter with cameras |
|---|---|
| Maker | Parrot |
| Versions | AR.Drone (v1) and AR.Drone 2.0 (v2) |
| Connection | The drone's own Wi-Fi network |
| Cameras | Forward and downward |
| Power | Removable rechargeable battery |
| Synthiam software | ARC on Windows, AR Parrot Drone Movement |
| Website | parrot.com |
What you can do with an AR.Drone in ARC
The AR.Drone skill is a movement panel, so anything in ARC that moves a robot flies the drone.
Fly it
Take off, land, climb, descend, fly forward and back, rotate left and right, and roll (strafe) sideways from on-screen buttons, or the keyboard: A up, Z down, arrows to fly and rotate.
Many ways to control it
Joysticks, Wii controllers, scripts, speech recognition and web control all drive the movement panel.
Camera tracking
Bring the drone's video into a Camera Device and track faces, colors, motion and glyphs. Control commands switch between the forward and downward cameras.
Collision sensing
Mount an EZ-B with HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors on the drone and add the Drone Collision skill for obstacle alerts and avoidance.
Connect an AR.Drone to ARC
What you need
- An AR Parrot Drone (v1 or v2), powered on, with a charged battery
- A Windows PC running Synthiam ARC
- Wi-Fi on your computer (built in or a Wi-Fi adapter)
- Enough open space to test safely: indoors with the indoor hull, or outdoors with little wind
- Power on the drone. Install the battery and power it on. Wait a few moments for it to start up; it then broadcasts its own Wi-Fi network.
- Connect your PC to the drone's Wi-Fi. Open the Wi-Fi network list and join the network the drone created (the name often includes “ardrone”, depending on the model and firmware). Your computer may lose internet access while connected; that is normal, because it is connected directly to the drone.
- Add the movement panel in ARC. Start ARC, open or create a project, and add the AR Parrot Drone Movement skill. In its Configure menu, choose your drone's version (v1 or v2).
- Connect and test basic controls. Press Connect. Before take-off, know how you will land. Then test in this order: Take off, hover, small movement taps (forward, back, left, right, rotate), and Land.
- Add the camera (optional). Add a Camera Device, set its video device to Custom and press Start. In Custom mode the Camera Device waits for the movement panel to supply the drone's video.
Safety tips for beginners
- Start with slow, small movements. A little input can move a drone quickly.
- Keep the drone away from faces, hair, pets and fragile items.
- If the drone becomes unstable, land immediately.
- Make your first flights in a clear area with little airflow: fans and wind affect stability.
If you are brand new, focus on a stable connection and practice take off, hover, land before trying faster movements or automation.
Video walkthrough
The AR.Drone is an ARC robot
The AR Parrot Drone Movement skill exists for ARC, Synthiam's Windows desktop software, and not for ARCx. Use ARC on a Windows PC with Wi-Fi.
Looking for a drone to start with today? The DJI Tello is supported in both ARC and ARCx, where it gets a flight HUD, telemetry, safety limits and AI tools, and is flown from any web browser.
Troubleshooting
- Confirm your PC is connected to the drone's Wi-Fi, not your home or office Wi-Fi.
- Check the right drone version (v1 or v2) is selected in the skill's Configure menu. The wrong version can make the connection fail or the drone respond incorrectly.
- Close other drone or control apps that might be using the connection.
- Power-cycle the drone (turn it off and back on) and reconnect the Wi-Fi.
- Move closer to the drone to improve the Wi-Fi signal.
- Check the battery charge and that it is seated properly.
- Place the drone on a flat surface before take-off.
- Verify the propellers and hull are installed correctly and nothing is obstructing them.
- Avoid wind and fans, and test again in a calmer area.
Frequently asked questions
Give your AR.Drone a new job
Join its Wi-Fi, add the AR Parrot Drone Movement skill in ARC, and fly it with joysticks, voice, scripts and vision.
