Parrot Unveils its New MiniDrone & A Leaping Sumo Rolling Bot

Parrot, originally a Bluetooth company which now produces drones, released some new hardware at CES 2014, along with two new smartphone-controlled bots.

One of the bots, the MiniDrone, is a very small version of the popular AR Drone. It can fly, roll and hug walls and ceilings. It is actually one tenth of the size of the original version but this makes it easy to transport. In order to achieve these compact dimensions, Parrot has removed the camera and instead added two removable wheels, which enable it to roll on the ground or along walls and ceilings.

The second bot released by the company is the Sumo, a two-wheeled ground-only device that does have an on-board camera. It also has a foot that allows it to stop almost instantly and leap in to the air at a height of up to 80cm.

There have been no announcements about when the Sumo or MiniDrone will be available for shipping and according to CEO Henri Seydoux the price too is yet to be decided. When asked what the inspiration was behind the designs, he answered: “we like to have fun.”

[Image via Gizmodo & Ispazio]

SOURCE: http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/05/parrot-shows-off-new-minidrone-and-leaping-sumo-rolling-bot/