Most consumer-grade drones fly like helicopters, hovering in place, then zipping forward and back, and side to side on your command. When used with a GoPro or other onboard videocamera, these "quadrotor" drones can give the experience of floating high above your subject.
The new Disco drone from Parrot promises a very different perspective. The 1.5-pound, styrofoam, wing-shaped aircraft has a single propeller on the back, and it flies more like an airplane than a helicopter, gliding along at speeds up to 50 miles per hour. That's considerably faster than most helicopter-style drones.
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According to the company, takeoff is a snap—or more accurately, a shake. To launch the Disco, you shake it and then just toss it in the air and it automatically climbs to an altitude of 160 feet, then circles around waiting for instruction.
You can then fly it using Parrot's Skycontroller, which has integrated joysticks and a directional Wi-Fi antenna to communicate with the Disco—the company claims you can operate it at a distance of up to 1.25 miles, which is pretty extraordinary range for a Wi-Fi signal.
Parrot assumes most users aren't experienced pilots, so the Disco uses a variety of sensors to create a partial autopilot, keeping the aircraft generally on course and at a consistent altitude as you fly. If you lose signal, the Disco is supposed to use GPS to return to its launch point.
The military and some commercial surveying companies have been using "fixed-wing" drones like this for years. But for most ordinary consumers, this promises to be a new way to fly and capture video—evocative of the Superman-style flying dreams many of us remember from youth.
There's no pricing or even availability for the new aircraft, other than an assurance that the Disco will hit the market "sometime this year." Whenever it does arrive, it will definitely need to be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, as the agency's new rules require, and because of its high speed and extensive range, it is guaranteed to further fuel the debate about safety and privacy that has followed these devices through every stage of their evolution.
How CR Tests Drones
Drones have exploded in popularity in recent years. on the 'Consumer 101' TV show, Consumer Reports' expert Bernie Deitrick explains how CR tests these fun and handy gadgets—and offers tips for how to stay safe when operating these devices.
