metro » j e ws in the digita l a g e Flying High With Drones E Parrot’s co-founder Henri Seydoux gives the specs of the new Disco drone. veryone seems to be talking about space and breathtaking views of California’s drones these days. Are drones the Santa Rosa Mountains. Unlike the Bebop wave of the future? Are they danger- models, which are quadcopters, the Parrot ous? Do they cause an invasion of Disco is a fixed-wing drone. While I our privacy? Can they be used for haven’t had much experience flying great things or are they a waste winged model airplanes, flying the of money? There have been news Disco was very easy. Once the motor reports of people being injured by starts, you throw it like a paper air- drones, airplane pilots reporting plane and it takes off. The controller them as distractions and novice is easy to use, but more advanced pilots crashing their new drones pilots can use an RC controller to moments after unboxing. have more control of the drone and Rabbi Jason My first drone was the Parrot perform tricks. Miller Bebop, and it sat in its box for The Disco drone (Parrot names months. I was excited to pilot it its drones after dance styles) is the for the first time, but I was not sure where first fixed-wing drone for immersive flights, to fly it or what purpose it would serve. I am meaning you can use the virtual reality a big fan of new technology and gadgets of Cockpitglasses (they come with the unit) the future, but I like them to have some util- for a FPV (first person view) experience. ity. What problem are these drones going to Legally, a pilot’s license is required to fly solve, I wondered. drones using virtual reality and a spotter I knew I didn’t want to simply take this (without VR glasses) must be onsite. drone and fly it as if it were a video game. One doesn’t need to know how to take off I also was concerned about crashing this and land with the Disco because its autopilot expensive gadget into a tree and breaking takes over. It is necessary, however, to give it. At the time, there were no specific laws Disco a lot of space for the landing. I found governing personal drones, but I also did the plane to be very intuitive with the joy- not want to violate the privacy rights of my stick controller. Lightweight (under 2 lbs.), neighbors. the Disco can reach a top speed of 50 miles When I finally started flying the Bebop, it per hour, and the battery will allow it to fly was an immediate love-hate relationship. It for about 45 minutes. The 14 megapixel full- was thrilling to fly an aircraft with a video HD camera in the front of the aircraft takes camera through the sky, but I still had con- amazing video and still photos. The 32GB cerns. Over the past year, I’ve begun flying other drones, including the Parrot Bebop 2 and several mini drones, which my kids can also fly. During this time, I’ve found opportunities to use the drones safely to record video of happenings on the ground. I remain cautious about the safety and priva- cy implications, but have enjoyed capturing beautiful photos and videos from hundreds of feet in the sky. Last month I was invited by Parrot to fly the new Disco drone in the Palm Springs desert. With about 30 other drone enthu- siasts, I was taken to the famous Arnold Palmer-designed SilverRock golf course in Rabbi Jason Miller experiments with the La Quinta where we would have some open Disco drone. 38 September 29 • 2016 internal memory saves the captured photog- raphy until the end of the flight when it can be transferred to a phone or tablet. The most impressive aspect of the Parrot Disco is the FPV virtual reality headset. I had a chance to use the headset with both the Disco and the Bebop 2 while someone else was piloting the drones. The views through the glasses were astounding although I did get a little nauseated at times, which is common with virtual reality head- sets. The Disco comes packaged with both the Skycontroller 2 remote control and the virtual reality headset. At $1,299, it is pricey for a winged drone; but the controller and headset make it a better value. The Parrot sells for around $550. My experience in the Coachella Valley with Parrot provided me the opportunity to learn to fly a winged drone and experience the immersive FPV technology. The real highlight for me, however, was having the chance to speak with other techies interested in drones and hearing the impact they think drones will have on our world. Like all new technologies there are pros and cons. THE FUTURE OF DRONES The French company Parrot got its start in 1994 when it specialized in voice recogni- tion technologies for the auto industry. With a strong presence in Detroit (its American headquarters were in Southfield), the com- pany focused on products related to car tele- phony like noise reduction and Bluetooth hands-free car kits. Parrot’s co-founder Henri Seydoux said he was frustrated that so many kids were stuck indoors playing video games. In an effort to replicate the gaming experience outdoors, Seydoux came up with the idea of personal consumer drones. In January 2010 at the Consumer Electronics Show, Parrot introduced the AR.Drone flying hardware, piloted over Wi-Fi with a smartphone. During the next six years, the company would continue to improve upon its drone technology, which includes mini-drones that fly, race and jump. Significant questions remain about the future of drone use in our country. Anytime you fly a device in the skies over people and buildings and near other flying crafts, there are risks. Legislation, however, has quickly been enacted to protect our privacy and to ensure our safety. Drones aren’t just for taking aerial vid- eography of sporting events and outdoor weddings — there are many ways that drones can be useful to society. An organiza- tion called Drones for Good explores future life-saving possibilities with drones. One of its recent developments is the Ambulance- Drone, a high-speed drone network that delivers emergency supplies to any location within minutes. Drones will also be used to locate missing people, survey real estate, help farmers observe their fields, check on the status of bridges and monitor the safety of beaches. The military has been using drones for a long time, but we are only just discovering the uses for personal drones. The same way our society adapted to automobiles, airplanes, computers and cell phones, we will adapt to flying drones in our airspace. In our digital world, drones are the future. There are certainly dangers involved, but the positives outweigh the risks. * Miller with Parrot’s co-founder Henri Seydoux Rabbi Jason Miller is an entrepreneur, educator and blogger. He is president of Access Computer Technology. Follow him on Twitter at @RabbiJason.