Parrot AR.Drone: Enhancing the flying experience

Los Angeles, E3 Expo, June 7, 2011 – Parrot, leaders in wireless peripherals for mobile phones, has revolutionised the video gaming world by creating the AR.Drone, the first flying object in Augmented Reality, piloted through Wi-Fi.

Today Parrot goes even further with a number of announcements to enhance the piloting experience for players and fans alike.

· More playable platforms: Parrot AR.Drone is now compatible with OS AndroidTM Smartphones, bada (Samsung) and Symbian (Nokia)

· More games: Challenge your piloting skills on your own customised circuits: zigzag your way through trees, inflatable pylons and donuts and race against the clock with AR.Race, a customisable single or multi-player racing game for the AR.Drone.
There will be more surprises to add to the growing catalogue of games for the AR.Drone soon.

· More interactions: who will be the number 1 AR.Drone pilot in 2011? Parrot has set up the AR.Drone Challenges, an international competition* that will take place from June 24th till August 14th 2011 and will consist of three challenges for a chance to compete in the grand final in Paris in October 2011.

Parrot AR.Drone

More playable platforms: Android™, bada and Symbian

Android™ Smartphones users will find a free version of AR.FreeFlight’s piloting application developed by Parrot in July 2011 – also available on the Android Market. At the same time, Playsoft Games – for Samsung – and Nokia used the Parrot AR.Drone Software Development Kit (available free at https://projects.ardrone.org) to develop “Free Flight” (bada) and “AR.Drone” (Symbian) piloting apps.
The SDK’s allow new developers to create new applications for the AR.Drone across iOS, Android™, bada or Symbian platforms.

More games: Create customised circuits with AR.Race

AR.Race is a race game which allows one to four pilots to challenge themselves on the same circuit. Inflatable items – two pylons with a finishing point and a donut – are also available to add an extra element to the race. Players can create as many circuits as they want, such as creating zigzags with the pylons or using natural obstacles such as trees to create more unique circuits.
· Available free on App Store ™
· Available accessories on www.parrotshopping.com
· Discover the AR.Race video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEvmaU7chbM

Still to come: Parrot will launch a brand new game involving two players and a single AR.Drone.
A confrontation between the man and the machine, a track race where the target is not necessarily the one that we believe …

More interactions: AR.Drone Challenges
After registering at www.ardrone.com, participants* will be invited to compete with others in three “video” challenges, revealed online on June 24th, July 8th and July 22nd. Pilots will have to film their exploits and post their videos on the website before August 14th, 2011. The top 14 will win a place for the grand international final, on October 1st 2011 in Paris.

Calendar of the AR.Drone Challenges:

June 24 th: first challenge
July 8 th: second challenge
July 22 th: third challenge
August 14th: end of the competition
August 26th: announcement of 14 finalists
October 1st: grand final in Paris

*Competition is open to over 18’s only. Available regulations on www.ardrone.com