France's Parrot debuts its fast, light Bebop 2 drone

France-based drone company Parrot has released its second-generation Bebop drone, the Bebop 2. The first generation was an interesting entry-level drone with a 180-degree fisheye camera attached, but it could only stay in the air for 11 minutes. The latest version has more than doubled the battery life, getting 25 minutes of flying using a 2,700mAh battery, which is about the same as what the DJI Phantom 3 can achieve. The battery capacity is smaller than what many high-end smartphones now come with, but it shows how capable the internals of smartphones have become. “The drone is a good example of what you can do with a chip that is designed for a smartphone or tablet,” Parrot CEO Henri Seydoux said in an interview with EE Times.

The Bebop is also notable for its compact design while being quite a capable machine. Consumers will be able to fly the Bebop 2 at speeds of up to 36kph. It can actually reach 60kph, but this is only available to the company during testing. The drone can achieve an altitude of 100m within 18 seconds. The Bebop 2 is basically a simple Linux machine with propellers, which is part of what makes these specifications compelling.

The new drone starts at $549 and is available for $799 with a controller. Like its predecessor, it can be controlled using a smartphone and stream 1080-pixel video to mobile devices and VR headsets. With all that the Bebop offers in such a small package, it has garnered a lot of attention in the press. There will likely be more devices like this on the horizon as manufacturers find new ways of using hardware typically found in smartphones.