Review of the Parrot Bebop Drone 2.

The Bebop 2 presented in the review received a number of improvements and a new FPV package. More information about the Parrot Bebop 2 Power can be found here

About the company

The French company Parrot CA dates back to 1994. Officially, the founder of this company is considered Henri Seydoux, but in fact, “Parrot” was founded by three people - Jean Pierre Talvard, Henri Seydoux and Cristina De Tourvel. Parrot - translated from English - a parrot, and this name is not given by chance.

The company specializes in speech recognition technologies. Parrot is a leader in navigation and entertainment systems used in cars. The company supports and promotes a new generation of wireless communication - Bluetooth Smart, producing high-quality wireless audio devices on its basis.

Since 2010, the company has firmly established itself in the household UAV market. The first drone was the "forever" popular - Parrot AR. DroneParrot Bebop

Immediately after the release, the Parrot AR. Drone quadrocopter was awarded the CES Innovations award in the category Electronic Gaming Hardware... And two years later, the developer will finalize the quad and present the user with an updated version - AR. Drone 2.0

Review

you have a high-tech product in your hands. Quad is aimed at a wide audience of users without being tied to experience. In other words, even those who have never held the control panel in their hands will be able to master piloting the Bebop 2. The whole process of operating a quadrocopter is intuitive and simple.

Quad control has two options: using a smartphone / tablet (IOS / Android via the FreeFlight 3 app) or in tandem with the Parrot Skycontroller 2. When controlling one smartphone / tablet, the distance is no further than 100 meters. The Parrot Skycontroller 2 will allow you to reach a maximum distance of 2 km. The control equipment supports the connection of FPV-headset - Parrot Cockpitglasses

Advantages

Unlike its predecessor, the advantages of Parrot Bebop 2 are obvious:

  1. It has become more.
  2. More powerful - due to the high winding density in brushless motors, as well as due to the installation of more efficient speed controllers.
  3. The camera was improved on it, now it shoots noticeably better, even in low light conditions. And due to the new optics and a larger angle of inclination of the camera itself, much more information will now enter the frame.
  4. Developers retrofitted the drone with a powerful battery, which allowed the flight time to double in comparison with the previous model.
  5. Added powerful LED lighting to the rear of the drone.
  6. A new GPS controller, Ublox Neo 8M, was installed, with the arrival of which the number of captured satellites also increased - up to 19 (versus 12 for its predecessor), thereby providing indicative positioning accuracy.

Bebop 2 was tested in a wind tunnel, where it was tested for wind resistance. As a result of improvements, lateral wind resistance has been significantly increased. Now a stable controlled flight is possible at a crosswind speed of up to 16.2 m / s. For the Parrot Bebop, this limit was up to 13 m / s.

Options

On the official website of the manufacturer drone Bebop 2 available in 2 configurations:

  1. Parrot Bebop 2 FPV (included with Parrot Skycontroller 2 Parrot Cockpitglasses)
  2. Parrot Bebop 2 Adventurer (included with Parrot Skycontroller 2 Parrot Cockpitglasses Transport backpack 2 carrier sets screws access to the paid function "Follow me")

The Parrot Bebop Drone 2 is available in 2 colors:

  • Black with white insert
  • Black with red insert

Specification

Drone

GPS:
yes
FPV:
yes
Flight Plan function:
yes
Return to Home function:
yes
Auto takeoff / landing function:
yes
Max flight range:
up to 2km
Follow me function:
yes (paid)
Point flight function:
yes (paid)
Altitude hold mode:
yes
AV transmission frequency:
5GHz (Wi-Fi 802.11)
Radio frequency:
2.4GHz (Wi -Fi 802.11)
FPV display:
any gadget (IOS / Android)
Drone battery type:
3S 11.1V 2700mAh LiPo
Max. Flight time:
25min
Max. level flight speed:
64.8 km / h
Stabilization:
6-axis gyroscope
Motors:
Brushless
Aircraft Lights:
LED
Weight:
500g
Dimensions:
328 × 382 × 89mm
Flight Environment:
Outdoor

Camera

Sensor:
14MP F / 2.3 CMOS
Video:
1920 × 1080 @ 30fps s
FOV (vert / horiz):
180 °
Photo resolution:
4096 × 3072
Media type:
Built-in 8GB
Video format:
mov H.264

Appearance

Motors

Brushless Bebop 2 motors, proprietary from Parrot CA. They have proven themselves perfectly even on the first version of the Parrot Bebop. Especially for the second generation drone, the power plant has undergone revision, thereby allowing an order of magnitude to improve the not without that indicative flight characteristics.

Power supply

The characteristics of the Parrot Bebop 2 battery deserve special attention 3S 11.1V 2700mAh LiPo. With the 25 minutes of flight declared by the manufacturer, in practice, with a moderate wind with gusts (up to 10 m / s) in a quiet piloting mode, the drone showed 40 minutes of flight (battery charge at the beginning of the test - 100%, at the end - 5% with warning and auto return). We think other comments are superfluous!

Camera

The Parrot Bebop 2 is equipped with a 14MP camera built at an angle into a polypropylene box with digital 3-axis stabilization. The all-new wide-angle fisheye lens has truly improved low-light performance. The camera shoots video in a resolution of 1920 × 1080p at 30 fps in H.264 format, as well as photos in a resolution of 4096 × 3072 in formats: JPEG / RAW / DNG.

The quality of video recording deserves respect, but you can't say that about a photo, it could be better. Parrot digital stabilization works flawlessly. We were pleased with the shooting angles of the camera, it can shoot almost under itself.

Control

As mentioned above, the Parrot Bebop 2 can be controlled:

  1. Smartphone / Tablet
  2. Smartphone / Tablet Parrot Skycontroller 2

Flight properties

In flight, Bebop 2 is impeccable, the competent setting of the flight controller, light weight (500gr), powerful propulsion system and a new rechargeable battery affect. The dynamics will delight many. High-speed ceiling: up to 64.8 km / h (previous model: up to 47 km / h). Depending on the user's skills, 3-modes of drone activity are available: Simple / Standard / Advanced.

  • For safety reasons, any forced blocking of the rotation of the motors leads to their emergency stop.
  • The drone overcomes an altitude of 100 meters in 18 seconds.
  • Max. the lifting speed is - 21 km / h.

Flight Modes

Previously the functionFollow Mewas not available for Parrot Bebop 2. Developers have improved the FreeFlight 3 mobile application toFreeFlightPro andnowthanks to visual recognition technology and GPS tracking system, the drone can recognize and track the subject for shooting. Select one of the flight modes on the screen of the paired gadget, determine the object and the drone will take pictures of its movement in accordance with the selected settings.

There are 5 modes in total:

  • Auto- Follow - a new tracking technology based on GPS positioning of a smartphone and visual recognition, with high accuracy ensures the capture of an object throughout the entire route.
  • Climbing - in this mode, the drone, analyzing the barometric data of the paired smartphone, will obediently shoot the vertical ascent of the object. The mode is relevant for climbers.
  • Perfect side - choose which side of the subject is best to shoot and the drone will shoot unique frames with its participation.
  • Auto Framing - The drone uses a unique visual recognition algorithm to keep the subject in the center of the frame.
  • Magic drones - 4 selfie options are at your disposal: Orbit (360º around the subject) / Boomerang (front, back and opposite the subject) / Parabola (shooting in an arc over the subject) / Zenith (shooting the subject from top to bottom and bottom to top).

Follow me function that allows the drone to follow the object is paid - $ 19.99. But before buying, the developer offers the user a free 15-day test drive. Note that in a similar way, you can activate the function - "Flight Plan", thanks to which it becomes possible to fly to points.

Price

On the official website of the manufacturer, depending on the configuration, Parrot Bebop 2 is sold by following prices:

  • Parrot Bebop 2 FPV - 3$ 99.99
  • Parrot Bebop 2 Adventurer -579.99$

Output

Parrot Bebop Drone 2from $399.99
7.8333333333333
Price
4/10
Camera
7/10
Functionality
9 / 10
Flight time
9/10
Flight Performance [3 52]8/10
Compactness
8/10
Completion
9/10
Reliability
8 / 10
Price / Quality
10/10

Pros

  • Design / Modular
  • Build Quality / Weight
  • Electronics Performance
  • Positioning Accuracy
  • Camera (Stabilization)
  • Flight Time
  • Flight Modes
  • Auto Takeoff / Landing
  • Safety / Ease of Use
  • Ready to Fly Out of the Box

Cons

  • Price
  • Paid features: Follow Me and Flight Plan
  • Internal memory (total 8GB)

An excellent drone for action flying, an indescribable feeling when piloting is done using a remote control and FPV goggles. The Bebop 2 is a very dynamic and at the same time exponentially stable drone, which makes it catchy. Ease of use is striking, you do not need to learn on simpler models for a long time to understand the intricacies of piloting. It is worth noting that Bebop 2 is more "sharpened" for dynamic FPV flights, it should not be considered if you are looking for a UAV for large-scale high-quality shooting, although as practice has shown, it does not do a bad job with this either.

Photo

Photo of Parrot Bebop 2.

Videos

Videos with Parrot Bebop 2.

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