The Parrot MiniDrone Jumping Sumo has been designed like a helicopter which functions through the remote control. It is a successor to the Parrot RollingSpider mini quadcopter. The jumping studio is controlled via Parrot’s FreeFlight 3mobile app, which is available for Android as well as an iOS platform while Windows 8.1 support is on the way. But unlike the RollingSpider, it connects through Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth, means it has a wider range of 165 ft.
The top speed of Jumping Sumo is 7 km/h (4.5 mph), with a slider on the left of the screen to control braking and acceleration. The Trickiest part of this device is to control its steering. The device has buttons for 90 and 180 degree turns when at a stand still but to perform more precise tasks you will need to rely on the control device known as an accelerometer.
The Jumping Sumo’s secret weapon is a spring system studded at its backside, which helps drone to jump at two different trajectories. One will launch it around 80 cm into the air which is quite useful for the device to hop on the surfaces, while the other takes a more horizontal approach for about 80 cm gaps in its paths. The wheels of the device are also adjustable and can be left out wide for extra stability or the pictures can be clicked into a closer stance for navigating those spaces which are tight.
So after reading out its features, you must be thinking that it is a glorified remote control car, which has an enhanced feature i.e. it can click the pictures. You may probably be right, until you experience it for the front facing video camera that records all the actions to the screen of your mobile device. When the quality is not great, the video is taken at 640 x 480 pixels and 15 at fps, it will show you the world through the eyes of a miniaturized rolling robot and is probably just enough reconnaissance capability for Parrot to market this drone.
There are also number of tricks that the Jumping Sumo can perform like mini acrobats, for example spins, jumps and spinning jumps. This has made the drone look extremely skilled, instead of just tapping the buttons. The device also records the video, but the only flash drive is weirdly inserted in the top via the microUSB port. The Jumping Sumo is a highly skilled device which allows you to map out the choreographed pattern of plans before hitting a button and seeing the Sumo to explore the surrounding on your mobile device.
A single 90 minute charge will last for about 20 minutes, whereas the camera in the nose could easily capture low resolution pictures of a cat, dog or anything else on the ground. The Jumping Sumo is a little fun device which does more than a little remote control car. The Jumping Sumo is available in markets for about $140 which is worth buying.
Price: $140
