Parrot has pulled the Free Flight app that is used to control the AR Drone 2.0 quadricopter from the US iOS store, apparently over a patent dispute. Read on for details.
Parrot has pulled the Free Flight app that is used to control the AR Drone 2.0 quadricopter from the US iOS store, apparently over a patent dispute. A few weeks back, I told you about the new iOS app AR Race 2 that Parrot published. Shortly after this app was published, the Free Flight app, which Parrot intended for the end user to run on an iOS device to control the drone, disappeared from the US iOS app store, and customer service started directing people to use AR Race 2 to control the drone in the place of Free Flight.
Three days ago, the independent developer AR.Tommy, who wrote the major Free Flight alternative app, had this to say about his apps on a Parrot AR Drone 2 forum board:
It seems that AR.Tommy had to pull his apps as well due to concerns with patents, and board discussion on the topic has zeroed in on Absolute Control mode and use of the accelerometer to control the AR Drone 2.0. It seems reasonable to assume that Parrot has been approached by a patent holder in the US looking for liquidated damages from the use of a disputed patent. This means that new customers are restricted to flying their AR Drone 2.0 with AR Race 2, without Absolute Control and without accelerometer support, until this issue is resolved. Of course, if you have Free Flight loaded on an iOS device already, you can continue to use it. I’ve asked Parrot’s PR firm for comment and have not heard back; if they comment, I’ll let you know what they say.
I really love flying the AR Drone 2.0 and am looking forward to the GPS add-on that they announced at CES. Let’s hope that the time without Free Flight is minimal!
Okay this is a Rip Off!. You spend $299.00 for this thing and you should get every single feature that is advertised. But you don’t! Get it together Parrot! I want to fly this thing the way you advertised it! Resolve your ridiculous inhouse problems or you are going to get sued all over the place by your customers!!!!!!
I hear you. Patent clearance can be tough, and I expect that Parrot thought that they were in the clear, but this is SOP when a patent dispute that has legs is asserted. If they pull the disputed technology, they can exclude those sales from the liquidated damages assessment and keep the exposure limited. I’ll keep you posted.