Parrot and Microsoft have announced they they are bringing support for Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT for their popular Zik headphones and AR Drone 2.0 quadricoper. Read on for details!
Parrot and Microsoft have announced they they are bringing support for Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT for their popular Zik headphones and AR Drone 2.0 quadricoper. Parrot directly confirmed Windows RT support, which means that I’ll be flying my AR Drone 2.0 with my Surface soon, although there was no mention of support for the GPS receiver. Here is the press release:
Now announcing the new Windows compatibility with the official Parrot Apps which control the Parrot Zik headphones and Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 quadricopter.
Henri Seydoux, founder and CEO of Parrot met with Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft during his visit to Paris, France.
The two men talked about the future of connected objects and made the technologic collaboration between Parrot and Microsoft official by announcing the brand new Windows compatibility of the ‘Parrot Audio Suite’ and ‘Parrot AR.FreeFlight’ applications.
“We have been working for months with Microsoft to ensure the compatibility of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices with Parrot products. I am happy to announce the Windows compatibility of apps that are linked to two of our star products: the AR.Drone and the Zik headphones.” Henri Seydoux, founder and CEO of Parrot
‘Parrot Audio Suite’ for Windows
On November 20th, the Parrot Audio Suite app for the Zik headphones will be compatible with Windows Phone 8 and downloadable for free in the Windows Phone store.
A Windows 8 version is planned for December 2013.
Parrot Audio Suite is a free application dedicated to Smartphones and tablets and enables users to adjust the audio parameters of the Zik headphones, with a specific ‘Tuned by Lou Reed’ setting included, which was designed by the late rock legend.
Note: The NFC compatibility of the Zik headphones enables an instantaneous pairing with a Nokia Lumia 920 or 1020 Smartphone!
‘Parrot AR.FreeFlight’ for Windows
In early December 2013, a first version of the AR.FreeFlight application for Windows 8 will be available for free in the Windows store to pilot the AR.Drone 2.0 with a tablet or PC. The version that enables users to pilot it with a Nokia or HTC Windows Phone 8 is planned for the beginning of 2014.
Parrot, Microsoft and its partner Infinite Square worked together on the development of this application, whose source code (today in beta version) is regularly updated on the GitHub Open Source platform (repository https://github.com/ARDrone2Windows/SDK).
AR.FreeFlight is the application dedicated to the piloting of the Parrot AR.Drone2.0 and allows users to fully enjoy the video streaming of the embedded HD frontal camera on the quadricopter.
Parrot Audio Suite is now available for download on Windows Phone 8, and AR Drone 2.0 support on Windows Phone 8 is coming in early 2014. I’ve asked if these upgrades support the AR Drone 2.0 GPS receiver and I’ll keep you posted on the response.
