Innovation Of The Day: iPad Controlled Hovercraft/Copter

Those of us who grew up in the Atari era realize that videogames have gotten an entire order of magnitude more complex over the years. This BusinessWeek story demonstrates that the same is true for remote control objects. Meet the AR.Drone, a high-tech, battery-powered, two-foot-long rotor hovercraft/helicopter.

My favorite details? The AR.Drone carries "a Wi-Fi transmitter that connects the drone to an iPhone or iPad, which serves as the remote control. Two cameras provide a view of either the airspace in front of the drone or the ground below it and transmit the image onto the phone's screen, so a user pilots the device as if he were onboard."

Also, the manufacturer Parrot "has opened up its software to outside developers, allowing them to build new applications for the drone. Some have created augmented reality games, which overlay graphics on the drone's video feed."
http://assets.gearlive.com/blogimages/parros-ar_drone-copter.jpg
So, to recap -- Apple device-controlled engineering marvel with augmented reality game development ecosystem? Sign me up. (When I get some free time and disposable income, that is.)