► Nissan X-Trail X-Scape
► Car + drone pack
► We surprisingly didn’t crash it
What’s that buzzing noise? If you’re at a sporting event, waiting for a parcel to arrive or taking a stroll through a park, chances are it’s a drone. They’re everywhere, and you can now get one with your car.
Well, one car: the Nissan X-Trail. The X-Scape pack is a option available through your local Nissan dealer. They’ll sell you a backpack with a drone in it for £500. We can see through the cynical marketing ploy and the tenuous motoring link, but who could resist giving it a go?
The drone in question is a Parrot Bebop 2: a 500g flying machine capable of filming in 1080p full-HD and taking pictures with its 14-megapixel camera. You can fly it using the FreeFlight Pro app on your iOS or Android smartphone, or use the Skycontroller 2 remote included in the pack for more precise control and more than a mile’s flight range.
If you want the full Top Gun flight sim experience, Parrot’s Cockpitglasses are bundled too. You put your phone in a plastic case that’s slotted into the headset and wired to the Skycontroller. Now you can see what the drone sees, complete with military-style head-up display, and look like a complete arse in the process.
We had to resort to the manual to get everything connected properly, and used the app’s flying tutorials aimed at novices like us.
And then we were off: the Bebop 2 hovers with no controller input required and will even stop itself crashing into the ground. Better control will naturally come with more flight time.
With the Cockpitglasses on and controller in hand, it’s a little disorientating looking through the drone’s ‘eye’. It’s not virtual reality, where if you were to turn your head the drone would move too. It’s still fascinating to pretend you’re a fighter pilot, though.
If you’re a #lifestyle type, the ‘follow me’ function means you can track yourself BMX-ing, skateboarding, white-water rafting etc and the drone will autonomously fly to keep you in shot.
Well, until the battery dies, that is. You have to bear in mind that the Bebop 2’s low weight is down to the compact battery and, while 25 minutes of flight time is competitive in the drone world, it means you’ll want to avoid faffing around trying to connect to get the most out of it.
Three ways to see the world from a different angle
Through a phone
Link up your smartphone using the app; control pad gives extra precision.
Through a headset
Put on the Cockpitglasses for first-person view: your eyes in the sky.
Film yourself
Drone can be set up to follow you. Try not to crash it and be aware of no-fly zones.
Did it work?
Yes. We were flying within minutes. The video files we gleaned from its storage were clear enough and it even snapped a few 360-degree photographs while mid-flight.
The ‘follow-me’ function tracked the X-Trail and kept focus, but we’d be a bit paranoid about it hitting obstacles when on the move.
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