They can fly, they do breathtaking stunts and up to twelve of them can have a galatcic battle in the air at the same time – the new Star Wars Battle Drones make fiction and reality merge together. We visited the secret press preview in Brussels for you.
The new Star Wars battle drones
When Darren Matloff, CEO of Propel, an American manufacturer of small drones, went on stage
there was silence in the hall.
About 200 journalists, techbloggers und YouTubers from all over Europe arrived by plane to be
part of this event. These events also took place at different times on other continents.
Due to those huge efforts it was a big surprise that the three new Star Wars Drones were quite familiar to us: We have already seen the X-Wing Fighter of the Rebels, the Speeder Bike and the Tie Advanced of Alliance.
Darren Matloff, CEO of Propel at the secret press event
Oh well, Propel has been selling those three models for years. So what is the big innovation?
Propel has improved the features of the drones, now the small, hand-painted replicas, which are accurate in every detail, can do much more than only flying.
The new battle mode is the main characteristic of those three drones.
Up to twelve drones can be connected. Without any signal interferences.
And they fly through the air with 50km/h.
The remote control with 2.4GHz shoots the enemies with a laser, and you will see the reactions on the smartphones – a point system – and then the hit drones fall down with a spiral movement (but don’t worry, they fall down safely).
If you meet with some friends (and manage to pilot some drones) it is definitely an addictive game.
Until late at night journalists, YouTubers and workers of Propel battled against each other, round after round. That does not happen on many presentations.
The arena were bloggers and others fought galactic battles
But the new multiplayer mode is not the only innovation:
Usually there are propellers on the top side of the drones and they suck in air, but this is not the case with the Star Wars Drones.
The drones have a new and discreet look – the four transparent propellers are on the bottom side and push the drones in the air; Propel named this the “Reverse Propulsion Blade System”.
Let´s go on with the transmission system. Propel invented a new system.
It is called LiFi, Light Fidelity, and the name reminds us of the well-known “WiFi”.
And yes, LiFi also transmits only data – but it is up to hundred times faster than a normal WiFi
signal could ever be. You will notice that during the battles, there are no real delays and everything is in real time.
The Tie Advanced, X Wing and Speeder Bike Star Wars battle drones
The battery life of 8 minutes is not very long, however the batteries are tiny and look much better.
And if you buy a drone, you will receive two batteries. This is enough for flying and battling,
especially because you can charge the other batteries in the meantime.
The new app offers trainings of flight simulation, you will pilot missions and the air pressure
sensors ensure the height of the drones while flying, moreover you can use the beginner mode, which reduces the risk of crashing.
There is one thing you don´t have to worry about: Since the drones consist of a very flexible
material, they can be bent and don´t get broken if they crash. Moreover, the manufacturer replaces spare parts for free for one year, in case the galactic battles should cause victims (the customer will only have to pay postage).
Real Star Wars fans, but also drone enthusiasts, gamers and technophiles will fall in love with the new drones of Propel. Not because of the great air stunts or the new technology – we could have never imagined how much fun this multiplayer game is! So don´t forget to take your Star Wars drones to your next drone meeting.
