Somewhere in a nondescript building in the heart of Brooklyn NYC – in a room accented by fog machines, colorful lighting and a cavalcade of drone and Star Wars enthusiasts I got my hands on the latest offering from Propel.
Star Wars + Drones + Laser tag = Awesome.
With the popularity of drones for hobbyists, it makes perfect sense to pair drones with the Star Wars Brand. But here’s the thing. X-Wings, Speeder bikes, TIE Fighters… they fly perfectly well in the galaxy far, far away but in the real world – not so much. That’s the challenge with designing Star Wars drones. And Propel has done it.
Each Star Wars drone fits in the palm of your hand making it easy to transport and an almost deceptive cute factor. Four propellers, constructed from a near-transparent polycarbonate plastic life the model in the air rendering the blades invisible for a more immersive experience. It really looks like a TIE fighter floating in the air.
The rotors are attached beneath the drone creating a reverse propulsion pushing the drones off from the ground. This allows the drones to retain the shape of the Star Wars ship with minimal modification.
Propel even provides a training mode which is quite handy for someone like me who’s a flying novice.
Probably the most exciting innovation here is the integration of the “Star Wars Battle Drones” app. This app features a flight simulator with a defiance of gameified “training missions” which teach you the fundamentals of drone piloting in the Star Wars universe. This is a great way to advance your skills and then apply them in the real world with the physical drone.
HOWEVER.
Seriously, the best part of the app is the ability to facilitate a LIVE LASER TAG BATTLE! That’s right.
“The app also includes an innovative IAT “intelligent awareness technology” which during real time game play battles, at any point in time knows your exact position in the game and coaches you how to win the battle and defeat others.”
This is achieved through a new tech which Propel is calling “LiFi.” AKA These lasers talk to each other allowing for instant an accurate data on who’s hitting who and which team is winning.
So yeah, I think this is the killer feature of the new release. The real long-term play value comes from the potential of the live in person multi-player battles. The controllers talk to your phone via Bluetooth and simultaneously to the drone via radio frequencies.
