Mobile phone chopper: iPhone gadget released

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A company that makes accessories for cell phones wants to add something else to the endless list of things you can do with an iPhone: flying a toy helicopter.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show, Paris-based Parrot unveiled its AR.Drone — a plastic and foam helicopter that is about a foot long and can be remotely controlled from the screen of an iPhone or iPod Touch.

The copter connects to the iPhone over Wi-Fi and is equipped with two cameras: one on its belly to calculate its speed and another on its nose that streams its field of vision back to the phone's screen.

Parrot also plans to release games that meld the real world seen by the AR.Drone with "augmented reality." That means the helicopter could appear to be fighting virtual objects such as robots on the iPhone's screen.

Parrot's founder and CEO, Henri Seydoux, thinks the toy will appeal to people because they can play with it outside - something you don't usually get with a video game.

Parrot expects to release the AR.Drone later in the year. It has not announced a price.

Read More: Compare providers and find the best deals with our Mobile Phone Deals page