Did you ever have imaginary dogfights with model airplanes in your bedroom as a kid? Just in time for your second childhood, a company called Parrot is nearly ready to release a peripheral for your smart phone ever to help you recapture dreams of indoor aerial combat.
Parrot's A.R. Drone is a computer-stabilized "quadricopter"—a four-fanned flying air vehicle that can be flown indoors or out. And it's controlled over WiFi by an iPhone or iPod Touch. Just that would be enough to make it the hottest executive toy ever.
But there's more. The "A.R." in A.R. Drone stands for "augmented reality". By applying tags to objects around the house, you can turn them into targets recognized by the cameras built into A.R. Drone.
Those targets will be presented on the screen of the controlling iPod or iPhone as monsters or robots—enemies in a game that combines navigating the Drone in real life with a virtual shoot-em-up. The cameras will also recognize other A.R. Drones as enemies, and allow you to dogfight against others, tracking your score.
Unfortunately, the A.R. Drone won't be available until September, making this ultimate Father's Day gift a little on the late side. When it does become available, the Drone itself will be priced at "under $300." And while the iPod/iPhone application required to fly the A.R. Drone is free, the augmented reality games will be priced at $3 on Apple's Apps Store.