An Inside Look At The Impending Flying Robot Apocalypse (And How To Put A Stop To It)

The Consumer Electronics Show, held in Vegas every year during the second-ish week in January, is an odd duck. Everyone is desperate to talk to you and show you things and shake your hand and trample you on the show floor and so forth. But (and this is my third time being here) there's often little that truly grabs your attention. So, naturally, when I noticed a eight-drone swarm flying in synchronized formation to the tunes of Frank Sinatra, dialogue from Back to the Future, and other disparate sources, I couldn't help but notice.

If you want one of your own, these AR.Drone 2.0s from Parrot cost a hair under $300 each and each has an onboard HD camera that will, while airborne, record two hours of video, which also gets simultaneously streamed to your phone. But be warned, it looks like they go down hard with a little tap, like the unfortunate pair at the end. (Let's remember this obvious weakness when Skynet finally makes its move.)