Parrot SA
Parrot SA is a French wireless products manufacturer company based in Paris, France. It was founded in 1994 by Christine/M De Tourvel, Jean-Pierre Talvard and Henri Seydoux.
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Type | Public company |
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Euronext Paris: PARRO | |
Industry | Wireless / UAV |
Founded | 1994Paris, France | in
Founders | Christine/M De Tourvel, Jean-Pierre Talvard and Henri Seydoux |
Headquarters | Paris |
Products | Handsfree, loudspeaker, miniature UAVs |
Revenue | €243 million, 2014 |
Number of employees | 948 (2015) |
Subsidiaries | Parrot Drones, Parrot Automotive, senseFly, Pix4D, Airinov, Micasense, EOS Innovation |
Website | www |
Since 2017, it focuses exclusively on drone manufacturing.
Stock symbol on Paris stock exchange: PARRO (PAOTF on NASDAQ) and company is currently a member of the CAC Small 90.
The company
The firm specializes in technologies involving voice recognition and signal processing for embedded products and remotely controlled flying machines (also known as drones). It also develops products related to car telephony: Parrot chipsets (including DSP), copyrighted noise reduction and echo cancelling algorithms, Bluetooth software stack, end-user applications (Bluetooth hands free car kits). The products are sold to consumers through retailers, and are also incorporated into vehicles with the factory-installed audio system.
Parrot's Bluetooth hands free technology can also be found in first mount. Parrot is listed on the Eurolist by Euronext (Compartment B) Paris stock market since 2006 under the symbol PARRO, Code ISIN FR0004038263.
In 1995 Parrot introduced Voicemate, a personal digital assistant with voice recognition. It was used by many visually impaired people, including Stevie Wonder.[1]
In 2000 Parrot launched the first Bluetooth hands-free car kit in partnership with Ericsson.[2]
In 2006, still developing the use of Bluetooth, the company also produced home products like digital photo frames and Hi-Fi wireless speakers.
In 2008, Parrot launched a Design By collection, featuring designers like Andrée Putman, Martin Szekely, Philippe Starck...
In January 2010, Parrot introduced at CES Las Vegas the Parrot AR.Drone flying hardware piloted over Wi-Fi with a smartphone and Open API game development platform, ARdrone.org.
![](../I/Parrot_AR.Drone_2.0_take-off%252C_Nevada.jpg.webp)
In 2012 Parrot bought 57% of Swiss drone company SenseFly as well as 25% of the Swiss photogrammetry company Pix4D. Both companies are spin-offs from EPFL.[3]
In 2014 Parrot introduced the Mini-Drones "Rolling Spider" and "Jumping Sumo" at CES Las Vegas. Parrot increased its ownership in Pix4D to 57%.
In May 2014 at the annual AUVSI conference in Orlando, Parrot announced the AR Drone 3.0, code-named Bebop, permitting YouTube personality Kyle Tarpley from the YouTube channel "AR Drone Show w/ Kyle Tarpley" to live-stream video the day before the conference opened.
![](../I/Parrot_Jumping_Sumo_robotic_toy.jpg.webp)
Parrot also revealed the option for a Skycontroller, when purchasing the Bebop. The Skycontroller allows the Bebop Drone to fly up to 2 kilometers. The Parrot Bebop Drone is scheduled for a December 2014 release and it comes in blue, red, and yellow.
![](../I/Bebop_Drone_flying_over_Monaco_beach.JPG.webp)
![](../I/View_of_Paris_Air_Show_taken_by_Bebop_Drone.jpg.webp)
![](../I/Photo_taken_by_Bebop_Drone_over_Dubai_beach.JPG.webp)
In 2014 Mr Shahzad Ahmed bought shares In AR.Further, it will expanded as Product in Pakistan. (Source ?)
At the January 2015 CES Las Vegas, Parrot unveiled the Parrot POT, a self-watering system for plants[4] and Parrot Zik Sport.[5]
In 2015, Parrot SA created two subsidiaries: Parrot Drones and Parrot Automotive.
![](../I/Parrot_POT_inside.jpg.webp)
In San Francisco in November 2015, Parrot introduced the Bebop 2 drone.
![](../I/Bebop_2_at_press_conference_in_San_Francisco.jpg.webp)
Parrot purchased shares in 2015 in startups specialized in the drones industry: Airinov, EOS Innovation, Micasense and Iconem.[6]
In 2016, Parrot SA released the Disco FPV, the world's first smart flying fixed-winged drone.
In January 2017, Parrot announced firing 290 of its 840 employees due to poor sales.[7]The company then abandons its wireless and connected home devices to focus exclusively on drone manufacturing.
On July 1, 2018, Parrot released the Parrot Anafi folding drone with 4K HDR and 21 Megapixel camera.[8]
In May 2019, Parrot has been selected by U.S. Military to win the contract for making reconnaissance drone and received $11 Million from Department of Defense.[9][10]
In January 2021, Parrot seals a deal with French army for 300 micro-drones.[11][12]
Other Parrot products
Audio
- Parrot Zik (version:1.0;2.0;3): wireless and tactile headphones, dubbed "the world's most advanced headphones"
![](../I/Parrot_ZIK_headphones.JPG.webp)
Connected Garden
- Parrot Flower Power
- Parrot POT: self-watering pot with sensors and water tank
- Parrot H20: A plant sensor that can give you up to 3 weeks of autonomous irrigation
Drones
- Parrot Anafi USA
- Parrot Anafi Thermal
- Parrot Anafi
- Parrot Anafi FPV. Smaller than Parrot Anafi and with FPV goggles included.
- Parrot AR.Drone: "Bebop" A lightweight electric quadcopter.[13]
- Parrot AR Drone 2.0: A smart phone controlled electric quadcopter[14]
- Parrot Bebop Drone
- Parrot Bebop 2
- Parrot Skycontroller - long range remote controller
- Parrot Disco FPV - smart fixed-winged flying wing[15]
Minidrones
- Parrot Rolling spider quadcopter
- Parrot Jumping Sumo robot
- Parrot Hydrofoil hybrid toy
Automotive
- Parrot RNB 6: An Android 2-DIN Infotainment Navigation System running on Android V5.0 Lollipop
- Parrot ASTEROID 1-DIN, Tablet and SMART
- Parrot MINIKIT speakerphone
- Parrot Driveblue
- Parrot MKi 9000, 9100, 9200
- Parrot CK3100: Bluetooth car kit with LCD screen
- Parrot CK3000
Speakerphones
- Parrot Conference: conferencing unit (launched in 2005)
PDA
- Parrot Voice Mate: personal digital assistant for blind and impaired people (launched in 1996)
References
- Omer (2018-10-09). "Parrot Drone Company and Product Review | Bebop and AR Drones". DronesInsite. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "Three lessons from Parrot's saga - Paris Innovation Review". parisinnovationreview.com. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "Parrot partners with senseFly and Pix4D on mapping UAVs". SlashGear. 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
- Ulanoff, Lance. "Parrot Pot can water your plants for you". Mashable. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
- "Parrot Zik Sport headphones do noise canceling, heart monitoring". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
- "Parrot lays off 35 percent of its drone team". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "Falling Sales Force Parrot To Layoff 290 Drone Division Employees". Quadcopter-Addiction.com. 2017-01-10. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- Priday, Richard (2018-06-06). "Parrot's foldable Anafi drone is out to take on DJI's dominance". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
- "French drone maker Parrot selected to develop spy aircraft for the US military". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
- "French drone maker Parrot selected to develop spy aircraft for the US military". www.theverge.com. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
- "Parrot décroche un contrat de 300 drones de l'armée plutôt que le chinois Dji". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "L'armée française fera voler des drones Parrot". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
- "Droning On". AOPA Pilot: 62. April 2015.
- "Parrot AR Drone 2.0". Drone Lifestyle.
- "Parrot Store Official | Connected objects, Bebop drone, Flower Power". parrotdrones.com.au. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
![](../I/Parrot_DISCO_drone_(23849220994).jpg.webp)