Let Your Paper Airplane Really Take Flight With The Help Of Your Smartphone
Designing the perfect paper airplane — the one that flies the farthest and the fastest — is about to get easier.
A new Kickstarter project called PowerUp 3.0 turns paper airplanes into smartphone-controlled flying machines
Designed by Shai Goitein, this Bluetooth-controlled device consists of a propeller and rudder, with a chip that you need to attach on your paper plane.
techcrunch.comPower Up 3.0 promises to give your basic paper model an upgrade, using a small attachable propeller and rudder for a little more speed and steering control.
emag.co.ukPowerUp 3.0's wireless communication is based on Bluetooth Smart technology.
in.comCheck out the video of the amazing flight of the new PowerUp 3.0 Smartphone controlled paper airplane, here:
PowerUp 3.0 includes a device called a Smart Module that clips onto your paper airplane creation. This contains a small propeller and rudder to power your plane through its flight.
No special paper is required, you can use just regular copier paper. Your souped-up paper airplane is controlled through an iOS app using Bluetooth.
in.comThe app gives you plenty of data to fly with, including a thrust indicator, range indicator, magnetic compass, artificial horizon, and a lever for ascending and descending. Tilting your iOS device to the right or left controls the steering.
cnet.comHow does the PowerUp 3.0 work?
Step one fold it: Simply fold a piece of copier paper into a paper airplane. Step two attach it: Attach the Smart Module to your paper plane with the patented clips.
venturebeat.comStep three connect it: Start the app to connect to the Smart Module with your iPhone. Step four fly it: Push throttle to full and launch the paper airplane high up into the sky. Tilt your smartphone to the left or to the right to steer your plane, increase or reduce throttle to go up or down.
kickstarter.comPowerUp 3.0’s wireless communication is based on Bluetooth Smart technology, the newest standard for extremely power-efficient wireless communication
The PowerUp system uses the iPhone to communicate via Bluetooth Smart, the lower energy version of Bluetooth, with a Texas Instruments chip on the tiny green printed circuit board. That allows you to control the thrust and the rudder, giving you full control over the airplane.
cnet.comThe rechargeable battery can keep the plane going for up to 10 minutes on a charge. The frame is made from carbon fiber, to compensate for the inevitable crashes as you develop your flying skills.
venturebeat.comThe iOS design is complete, but the Android version still needs testing. Goitein believes he is pushing the limits of Bluetooth Smart technology.
“We do something that nobody has done before,” Goitein wrote. “It’s surprising to people when [they] see that it really works.”
techcrunch.com