Shai Goitein launched the PowerUp 3.0 in early 2014 as a smartphone controlled paper airplane. This month he wants to move the idea forward with the PowerUp FPV, a paper airplane drone that streams video as it flies. Goitein and his company PowerUp Toys are running a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund production tools for his new project.
The drone can be controlled with a smartphone, on autopilot, or by building a head mounted control unit similar to Google Cardboard. Android release 4.3 or an iPhone 5 are the minimum requirements to control the drone using your smartphone. The apps are already available in the App Store or through Google Play.
PowerUp FPV can fly at speeds up to 20 miles an hour and the 550 milli Amp hour lithium polymer battery allows for around ten minutes of continuous flight time. The wifi range for livestreaming of the flight is 300 feet. Micro SD cards on board the drone can also be used to record stills or video. The wide-angle VGA camera rotates and several front view, rear view and wing view streams are shown on the campaign page.
The body of the FPV contains an accelerometer, gyro, compass, barometer, dual band mimo antennas, a buzzer, the camera, and a microphone. The frame is built from carbon fiber and nylon and two propellers are used instead of the 3.0's single prop. If communication is lost between the FPV and the user the drone reduces thrust, slows down for a soft landing and sound its buzzer to help location.
Flying with a variety of paper airplanes as the body for a streaming drone is the pull here, and the upgrades made to the 3.0 model look awesome. The Kickstarter page has a frank discussion of the design tradeoffs made between flight distance and camera latency. The VGA camera was chosen as the best compromise to keep 30 frames per second at a 300 foot range.
The beginning of the video with an enthusiastic man running across the screen with a large paper airplane tied to his back sets the tone. The team has clear goals in mind for the project but have a relaxed attitude. The project will be funded January 9, 2016 and units will be shipped in June 2016.