Take a virtual ride on a real paper airplane with the PowerUp FPV

By David Curry Updated October 16, 2015

Drones come in all shapes and sizes, from Facebook’s solar drone with a wingspan of a Boeing 787 to something as small as a paper airplane. Israeli startup PowerUp Toys is working on the latter, with a planned Kickstarter coming in three weeks.

The PowerUp FPV revamps the paper airplane, sticking an electric dual-motor, Bluetooth connectivity, and a small battery on the drone. It is controlled by a connected smartphone, and PowerUp Toys plans to support Google Cardboard for VR control.

The paper airplane has an operating range of 300 feet, and a battery life of 10 minutes. Both are rather weak sauce compared to other drones, especially since PowerUp Toys plans to sell the drone for $199 on Kickstarter.

powerup-front-pic — Image used with permission by copyright holder

PowerUp Toys is making an interface for the mobile app, which looks like the cockpit of a fighter jet, letting users livestream footage from the drone. The movement is controlled by tilting the smartphone, and will work by tilting your head on Cardboard VR.

It is not the first paper airplane the Israeli toy company has crafted, PowerUp 3.0 had a single motor and was controlled by a smartphone, but didn’t come with the Cardboard VR integration. The successor should have more battery life and better connectivity.

The Kickstarter begins on the November 10, and as we said, the price will start at $199. We might see other PowerUp drones available as extras, for customers who want something more solid than paper.

Drones often come for over $1,000 in the United States, but these types of quadcopters are fitted with 4K video support, a huge operating range, and days of battery life. The PowerUp FPV is a simpler version of this, for a kid or someone who wants to try out drones for the first time.

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