Based in Florida, the ingenious PowerUp Toys are a company passionate about fusing cutting-edge technology with traditional paper toys, giving your childish imaginative side a chance to play. PowerUp Toys specialises in conversion kits that can turn any regular paper plane into a powerful smartphone-controlled gadget and has to date raised millions of dollars through multiple Kickstarter campaigns to fund their innovation.
Influenced by the Study of Aerodynamics
The idea for such a device first occurred to pilot and PowerUp Toys CEO Shai Goitein in 2007 when volunteering to teach underprivileged children the principles of aerodynamics. As he studied the advances in micro-indoor flight in order to teach his lessons, he was struck by the notion of a remote-controlled paper airplane, and this began the path towards the eventual official founding of PowerUp Toys in 2011.
PowerUp 3.0 - Where It All Started
By November 2013, the team had launched their first Kickstarter campaign, featuring the PowerUp 3.0, which reached its target of $50,000 within just 8 hours. By the end of the campaign, PowerUp 3.0 had raised an overwhelming $1,232,612 from 21,412 backers. The concept behind the PowerUp 3.0 was amazingly simple - a Smart Module connected to a smartphone could be attached to any paper plane, and this would allow the user to launch their plane, increase and decrease the throttle, and steer left or right. PowerUp 3.0 went on to win the Best of NY Toy Fair Award for the Popular Science category, but the team at PowerUp Toys still had much more up their sleeve.
The New Feature-Packed PowerUp 4.0
In September 2019 the Kickstarter campaign for PowerUp 4.0 was launched, raising a staggering $1,121,180 of its initial $40,000 goal with 12,804 individual backers, making it the most successful Kickstarter in the flight category. The PowerUp 4.0 was a significant technological step-up from its predecessor, with a whole host of new features and abilities. Now containing a new onboard flight computer, two new sensors - a gyro and an accelerometer - and two thrust vectoring motors, the PowerUp 4.0 can fly smoothly in windy weather and correct its bad launches to reduce crashes.
But that’s not all, as the PowerUp 4.0 can also perform impressive aerial tricks thanks to its autopilot assist. With the ability to auto-loop at the touch of a button, and the new motors providing double the thrust and the capacity to perform sharper turns, it couldn't be simpler to master cool tricks and perform breathtaking acrobatics with the PowerUp 4.0. And now you can feel like even more of a pro with real-time flight telemetry and analytics, including heading direction, thrust level and turning angles, being delivered to your smartphone. You can even download your flight data in order to gain insights on how you can improve your next flight!
The PowerUp 4.0 is also equipped with night flight - LED lights that you can turn on when flying the airplane at night to produce a stunning light display and add an extra dimension to your tricks. Additionally, you don’t need to worry about crashing your PowerUp 4.0 in the dark, as the device is now more durable than ever. With a body made out of indestructible carbon fibre, a nylon reinforced nose and motor mount, voltage protection, and replaceable parts, the PowerUp 4.0 is bound to provide you with hours of joy and entertainment. Unleash your inner child, and take the PowerUp for a ride!
