Thursday, July 14, 2011

Griffin Helo TC remote-control helicopter for iPhone

Griffin [1] has launched a tiny remote-control helicopter that can be flown from your iPhone or Apple iPad . The £34.99 Helo TC works via a free app designed by Griffin. Part of Griffin’s expanding range of  App-Powered hardware, the Helo TC will go onsale through the Apple Store and elsewhere "by Christmas".

Based on an existing remote control helicopter design, the Helo TC features a row of four infrared controllers – presumably to adjust each of the axes through which the helicopter flies. The remote control unit for the Helo TC clips over the rear of an iPhone or iPod or on to the back of an iPad.

In use, the Helo TC has multi-coloured flashing lights, twin-rotor wings and two types of flying mode. It can take its control cues from the accelerometer in the iPhone or iPad in Tilt To Fly mode. Alternatively, there's a Multi-touch display mode that can be used to control the Helo TC’s throttle and flight controlled joystick  The weight is kept to a mere thanks to the use of a watch battery-sized lithium-ion cell that can be recharged via USB. 

The Griffin Helo TC is aggressively priced at just £34.99 - a lot less than the similar-in-concept Parrot ARDrone remote control helicopter that went onsale last year. However, unlike the Drone, the Griffin Helo TC is designed for indoor use only. 

Links
  1. ^ Griffin (www.griffintechnology.com)

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