Prion-FS - A toy glider that not only glides, but can also be remotely controlled

Reminiscing through our carefree days of childhood, many of us airplane enthusiasts have been (at least once) smitten by those soaring plastic toy gliders, effervescently hovering through the clear blue sky. But what if there was conception that could have the pure unobtrusive gliding capability of such plastic airplanes, and yet could be deftly controlled through a remote by the user on ground? Well, think no more, because the Prion-FS is ingeniously contrived exactly along the working principle of this hybrid mechanism by industrial designer Kevin Cheng.

Prion-FS

Touted as a hybrid toy system, according to the designer, the plane can be launched by an atlatl (or spear thrower) like mechanism, which would also double up as the remote control for the user. The concept in its basic bearing entails the fluid physical interaction of the object (the flying glider) with the air as well as its automatic control by the person maneuvering the whole component.

In the earlier paragraph, we did mention something about a spear thrower like mechanism. According to the designer, this will allow for a required leverage that would launch the glider at a much greater speed for a longer distance. In other words, launcher will act as the lever arm, which in turn trades the applied force for the object speed.

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Prion-FS

Prion-FS - A remote controlled TOY

But the fascinating part comes after the glider has taken to its mid air flight. The launcher will also combine a trigger, which in turn can be held down to activate the built-in sensor embedded inside the glider plane. This allows the remote controlled interaction of the rudder section of the glider with the launcher (or remote) in user's hand. Hence, the whole mechanism can be aerially steered by this user in ground, as it blissfully glides through the windy ambiance.

Coming to the internal paraphernalia of the glider, according to the designer, the toy glider will be infused with a minimum quantity of electronic circuitry, so as not to hamper the overall weight of the projectile. The definitive middle section of the glider will comprise of the servo motor part (for rudder control) with a printed circuit board (connected to the servo motor by a rubber stopper) and supplemented by a rechargeable battery system. While the rear end of the glider will be composed of the rudder component, with the controller shaft and the antenna (for signal propagation to ground level).

As for the circuitry imbibed inside the control mechanism, i.e., the launcher cum remote, it will comprise of a wealth of components in the form of a trigger, a printed circuit board (powered by a CR3032 battery system), a AAA battery pack and of course the 'launching pad' (or the lever arm) which would double up as the antenna. From the perspective of maneuvering, the circuitry will allude to an accelerometer, which would help in tracking the user's motion when he/she holds down the upper trigger part. And finally, the antenna would transmit that interactive information aerially to the glider for an easy steering and maneuvering on the part of the user.

Source: Coroflot