I know what you’re thinking. This is going after much the same market as the Parrot AR Drone and that’s probably true, except these aren’t quadrocopters; they just have the two stacked rotors. There’s apparently three different versions of the RC helis, two of which come with onboard cameras for recording both stills and videos.

Sure it’ll work with the boxed IR remote, but the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch app seems well, more interesting. You’ll need the appropriate adapter though. There is also an app for Android that does the same. You can expect about eight minutes of airtime per charge. The i-FlyHeli is currently on sale for $45.99 from Sonic Electronix, down from the list price of $99.99. That includes free ground shipping to the lower 48 states.

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Toy helicopters have been around for a while, but it seems that they have really surged in popularity these last couple of years. Even so, the control scheme has remained largely the same. Force Flyers changes that, because you fly these ‘copters with a wave of your hand.

On display at the 2012 Toy Fair in New York City, the Force Flyer helicopter doesn’t look like anything special until you see the control scheme. You get fitted with a glove-like sleeve where you have a thumb control for throttle and you tilt your hand to make it turn. We’ve all had the experience of “flying” toy airplanes by running around the room; this is a more technologically advanced version of that old pastime.

Realistically, since the remote control is really only using an accelerometer, it probably wouldn’t be all that difficult to devise a smartphone app to do the same. In any case, this little flying machine gets about 10 minutes of flight time on a 20 minute charge. For $50 in May, it will make a nice toy you can smash into the wall and collect the pieces up afterwards.  The larger outdoor version will sell for $100. But for serious flyers, the E-flite blade mCPx heli is the way you want to go (video far down below).

[ source, Photo: engadget ]

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I really like R/C helicopters from a hobbyist’s perspective, but you can see how useful they’d be for more practical purposes too. Drones are used all the time in a military context and now one sheriff’s office in Texas is getting its own drone copter, complete with the ability to get weaponized.

The Shadowhawk helicopter has been acquired by the Sheriff’s office in Montgomery County in Texas. They say that it is being used as a safety asset, equipped with a remote video camera, infrared heat-seeking, and onboard GPS. It can be used to monitor situations where a human presence might not be the best idea.

The 50-pound UAV is built by Vanguard Defense Industries and while it is capable of carrying weapons, the Sheriff says that they have no plans to equip it with pellet guns, bean bags, or frickin’ laser beams tasers. Instead, the application is more toward tracking down criminals or assisting SWAT teams. What do you think of the concerns in relation to Big Brother-esque ramifications?

Check out the local news coverage for a video.

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Remote control cars are a lot of fun, but it’s not as fun being restricted solely to the horizontal plane. It’s also not as fun being restricted to conventional controls. Addressing both of these is the unique iW500 R/C car that gets controlled by any iOS device. And it drives up the wall. Literally.

The car itself doesn’t look terribly interesting, but it can actually attach itself to a vertical surface like your wall, the side of a building, or wherever else your imagination may lead you. It stays stuck via a sealed vacuum. This vacuum is so powerful that the car can even drive upside-down on your ceiling.

The controls are done via your iPhone or whatever other iOS device you have. Simply connect the transmitter (which uses the standard iDevice dock connector) and steer using the accelerometer. There are touchscreen controls too, if you prefer, via the dedicated iSpace app. The $59.99 toy will be joined by other iRC iVehicles, including helicopters and monster trucks.

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