Update - 18/12/2011
Dear all, during these months we have been working pretty hard on the system. The reason for no updates is that we want to keep the project as quiet as possible until we release it since it has become so complex and with so many features that any competition or misconception at this point would slow us down. We have spent a substantial amount on the project and have been working ONLY on OSRC.

Do not worry, we have all the contributors in a list and will keep our promise and obligations as planned. For the above reasons we have not updated any news or project status to keep as many people as possible in the dark but I can assure you that you shall be amazed at what we are building once it is done.

You can monitor our page at Gizmoforyou.com for any updates but we shall begin publishing the project in early 2012 when we shall also be making the release of all products designed for OSRC.

Update - 06/09/2011

With the help from an already contributed amount from founders who decided to leave their contribution in the project budget and other financiers, we shall be working quite intensively on initial prototypes for the device with the accumulated amount (which isn't much). As stated before, if you wish to leave your contribution in the project's budget from an already made contribution then all you have to do is send an E-mail to me at: admin@gizmoforyou.com If no E-mail is sent 10 days after the end of this campaign then your contribution will be returned by default.

If you are a potential investor or would like to make a large contribution to the project then please don't hesitate to contact me directly at admin@gizmoforyou.com At Gizmo For You we are all engineers and mostly devote our life to the work we do so we aren't greedy and will surely find a compromise on something as long as it is within reasonable bounds.

Additional contributions to the project can be made through our site under the Project financing section. You can monitor the project progress and updates through our website, in the Project section as well as Community Group. For any additional information don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Update - 01/09/2011
Unfortunately with only hours remaining for this campaign to reach its goal, the funds gathered are not enough for us to create even a couple of descent quality prototypes. To prototype the fully functional system we would need at least twice the amount so we could machine all the plastics, manufacture the PCB's and get all the parts needed.

However disappointing this may be we shall still keep our heads up and continue to host the project on our site until we can accumulate the budget for its development. We have a fully functional shop with pretty nice project financing features, so if you would like to finance the project and add funds to its total amount then all you have to do is press the Finance This Project button in the project section. All funds directed towards the project budget can be seen in our Projects section and all perks listed here would still apply.

As promised through the project description, all contributions for this campaign shall be returned once the deadline is reached. It could take us few days to send back the funds since they are first sent to us with the IndieGoGo percentage deduction (9% for unsuccessful campaigns). Have no worries as we shall return each amount in full without any deductions what so ever, from our own budget.

If you wish to leave your contribution in the project's budget from an already made contribution then all you have to do is send an E-mail to me at: admin@gizmoforyou.com If no E-mail is sent 10 days after the end of this campaign then your contribution will be returned by default.

I thank everyone for the support and positive feedback regarding the project and hope that we can make this system a reality once we have sufficient funds.

You can monitor the project progress and updates through our website, in the Project section as well as Community Group. For any additional information don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Description

A Remote Control airplane. helicopter, car or a boat can be quite addictive and is becoming more and more popular every day. Having fun with an RC vehicle does not have an age limit and is in general a pretty nice way to spend a week-end in the outdoors. An RC plane or a helicopter price can vary from $100 for beginners and up to $15000 or even more if you are working on a scale project. The price for the plane, boat or helicopter in most cases is not the largest amount one would spend when entering the RC world. Most of the funds go towards a good Radio System as well as Servo motors and other accessories such as GPS units, Landing gear or even UAV systems. The most frustrating part of all is that the more features you start to want on your vehicle the more channels and additional features you will need on your control. The main criteria by which control systems are categorized are the amount of channels they have as well as the type of signal being used may it be a 35MHz system and 10 channels or 2.4GHz. There are many variations but as a general rule the more channels you need the more the control system will cost you.

In reality a remote control system is nothing else than a collection of Analog and digital sensors such as switches and Analog sticks connected to a controller or a processor with a descent ratio transmitter. Depending on the type of the controller the display, number of switches and type of signal may vary but at the heart of it all the system still remain quite basic.

The Impact

Having a control system that is Open Source and reasonably affordable opens up many new possibilities for RC enthusiasts as a same base unit can be updated, new features added as well as modified with ease since every switch or sensor connection is freely displayed and explained. 

      

There are many implementations not just for this feature but for others as well. As a bottom line in the long run, beginner or a professional, the system could save the pilot tons of money on spare parts and unwanted crashes.

All things considering the price of the controller isn't that large with tons of new features and even more, where other controllers twice the price have no excuse.

Who Are We?

We are a team of electronic engineers and software developers who design and manufacture devices Free of charge for any member in our community (GizmoForYou) based on their wishes. We have done many commercial as well as Open Source projects among which are Mobile Phones, Camera triggering devices and even Gaming platforms. You can find out more about projects that we already made in our Gizmos section. Also check out our YouTube channel and our General community where we discuss articles from known bloggers such as Engadget, Gizmodo, Hack A Day and Linux For Devices who covered our story from time to time.

What We Need & What You Get

As strange as it may sound to some, the most expensive part of the whole system is actually the enclosure as well as any other mechanical part such as the sticks. Making a device technologically advanced is nothing if you cannot hold or use the control with ease and modify every bit without complicated procedures.

To complete a functional prototype we shall need 45 - 60 working days after the deadline for this campaign has ended, assuming we have the required goal in founds. If the required goal is reached sooner then the time frame will be adjusted accordingly and we should have a prototype sooner as well.

If we cannot gather the required funds by the end of this campaign then we shall return it.

Once a prototype is complete and tested we shall need 1 - 2 months to mass produce the units based on the accumulated amount from this campaign. People who shall receive the initially manufactured units will be those who have pledged the "Complete System", "Complete System +" or the "Complete Bundle Pack" perks in this campaign and after every unit has been shipped we shall begin selling the product from our own shop as well as from other resellers with priority to customers who have pledged the "First In Line" perk.

With the lite funding we had, we managed to already design and manufacture the initial Stick assembly and gather parts such as the RF Modems, LCD Displays and other crucial components. Schematic designs as well as mechanical designs are already complete for the prototyping stage but we cannot proceed with manufacturing them unless we manage to reach our target funding goal.

The enclosure has to be manufactured through Molding the plastic in order to make it affordable in large quantities. We also need to make the actual PCB's for the electronics, order the displays and work on the initial Firmware release for the system. It all ends up to the amount listed in this campaign. After we have the prototypes, building the system for everyone who is interested will be just a matter of funding and for that reason we have added the perks you can see on your right.

Other Ways You Can Help

Being an RC enthusiast my self and having to fly RC Helicopters for over 6 years now there are a lot of features that i would like to have in the system and will be adding. You are more than welcome to suggest any features you would like to see in the device through our Forum and we shall be more than happy to discuss and add them. This is an Open-Source project so the more people contribute their ideas and feedback the better.