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Fuel-Cell Powered RC Toy Car Controlled by iPhone iOS App

August 26, 2013 by Jeff Shepard

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies has launched of i-H2GO, an RC toy car that is powered by fuel cells and controlled by smartphones and tablets. The new product features a miniaturized hydrogen power system, a hydrogen refueling station with the option to use Solar or USB, and is enabled by a specially developed iOS app that eliminates the need for conventional RC car control units. The i-H2GO ships today from the Horizon online store, and is now available for resale for specialist distributors and retailers from around the world.

The i-H2GO's hydrogen fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into electrical power, and is hybridized with a super capacitor for acceleration power. The refueling station extracts hydrogen from water using a PEM electrolyzer supported by a small solar panel or a USB port that can simply plug into a laptop computer. The iOS app now available on iTunes provides two choices for touchscreen interactive steering and throttle controls. One of these control modes includes a "gyro" feature, enabling users to steer by tilting their phone or tablet like a steering wheel.

Building on the success of Horizon's award winning H-Racer series (named in 2006 Time Magazine's "Best Invention" and garnering in 2007 the BusinessWeek IDEA award), the i-H2GO is positioned between a high-tech toy and a science education kit. Transparent casing and LED lighting reveal the inner workings and electro-chemical processes as they happen.

"We're very excited about the launch of i-H2GO, which coincides with Horizon's 10 year anniversary," stated Horizon founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Taras Wankewycz. "This product not only illustrates some of the principles behind real-scale hydrogen vehicle systems nearing commercial launch, but is also great fun to play with. The use of new smartphone and tablet controls is an exciting departure from the standard RC control unit and, best of all, users no longer have to worry about having to buy extra batteries."