Technology has moved on since we were kids. Did you ever have a remote controlled car? I remember having a toy dog on wheels alongside a controller with a couple of buttons. It zipped around the floor and it responded to the controls as long as I remembered which was ‘my’ left and which was the ‘dog’s’ left. Perhaps you had something similar. Well, we are now truly living in the future. There is something called a Zero Gravity Laser-Guided Wall Climbing Remote Control Race Car. That climbs the walls. Crazy, right?! How does it even work? Read on to find out.
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How does wall climbing work?
On the underside of the car is a small fan. When you switch the car to ‘wall mode’, this suction creates a small vacuum effect. The sides of the car come down to be flush with the driving surface, ensuring large amounts of air do not escape. The same technology was utilised in the famous Lotus F1 ‘fan’ car in 1977, improving its downforce to drastically increase its speed. Harnessing these mechanics, a wall climbing car zooms along walls and ceilings: perhaps even better than a Formula One car?
Air Hogs Zero Gravity Wall Climbing Remote Control Car
This unique wall climbing technology will impress any kid and their friends. It can provide hours of fun at a low price point.
- Wall Climbing Technology
- Exciting laser remote contrrol
- Fun for all the family
- Rechargeable via USB
- Works best on smooth surfaces
- Short play time
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What surfaces does it work on?
The watchword here is smooth. Your remote controlled wall climbing car can handle any floor, wall or ceiling without bumps. So painted walls, wallpaper and wooden cupboard doors should be fine. If you have textured wallpaper or pointing or a popcorn ceiling, look elsewhere for your racetrack. Think about your floors as well. Kitchen tiles or carpet are not suitable for a wall climbing car.
Wall Climbing
The headline feature of this remote control car is, of course, its ability to climb walls and even drive on the ceiling. As detailed above, it does this by creating a vacuum effect with a small fan on the underside.
Because of this, the car can’t move from floor to ceiling to wall independently. You will need to pick it up and start your race again on each surface.
Other parents have reported that the car feels very light and were concerned the toy seems flimsy. However, it needs to be light in order to stay up on vertical and upside-down surfaces! Being lightweight also means that it is less likely to break if it comes away from the wall and falls to the floor.
Laser controlled
As if wall climbing technology wasn’t enough, this remote controlled car adds a laser to the mix. Luckily for the safety of your kids, it isn’t a real laser. Rather, it’s an infrared beam shining from the controller handset. Sensors in the car pick up on where the point of the beam is and so the car drives towards it. In this way, the car behaves much like a housecat!
The handset is shaped like a gun, making it easy to hold and direct the ‘laser’. You can be up to six feet away and the car will still be able to respond to the laser, so only the tallest of mansion ceilings will be out of bounds.
Racing
If you have more than one kid – or any adults who are kids at heart! – you might be tempted to buy more than one of these cars. If you do, you can race them over every (smooth) surface in your house, adding to the excitement.
Bear in mind that the laser beam needs to be within one foot of the car. This means that if you are racing two units, they need to be more than a foot apart or they could start to follow the wrong red signal. As the Ghostbusters might say: don’t cross the beams!
The car comes in bright red or blue, so you can easily see which is your vehicle. If you want more than two, why not customize them with stickers so even cars of the same color look different?
Charging
The toy comes with its own USB charging cable, which means you have lots of options for places to plug it in and won’t need to keep buying batteries. However, you will need a few for the handset, which requires three AAA batteries to operate.
The charge time on this wall climbing car is around 45 mins. Once fully charged it can be played with for about 5-10 minutes before you will need to charge it again. Lights on the vehicle will flash when the power is running low.
Age Range
The makers of this remote controlled wall climbing car state a recommended age range of more than eight years old. Other parents have purchased this toy for their younger children and grandchildren, though. Lots of four and five year olds have had a blast racing their wall climbing car and even some three year olds have been able to drive it. You know your children best, so are best placed to decide if this car is right for them.
Should I buy this for my child?
If your home decor consists of very smooth walls, ceilings and floors then your house is the perfect racetrack for the Air Hogs remote controlled wall climbing car.
Assess whether your children are of an age that they can operate it independently, as this will ensure they get the most entertainment from it. They will also need to be patient enough to wait for it to charge before having a ten minute race.
If this sounds like your family, go ahead and purchase the Air Hogs remote controlled laser-guided wall climbing car. I bet you can’t wait to see their faces when they realize their toy can whizz along the ceiling!