About two years ago, manufacturers began taking a very serious look at man portable miniaturized remotely operated vehicles. Today, we are seeing numerous entries covering aerial, ground and marine environments.
… and, they just keep getting smaller!
One example is iRobot’s 110 First Look. It is ideal for rapid response requirements. The robot weighs a mere 5 lbs. in a package that is 10 x 9 x 5 inches. The 110 has the ability to operate in the 2.4Ghz and 4.9Ghz spectrum with ample communications abilities. It’s also a tough little guy capable of withstanding 16 foot drops on to hard concrete. It is self-righting and four video cameras at 12 o’clock 3, 6 and 9 for 360 degree coverage. The 110 First Look is operated via the OCU (Operator Control Unit), which uses game console like controls.
Although, I’m reasonably sure the 110 First Look has built in Wi-Fi support, I’d like to see an Android app that renders control of the robot using the smartphone’s native WI-FI “gateway” abilities. It seems like a superb way of enhancing command and control.
FOG HORN 