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Toy Robots Can Guard Your Home

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the outside-is-for-suckers dept.

Orome1 writes "Worried about burglars ransacking your house? Buy yourself some toy robots! It is what Robert Oschler, a Florida-based programmer, did. He bought a Rovio — a Wi-Fi enabled mobile webcam robot that can be picked up from toy sections of many stores — and modified it to suit his needs. The robot already has a camera, a microphone and speakers, but the improvements he made to the software allowed him to enhance the audio and video quality of this existing equipment, and to create specific routines for the robots. This way, every time he feels the need to check what's going on in the house, he simply goes online with his laptop and directs the robot through the house."

10 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. "Enhance the audio and video quality" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Enhance 224 to 176.
    Enhance, stop.
    Move in, stop.
    Pull out, track right, stop.
    Center in, pull back. Stop.
    Track 45 right. Stop.
    Center and stop.
    Enhance 34 to 36.
    Pan right and pull back.
    Stop. Enhance 34 to 46.
    Pull back.
    Wait a minute, go right, stop.
    Enhance 57 to 19.
    Track 45 left. Stop.
    Enhance 15 to 23.
    Give me a hard copy right there.

  2. Say... by The+Damned+Yankee · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is how Davros got his start, isn't it? First it's just one or two remote units for home security, then the next thing you know they're heavily armed and armored killing machines intoning "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" at the neighbors.

    --
    "Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." - Mark Twain
    1. Re:Say... by burisch_research · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." - Mark Twain

      My money is on the heavily armed and armored killing machines.

      --
      char*f="char*f=%c%s%c;main(){printf(f,34,f,34);}";main(){printf(f,34,f,34);}
  3. Re:More useful... by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, but if you want to mount a machine gun to all your cameras, you'll have to buy multiple guns. With just one robot that patrols, you save a load on weaponry. Oh... who am I kidding. Once you get one robot with weaponry, it just becomes an addiction to buy more.

    --
    God spoke to me.
  4. Re:More useful... by icebike · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why not just mount the whole dam shark on it?

    Much scarier chasing burglers around the house with sharks than lasers.

    --
    Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
  5. Re:More useful... by natehoy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Because then you'd be up all night wondering when you're going to hear [Knock! Knock!] "Candygram!" on the bedroom door, knowing it'll be the last thing you ever hear other than your own screaming.

    Land sharks can never be trusted.

    --
    "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
  6. All it can do is watch? by Gulthek · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bart: Milhouse. You were supposed to be the night watchman.

    Milhouse: I was watching. I saw the whole thing. First it started falling over, then it fell over.

  7. Re:Microphone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Besides, what's the burglar's defense going to be? "Yeah, I broke into the guys home. So what! That doesn't give him the right to record what I took!"

    Considering that in some places a burglar can sue the homeowner for getting hurt during a break-in, and win, this is nowhere near as far-fetched as it should be.

    If you live in one of these states, remember the 3 S's when dealing with a burglar: "shoot, shovel, and shut up".

  8. Re:Beowulf by jeffmeden · · Score: 3, Funny

    Considering this is slashdot, I automatically read that as "I'm putting a GNU on mine!" and started wondering where the punchline was...

  9. Re:This is just Ridiculous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Everyone knows that the best way to scare off buglers

    Why scare them off? I say join in with some drums.