WiFi robot gets to grips with security

At first I thought this robot from Dr Robot Inc. was an homage to Cronenberg, with eyeballs on long bendy tendrils, but it turns out that those are just webcam housings being held in its little metal hands.  In fact, SCOUT is intended to remotely monitor environments in which direct manipulation is needed; a small, wrist-mounted camera (shown in close-up in a picture after the cut) makes targeting objects easier.  Each gripper can lift 300g, and the robot as a whole can move at 75cm/sec using six infrared distance sensors and three ultrasonic rangefinders to try to avoid running into things.  Microphone and speakers allow for two-way communication, so you can shout “Oi, put down my robot you thief!”

SCOUT comes complete with a dual-joystick control system and software to load on a PC; it communicates via WiFi (b) and comes fully-assembled. 

Available now, SCOUT costs $8,050.

Dr Robot [via The Red Ferret Journal]