We peer into the eye of the Rovio. Will this cool rover keep tabs on Spot while your at work? Check out our impressions and gallery.
At the CES Unveiled show a few days before CES 2008 officially begins, Wowwee was certainly getting the most attention in the crowded room of journalists. Reporters and camera folks were literally lying down, sitting and standing to get a peek at the Wowwee Tribot (check out our lonely image here), so we hope to get closer to the Robosapien successor in the next few days at the show, but in the mean time, it was the Rovio that got our full attention.
Rovio, oh Rovio
The Rovio is a cool little rolling cart; it looks like something we might send to Mars in a good sci-fi film. But the coolest part is what it actually does. Rovio is a roving Web cam, and it can be controlled from any device with an internet connection. So, you can watch video from the Web cam and control the Rovio device using a PDA. Instantly we were skeptical, because we couldn't imagine sending precise movement controls to an R/C car from our Treo, but Wowwee has come up with an even more ingenious, and surprising solution for this problem.
The Rovio is the first device to feature the NorthStar smart navigation system. Basically, NorthStar is like a GPS HotSpot for your home. Since GPS doesn't work well indoors, you install some home units, and the Rovio responds to them as if they were mapping your house on a GPS grid. Though the units have a limited range, you can string multiple units together, so you could have one in your kitchen, one near the front door, etc.
So, if you're on vacation and you want to see if you left the stove on, you don't pilot Rovio into your kitchen, you tell the cart to go to the kitchen, and it uses mini-GPS in your home to figure out exactly where that is. Now if only it had a giant arm that could turn the knob for you, you'd be safe and sound.
The Wowwee Rovio will be available in stores from September 2008, selling for approximately $300.
Philip Berne, Matthew Ruiz, Edward Distel and Sindre Lia contribute to the CES 2008 coverage.
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Pros:
Self-docking capability for re-charging, GPS navigation system.
Cons:
Rugged design, a little large for small pads. | | |
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