WowWee Rovio WiFi Webcam A Consumer Wunderkind

January 6, 2009 by Mary Anne Simpson weblog
WowWee Rovio

Enlarge

WowWee Rovio

(PhysOrg.com) -- WowWee introduces the first consumer WiFi roving Webcam for being there without having to go there. The WowWee Rovio is PC/Mac compatible and measures approximately 13.5-inches x 12-inches x 14-inches and weighs only 5-pounds. Rovio's three omni-directional wheel design allows it to roam around an office area, home or small manufacturing area maneuvering its way around pets, furniture and obstructions without tipping over. Rovio connects up to a users WiFi network via a laptop, game console or wireless cell phone.

Rovio's TrueTrack beacon guides it back home to its charger station so you never have to worry about it running out of battery life. The Rovio comes with a CD interactive set up guide, a USB cable, a charger station and an AC power adapter. Once the device is connected to the wireless network the set up guide does the rest. To set up an external network a user needs to set up a port forwarding to your router by following the steps in the written guidelines on-line. A recent firmware update may in time clear up connectivity issues cited by some reviewers.

This video is not supported by your browser at this time.

The technical requirements include Explorer 6 or higher, Mozilla FireFox 1.5 or higher, Safari 3.0 or higher, Safari Mobile or Opera Mobile. A high-speed Internet connection, 802.11b/g, a USB port and a wireless access point device. The rechargeable battery pack is included and extra charging stations are available for docking Rovio in various rooms. The WowWee Rovio may not be for people short on patience while it grows up, but Wee Willie Winkie and fun loving gadget fans will love it.

© 2009 PhysOrg.com

view popular send feedback to editors
3.8 /5 (8 votes)  

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

earls
Jan 06, 2009

Rank: 3 / 5 (1)
Cool, that'd be fun to harass pets remotely. :)

Amazon has it for $297.00, but reviews are mostly unfavorable.

Self docking feature is apparently not that great. :/
BigTone
Jan 06, 2009

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
Is this an advertisement? Physorg editor's come on - are you serious...
humanist
Jan 06, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
Is this an advertisement? Physorg editor's come on - are you serious...


Not as bad as many. If it's something new and it's not shamelessly supportive, I'm not offended.

Not sure I'm ready to replace my PTZ webcams for something floor-level..

Also: seems rather LARGE. Also: why no mention of resolution/colors?

TJ_alberta
Jan 07, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
cute. it would take my dog about 30 seconds to turn it into plastic chips, ready for recycling.
fixer
Jan 07, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
Great for looking up skirts.
It will be banned from any office floor within ten minutes.
What a waste of money.
DGBEACH
Jan 07, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
While I usually don't appreciate adverts on this site....I have to say that I do have a soft spot for robots. I like the (apparent)ease of operation of this bot and think it will be a success. There is a site http://www.robotshop.ca that sells several types of bots like this one (if you're interested lol)
varun
Jan 08, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
It would be cool if something like this were made HomeCamera-compatible (www.homecamera.com). Then I could get the day's archives on the server, get mobile alerts... :-)
Rank 3.8 /5 (8 votes)
Tags

wowwee, rovio, robot, webcam
Related Stories
more news
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • How to tilt a object
    created10 hours ago
  • How to calculate total compressibility in liquid porous solid system
    created15 hours ago
  • Need help reading 3-D
    createdFeb 11, 2012
  • A way to send and receive wireless data
    createdFeb 11, 2012
  • Calling function with no input argument
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • Force free body diagram problem on gym equipment
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - General Engineering

More news stories

Japan scientist makes 'Avatar' robot

A Japanese-developed robot that mimics the movements of its human controller is bringing the Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar" one step closer to reality.

Electronics / Robotics

created Feb 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 12

Google rumored to have built Heads-Up-Display glasses prototype

(PhysOrg.com) -- 9to5Google is reporting that they have received a tip from someone they believe to be a reliable source saying that Google is working on a Heads-Up-Display (HUD) pair of eye-glasses. The per ...

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (9) | comments 2 | with audio podcast weblog

New Kindle Touch is an impressive e-reader

When it comes to reading digital books, tablets are all the rage. But there's a lot to like about simple e-readers, which over the past year have become both a lot cheaper and a lot less clunky.

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Apple to debut 'iPad 3' in March: report

Apple will unveil a new version of its market-ruling iPad table computer in March, according to a report in Dow Jones-owned technology blog All Things D.

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 1.9 / 5 (21) | comments 0

Airborne robot swarms are making complex moves (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania this week released a video that shows their new look in GRASP Lab robotic flying devices. They are now showing flying devices with more complex ...

Electronics / Robotics

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (31) | comments 10 | with audio podcast report


New molecule has potential to help treat genetic diseases and HIV

(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before ...

Social psychologist: Lust makes you smarter and evidence that seven deadly sins are good for you

(Medical Xpress) -- Good news for lovers on Valentine’s Day - the seven deadly sins, including Lust, are good for you. University of Melbourne social psychologist Dr Simon Laham uses modern research to make a compelling ...

Research finds injuries to professional athletes from routine play or practice often reported as 'freak accidents' in me

(Medical Xpress) -- A new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy finds injuries to professional athletes from routine play or practice are often characterized as “freak accidents” in ...

Researchers' paper wins Best Paper Award for 2011

A paper written by Dr. Paul Gratz and his graduate student, Reena Panda, from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University was selected as one of the best papers from IEEE Computer Architecture ...

Low levels of amplitude-modulated electromagnetic fields elicit therapeutic responses cancer patients

Ryne Ramaker, a senior UALR Donaghey Scholar and University Science Scholar with a double major in biology and chemistry, is a co-author of a cancer research paper creating excitement among other researchers. The article ...

Rapunzel, Leonardo and the physics of the ponytail

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research provides the first mathematical understanding of the shape of a ponytail and could have implications for the textile industry, computer animation and personal care products.