3 ms·

cool site. In this line, one thing I've been looking for, but unable to find a good option for, is a robot which you can control over a wi-fi network which has

cool site. In this line, one thing I've been looking for, but unable to find a good option for, is a robot which you can control over a wi-fi network which has a camera on it and it can roll round your house. So my use case is to check up on my cats when I'm away. I've not seen a load of good options for this...

jsilence 8y ago
Ever thought about pitting one of those tiny cameras on your cats and make them upload the pictures to the cloud? That way would not have to find them with the robot.
- raesene9 8y ago
  They do have radio collars, but those only have a range of 1/4 mile or so. There are GPS equivalents but the battery life/size has never been ideal.
candiodari 8y ago
I did this at one point. The cats would jump on top of it, at which point your robot won't move anymore. But at least at that point you know the cats are alright. Second issue is the ground perspective sucks. My house really does look very different from 5cm over the ground instead of 2 meters. The cats can sleep on the table and I'd never be able to tell.
- raesene9 8y ago
  yeah I was hoping for something about 1-2ft tall ideally with an adjustable camera. Still wouldn't spot all the places but could be useful.
bibyte 8y ago
What about a RC car with a camera ?
- raesene9 8y ago
  yeah there's some options for home built I think, I was kind of hoping for an off the shelf system ideally. It kind of surprises me that there isn't one, you'd think the "wander round my house, keeping an eye out for kids/pets" market would be quite big.
- wedesoft 8y ago
  I used the Zumo platform with a Raspberry Pi W instead of an Arduino board. I added a cardboard casing to house all the components. https://www.wedesoft.de/robot/2018/06/21/zumo/ https://www.wedesoft.de/robot/2018/06/21/zumo/ Update: Also see Explaining Computers video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZSiqj0NZgU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZSiqj0NZgU
hwillis 8y ago
You can use pretty much anything for that, it only really depends on how big you want it. https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/seeed-technology-co.,-ltd/110060865/1597-1565-ND/7650479&?gclid=CjwKCAiAwojkBRBbEiwAeRcJZH3M9fMmtpgazupGJd7K9E0By3gqrtSALiyMCFUToxRiakitw7rjWRoCRNgQAvD_BwE https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/seeed-technology-c...
lanewinfield 8y ago
I've used the Double Robotics before. It's fun and works pretty well. They're expensive though!
- raesene9 8y ago
  that would be cool, but yeah a bit pricey.
sbr464 8y ago
Checkout Loomo, I have one for testing, it works well. http://www.loomo.com/en/ http://www.loomo.com/en/

jsilence 8y ago

Ever thought about pitting one of those tiny cameras on your cats and make them upload the pictures to the cloud? That way would not have to find them with the robot.

raesene9 8y ago
They do have radio collars, but those only have a range of 1/4 mile or so. There are GPS equivalents but the battery life/size has never been ideal.

candiodari 8y ago

I did this at one point. The cats would jump on top of it, at which point your robot won't move anymore. But at least at that point you know the cats are alright. Second issue is the ground perspective sucks. My house really does look very different from 5cm over the ground instead of 2 meters. The cats can sleep on the table and I'd never be able to tell.

raesene9 8y ago
yeah I was hoping for something about 1-2ft tall ideally with an adjustable camera. Still wouldn't spot all the places but could be useful.

bibyte 8y ago

What about a RC car with a camera ?

raesene9 8y ago
yeah there's some options for home built I think, I was kind of hoping for an off the shelf system ideally. It kind of surprises me that there isn't one, you'd think the "wander round my house, keeping an eye out for kids/pets" market would be quite big.
wedesoft 8y ago
I used the Zumo platform with a Raspberry Pi W instead of an Arduino board. I added a cardboard casing to house all the components. https://www.wedesoft.de/robot/2018/06/21/zumo/ https://www.wedesoft.de/robot/2018/06/21/zumo/ Update: Also see Explaining Computers video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZSiqj0NZgU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZSiqj0NZgU

hwillis 8y ago

You can use pretty much anything for that, it only really depends on how big you want it. https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/seeed-technology-co.,-ltd/110060865/1597-1565-ND/7650479&?gclid=CjwKCAiAwojkBRBbEiwAeRcJZH3M9fMmtpgazupGJd7K9E0By3gqrtSALiyMCFUToxRiakitw7rjWRoCRNgQAvD_BwE https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/seeed-technology-c...

lanewinfield 8y ago

I've used the Double Robotics before. It's fun and works pretty well. They're expensive though!

raesene9 8y ago
that would be cool, but yeah a bit pricey.

sbr464 8y ago

Checkout Loomo, I have one for testing, it works well. http://www.loomo.com/en/ http://www.loomo.com/en/