Do you enjoy exploring new places but don't want to leave the comfort of your own home? A user on Reddit that goes by the name of Eiggem has created a robot that can be controlled by anyone online and explores Eiggem's house, taking photos every three seconds.
The robot is reminiscent of early cameras that captured life as it happened, such as the famous Jennicam, which was simply a camera inside a woman's apartment that captured all the happenings of the day.
"I just put the robot together from spare parts in around 2 hours and coded the interface in 15 minutes ... The one jpeg per refresh solution is not ideal to say the least," said Eigemm in a post on Reddit. "I'm super excited, so far people controlled the little bot in Austria from the U.S., Australia, UK, Canada, Singapore, Iceland and Norway. The Internet is so freaking cool, thank you guys!"
Eiggem shared on Reddit that the robot really is simply built. The case of the robot is made of cardboard and contains two servos, a webcam and a Raspberry Pi. It's powered with two AA batteries and is controlled through the PHP website and shell scripts.
When the website is used to control the robot, it will rotate left or right, or move 5 cm (1.96 inches) forward or backward, depending on the button that the user presses. Results will vary based on the fact that it is likely that others will be trying to control the robot at the same time.
Of course, the robot is just a bit of fun, and it is not expected that it will stay online at all times.
"It just went offline, I had to move it to the kitchen because it's almost 2 a.m. and my roommates were complaining about the noise," said Eiggem in another comment. "But it's back online now!"
In fact, even when it is online, it sometimes gets stuck, with Eiggem waking up one morning to check the logs to find that the device had been stuck on its own cable for six hours that night.
The robot is also the target of hackers trying to take control of it despite the fact that they could simply use the website to control it.
As of a few days ago, 400 people from 39 different countries had controlled the robot, however, with the media attention that it has started to get, it is likely that this number is about to jump significantly.
Via: TheNextWeb
