There is a little-remembered 1984 flick called “Runaway” that was directed by the author Michael Crichton. Besides the thrill of seeing “Magnum, P.I.” square off against the lead singer of KISS, this box-office dud also featured an army of pint-size killer robots. For those raised on HBO, memories of the little “Runaway” bots may come flooding back while checking out the WowWee Rovio.
Fortunately, rather than being designed by a madman with murderous intentions, the Rovio was created to enhance security. Looking like a remote-controlled car from the future, the WowWee Rovio allows individuals to spy on their homes while away from home. This three-wheeled robot is equipped with a WiFi-enabled mobile Webcam, which streams live video to the Internet. This means that, from a computer, an individual can control the movements of the Rovio and view the video it takes. The robot also is equipped with a microphone and speakers, so individuals can actually talk to intruders in their home (or family members) through the device. Rovio comes with a charging station that acts as a home base and, whenever an individual is signaled the battery is low, he or she can command Rovio to return there for a charge. Additionally, users can buy extra “room beacons” that Rovio uses as checkpoints giving it a greater range of automatic movements.
There’s always that moment during the family vacation or weeklong business trip when you begin to wonder if you closed the front window or locked the back door. Suddenly, you want to sprint home, expecting to catch the wet bandits from “Home Alone” robbing and flooding your kitchen. Moments like these, it might be good to have the WowWee Rovio. Want to see if you closed the front window? Steer the Rovio to that room, adjust the camera and check it out (and if you see a foot suddenly smash down on the Rovio, you know you have a problem). WowWee touts that the Rovio is easy to maneuver with “omni-directional movement” and “self-navigation capabilities” (though they note the robot cannot, unfortunately, climb stairs). Other things the WowWee Web site suggest you can do with the Rovio include: checking on pets; visiting elderly relatives; keep an eye on the office or colleagues; and interacting with your family.
For decades, sci-fi flicks like “Runaway”, “Minority Report”, “Star Wars” and “Sleeper” have painted visions of a future where robots are around every corner casually completing human chores. These days, such visions seem to be coming closer and closer to reality. The WowWee Rovio is the latest in a string of household robots that have hit the market in the past few years. According to the Japanese Robotics Association, by the year 2025 the household robot market will be raking in over $33 billion a year – even more than the lucrative robot toy industry. WowWee actually goes out of its way to emphasize the fact that Rovio is not a toy (the packaging even states this directly) and instead concentrates on the more “adult” benefits of being able to control a robot from miles away. The Rovio Web site even allows users to “take a test drive” of the robot (which involves controlling a sample model in a company loft). Despite flashbacks to the evil robots of “Runaway”, Rovio is one robot worth taking for a spin.
The Rovio Mobile Webcam is available for purchase from the WowWee online store for $299.99.
