Sunday, November 2, 2008

Recon Scout


Developed by the University of Minnesota using funding from DARPA, the
Recon Scout resembles your average barbell weight, but when you're not
workin' those triceps, this little fellow can be heaved across
flatlands, over fences, and into brick walls in order to secure a
location and start feeding back video of its surroundings. The two-wheeled bot is equipped with a low-resolution monochrome camera
that feeds images back to the Operator Control Unit, and since it
weighs just a single pound and fits in most cargo pockets, the whole
platoon could carry their own in order to really scope out the next
bend. Of course, the current iteration will only broadcast video up to
250 feet, and onlookers at a recent demonstration weren't thrilled by
its quickness, but a titanium-based wheeled spying
machine is fairly impressive regardless. Reportedly, the Recon Scout
has been sold to "law enforcement agencies" for around $6,500 apiece.

Article Link (Engadget)

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was
interested in this rugged bastion of self-sacrifice, too. They can
apparently envision all kinds of nightmare scenarios where prisoners
have weapons and no human wants any part of it -- which is why they've
agreed to a rental contract where they get ten devices and developer
ReconRobotics gets feedback from the Department in exchange.

Article Link (Engadget)

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