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scholarship robot idea: robotic media center/surveylance bot

ok, i know its a rehash of a few different ideas, but it seems like people have been abusing the ability to post and just fling ideas they can't accomplish out there, but hey, i mean, i believe that I can actually pull this one off. i'd like to create a mobile surveylance bot/media center, which would allow a person to call it over, access files, with a keyboard or by voice and allow people to record what goes on in their home, through a camera and audio reciver setup. also, i'd make it an expandible unit, meaning that if there were updates and such, you'd be able to patch it easily, or, if attachments were made, those would be easily recognisable by the system, and easy to install on the bot itself. also, it'd be able to interface with outside technology, some more notible ones being, obviously, and ipod, and other mp3 players, the ability to send it's video from the panel, through s-video, to any tv which will accept s-video, which range anywhere from pre- my 1995 crappy proscan tv, up to my new mitsubishi 1080p lcd tv. allowing a person to store his media on a device such as this, would not only allow him to have his media around the house, without sitting at his computer, but would also help him organize his files, back them up, and, well erm, lets just say, lock some files that shouldn't be accessable by others. i'd also like to add the nearly endless possibilities of this kind of machiene. imagine sitting on your couch, thinking, hey, I just got an idea for that report. only, your kinda sitting there debating weather or not to get up. oh yeah! just call the bot over using a pre-imput command, and it will take your voice and basically write, ammend, or delete any part of the assignment. ok, another one, the same situation, but you want something to do while your bored. its happened to even the best of us... maybe you'll put that new idea you got earlier down in a note, or maybe you'll have the bot read you your code once more to find that error you could never see, or maybe you'll just have it play you some music from your stored playlist. the possibilities are endless! also, its able to happen, but i'd like to add that it may or may not be wi-fi or bluetooth compatible, I really dont know if two months would be enough (i do have a bit of stuff to do ya know) to get that working, but hey, thats what making an expandible system is for!

17 comments
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Jun 19, 2007. 1:31 AMXmodgeek says:
This sounds like a media center PC to me. One could do this with a laptop and have a home network set up so you can stream A/V to a TV using the (SONY LF-B10 LocationFree Base Station) that dose just that. Or you could have a dedicated media server to serve up live TV, recorded TV, moves, music, etc to any computer (that could be a dedicated media center PC connected directly to a TV and be as small as a set-top box) on the network granted this option would cost a lot but hay you could access the internet and play games and do work and of course watch TV on your TV. But it would be neat to see a robot do that.
Jun 14, 2007. 11:08 PMNachoMahma says:
. I didn't notice anything on your list that hasn't already been done. You just have to make it all work together. . Other than expense, carrying enough power is the only problem I see. . I'd start with the basic frame/carriage/transport and add on as money/knowledge allowed. USB/Firewire should be able to handle internal communications needs, with WiFi/Bluetooth taking care of external comm. . Keep us updated - this sounds like a fun project.
Jun 29, 2007. 2:09 PMWeissensteinburg says:
I just thought of this: We won't get a charging dock, if we win, just a cord. So you'll have to carry a big battery on board, unless you want to plug it in every half hour..
Jun 15, 2007. 12:01 AMNachoMahma says:
. I don't have a whole lot of experience with Linux, but it will probably be your best bet. Linux is still kind of a DIY OS and attracts "hardware hackers." And it's free. Ubuntu seems to have a growing base and SciLinux installed/worked well for me (I just used it for a few days to see what Linux was like nowadays).
Jun 28, 2007. 2:57 PMSacTownSue says:
I really like your project. Seems like you might want to have levels of installation. 1-cheap and easy. 2-more functionality 3-more... So a person can do one phase make sure it works. More money comes along add the next phase. I'm not sure. I'm on disability so very little cash. I have a 13 inch TV so I just have it right next to the computer monitor. Listen to TV while doing this stuff. In a previous life I was a UNIX sysadmin and configuration management geek. I might be able to answer some questions, but it's been a few years. Did you google "natuallyspeaking" with UNIX or Linux? Perhaps try visiting various unix web sites and searching. The geeks are pretty good about having the latest toys on their systems. I'm stuck with Windows XP for now but would love a second computer running some flavor of unix for R&D, tinkering. I miss unix.
Jun 29, 2007. 1:41 PMSacTownSue says:
slax haven't heard of it thx I'll check it out Looking foward to seeing your instructable. BTW: love the mad scientist action. I know that feeling.

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