I'm going to Afghanistan this summer. I figure that this will be fun to operate while I'm there to check out my house, my wife, the cat and dog.

yeawuteva wrote:what's the maximum distance you can be from the robot and still receive wifi? Will it work through brick walls?

It's impossible to say how far away you can be. As evidenced by people who can often connect to 802.11 signals a mile away, yet cannot connect to signals from routers in their own homes, wireless is unpredictable.
Yes, it will work through bricks walls, to an extent. Copper pipes in interior walls will interfere with the signal more. You'd really have to get it and try it to see.

therealm80 wrote:Does it go down stairs?

Once!

This is da COOLEST Woot in a long, long time!

therealm80 wrote:Does it go down stairs?

Yes, but don't bet on it landing upside right... and it can't climb back up.

"Don't worry about that, baby. It's just my robot. He likes to watch."

The last time I researched this it only worked with WEP encryption which is very poor. Has it been upgraded to WPA yet or still the same.

I did a lot of research on this in the past and love everything else about it.

Do you need a static IP for this?

My wife is going to leave me for sure. Thanks Woot!

Have to have one. Been wanting a camera for a while. Camera + Audio and mobility! In for 1!!

spiderwayne wrote:The last time I researched this it only worked with WEP encryption which is very poor. Has it been upgraded to WPA yet or still the same.

I did a lot of research on this in the past and love everything else about it.

Seems like they updated the firmware to support wpa.

I have one...paid more than $105 at the time. It works very well, except does not track well on certain carpet materials...like mine. Does not go straight, which is a hassle when navigating around the house.

So if you have hardwood floors, it's great. Otherwise it may be frustrating to control.

elpepe wrote:Can this be modified to become a DJ roomba?

Absolutely, just duct tape on this and your old ipod shuffle and blam... DJ roomba

RobinMast3rs wrote:Seems like they updated the firmware to support wpa.

I just checked their site and found the User Manual. It says the following:

IMPORTANT: Rovio does not support WPA passwords on wireless access points;
it only supports WEP passwords. For instance, if your wireless router uses a WPA
password, you will need to change it to a WEP password.

spiderwayne wrote:I just checked their site and found the User Manual. It says the following:

IMPORTANT: Rovio does not support WPA passwords on wireless access points;
it only supports WEP passwords. For instance, if your wireless router uses a WPA
password, you will need to change it to a WEP password.

Or get a used WEP based AP at a flea market for about $5 and add it to your network. I keep a WEP AP around, just in case.

spiderwayne wrote:I just checked their site and found the User Manual. It says the following:

IMPORTANT: Rovio does not support WPA passwords on wireless access points;
it only supports WEP passwords. For instance, if your wireless router uses a WPA
password, you will need to change it to a WEP password.

Great news: after all your help and feedback, we are able to release the latest stable versions of the Rovio firmware (5.00) and Rovio Software (for PC) (1.8.8.3).

Some of the major changes for the Rovio 5.00 firmware (from v.3.97) include:

•New WPA and WPA2 support (NOTE: does not support WPA2 Enterprise encryption)
•New UPnP support
•Enhanced stability
•Added online status indicator
•Faster loading
Some of the major changes for the Rovio Software for PC include:

•Enhanced stability
•Text updates
•Updated GUI
•Resolved issues with the updater utility
We've also posted beta released of the Rovio Software for Mac setup and the Rovio Firmware Updater tool in the downloads area.

Current firmware is Rovio Firmware v.5.03 (stable)
Date Published: 2010-02-10
Download Size: 0.93MB

spiderwayne wrote:I just checked their site and found the User Manual. It says the following:

IMPORTANT: Rovio does not support WPA passwords on wireless access points;
it only supports WEP passwords. For instance, if your wireless router uses a WPA
password, you will need to change it to a WEP password.

You are right, I found it hard to believe that after all this time it still could not connect via WPA so I emailed WOW WEE and this is what they sent back:

It can use WEP, WPA and WPA2 but you will need to update the firmware to 5.03.

Quick question......does the unit come with the PC interface/navigation software (included in the price) or do I have to purchase it separately (as it says in the product description)??....confused!!

Had to have one. I'm going on vacation soon and want to keep in touch with the house. Plus I'm a gadget geek and cameranut, LOL. I can tape it to the top of my irobot so I can clean and guard at the same time LOL... ;o)

Jimmie FZ-30

My main hangout:

http://photosbydave.net/index.php

Shiftlock wrote:Can this be remotely driven onto the charging base? Or does it have to be manually placed on the base? I want to make sure it will charge between connections, so that it will work while I'm away from the summer home for many months without the battery dying.

According to the video, it can automatically return to its base when the battery gets low. No need for manual control to do it.

I'm a college RA and our entire campus is WiFi covered. Can I just use this from my room to do my rounds around the building, lol.

Aww, I feel kinda sad for this poor little lonely robot. He's like the third wheel of today's robot love story.

Anyone know if there is a linux port for the software?

bradpr wrote:and oh boy! it has deans connectors!!!
What the hell is a deans connector?

Looks like it's a newer RC Car battery pack connector.

If you just can't wait for however long it takes the dock to charge this thing (probably several hours), you could buy a quick charger like this one: Quick Charger and have your robot back up and running in 15 minutes.

Could I run this on IE6? They wont upgrade us at work for probably another year or so. If youtube is even phasing out support for IE6, it would be a shame to get this and not be able to use it to spy on the dog.

Also what kind of java/flash settings does it require? Any plugins?

(working with some high computer security over here...)

therealm80 wrote:Does it go down stairs?

Sure!
Arrive in one piece?--maybe.
Go back up alone...no.

Shiftlock wrote:Will this work with an 802.11g wireless network that doesn't accept connections from 802.11b devices, or does it require a slower 802.11b connection?

802.11G is backwards compatible automagically with 802.11B and 802.11A connections.
This should not be an issue.

jgmcgowan wrote:I'm a college RA and our entire campus is WiFi covered. Can I just use this from my room to do my rounds around the building, lol.

You'll need an external speaker to remind the drunk students who try to wander off with it that you can see them!

This thing uses its own kind of GPS to navigate around to pre-programmed points. It does this by projecting an infrared pattern onto the ceiling with beacons. It's actually very cool.

I bought one when they had them for about $140 at BJ's. I ended up returning it because we were having wifi connectivity issues, but I think that the problem had more to do with the location of my router. With a good, strong signal, you shouldn't have problems.

As a funny aside, my mom was really ticked off when I used the Rovio to check up on watching our daughters right after they were born. She locked it in my room and it died without being able to reach its base charging station.

Any ideas of dimensions of this? W x H x L ?

crowsnest wrote:
Product Description
Rovio is the groundbreaking new Wi-Fi enabled mobile webcam

So it tunnels under ground?

Will it transmit from the center of the earth?

therealm80 wrote:Does it go down stairs?

Of course it does! Oh... you meant "...and stay in one piece..." oops.

therealm80 wrote:Does it go down stairs?

The Rovio has a built in inertial assist system that uses "gravity" to get down stairs. So, it will go downstairs just fine. Getting back up the stairs is another matter.

jandrese wrote:Looks like it's a newer RC Car battery pack connector.

If you just can't wait for however long it takes the dock to charge this thing (probably several hours), you could buy a quick charger like this one: Quick Charger and have your robot back up and running in 15 minutes.

Yes, it's a "serious" R/C battery connector.

And yes, you could use a serious R/C charger on it. But if you tried to charge it at 4C (the rate that charges your battery fully in 15 minutes) you'd probably damage the battery. You'd probably be better with a 1C rate -- charge it in one hour.

who cares if its practical its FUN!!!! and Iphone control makes it cooler, now for the remote control webcam helicopter thing they had on the internet... WOOT get me a deal on that one!!!

We have one here at work - long story. The short version is that their 'True Track' thing is only good for about 10 feet around the base station in a standard room with 9' ceilings. And requires line of sight on the ceiling. For a large room, the number of beacons rapidly becomes ridiculous. In small rooms, you'll need at least one beacon for each room. If you can't, you're using dead reckoning.

Take a look at Amazon for the reviews. Sounds like a lot of issues with battery life, docking, headlamp, maneuvering, etc. May be too soon to market. But huge price difference here. $213@Amazon.

bradpr wrote:and oh boy! it has deans connectors!!!
What the hell is a deans connector?

I've used them in the past to easily connect a battery pack to a ESC with remote control planes. I dont know why this thing would have one though.

Example:
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/deans_ultra_plug_connector_pair_222_prd1.htm

rickyharper wrote:My wife is going to leave me for sure. Thanks Woot!

Come on, a pair of her shoes costs twice as much as this. Buy two.

timmyvee wrote:Come on, a pair of her shoes costs twice as much as this. Buy two.

...and disguise them as Coach bags