This year’s annual consumer electronics show (CES) held in fabulous Las Vegas was indeed filled with a plethora of fabulous robots and drones. We didn’t get to attend in person, but the sheer amount of robotics and drone news buzzing our email was enough to make us plan for next year’s attendance. None the less, here’s our Compiler for CES 2016.
Sphero Force Band
Sphero unveiled a piece of Jedi-like technology dubbed the Force Band. Promising to give you powers akin to Skywalker himself, the Force Band is a wrist-worn wearable that tracks your arm’s movement and, in turn, drives Sphero BB-8. Sphero hasn’t given us a solid release date and price as the Force Band is still a prototype. Force Band and Sphero’s new sand-blasted BB-8 Jakku Edition are coming to Earth this Fall.
Double 2
Double Robotics is the company in charge of the telepresence robot known simply as Double. At CES 2016, they revealed the second iteration of their Double robot doubling down on stability, speed, and sight. The new Double 2 features an upgraded camera, mechanically stable chassis, and a faster drive system. Bettering these specs greatly improves the quality of telepresence provided by the Double robot.
Lego WeDo 2.0
Lego’s at it again with their insanely sophisticated yet easy-to-use robotics kits. Unveiled at CES 2016 was Lego’s WeDo 2.0 educational robotics kit. The kit takes off from the first iteration that launched over eight years ago and adds Bluetooth connectivity, upgraded sensors and motors, and a slick new programming interface. Kids in the classroom will be able to build Lego robots using the WeDo 2.0 kit and program them using the tablet-based programming app. The educational kit will be available later this year for the cheap price of $2,000 (hey, it’s a classroom kit not a consumer product).
Code-a-Pillar
Fisher-Price’s Code-a-Pillar is made to teach tots the basics of code. The cutesy caterpillar toy slithers around on motorized wheels with its multiple segments swaying behind. Each segment features a unique command icon that dictates a specific action. Kids from ages 3 to 8 can play with the Code-a-Pillar by connecting the segments in different patterns and watching the Code-a-Pillar react as it executes the “code” or command icon sequence. There’s also a companion app with challenges for kids to complete with their Code-a-Pillar. Fisher-Price is delivering this little toy, bug-free, in the Fall for $49.99.
Intel Segway Robot
Intel and Segway have teamed up to create a sort of robotic hoverboard. The rolling Segway Robot is a ridable transportation device that, when not in use, transforms into a robotic companion. The Segway’s seat rolls forward and becomes the robot’s face while a backplate can be removed to make room for attachable robotic arms. Souped up with a tiny Atom processor, Android OS, and Intel RealSense, the Segway Robot can sense the world around it and communicate with you through voice, gestures, and mobile gadgets (tablets). Segway is targeting to ship Segway Robot Developer Edition in Q3, and it’ll include a full-fledged SDK for developers to whip up some useful skills and content for Segway Robot. A regular consumer edition is planned for next year. No clue on pricing yet, but we’re betting it’ll be extravagant.
Yuneec Typhoon H
DJI-competitor Yuneec revealed a promising hexacopter drone targeted towards prosumers. The Typhoon H is Yuneec’s latest addition in the Typhoon line, and it’s designed to take on DJI’s expert-level drone, Inspire 1. The $1799 consumer drone sports a 360-degree gimbal and camera for 4K video and 12-megapixel stills. Motorized landing gear located on each side of the camera lift up upon flight so the gimbal can steer the camera in every direction. As a little extra, Yuneec and Intel are offering a collision avoidance system to enable the Typhoon H to stay clear of flight obstructions. No word on whether Intel’s collision avoidance will be an add-on, but whatever the price, it’s probably worth it. Yuneec is launching the Typhoon H later this year.
DJI Phantom 3 4k
DJI is making its most popular lineup of drones even more accessible. The Phantom 3 4k is the latest and greatest drone in the Phantom lineup, and it gives consumers a 4K drone for less than a thousand bucks. At $799, the new Phantom offers 4K video at a much cheaper price than its much more expensive
Phantom 3 ProfessionalImage may be NSFW.
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Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Ehang 184
Scale up your average quadcopter, add a seat, and you’ve got the Ehang 184. This human-sized drone was shown off at CES 2016 as the passenger vehicle of the future. Ehang, Chinese drone maker of Ghost Drone, claims that the 184 is a fully-autonomous low-altitude drone that can carry a passenger for 23 minutes at a time. An app can be used to control settings such as heat, lights, and speed as well as monitor battery and estimate arrival times. 184 is a neat concept, but Ehang has yet to actually show it working in person.
Parrot Disco
Consumer drones come in all shapes and sizes pretty much just one shape and size – the quadcopter design. Until now with Parrot Disco. Disco is a fixed-wing drone that ditches props for wings in return for easy flying, faster speeds, and amped battery life. Taking off is a breeze: find a space with about 100 ft of clearance, throw Disco, and it’s off soaring. Mid-flight, Disco connects to your tablet via the Parrot app like any other Parrot drone, and it can record video up to 1080p and capture stills at 14-megapixels. 50 mile an hour speeds and 45 minutes of flight time are possible thanks to Disco’s wing-shaped design. Parrot has kept a tight lip on pricing, but we should see Disco takeoff 2016.
The post Compiler: Parrot Disco, Lego WeDo 2.0, Sphero Force Band, And More From CES 2016 appeared first on SimpleBotics - Covering The Evolving World Of Robotics And Drones.