While most of us can't afford to pay a person to patrol our home at night, it would still be nice to know that something was checking up on stuff as we slept. That's where Moorebot's Scout robot is designed to come in.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Scout rolls across floors and carpets on four independently-powered wheels. What's more, they're Mecanum wheels – this means that each one is made up of a series of angled powered rollers, which allow the robot to move from side to side while still facing forward.
Users start by manually steering the Scout through a patrol route on one floor of their home, utilizing an accompanying iOS/Android app. The robot's onboard software records that route, then subsequently guides the Scout along it as the bot makes its scheduled patrols.
Because the Scout is wirelessly connected to the home's Wi-Fi system, users are able to view real-time video from its 1080p night-vision camera via an online portal. This means that if they're on vacation, for instance, they can still check in with it. They can also take manual control of the robot via that portal – or via the app, if they're at home at the time.
Additionally, since the robot has its own motion detector and microphone, it can autonomously go check out anomalous movements and noises. It's able to automatically detect and avoid obstacles as it does so, plus it's reportedly capable of recognizing human bodies and pets – so if it does go check on a movement or noise, the robot can tell if it's being caused by a human intruder, or by the user's own cat or dog.
The user can even talk to that person or animal, thanks to an onboard two-way audio communication system. All videos are recorded and stored in the cloud.
According to Moorebot, one three-hour charge of the Scout's 2,000-mAh lithium battery should be good for about 2.5 hours of runtime. When the battery starts getting low, the robot automatically returns to its docking station for a recharge.
As mentioned earlier, the Scout is presently on Kickstarter. Assuming it reaches production, a pledge of US$139 will get you one – the planned retail price is $199.
It can be seen in action, in the video below.
Sources: Kickstarter, Moorebot
