Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

connectr

Spykee instead of Spike to watch the house?

NEW YORK--Spykee, a communications robot from the toymaker Erector for $299, allows you to listen, see and record the surroundings of the robot from anywhere in the world through a Web-based software application.

Similar in function to iRobot's ConnectR robot, the Spykee offers a VOIP telephone that works with Skype 3.0 and a Webcam, as well as controlled movement around a room.

Spykee operates over a wireless network and is controlled through downloadable software that Erector refers to as its "machine man interface."

You can upload music to the device from a computer and it will … Read more

iRobot not just phoning it in

It's not quite Rosie yet, Mr. Brooks, but we'll concede that the company you founded is a step closer to The Jetsons world of communications.

iRobot is expected to unveil this ConnectR communications robot, aka a physical avatar, at DigitalLife 2007 on Thursday.

The ConnectR for $499 is a robot you control on your behalf from anywhere in the world using a Web-based application. With a VoIP speakerphone and one-way video, it allows you to carry on a conversation as if you are right in the room. You can also control where it goes.

The video camera mounted … Read more