Rolling Bot Beats Smartphones To Be Star Of Show
As usual, late February saw the movers and shakers of the mobile consumer electronics industry fly off to the weak sunshine and crowded tapas bars of an out-of-season Barcelona to browse the latest in smartphones and other portable gizmos at the annual Mobile World Congress.
There were several predictable showstoppers.
Samsung’s unveiling of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge drew glowing reviews.
Interest in these ran neck and neck with the LG G5, showcased to considerable excitement following the success of the G4.
Surprise successes from more minor players caused some commotion as well. Beijing-based Xiaomi, with its Mi 5, and Alcatel, in which Nokia has a majority stake, with its Idol 4S, both had punters predicting big things for two nicely crafted phones which packed features normally well above their price range.
The show’s big hit, though, for which visitors needed sharp elbows to get a good look, was not a phone.
Neither was it very portable. This was the LG Rolling Bot, designed to not venture beyond a single floor of a home.
The Bot pairs up across the Net with a distant smartphone and wanders around under its control.
It provides eyes and ears to check that all is well, that the home is secure, the babysitter is awake or the cat is behaving itself.
As a remote App steers the spherical, not quite bowling ball sized Bot around furniture and through doorways, an eight megapixel camera beams back what it sees.
It also has a speaker that can be used to say hello to the dog.
Check it out by searching for ‘Rolling Bot’ on YouTube.
