Androids, Robots and Blimps

Posted by Lester Madden under Gadgets, Smartphones

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More fun with an accelerometer today, this time on a Google Android G1 phone.

Having an accelerometer in a phone is cool, but what’s better is when you let a couple of really bright people loose on the API. Especially if they happen to have a spare robot or blimp around the house.

I think over the last few days we have been there, done that with all things accelerometer, I think we have covered every platform now. But what I like about the robot demo is the integration with the camera.  I’m just thinking how great it would be to phone home and take control over a security robot that patrols the house. Imagine being able to steer it around from room to room and see a live video feed so you can check the doors, make sure the lights are turned off, stroke the cat.

And who hasn’t dreamed of flying a remote control helicopter with a camera around the garden, over the house and spying on your neighbours?

Both these demos are on the Google Android G1 phone using an open source project called SRV1 Consol. Cheers to Nitin for sending these to me. I’m hoping that we’ll see some more cool accelerometer projects, hopefully based on Symbian in the future. Until then I think we’ve done planes, trains and automobiles with the accelerometer, unless someone has footage of a 747 being flown using an iPod lets move on.

Narwhals
Moving completely away from anything related to accelerometers. Being a Futurama fan I always assumed that Narwhals were made up animals. Perhaps if I spent more time watching NatGeo and not Futurama I would have known they were real. Remember the annoying yet addictive Hamster song?  Well Futurama fans its time to rejoice.

Just don’t blame me when you are laying in bed tonight singing about Narwhals.

My knowledge of Narwhals had been greatly extended. I now know they:

• cause a commotion
• swim in the ocean
• beat polar bears in a fight
• should never touch your balls

Who needs NatGeo?

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