Avatar Home & Office base model (via Robotex)
Do you ever feel like having an extra set of eyes in your home to protect what you care about while you’re away? Perhaps you’re an avid crime fighting enthusiast who enjoys home security measures? Well, maybe you’re just into robots. Whatever the case, this new robotics tech is about to hit the market. Robotex, a start-up company from Palo Alto, CA has been designing and manufacturing robots for use in many dangerous and challenging environments to date. The company’s Avatar line is being used by hundreds of SWAT and tactical teams across the United States to help keep officers out of harms way while still enforcing the law, with a little help from their robot friend. These highly expensive robots are definitely not in the market for the average consumer, ranging in the $12,000 mark. They have been extremely useful for many civilian and law enforcement situations: A testimonial on the Robotex website by the LA Sheriff's Department tells us that their team used the Avatar robot to monitor a suspect who shot at officers until they were able to subdue the criminal.
The company is now expanding into the average consumer market and staying true to its goal of providing affordable, high quality robots with the introduction of their $299 Avatar Home & Office. The highly mobile and agile personal security robot is designed for remote monitoring and operation through WiFi. So, now you can remotely monitor your home and make sure no bad guys are breaking in. Robotex even has some interesting suggested uses like checking in with your family at home, or keeping an eye on repairmen and contractors while you’re away. (Who will stop the repair guy from stealing thebot?) The Avatar Home & Office comes equipped with an iOS device dock to allow for iOS control and video transmission - pretty neat. It even has an optional stair-climber accessory in case you want to see what’s going on upstairs. The Avatar doesn’t do much more than roam around your home, dodging corners and climbing over piles of dirty laundry, but it is designed to be open-source so that app-developers can muster up some more creative applications in the future. Though in-home crime-fighting is the Avatar’s market objective, the robot is sure to find valuable functionality for mobile communication once the HDK and SDK are made available. Nonetheless, the Avatar Home & Office as-is should meet the average home detective’s security needs.
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