Erle-Spider, an Ubuntu-based drone with six legs

by
Anonymous Coward
in robotics on (#KTJX)
story imageErle Robotics has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for what it claims is the "first smart robotic spider powered by Snappy Ubuntu Core". Developers can create apps using the open source Robot Operating System (ROS), and distribute/sell them through Erle Robotics' apps store. The six-legged "spider" weighs just over 2 kilograms (4.4lbs) and has 45 minutes of autonomy. Powering the system is a 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU with 1 GB of RAM; the Erle-Spider comes with a gravity sensor, gyroscope, digital compass, pressure sensor, and temperature sensor. "This robot provides connectivity through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G networks, etc. then the people can control it through their mobile phones, joysticks, laptops, tablets, etc. and this can even act as a hot spot for Wi-Fi".

Options include a basic kit for about 250 ($400), and an assembled version for around 420 ($640). But oddly, there doesn't seem to be an option to add two extra legs to convert this "spider" from a hexapod into an actual arachnid.
Reply 1 comments

Lasers for the win (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2015-09-08 21:52 (#KV4Z)

Mount a laser on it then send it off to hunt cockroaches, mice, ants, spiders, mites, anything really. Cook up an automatic docking feature ala roomba. Automated pest control at floor level. Can even drive it from a PC to store mapping etc offline with a user interface for past and future travel.