Sanyo creates inspection robot to check structural integrity

This certainly won't go down as the first underfloor robot we've heard about, but apparently, Sanyo's aiming to use all these fantastic ideas to actually bring a product to market. The fairly attractive bot is designed to cruise underneath apartment buildings, offices and essentially any other place of residence to check for structural damage, and it boasts integrated sensors that enable it to avoid obstacles while on duty. Apparently, the creation -- which can scoot about for just over two hours on a full charge -- can beam back live video of what it sees, and landlords can zoom in on curious spots to find out if there are indeed any problems that need attention. Unfortunately, we're hearing that it won't be on sale till next year, but it shouldn't cost much more than ¥1,000,000 ($8,736) when it finally arrives -- which, by our estimation, is a small price to pay to avoid months of back problems and terrifying encounters with all sorts of rodents.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

[wish @ Nov 7th 2007 11:35AM]

or, you can hire a structural engineer to do a visual inspection and evaluation report for a quarter that price...

[coplice @ Nov 7th 2007 11:59AM]

or buy an electronic car toy and tape a USB cam that can record well in the dark and a long enough USB cable to plug it to your laptop :p

[Wesley Dumont @ Nov 7th 2007 2:50PM]

structural engineers get tired, overtime, lunch breaks, weekends, colds and flus...

[Hypenotist @ Nov 7th 2007 5:02PM]

Or just be like every slumlord and spend your money on something else like hookers and blow.

[huggles @ Nov 7th 2007 12:02PM]

rover meet rover. rover fetch Alien!

[rzlmlchm009 @ Nov 7th 2007 12:16PM]

They're taking over the world! It's like in chess: First, you strategically position your pieces and when the timing is right you strike, Checkmate.

[jman315 @ Nov 7th 2007 1:22PM]

thank god that hand is there or else i would NOT know where the robot was

[katie @ Nov 7th 2007 2:44PM]

hey, all we need now are the words "Ta Dah!" written on the hand! lmao.

[Martha Bridegam @ Nov 7th 2007 1:55PM]

This could do one hell of a lot of good.

I used to know a guy whose father repaired the utility systems of mobile homes in Arizona, regularly having to crawl under them to work on plumbing etc. He was kind of inevitably bitten by a brown recluse spider and had a terrible ulcerated sore from it.

[Lenman1 @ Nov 7th 2007 2:48PM]

9 Grand! NFW! Surely with our ever-increasing technology someone could develop one of these things for well under a $1000 bucks. You guys think?

[Hello Moto @ Nov 8th 2007 8:27AM]

My guess is that he high price is due to low production and newer technologies. Producing new things, or in small quantities can be very expe3nsive from a manufacturing aspect. As these parts are moved to more standard, or at least computer driven production the price should drop, and R&D cost will drop at the same time. You can probably drop $1,500 or more in the next year. At the same time the LEDs get cheaper, the batteries get cheaper, etc. All in all they could probably sell these for $5,000 in a few years if they get initial units moving out at a steady rate.

Even with the current price, if an inspection costs $2,500 then it would only take 10 inspections or so to recoup the cost. If you can do an extra inspection every month with the time you save, then it will pay for itself in a year.

[Digital1 @ Nov 7th 2007 3:34PM]

I, for one, welcome our robotic,safety engineer-replacing, overlords.

[Zeek @ Nov 7th 2007 4:06PM]

Let's give it a hand! Oh. They did.

[applefreak @ Nov 7th 2007 4:33PM]

great, now we have one more thing to cause or be ruined by a falling building.