Gizmo bot is here to help

With a cute name like that you wouldn't expect this Gizmo robot to be so bent on risky reconnaissance missions, but that's what creator Javier Rodriguez Molina has in mind for his modular progeny. Gizmo is designed to gather information at disaster sites and relay it to whoever however, be that over wireless internet, cellular, Bluetooth or other means. Multiple bots can network together to collaborate, but while the current version of the bot is mostly a glorified remote control rover, future versions will carry all sorts of sensors and come in all sorts of form factors. Research is ongoing at San Diego's "Calit2," and the hope is for the final bot to come in under the $1,000 price point to make it easy for police, fire departments and other rescue organizations to buy the bots off the shelf.

[David Reynolds @ Dec 18th 2007 8:47AM]

Hmmm looks spiffy, I could use one to scope out my kids room before trying to enter it to clean....

[iansarchibald @ Dec 18th 2007 8:57AM]

E-Maxx ftw!

[KR @ Dec 18th 2007 9:43AM]

Were you scarred by the movie "Gremlins" as a child?

[Zeus the God @ Dec 18th 2007 5:05PM]

Thats just what I was thinking... Should have used a T-Maxx or a Savage though, as gas is always better.

[Alan Partridge @ Dec 18th 2007 9:05AM]

I HATE the word Gizmo and any word/website that starts with Gizmo

[strider_mt2k @ Dec 18th 2007 9:05AM]

Gizmodo what?

[Bombaclaat @ Dec 18th 2007 9:30AM]

gizzo bot for women.

[KR @ Dec 18th 2007 9:45AM]

Woops, hit wrong reply button. Previous comment was for Alan...

[ScareyJ @ Dec 18th 2007 10:00AM]

Cool to see off the shelf components being used ... with servo and receiver standards, they probably can create some reusable designs that can be applied to various scales like 1/8 and 1/16 to allow for navigation in different confined spaces. I suspect a radical redesign with a custom chasis will be needed to to sport the rough terrain of a collapse but for pipes (and the like) it will probably work pretty good ... and a lot cheaper than traditional bots.

[Keisha Kornbread @ Dec 18th 2007 10:24AM]

He's so cute :-)

[MichaelD @ Dec 18th 2007 1:27PM]

Never fear, Gizmoduck--er, Gizmo bot-- is here!

[Karl Viklund @ Dec 18th 2007 1:31PM]

Yey. Mister big-arm...

[Mike @ Dec 18th 2007 1:51PM]

wow, Javier has made it to engadget! I work upstairs from him at the UCSD Calit2 campus. I think I've heard his remote control vehicles trucking by.

[Brian @ Dec 18th 2007 2:33PM]

A bot that for now is just a "glorified remote rover" makes news? Someday we'll have flying cars too, but that's not news today. When it's actually a robot, let me know.

[Zeus the God @ Dec 18th 2007 5:15PM]

Lol... Looks familiar.

http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/emaxx/gallery/emaxx-rock-wheelie.jpg

Maybe like that? Hehe...

[grjohnston @ Dec 19th 2007 10:40AM]

Whomever.