This would be great for disaster response! If you mounted one in each forward scout/response vehicle that was sent in directly after the hurricane, fire, flood... etc happened you could get immediate video feed for damage assessment. The fact thats its an all in one package and has USB / Ethernet /Firewire connections makes it extremely versatile when it comes to the choice of camera. Since it goes out over cell carriers means that COW towers could be used as haul backs if the disaster took out the local wireless communications.
I'd like to see something like this in fire trucks as well. In large fires that require more than one or two engines it would give other responding departments, engine companies, and incident commanders that are en route an idea of what they are about to drive up on. Not to mention all the other government agencies that would have to deal with the aftermath. Some departments have cameras on their engines and NYFD have done a few webcasts of some of their fires. But I have yet to see it in anything like this outside of specialized response units in big budget or federal departments or that was this easy to set up and use.
politicos have been trying to control physical objects for generations in an attempt to control their populations. In the U.S. the E.U. and every socialist/communist or fascist government... They have all failed miserably. If you don't believe me take a look at prohibition, gun control, and U.S. drug laws then go look at the Hack a Day site. If you make loud media players illegal then only criminals will have loud media players. This law is silly, pathetic and it will be ignored like most other unenforceable laws. Open source, hackers, and home-brew tech will always out pace governments.
need to add a speaker so it can scream battle cries every time it clears a fence! nothing like a tiny wheeled box dropping out of the sky bellowing "GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOO" to keep the bad guys on their toes.
While fire fighters generally welcome all the help we can get (especially if its a new toy), I would be quite skeptical of this device. Your average fire fighter in full gear with a tool can have 100 plus extra pounds on his body. Add the weight of a victim and you could have as much as 500lbs with a small footprint moving around in a fire, or collapse weakened structure. This thing looks like it weighs nearly that much by itself. And as folks mentioned earlier, what about the obese? People with braces on a limb or anything else on their person that might block the "mouth" could be trouble as well. Not to mention what do you do when the victim wakes up while being "swallowed"? Most people react poorly when they wake up while being carried out. A victim will tear a mask off killing the fireman and themselves in a panic. Above all else this thing moves way too slow.
It has a lot of potential though. I can definitely see it working in more open areas where there just weren't enough personnel on the ground or there was a bio/chemical hazard. It has more potential as a pack mule that follows fire/rescue teams to carry supplies in or carry victims out after they have been pulled from the immediate danger. For instance if it could ferry spare air bottles or even refill air packs so that firemen didn't have to use up their air supply crawling to and from the seat of the fire. Even with a high pressure bottle you only have 30 minutes max of breathable air, less if your really exerting yourself.
I have had the chance to work with this device on several occasions. Having tested several other systems I can that for what this one does and the cost it's actually a very good set up. While the camera is only 1.3 Mp and uses reflected IR light as opposed to an actual thermal image camera, the fact that you can leave it in the field for up to 1 month, 4 with the battery pack, makes it an excellent surveillance device. Placed at approcimately 6' up it was able to capture movement of animals and people out to 20'. They are easy to camouflage, set up, move, and operate. The laser makes it easy to sight just where you want the pictures taken. The low Mp on the camera is good in a way in that the images are smaller, and cost less to transmit overall. Besides, who wants a 6Mp picture of a deer, or trespasser when 1.3 will do? Its also pretty easy to hack as well.
The only improvement I would make are dry contacts or blue tooth capabilities so you could add additional cameras or flash panels.
"I love my little computing companion but I often find myself missing a full sized keyboard. I have been looking at several of these portable and flexible keyboards, but I can't seem to make up my mind about which I should buy. I don't want the keyboard to be overly expensive, but I want it to be good quality. Also, how difficult is it to type on these keyboards? Thanks!"
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