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Motrr Galileo: Robotic motion control for iPhone
If there's one accessory for the iPhone that has been breathlessly anticipated by a lot of photographers and videographers, it's the Motrr Galileo robotic iPhone mount. The product began life as a Kickstarter that received more than US$700,000 in funding, then went into hibernation for a while as the developers worked on bringing this sophisticated device to market. Now it's finally available for $149.95 in two different formats -- 30-pin, in case you wish to repurpose your old iPhone as a remotely controlled webcam, or Bluetooth. There are also white or black models, just in case you're fussy about making sure your motion-control mount matches your iPhone. Our test device was one of the Bluetooth models. It's a rather tiny device; a squat cylinder about 3.25" in diameter and just two inches tall. There's a micro-USB port on one side for charging, one LED for battery status on the bottom, and several "cups" that are used to ensure a tight fit of your iPhone or iPod touch so it doesn't fall out during a photo session. The first thing you need to do is go out to the App Store and pick up the Motrr app. This app doesn't control your Galileo, rather it's a digital catalog for finding apps that are compatible with Galileo. I decided to give the device a try with Sphere, a free app that works with the Galileo mount to take 360° spherical images. The result? Magic. To link a Galileo-enabled app with the device, you simply twist the bottom and top parts of the mount to send a pairing signal to the iPhone. That's it. With the Sphere app, there was a special item under the "hamburger" button for linking the Galileo mount and starting the photography. What happened next was incredible: the Galileo began whirring and moving, stopping to take photos at precise intervals. Within a very short amount of time I had a spherical image of my kitchen to navigate around -- it was almost like being there! Sphere and Galileo are the perfect couple, but what's cool is that there are a growing number of other apps that work with the mount. Right now, those include AirBeam ($3.99, for surveillance), RecoLive MultiCam ($4.99), and the $4.99 TimeLapse app. I happened to have a copy of the latter app from an experiment last year with the wind-up $30 Camalapse, and it's a very capable time lapse photography app. Add an amazing mount like the Galileo to the mix, and you have a way to take some incredible movies. Simply connect Galileo to TimeLapse by doing that little "twist to pair" action, and a Motrr button appears on the screen. With that, you can set the revolutions per hour for both pan and tilt. I'm personally waiting for one app that is supposed to be out early in 2014: Motrr Live. It's designed to let you and others video chat while controlling the other Motrr remotely. There are other apps that currently work only with the 30-pin dock connector version of Galileo, but I didn't list them here. Conclusion The Motrr Galileo robotic mount is perfect for the iPhone or iPod touch photographer/videographer who desires precise control of camera movement. While there still aren't a lot of apps available offering support for the mount, I would expect to see many more as developers realize just how powerful this accessory is. Pros Very precise and extremely quiet, perfect for filming video Unique design offers almost spherical coverage of any scene through 360° pan and tilt Considering the technology involved, $150 is a bargain for this device Can be mounted on any standard tripod Cons Not that many apps support the device at this point, particular the Bluetooth version of the Galileo Who is it for? The iPhone videographer who wants a better way of controlling pan and tilt automatically during filming, the photographer who is working on time lapse photographs, or (coming soon) anyone who wants to control where someone else's device is pointed during a video call.
Motrr Galileo robotic iPhone mount to finally ship in November
Today seems to be the day for delayed Kickstarter projects to announce that they're finally going to ship. Earlier it was the Narrative Clip (neé Memoto), now the long-delayed Motrr Galileo robotic iPhone platform is available for pre-order at 10 percent off list price at US$149.95 and will ship next month. The device caught the attention of the iOS community last year when the remote control mount was first outed on Kickstarter. Galileo can pan and tilt a full 360° at speeds of up to 200° per second. An app will provide controls for the mount, or a web browser can be used from anywhere to aim your iPhone. There will be two different versions of Galileo; one that has a 30-pin connector and another equipped with Bluetooth. Both can be mounted on a standard tripod, can work to charge your iPhone or iPod touch and have a lithium-polymer battery to power the precise pan and tilt motors. Motrr has a full SDK for developers who wish to build support for Galileo into their apps. Already, the company has announced two in-house apps -- Motrr and Motrr LIVE -- and supports AirBeam, CollabraCam, RecoLive MultiCam, TimeLapse and DMD Panorama. Support has been announced for Sphere -- which will create 360° spherical photos -- FiLMiC Pro and IguanaLapse. TUAW hopes to have a full review of the Motrr Galileo after it ships next month.
Motrr Galileo nets $700k in Kickstarter pledges, available to pre-order now for $117
Perhaps you were discouraged by the uncertainty that comes along with a Kickstarter pledge, or you simply missed your chance to give Motrr's Galileo an $85 kick before the deadline hit. Whatever the reason, you're still in luck -- the iOS-controlled iPhone platform is now available for a proper pre-order, with a 10-percent discount and free shipping in tow. Galileo, which netted a whopping $702,427 in Kickstarter funding, could soon be on its way to a nursery or conference room near you, for the slightly increased sum of $116.99. That Benjamin and change will buy you one 360-degree rotating platform, complete with a rechargeable battery, USB cable, tripod screw and user manual. There's no word on when this latest round of pre-orders will be filled, but the company did confirm that it plans to ship the first batch this summer. Full deets (and pre-order option) are at the source link after the break.
Motrr Galileo robotic iPhone platform is go for launch
One of the coolest Apple-related Kickstarter projects in the recent past has been the Motrr Galileo, a robotic iPhone platform. The project has definitely been funded -- it's now at US$400,000 with a $100,000 goal -- and it appears that the first devices will be shipped some time in June. There's still time for you to be a Galileo backer and get one for $85 -- the actual price tag when the product hits the market will be $129.95. The founders of Motrr are no strangers to the world of successful products. Josh Guyot and JoeBen Bevirt are the designers of the Joby and Gorillapod flexible camera tripods. With Galileo they'll have an awesome iOS-controlled motorized platform with an API for developers who want their apps to be able to control the device. If you haven't seen the Galileo in action, check out the video below.
