remote control
Latest
Tesla's toy boat: A drone before its time
Welcome to Time Machines, where we offer up a selection of mechanical oddities, milestone gadgets and unique inventions to test out your tech-history skills. The military complex has certainly embraced the concept of telerobotics, especially in the use of drones, but luckily the technology has also led to other, more peaceful applications. Drones have been used to entertain, take on laborious tasks and even deliver packages (and burritos!). As we pursue the development of remotely controlled and autonomous craft, we must tread carefully or suffer the same fate as the fabled Icarus. Nikola Tesla saw both the terrible as well as the beneficial consequences for this technology when he debuted the "remote control" and the jury is still out as to whether we'll succumb to a dystopian Terminator-style future or reach a peaceful stasis, where we harness the usefulness of robots and autonomous devices, and avoid the worst-case scenarios.
Satechi's X-Presenter Smart is a perfect stocking stuffer for your favorite businessperson
If you're looking for a stocking stuffer for that certain someone who gives a lot of presentations, I think I may have just the item for you. Satechi's new X-Presenter Smart (US$29.99) is an iOS app-enabled laser pointer, a stubby stylus, and a remote mouse all in one tiny little package. That package is about .4" in diameter and about 2.2" long. Inside a silicone cover you'll find the removable laser pointer, which plugs into the headphone port on your iPhone. To use the laser pointer, you need to download the free X-Presenter Smart or X-Pointer Smart app. The former provides a way to control a Keynote or PowerPoint presentation running on a Mac or PC through a virtual mouse, while both apps give you the opportunity to blind the audience point at details on the screen. The laser pointer is quite bright, even in well-lit rooms. During my testing, I was able to amuse my elderly cat Ruby for about a minute before she wandered off... But it's the wireless mouse and presentation control feature that's really cool. The X-Presenter Smart comes with a small dongle for communicating with your Mac or PC. I'm not sure why Satechi chose to use this rather than just use the built-in Bluetooth of the device, but perhaps it's to add range so that presenters can wander around stage without being close to their laptops. The app works great with both PowerPoint and Keynote. There's a button for starting your presentation, after which time you can jump into the mouse mode to advance through your bullet points and slides. If you're on a limited time schedule for your presentation, there's a handy countdown timer you can set and start once you've begun your talk. The mouse mode also has a tap and drag virtual laser pointer capability, but I believe that it might only work when connected to a projector as I couldn't see the "pointer" onscreen while watching my presentation on a MacBook screen. There's a blackout button on the presentation tools, perfect for those situations where you may need to go to a black screen during your presentation before starting up again. Once you're done with your presentation, you can slide the laser pointer back into the silicone sleeve, where it provides rigidity for a nice little (albeit stubby) stylus. Conclusion This is the perfect accessory for anyone who gives presentations on a regular basis. The combination of a Bluetooth remote virtual mouse, the ability to start and progress through presentations, and the real laser pointer -- all for thirty bucks -- makes the Satechi X-Presenter Smart a no-brainer for a gift at any time. Pros Bright laser is perfect for pointing out details on presentation slides X-Presenter Smart App is free and very powerful, providing capabilities that aren't available on some dedicated wireless remotes that cost much more Works with both Keynote and PowerPoint on both Mac and PC Cons So small that the laser/stylus and dongle might be easily lost -- be sure to put them into a safe place between presentations You may need to remove some cases prior to using the laser pointer Who is it for? Anyone who gives presentations for a living
Paper airplanes finally get the smartphone remote control they deserve
Thank you, PowerUp. Apparently the last time we had the opportunity to write about paper airplanes was back in 2011, when a Seattle doctor built a tiny one using a da Vinci surgical robot. This time out, it's a Kickstarter project that brings smartphone control to the notoriously staid world of paper airplanes. The gadget's setup is pretty simple, all said. At the front is a Bluetooth module and battery, while the back contains the propeller and rudder. Build a paper airplane, attach the PowerUp up and boom, you've got RC aircraft you can control with your smartphone. Creator Shai Goitein has taken the project to Kickstarter in an attempt to score $50,000 in funding. A pledge of $30 will get one of these little fliers in your hands, come May of next year. That's plenty of time to practice your folding skills.
Autonet Mobile puts a new twist on the car key (video)
Remember Autonet? The company -- which is best known for providing manufacturers like Chrysler with in-car WiFi hotspot solutions -- is launching a new product designed to replace the key fob and enable low-latency remote vehicle control and diagnostics from any smartphone. Of course, this is nothing new -- car makers have been featuring apps to unlock doors, start the engine and monitor vehicles for some time now. Still, most existing solutions rely on satellite or 2G connectivity and often require the car's computer to be fully booted before responding to commands, which makes for a slow and unreliable experience. Autonet's new system combines in-vehicle hardware, mobile software and cloud services to streamline this process for both manufacturers and owners. More after the break. %Gallery-195223%
Hands-on with Logitech's Harmony Hub and Harmony Control app
I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably not the biggest fan of remote controls. Over the years, my wife and I have accumulated a literal basketful of remotes. There's one for the HDTV, one for the Blu-Ray, one for the Comcast DVR. Add to that the controls for the Bose surround sound system, the HDMI hub that doesn't work and the Apple TV, and it's no wonder I hate video in all of its many forms. At one point, I had a really bad experience with the Logitech Harmony One "universal remote" that was supposed to free me from all of those remotes. Well, it worked occasionally, but it was a pain to program, not all of the devices we had in our media center were supported, and chained events -- like "turn on the surround sound, then turn on the TV, and then turn on the DVR" never worked quite right. The reason I'm giving you this history is to let you know that I'm a skeptic about universal remotes. That's why when Logitech asked if I wanted to review its new Harmony Smart Control (US$129.99), I initially wanted to run away screaming. But since the Harmony Hub (hardware) works hand-in-hand with an iOS app, I was intrigued. Follow along to see how the Logitech Harmony Smart Control worked out for me. Design Opening the box for the first time, you're greeted by a black plastic curved "puck" called the Harmony Hub. There's a pretty standard looking remote control (for those times when you don't want to use your iPhone), an AC adapter, and an IR blaster to control all of those many devices that use that common method of talking to remotes. That's pretty much it, and the setup guide basically tells you to go to the App Store, install the app, and then follow the instructions from there. Since that's about it for the hardware, let's see how the Harmony Smart Control worked. Functionality After my previous bad experiences with universal remotes, I was pretty much filled with trepidation about this, not to mention fearing the wrath of my wife if I somehow screwed up the symbiotic relationship she's built up with other remotes. Upon loading and launching the Harmony Control app, you're greeted with a screen asking if you wish to Buy it or Continue -- since I already had one sitting here, I tapped Continue. So far, so good. Well, that took me into a Connect screen in the app that said it was scanning for hubs on my network. When it didn't find one, it went off to another screen to ask me to re-scan. It finally occurred to me that I needed to tap the Set Up Remote button on the previous screen. <facepalm> That lead to a page telling me that I was setting up a Harmony Smart Control, not to be confused with the many other Logitech Harmony remotes. I initially had some issues during the setup process. The device uses Bluetooth to make a local connection to your iPhone, and then grabs the Wi-Fi setup information for your network from the iPhone. My iPhone just wouldn't connect (it's running iOS 7 beta), so I tried an iPad even though the app is really designed for the smaller screen. Sure enough, that worked perfectly. By the way, when I tried to be nice and report to Logitech that the app didn't work with iOS 7, I received a rather snarky reply from its support staff essentially telling me that it was the beta OS, not the app that was broken. Interesting, considering none of the several hundred other apps on my iPhone have had issues... After this point, it was pretty straightforward to set up the combination of HDTV, DVR, and surround sound system to work properly for watching TV. For the purposes of the review, I chose not to add three other devices -- an Apple TV, a Wii, and a Sony Blu-Ray player -- because of some issues I've had with the Blu-Ray player deciding to turn itself on whenever it is "tickled" by the HDMI hub. In fact, I had to unplug the Blu-Ray player from the HDMI hub just so it would stop turning itself on! If I can resolve that annoying issue, then I can create a new activity (as Logitech calls them), this one being to use the HDTV, Blu-Ray Player, and surround sound to watch movies. Next, I can set up another activity for the Apple TV, likewise using the Apple TV, HDTV and surround sound. I found the "interview" type of setup used in the app to be an excellent way to walk someone through the setup of the device. If there's anything that needs to improve, it's the description of when to use or not use the IR blaster. The entire Harmony Hub is an IR blaster and works well even on a shelf below the TV; I wasn't really sure if I'll ever need to use the separate IR blaster. In fact, Logitech may have gone a bit too far in trying to do away with documentation of this product. %Gallery-191927% That being said, the interface of the iOS app -- both for setup and for control -- is excellent. As you can see from the screenshots in the image gallery, the app uses a combination of traditional buttons and gestures to control your gear. For example, if I want to change channels I simply scroll through my collection of favorites (mostly in the HD channels), and tap on one logo'd button. When I'm watching a show and want to scroll back a bit on the DVR, I just swipe to the left. Want to fast-forward? Swipe across the iPhone screen to the right. Need to crank the volume a hair? Swipe up. It's very intuitive; much more so than any remote I've ever used before. Conclusion Logitech's developers knows that the "second screen" is a reality, and they've come up with a winning way to use your iPhone as a universal remote control that really works. Through a combination of the Wi-Fi connected Harmony Hub and the Harmony Control app, the Logitech Smart Control can finally replace your basket of remotes with your favorite smartphone. Pros Simple setup and intuitive control through the free Harmony Control app Harmony Hub is good-looking, yet unobtrusive App provides a way to "dive down" into DVR and TV controls if needed Price of the Harmony Hub is reasonable "Interview" method of setup is a good way of making sure that all equipment that's needed for a specific activity is added and configured correctly Cons Documentation of how to set up unit is a bit sparse and may confuse some users Who is it for? Anyone with a lot of audiovisual gear who would like to replace a pile of remote controls with their iPhone
Google AirShow streams Google I/O live from several RC blimps (hands-on video)
Yes, there's a fleet of camera-equipped, remote-controlled blimps live-streaming a bird's-eye view of Google I/O on YouTube, right now. It's called Google AirShow and it's taken over the airspace within Moscone Center. We briefly chatted with Chris Miller, a software engineer with AKQA (the company that put the dirigibles together for Google), about the technology used in each aircraft. It all begins with an off-the-shelf model airship that's flown manually via standard a 2.4GHz radio. Each blimp is outfitted with a servo-controlled USB camera and 5GHz USB WiFi dongle which are both connected to a Raspberry Pi board running Debian, VLC and Python. A custom-designed Li-polymer battery system powers the on-board electronics. The webcam encodes video as motion-JPEG (720p, 30fps) and VLC generates a YouTube-compatible RTSP stream that's broadcast over WiFi. Python's used to pan the servo-controlled camera via the Raspberry Pi's PWM output. The result is pretty awesome. But don't just take our word for it -- check out the gallery and source link below, then watch our hands-on video after the break. %Gallery-188534%
OPTiM's Optia Android screensharing and remote control app hands-on
For anybody who has had to support a friend or loved one through an emotional cellphone crisis, rejoice: your savior in the form of OPTiM's Optia smartphone-to-smartphone remote control has arrived. The premise here is that using a friend based system with invites, users can add contacts to the app -- think parents, grandparents -- on their Android handset then simply ask for help or offer to help that friend. The recipient clicks yes, and the remote control session begins. OPTiM's man at the booth, Taiga, took us through the entire process from adding somebody to your set then connecting and finally controlling the phone. The entire ordeal was fairly quick and smooth considering the congestion of the halls here at Mobile World Congress. We'd bet over WiFi or even LTE the experience would be nothing but smoother. Control of the session gives the helper completes access including home button, back, settings and so forth. Scrolling across screens and apps works exactly as it would on your own device, albeit slower -- but even on a poor cellular connection performance is very good. This is a must-have app for anybody that regularly helps others or needs help themselves. The best bit? It's currently completely $free on the Play store. Video tour of it all in action is just below the break.
Romo gen 3 gains Lightning connector, we go hands-on (video)
Remember Romo, the adorable iPhone-faced track-equipped robot? We met up with Romotive in Vegas at CES 2013 to play with the 3rd generation model that was recently launched on Kickstarter. The company also gave us an exclusive first look at a 3rd generation prototype with Lightning connector. We sat down with CEO Keller Rinaudo to discuss the new robot and catch up on what the team's achieved over the past year. As a refresher, we first encountered Romo when we covered it for our Insert Coin feature in October 2011. Back then, the robot used rudimentary analog electronics and plugged into the iPhone's headphone jack. After a successful initial Kickstarter campaign, Romotive moved from Seattle to Las Vegas where we caught up with the team on our stage during CES 2012. The 2nd generation model was available both pre-assembled and it kit form with support for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. It was upgraded to digital electronics but still used the audio interface to control its tracks and featured hacker-friendly auxiliary ports. Hit the break for more.
Griffin MOTO TC Monster truck offers Bluetooth control, so-so software
When Steve assigned me the Griffin MOTO TC Monster truck (US$49.99) to review, I basically assumed this was going to be the best review assignment ever. Sadly, it was not. This Bluetooth-managed truck offers solid hardware features, but its software is just not up to the task. The hardware consists of a standard RC truck that's well-built as these things go -- we buy a lot of RC trucks and helicopters in our household. The MOTO TC Monster truck was reasonably put together and stood up to use by excitable boys both indoors and out, with the most fun occurring when running it across roads, driveways and sidewalks. It pulls power off of a rechargeable battery that's quite easy to install and remove, although you do need a Phillips screwdriver. It takes about an hour to pull in enough charge for a good session of driving. Where the product really broke down was on the iOS side of things. Although easy to pair with Bluetooth (you do need a long flat probe to get to the pairing button), the software itself was poorly implemented. It felt like a total afterthought. The MOTO TC Monster truck offers several driving modes: A nearly impossible-to-use two-handed wheel-and-shifter shown at the top of this post (imagine if you will, trying to hold your phone, watch the car, and use both hands to steer). A tilt-to-drive mode that kept flipping during use because the dev forgot to disable autorotation. A drag-to-move mode that was merely meh (and that had the same flipping-screen issues). A pre-programmed figure-8 and serpentine mode that actually was the most successful of the four. The built-in help screens were particularly frustrating because they looked exactly like the screens they were intended to explain (albeit slightly darker), but blocked all user touches until dismissed. In the end, this unit received a big old score of "meh" from both myself and my junior testing squad. We wanted it to be a lot of fun and it really wasn't. That being said, we have a "virgin" Griffin MOTO TC Monster truck that hasn't experienced the rigors of testing available for one fun-loving TUAW reader to win. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before January 6, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Griffin MOTO TC Monster truck valued at $49.99. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Rdio posts Android beta app with new sidebar UI, unified playback and remote control
Rdio has spent a large part of 2012 revamping its mobile app, and a new beta shows that it's still full of ideas with two months left to go. The 2.3 test version makes the ubiquitous hidden sidebar even more unavoidable than we've seen before, but those not irked by UI homogeneity will be happy to see Rdio gain some multi-device harmony: along with syncing whatever's being played from desktop to mobile and back, the beta introduces a remote control that lets Android gear either serve as the remote or as a target for other devices. A play-later queue persists across devices, too. Although we haven't been given a timeframe for the finished version pushing out through Google Play, there's nothing stopping avid subscribers from taking a slight risk with the beta and getting a taste of their musical future.
Romo's return: the cute little smartphone robot wants to steal your heart again
The first time we saw Romo, it was a fledgling Kickstarter that received our Insert Coin treatment. It went on to achieve its funding and even landed on our stage at CES. Now, the team behind it are back with a new updated version. The latest iteration boasts an all new circuit board, plus updated software and hardware -- along with the promise of an API for developers. If that sounds cool, that's because it is, but there are even loftier plans afoot if they secure a second round of funding. Remote 2-way telepresence, Roomba-esque navigation learning skills, facial recognition and Computer vision to name a few. So if you're an iOS-owning (no Android at this time) robot fan, you'd better scoot on over to the source and be lured in by its cutsie little grin (again).
Alcatel-Lucent flies Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 over 3,280 feet using LTE: reach out and buzz someone (video)
The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 is many good things, but "long-ranged" isn't what comes to mind with a 165-foot maximum distance between pilot and quadrocopter. Not to be daunted, Alcatel-Lucent has conducted a test with an ad hoc LTE network, a USB modem and a smartphone to see just how far the remote-controlled aircraft could go on 4G. In practice, quite far: thanks in part to the inherently wide coverage of the 800MHz band in France, the team flew the AR.Drone more than 3,280 feet (one kilometer), all while streaming 720p video of the farmland below. Besides giving us ideas for a North by Northwest remake, the flight emphasized the possibilities that come when we have access to a long-distance wireless link with high bandwidth, such as monitoring crops or some very literal field journalism. The challenge will be convincing Alcatel-Lucent to share its trick and let us pester our not-so-next-door neighbors. [Thanks, Vincent]
Lockitron launches iPhone-controlled keyless lock that pings you when someone knocks (video)
Lockitron has just outed a new cellphone-controlled keyless entry system, sporting a raft of new bells and wireless whistles. The WiFi-connected product mounts over your existing deadbolt "in seconds," according to the company, and lets you or those you trust control your lock from anywhere in the world by SMS or the internet. You can also unlock your door in person without lifting a finger if you have an iPhone 4S or 5, as the Lockitron will sense your approach using Bluetooth 4.0 -- a feature that may extend to NFC and Android devices in the future, too. To top it off, the system can notify you when a friend or relative returns home, and it has a knock sensor to let you know if someone's come by to visit. Lockitron exceeded its self-imposed minimum order limit by 250 percent in less than a day, so if you'd like to pre-order one at the current $149 price and get it for March 2013, hit the source.
Netflix for iOS has second screen remote control for PS3
There's a sweet feature that's hidden in Netflix's mobile apps for iOS and Android, in the form of a remote for Netflix on Sony's PlayStation 3, Engadget reports. When you use the iPad or iPhone app to play a video while on the same network as a PlayStation 3 (also running Netflix), you'll see an option to watch on your device or the PlayStation. Opt for the latter, and you can control the PS3 playback with your iOS device. It's a very cool feature that must have been implemented only recently (which is probably why it's poorly documented). Unfortunately, this trick seems to be limited to the PS3. As long as Netflix can see which devices you're logged in on, however, it should be able to control them as well. We can expect to see more of this cross-device app action in the future, especially as cloud apps and services like this become more and more prevalent.
Netflix iOS and Android apps have a remote control easter egg for PS3 owners
Now that the revamped Netflix interface has hit phones and tablets for both Apple and Android powered hardware, the service has quietly enabled something else: second screen remote control. Currently the feature is only known to work on the PlayStation 3 with a mobile device on the same local network, once the two apps are running you can browse as normal on your phone or tablet and when you go to play a movie or TV show it asks you to choose where it will play. While the video is playing you can stop, pause or seek through it to a certain point, change the audio or subtitles, choose a different episode or even browse for something entirely different without stopping the action. The YouTube app on PS3 works in a similar fashion after its most recent update. We've got a few screens of the mobile apps at work in the gallery, check after the break for a quick video of it working.
LG announces infrared-equipped Optimus Vu II and universal remote app
LG just outed the Optimus Vu II for the Korean market, designed around a remote control app, QRemote. The company's translated PR claims (erroneously) that the new device will be "the world's first smartphone using infrared," letting it operate gear like set-top boxes and home appliances, including other companies' products. The device is scheduled to launch next month in the maker's home country, around the time the Tegra 3-powered Optimus Vu will go on sale in the US as Verizon's LG Intuition. The company hasn't released any technical details for the phone -- in fact, other than the remote functions, we don't even know if there are any changes from the current pen-capable model. In any case, it might give pause to another Korean maker about to announce an awfully similar product.
Tencent and TCL unveil Ice Screen: a 26-inch Android-based smart TV
Chinese web titan Tencent and TCL Multimedia have torn the wraps off the Ice Screen, a jointly developed 26-inch smart TV with a 1,366 x 768 display that allows users to browse the web, access videos, music and games through QQ services. Under the hood, the Android-powered television houses a dual-core Cortex A9 1GHz processor, a Mali 400 GPU, 4GB of RAM and support for a memory card of up to 32GB in size. An IR remote and an app for devices sporting version 2.2 or higher of Google's OS can be used to control the tube, which can sit horizontally or vertically in its stand. On the connectivity front, the panel packs Wi-Fi, a pair of USB ports, HDMI and a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can plunk down ¥1,999 (roughly $315) for an online pre-order before its September 3rd launch. More details await in the press release after the jump.
Ceton's Media Center Companion apps for mobiles hit RC status, add new features (video)
Fans of Windows Media Center will have a new remote control option soon, as Ceton has pushed out some release candidates of its mobile device Companion apps. Beta testers should be seeing some new features including an updated program guide with infinite scrolling, plus universal search through the guide, movies, recorded TV, TV series and channels, as well as series recording management and overall speed improvements. Currently only the Windows Phone and iOS clients are considered at RC level with the Android version not quite there and lacking the guide search feature. Those in the test group can hit the source links to make sure they've got the latest versions of the apps and services for their HTPC, while those of us on the outside looking in can get a quick preview from the demo video embedded after the break and pics in the gallery. %Gallery-162800%
DSLR gets dollop of Raspberry Pi for future home-baked camera accessories
We love a tasty mélange of gadgets, and that's just what photographer / hacker David Hunt has served up with a Raspberry Pi board inserted into his DSLR's battery grip. He used the handle for power, while exposing the Pi's USB, network and video ports for easy on-camera access, and so far he's managed to transmit images via WiFi and ethernet. But the Raspbian Linux OS opens up a world of potential DIY accessories, like wireless tethered shooting (with the addition of a WiFi dongle), cheap USB instant backup, storage, remote control from anywhere in the world and an intervalometer for timelapse photography. That's just for starters -- with the credit card sized board now in so many hands, the permutations are endless.
