Robot Interface Lets Fingers Do The Walking

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=945Z2xtdEBE]

We’re filing this one under “best interface implementation”. This robot is controlled by finger gestures on the surface of an iPod Touch. It can walk forward, turn, sidestep, jump, and kick a ball based on the input it receives from your sweaty digits. Unlike vehicles controlled by an iPhone (or by Power Wheels), this has some potential. Especially considering the inevitable proliferation of multi-touch devices in our everyday lives.

20 thoughts on “Robot Interface Lets Fingers Do The Walking

  1. This is actually garbage. It doesn’t interpret individual steps, otherwise turning wouldn’t be done as illustrated. They basically teach it to walk, then add a layer on top that converts walking motion back into the main command.

  2. @rasz, couldn’t agree with you more. Watching this video almost made me puke in my mouth a bit.

    Just because something is attached to an iPhone doesn’t make it instantly any cooler, and in this case it actually distracts.

  3. As far as the comments of gdogg and the like go, the point, which you obviously missed, is to make the robot easy to control, which this seems to do quite well. It doesn’t matter one damned bit if it interprets each gesture as an individual step or not, and to gripe about that is to miss the point utterly. What’s garbage is your utterly useless commentary, not this system of control, which is simple and intuitive, something that anyone could use to control the robot.

  4. @gdogg and @rasz yes rasz you get mentioned to because you had such an insightful reply. I think this interface is very intuitive. Once you get that it’s your fingers that are doing it you’ll be able to make it jump, kick and turn. I’ll bet you that if you give this to kids and don’t tell them anything they would figure it out pretty quick.

    @Gdogg (more then rasz) Back to your issue which I think is a separate one. Yes it’s an illusion, but so what? They even mention it in the title it’s an -interface-. An interface between you and the robot. Sure you make motions which it translates into a “walk forward” command, but you could argue the same with a remote control. Pressing one of the sticks forward can make it walk as well. So whats the big deal.

    And @Ipod/Iphone haters

    Please direct me to the nearest wireless multi-touch display store. I mean come on as soon as somebody finds another device that’s also wireless, has a multitouch display, and is that dirt cheap I would like to know. Do you really want people to put disclaimers on everything.

    “Hi, guys just made something cool please read my disclaimer first. I used an Iphone in my project, but I don’t like it nor do I think it’s cool. But nobody sells such cheap multi-touch wireless displays. Yeah I don’t want to be cool guys, just want to make something that works. Again not loving Steve Jobs really don’t like him at all etc etc etc”

    I have an Android myself not an Iphone. Yeay for disclaimers…not.

  5. The deal is they used ipod only to make buzz, there is ZERO functionality added, in fact there was removed functionality, namely reliability got decreased. Now you got software layer trying to determine if your finger smudges mean forward or turn.

    NO, you wont be able to make it jump, thats my point. This is as usefull as using your Wacom tabled for typing.

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