Sony Ericsson has used Linux to build a tiny robotic camera that can be controlled via Bluetooth from Bluetooth/Java phones. The ROB-1 includes a VGA camera, four LEDs, and software that, with some phones, can stream back video for capture on the phone.

(Click for larger view of ROB-1)

The ROB-1 resembles a miniature penny farthing bicycle, with a tiny stabilizer arm behind it. The device measures 4.3 inches (110mm) in diameter, and weights 2.2 pounds (1kg). It has a mazimum speed of 0.67 feet/sec (0.2 m/sec), and a camera that can rotate from 20 degrees to 70 degrees.

The ROB-1 is powered by a 200MHz Freescale Dragonball processor with an ARM9 core. It has a user memory size of 2MB, according to Sony-Ericsson, and runs a Linux operating system.

According to Sony-Ericsson, the ROB-1 is compatible with “any phone that has a Java platform with Bluetooth API JSR-82,” including most Sony-Ericsson Bluetooth phones. Such phones can maneuver the ROB-1 using a joystick interface.

When the ROB-1 is used with Sony-Ericsson's P900 and/or P910 (pictured, click for larger view), it can stream video back to the phone, and the phone can capture frames from the stream, the company says.

The ROB-1 is expected to reach market in Q3, 2005, according to sources who spoke with the company at CEBIT, where the ROB-1 was demonstrated.

PC Magazine also has a brief story with additional details about the ROB-1.

 
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