X

See DIY mind-controlled spy robot in action

Bored? You too can build one of these with stuff you can buy on Amazon and some know-how.

Matt Hickey
With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. Matt is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. E-mail Matt.
See full bio
Matt Hickey

As a tech blogger who gets to see cool stuff daily, I may be a bit jaded. On Monday, my editor asked if I felt like writing about a mind-controlled networked miniature spy robot and my initial reaction was "meh." But then I thought about what she'd just typed and it hit me that it's a mind-controlled networked miniature spy robot. Of course I felt like writing about it!

It's a homemade bash using WowWee's Rovio Wi-Fi robotic Web camera and Emotiv Systems' EPOC gaming headset, which lets players manipulate a game environment with their mind and facial gestures alone. Using Emotiv's SDK and his own Robotdance software, RobotsRule resident mad scientician Robert Oschler hacked together a system that allows him to use the headset to control the robot remotely via Skype.

We can't find a good reason to put this all together except one: it's totally awesome. But that doesn't mean some others won't find an actual use for the setup. The Rovio robot is available now, the Robotdance 5 beta package will be available on May 20, and the EPOC headset will be out later this year, just in case, you know, you want to make your own mind-controlled networked camera-equipped spy robot.