Threads that seem connected:
We were on a boat the other week and ended up wondering how you could make a cheap, pilotable underwater camera. The obvious answer seemed to be putting an iPhone in a plastic bag and attaching a propeller.
Which had me thinking two things:
1. I bet we'll see more ruggedising for iPads soon. An ordinary freezer bag or an Aquapac thing make iPad he ideal bathtime reading companion.
2. Wouldn't it be good if there was a servo control app for the iPhone and iPad? Where you could tap in some on/offs, forward/backs and control a motor or motors via bluetooth or wifi or the headphone port. Then your iPhone or iPad could drive itself around. And Matt's Lego iPhone stand could drive up to him and tell him to get typing. (This is good, but I'm thinking about something like Big Trak, or perhaps a Drone that could carry its own controller.)
So someone would have to make a bundled app and companion device. I can imagine more of that soon.
In fact companion objects seems like a big old future category - related to measuring pebbles. Things that add physicality and fun to our mobile screens.
I bought a Sony Rolly the other day. They've been discontinued so they're very cheap now, if you can find one. And you can't be surprised that they didn't sell. They have no point. They were very expensive. They come with horrible Windows only software. They're like a research product that got released.
And yet, and yet, they're completely beguiling. It's this little hand-sized object that seems alive and magical. They've packed all these expressive robotics into a tiny CE-feeling package. It feels like a familiar that's been bewitched to just dance when it can really do all these other things - like a good hacker could really liberate it.
This same device could pair with your phone and sit on your desk; waving when you get text, waving with the other hand when you get a tweet, play your messages at you, roll over to you and beep when it's time for a cup of tea. It could take the brains and communicative ability of your phone and give it some friendly, pet-like behaviour.
Pocket robots, companion robots for smart devices. They've got to be worth thinking about. (And you always know you're onto something when BERG have already blogged about it.)
Anyway.