GLOBAL – The folks over at PUSH have always amazed us with the funky things the associated hackers managed to do with the Nokia N900. Over the last few months the PUSH hackers and enthusiasts have turned the Maemo 5 handset into a graffiti projector, a skateboarding controller and even an old school Etch A Sketch. Now one N900 hack has turned the device into a full blown cyborg.
Niko, to use the robot’s full name, was built as an entry to PUSH’s Mod USA challenge. Built from Lego it uses the N900’s features in ways that we here at Nokia Conversations would never have imagined and certainly shows the power of the device. Want to meet the little guy? Read on after the jump.
The Lego Mindstorms-wrought robot packing an N900-powered brain uses the device’s camera to navigate and take pictures of everything he bumps into.
Controlled by Twitter, Niko follows simple commands to move forward, backward, turn right, left and turn around. We headed over to Niko’s Twitter page to tweet him into action and we have to admit it’s great fun.
If you fancy getting involved head over to @NikoN900 to get him on the move. Although he does seem to be in a darkened room for the most part of the day looking at the rest of the pics on his Twitter page.
Niko is the brainchild of Eric, a graduate of Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and Stephanie, a graduate of Maths Business. He was created in just under three weeks to take part in PUSH N900 Mod USA. Little Niko didn’t win the best in class prize, that accolade went to Bike Dashboard, but for sheer ingenuity it’s well worth a look. Click on the video below to see Niko in action.