rbonari
I am very interested in Ezrobot Products, especially the Roli Rover. I am looking for and have been for some time, an economical security type robot for home use where I can control the base over the internet and control the camera pan/tilt functions over the internet and stream live video streaming over the internet using my Samsung Galaxy S4 over their 4G network. what came close was the Brookstone Rover Revolution Robot. However they didn't allow it to be accessed over the internet. I have a couple of questions regarding the Roli Rover specifically. Will this Rover be able to traverse over a carpet (not the shag type)? Also I was wondering what the capability of the pan/tilt system is? What is the pan range and the tilt range. The pan range isn't so critical as the robot can be driven to also pan the camera. What is a bit critical is the tilt range. Can the tilt mechanism be raised enough to be able to look up at windows and doorways, etc.? Also your robots seem to have some high power computing power and was wondering how the video stream is over the internet say using my Samsung Galaxy S4 over the 4G network? Again seems like the main computer is pretty heavy duty. Seems it off loads motor control and other robot control functions to the PIC32 processor. Also what is a typical delay or latency over the network with a video stream of say 240 X 320 resolution and possibly higher. Is there a way I could test this out without first purchasing the complete robot? also is there much latency in the actual control or driving of the base itself. It would also be nice if you could view the video stream at night. Are there any plans to add some IR LEDs to the camera or around it for use at night or in dark areas. Seems that this could be added fairly easily and would add an important function to the Rover. Also maybe a different camera could be added to your selection of add-ons to be purchased from your store. Also, is it necessary to buy the complete Roli Rover Kit all at once or can you purchase it in pieces as you can afford it? Would like to start out with computer/camera module first and then order the other pieces as time and money permits. I am assuming that with just the computer and camera modules I could check out some of the video issues for myself before jumping in all the way. However I am hoping there has been enough experience with the video streaming over the internet and control of the robot over the internet by the user community to give me a sense of how good the performance is and what I can expect. Thanks much and looking forward to your reply/replies......Rick Bonari
D.J.
First of all I know all about product development myself and have taken projects from design, development to final product. I wasn't asking for an explanation of this process. I am trying to find out about your awesome products and what the capabilities are and how they stack up with other product options on the market. Please do not take offense at my trying to do so ! Seems that alot of my misunderstanding stems from what the TechGuru had to say in his previous post regarding forwarding port 23. In his own words he said that I would never port forward port 23 and it is a common attack vector. He also mentioned that using this port could degrade the connection with so many hackers trying to get in. This is why I asked after asuming what he said was true why was port 23 used as a required port. You may want to go back and take a look at his post. I am not trying to be difficult and I think your products are great. If thetechguru hadn't said what he did I wouldn't have sent that last post. I am only trying to get as much information before I buy so I won't make a wrong decision for me. What would really be neat is maybe for you to have one of the robots set up with special access so we could control it from our location using the different options of controlling from the internet mentioned by thetechguru. That way I would know first hand how the response would be using my phone over my internet connection to control a test robot at your site. I have seen this done with other companies and individuals. Then I wouldn't need to ask all these questions. And yes from now on I will try to bullet all my points or questions that I have. Please read what techguru had to say about port 23 and let me know what you think about his comments if you would being is how this appears to be a source of confusion for me and maybe others. Thanks as always for your great support ! Rick B.
No offense
all factual! That sir, was a manifesto!
Questions are always welcome - don't ever be discouraged to ask, even if it means a dump of fact
And sometimes DJ and I will disagree. Sometimes he is right, and sometimes I am. Opening Port 23 for instance.... If you look at your router security logs, you will see almost constant attempts on port 21, 23, and 80 because when they are open they typically run insecure protocols. If you open 23, those attacks will intensify. Your EZ-B instead of your firewall will be seeing all of that traffic and at best, needing to drop the packets. At worst, some will be clever enough to find an exploit and take advantage of it.
Will other ports be attacked? Yes, your router log will also show port scans looking for any open port, but not as many, and more likely to get stopped by your ISP before it ever reaches you (I usually only see port scans from my own subnet, but I see ftp and telnet attacks from all over the world).
I have been doing networking since DJ was in diapers, and involved in making computer communications systems safe in an environment that handles credit card transactions for the past 10 years.
Alan
You can easily see what "option 2" will look like if you have a web cam. Download and install ARC, set up a camera object to use the web cam, and set up an http server or advanced http server and connect from another computer or your phone. It is very usable and low lag, just flickers a bit more than streaming in ARC directly.
Alan
I should have mentioned the Open IoT option that DJ mentioned in my list. With an inexpensive programmer tool, you can modify which ports the EZ-B and camera listen on, and then use ARC remotely a little safer than using port 23.
Personally, I still go with TeamViewer or Splashtop because it provides the most protection/isolation of my network, but I am also paranoid about this stuff because I have to be at work, and I extend those best practices to my home network when practical.
There is actually a 5th option too. You can use a VPN on your home network and your Galaxy Note to protect and encrypt the connection to port 23 rather than forwarding it (of course you have to forward the VPN port to your VPN server, so there is always some risk). I run OpenVPN on a Raspberry Pi and an OpenVPN client on my Android to give me remote access to my network. My primary reason of it is that I also run an ad-blocking DNS server on my network, and by using the VPN, I can extend that to my Android device when away from home. I have never actually tried it with ARC, but now that I think about it, that could be an excellent choice of connectivity. Low lag, high security. Good overall choice.
Alan