E Ink Remote Control For Rovio Demo'd [Video]

The image isn't especially clear, we know, but you're looking at a WowWee Rovio robot webcam being remotely operated by a flexible E Ink controller.  It's the handiwork of the ASU Flexible Display Center, who took E Ink's AM300 development kit and used it for two-way communication with the Rovio.  Not only can the robot be navigated, its camera feed is shown on the E Ink panel.Video demo after the cut

Considering e-paper's inherent page refresh issues, we're impressed by how smooth the webcam feed updates.  It looks like the ASU team have picked E Ink's Wacom pen-enabled version, which adds in an active digitizer – you can see the stylus in use in the video below – which is used to control general movement as well as the Rovio's articulated "neck"

Is there a point to all this?  Arguably no, but we're hoping someone over at the nookDev team spots this and decides it would make an excellent next hack for Barnes & Noble's Android-based nook ebook reader.  There's already a Rovio remote-control app for Android, and we reckon it would be pretty cool to whip out your nook – whether hooked up via AT&T 3G or WiFi – and get a sneaky view of what's going on back at home.

[via E-Ink-Info]