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Feeling a physical present: Ten summer games and gadgets
Something for the silly season, Sir? Maybe robots versus ferrets?
Parrot Minidrone Jumping Sumo
Alas, Parrot isn’t one my biggest fans of late. At a recent showcase event I convinced a demonstrator to take the height restriction off one of the Parrot Rolling Spider flying drones and being a complete n00B with drones, I then promptly got it irretrievably stuck behind a pipe on the ceiling.
Presumably Parrot had this incident still in mind when sending me the Jumping Sumo, which can only leap about rather than fly.
Surprisingly, that doesn’t make it any less fun, as the Sumo can jump an impressive 80cm basically onto most chairs and tables – mind your beer! The wide angle camera streams live video through the app so you get a Sumo’s eye view. If you’ve invested in any of the games mentioned here or similar, you could use the Alien or Star Wars miniatures for an interesting game of hide and seek, using the Sumo to track them down in a mini recon mission.
Once you get the hang of steering the Sumo, it can get super speedy if you have enough space. With a range of 50 metres, Sumo can dodge and burn as well as any nitrous oxide-powered car I have seen on Street Outlaws.
For hundred odd quid I wouldn’t say no to slightly more battery life – 15 minutes just doesn’t cut it and could leave any kiddies in your life bored and distracted with constantly having to wait for the batteries to recharge.
More info Parrot
Jam Trance Plus
How annoying are those kids playing music on their phones on the bus. Well things are about to get a whole lot more annoying, I’ve just invented the bus stop Rave. The Jam Trance plus is not only an impressively loud and clear speaker, it’s also an impressive programmable light show, eat your heart out Amon Tobin.
The rubberised exterior saves any worries of it taking water damage during the next round of beer pong at my next BBQ. With a ten-hour battery life there’s no chance the neighbours will be getting any sleep either. Strangely enough, you can also take calls through it, although I would soon get distracted during a conversation as soon as the lights started flashing. Still, walking through Holloway with it last night, me and my crew caused quite a stir.
More info Jam Audio