About Wi-Fi Extending Robots

A lot of geeks in Boston, MA (USA) like to play with robots. Continuing its tradition of research in this area. Wi-Fi deployment and repair experiments at M.I.T. are conducted via its Distributed Robotics Lab, for example. Not to be outdone, a group of students from Boston's Northeastern University published this month their work on a Node.js WiFi-Extending Robot (warning: some gratuitous offensive language).

The idea behind these projects is to use remote-controlled devices for setting up and expanding local wireless networks. Using one Wi-Fi radio as its method for communicating with the controller responsible for driving and steering, deployment robots also carry and drop off one or more pre-configured wireless repeaters that expand the network's signal range and enable other devices to connect. The Northeastern team built theirs as a 150 lb. (approx. 70kg) tank-like unit to test networking in more hazardous outdoor conditions, but many different styles of robots are conceivable.

→ See also - Spykee Wi-Fi Spy Robot (2008)
→ See also - Useful Facts About How Wi-Fi Works