TrackerPod: Take Your Hands Off Your Webcam

Web Access

The TrackerCam software has a built-in Web server that runs on a default port of 8090, but this can be changed to whatever port you want. The Web page allows you to remotely view the video or picture captures. It also allows you to move the camera remotely. It's pretty nice to pan and tilt your camera from the other side of the world.

Voice Commands

One really cool feature of the TrackerCam software is that you can use voice commands to control the camera. Imagine wearing a headset and telling the camera to pan left or tilt up. In the above picture you can see the available list of commands.

You need to download and install Microsoft's SDK 5.1 before you can begin giving voice commands. A good headset is also recommended.

It will take a few tries to get the computer to recognize your voice. Make sure you don't position the microphone right up to your mouth. Also turn off Mic Boost as it will add extra noise to your voice. Any background noise or music tends to throw the voice recognition off course.

Video

Here are two short videos of the TrackerPod in motion. The first video shows off the range of motion and speed of the TrackerPod. Superimposed in the upper-right corner of the video is the software interface.

The second video shows the Surveillance mode in action. Several viewpoints were set up and the camera scanned between them. In real life, you probably wouldn't make the camera scan as fast as what we did in the video. The software lets you specify the number of seconds to stay at each point.

The videos are in Divx format. You can download the Codec here.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a tireless sentry, the TrackerPod is a good choice. The only minor downside we could find is that the interface may be confusing to some. The quality of the TrackerPod more than compensates for this annoyance. Overall, the TrackerPod is a fun and innovative product that performs very well.