Everything has gotten smaller. From laptops to tablets and even crazy thin smart phones for greater portability. For the mobile office warrior, there’s one thing that remains unchanged and that’s the printer. Whenever you need to print something, one would normally need to head back to the office or find a place that provides printing services. There are portable printers out there but they are focused towards instant photo printing.
For those that need to print something while on the go, check out this Mini Mobile Robotic Printer which is on KickStarter. Instead of having a big chunky machine that rolls the paper to print on, this printer actually rolls itself across the paper. The device is shaped like a tear-drop so that it can be easily aligned towards the corners. Underneath it runs on an omni-wheel system which lets it move around the sheet of paper with accurate results.
Don’t expect this to be a speed demon as it prints at 1.2 pages per minute. Well it is a trade off for portability and the replaceable black ink cartridge claims to last 1,000 pages. Dimension wise, the Robotic printer is just 10cm x 10.5cm and weighs around 300 grams. It will take 3 hours to charge to full which gives a run time of over an hour. To send print jobs, it uses Bluetooth connectivity and you can print stuff directly from Smart Phones as well.
So far the printer has gotten close to US$200,000 in backing and they are halfway to meet its US$400,000 goal with 28 days to go. If you’re interested to back this project, can you pledge for a unit at US$180 (about RM583).
Check out the intro video and some images of the printer after the break.
