Inventions and Gadgets
- The Detecto-Sled - The "Detecto-Sled" is a one person hovercraft vehicle that was invented and constructed by Robert. It was made from a variety of discarded parts found in the scrapyard, but the main pieces were salvaged from a vacuum cleaner, a small leaf blower motor and a snowboard. Two old metal cylinders from a fire extinguisher serve as the propulsion thrust. The handle bars are from Robert's old bicycle, and feature a brake system modified from the bicycle as well. Robert only got to ride it a short time, before Raymond started using it almost exclusively, bringing it back in for repairs from time to time. The engine appears to run on plain gasoline.
- REX 2.0 Robotic Spider - "REX 2.0" is a remote controlled surveillance device that resembles a robotic spider. The device is named after Jinn's pet spider, Rex, but Jinn was quick to point out that spiders have 8 legs, not four, so technically it does not qualify as a spider. REX 2.0 was created by Robert as a way to gather information the course of investigations, when surveillance in person can't be accomplished. REX 2.0 is guided by remote control in the form of a rewired video game system controller which controls its movements. Using special goggles, the user can see the environment that REX 2.0 is scrambling over via a small web camera installed in its central shell. In the case of "A Friend in Need", REX 2.0 was stomped on by Ben Crenshaw's father, a suspect in an investigation by Raymond. REX 2.0 has not returned to active duty, and is still awaiting repairs by Robert.
Read more about this topic: Scrapyard Detectives
Famous quotes containing the words inventions and/or gadgets:
“In America, the geography is sublime, but the men are not: the inventions are excellent, but the inventors one is sometimes ashamed of.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Modern man, if he dared to be articulate about his concept of heaven, would describe a vision which would look like the biggest department store in the world, showing new things and gadgets, and himself having plenty of money with which to buy them. He would wander around open-mouthed in this heaven of gadgets and commodities, provided only that there were ever more and newer things to buy, and perhaps that his neighbors were just a little less privileged than he.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)