remotes.

NASA has developed a device intended to support astronauts aboard the ISS. It's spherical, moves under its own power, and is studded with sensors and communication equipment to help scientists do their work.

http://ic.arc.nasa.gov/projects/psa/overview.html

Sound familliar?

The remote that hovered near her right shoulder pinged her datasphere interface, informing her that a middle-aged, unmodified human male was approaching from behind. It rolled a hundred and eighty degrees, shifting its primary eye to cover the human's approach. Kaisa opened a window to its pov in the lower-right corner of her field of vision, watching the Prince of Jersey emerge from his Chamber of Lords out onto the balcony from which he could oversee his domain.

and

Above and to the side of the offworlder's right shoulder there hung a sphere of polished black metal, jewel-like lenses of red and blue set here and there on its surface. It whirled and spun, fixing several of the lenses on the assembled crowd, as the offworlder descended the ramp and finally came to a stop on the helipad's surface.

-- Excerpts from a forthcoming story of mine, "Data Mining".

i love allyson!

I'm posting expressly to suprise smileloki.

;)