First responders may soon be adding small bouncing balls to their go-bags. Massachusetts-based Bounce Imaging has developed a series of small camera-equipped bouncing sensors that can be thrown into rooms to report back on what's inside.

Each device has six cameras, an array of sensors, and infrared LEDs. Once thrown into a space, the ball rolls to a stop and creates a panorama of the space around it, which it beams back to a mobile device. The sensors collect data such as room temperature and oxygen levels.

Though the ball is still in the prototype stage, Bounce Imaging's founders, both MIT alums, say that they expect it to have far-reaching applications for everything from search and rescue to military operations. They say that Massachusetts law enforcement will begin testing it out early next year.

They haven't revealed how much the final version will cost, but they're billing it as a relatively low-cost alternative to fiber-optic cameras and robots that soldiers and first responders use.

via Discovery News