Telepresence is a useful way for people to be in a meeting or somewhere important without actually having to be there. It’s an instant, global service that can save companies millions of dollars in transportation fees and man-hours. Now an outfit called DoubleRobotics has come up with a robot that gets you closer to being actually being there than ever before.
What’s new is DoubleRobotics’ first product, Double. It’s essentially a Segway-shaped stand for an iPad that allows telepresence to be much more involving than just a webcam. The user can use this robot to move around wherever it is using their iPad’s (or iPhone’s) touchscreen controls. They can even adjust the height of the stand to get a good look at that powerpoint presentation they’re missing or communicate with others at eye level.
The robot certainly gives people the sense you’re in the room with them when, although the floating-head-on-a-stick does look a bit creepy. It does however give users complete control as Double can move forwards, backwards, and turn with ease. The Double only weighs 15 pounds and releases two stands between its wheels when not in use in order to conserve power.
Perhaps with the introduction of Double, your boss will never physically need to come into work again, she can just supervise you from home or a local coffee shop. Of course you’ll be able to turn them off at any time, goof off for a few hours, and then blame it all on IT.
The Double will set you back $2500 when they ship in December, or $2000 if you pre-order one.
More at DoubleRobotics, via VentureBeat
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