President Obama welcomes telepresence robots into the White House

If you can't greet the president in person, don't worry... as of now, you can send a robot in your stead. President Barack Obama has welcomed a telepresence robot into the White House for the first time, letting Disability Visibility Project founder Alice Wong attend a celebration and say hello to both Obama as well as Vice President Joe Biden. It's not going to replace a handshake and a photo op, but it beats staying at home. It certainly won't be shocking if you see more of these robotic stand-ins at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in the future -- they could help dignitaries show up at important events when traveling to Washington just isn't an option.

[Image credit: Pete Souza, Instagram]