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KUBI telepresence robot arm for tablets now shipping, starting from $399
It was almost a year ago when we checked out Revolve Robotics' KUBI, a motorized tablet cradle that lets you remotely pan and tilt your device -- via an iOS app (Android version coming soon) or web portal -- during video calls. After missing its summer launch window, this US-made telepresence robot is finally shipping to its Indiegogo backers starting this week. Those who want in now can also order one through the company's website, albeit at much higher price points: the KUBI Hacker Edition for developers costs $399, whereas the prettier but otherwise identical KUBI Classic (pictured above) is asking for a steep $499 -- almost twice as much as the original intended price due to a change in tooling, for the sake of speeding up production. If you're really desperate for a Bluetooth LE robot arm for your tablet, order soon -- delivery is expected within three to four weeks. For now, you can get a glimpse of the first few KUBIs off the production line in the short clip after the break.
Robotic iPad stand KUBI shipping in July (and you can get a discount!)
One of the more interesting Indiegogo projects our sister site Engadget covered earlier this year at CES 2013 was the KUBI robotic iPad stand from Revolve Robotics (US$289 MSRP). While we were saddened to find out that by robotic, the company didn't mean that it's following you around on an air cushion, it's still a pretty cool project. KUBI is almost here; the company is going to start shipping the 'bot in July, and you can even get a discount on one through StackSocial. Rather than going through a detailed description of how KUBI works, I'll let the inventors tell you in the Engadget video seen at the bottom of this post. As for the discount, you can buy a KUBI for just $259 for a limited time by ordering it on StackSocial. TUAW is attempting to get a KUBI for a full review, so keep your eyes open in the next few weeks.
Revolve Robotics' KUBI spins your tablet around for teleconferences, we go hands-on
We've been covering telepresence robots for years, but those that have materialized aren't exactly within most people's budget. However, if all you need is some way to rotate your view on the other end of the line, then you may consider Revolve Robotics' KUBI. With six days left and just over $27,000 away from the $50,000 goal (the team was able to knock 50 percent off the original goal), this Indiegogo project hopes to offer a relatively affordable and simple telepresence solution for existing tablet users. The KUBI itself is essentially a tablet mount that can do a 300-degree pan plus 90-degree tilt, and the prototypes we saw featured two spring-loaded aluminium arms that elegantly pinches the tablet -- we've been told that they can even fit Microsoft's Surface in landscape. The robot is pretty much platform-agnostic as long as the tablet supports Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, which is how the robot receives its motion commands.
