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Robot buys a scone in a coffee shop, that's all you really need to know (video)
Robots. Constructed by man to make our lives easier and provide opportunities for sloth that might not have arisen otherwise. One resident of Mountain View, California decided that commanding his Anybot to fetch a scone from Red Rock Coffee was a good use of the $15,000 telepresence automaton. And here we thought bot proliferation would either freak us out or engineer mankind's demise -- turns out it'll just add a few more folks in line while we wait to order our next cup of joe.
Self-balancing Anybots QB now shipping, the future of telepresence is now (video)
First they came for our telepresence, and we did not speak because we couldn't afford them. Then they came for our physical presence, and there was no one left to speak out for us. Yes, Anybots are coming, the self-balancing QB robot available for purchase and shipping now, but at $15,000 we're thinking not too many of you will be jumping on this bandwagon to start. As we saw in our hands-on in December the self-balancing bots enable you to be somewhere that you aren't, controlled through a simple web interface and enabling executives to remotely monitor and run over the toes of their peons toiling in the office while said execs sit comfortably at home. There's some footage of one of the bots in action below, which you'd better watch before one of them captures footage of you maintaining a state of inaction.
Anybots QB hands-on
This week at GigaOM's NetWork 2010 conference in San Francisco, we briefly mingled with our robot overlords and survived to tell the tale. Anybots was letting its $15,000 QB telepresence robot decimate roam the crowd, and we were invited to interact with one and then take another for a spin by way of remote control. The experience was entertaining but still rather impersonal, mostly due to the lack of two-way video, something that's billed as "coming soon." There's no word on whether the robots -- which are starting to (literally) roll off the assembly line -- were amused or not. Based on our abysmal remote-control skills, we can only assume our lives were spared for one reason: to write this post. Take a look at our videos after the break! %Gallery-110307%
Anybots QB telepresence robot: nag employees remotely for $15,000
Anybots has a new telepresence robot, the QB -- and while it certainly seems to be an advance on the QA, which we saw at CES 2009, we gotta admit that it's not nearly as cute as its predecessor. Marketed towards CEO-types, this bad boy can be controlled via your PC (or eventually your Mac), and it features WiFi b/g connectivity, 5 megapixel camera, speaker, microphone, and a max speed of 3.5 MPH. To be honest, having your boss follow you around the office with a webcam-on-wheels sounds more like a NewsRadio plot than effective office management, but certainly there's someone rich and crazy enough to drop $15,000 on one of these. The first hundred to put down ten percent get membership in the prestigious 100 Club! For reals! Which reminds us, it's been awhile since we've listened to our Sex Pistols Live At The 100 Club CD. PR, video after the break.
Anybots rolls out QA, the telegenic telepresence robot
Also making the scene in Las Vegas this week, QA is designed specifically for telepresence. This guy stands 5 feet tall and is kitted with a 5 megapixel camera, forward-mounted display, WiFi and optional 3G connectivity, and a laser pointer for, well, pointing at things. Available for purchase sometime in late 2009, the price will be somewhere in the $15,000 - $25,000 range. Video after the break.[Via Get Robo]
Robot walks independently with dynamic balancing
We're still chuckling about Asimo's sad little tumble last year, but Anybots' breakthrough dynamically balancing biped robot, Dexter, is no laughing matter. While he's sans arms for now, the 135-pound, 5'10" robot is being celebrated for the sole fact that he isn't pre-programmed and can support his own strut -- and supposedly, he'll soon be able to run. Dexter's partner in crime is Monty, a two-wheeled, two-armed bot with one fully articulated, 18-motor gripper hand. Driven by compressed air and controlled remotely by a human operator, both of these humanoid robots were developed with the intent to be of assistance in various household and industrial tasks. [Via Slashdot]Read - Anybots' Dexter and Monty humanoid robotsRead - Video of Dexter taking shoves from Monty
