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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.
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.
Researchers hack Kinect for glasses-free 3D teleconferencing (video)
Since the dawn of Kinect hacking, we've seen cameras strung together (or rotated) to create 3D, video game-like environments, while others have tweaked it for headtracking. Others, still, have used it for teleconferencing (albeit, the flat, two-dimensional variety). Now, a team of researchers have gone and thrown it all together to achieve 3D video chats, and if we do say so, the result is greater than a sum of its parts. The group, based out of UNC-Chapel Hill, uses 3D mapping (and at least four Kinects) to render the video, and then employs headtracking on the receiving end so that people tuning in will actually see the live video in 3D, even without wearing 3D glasses. The result: a tableau that follows you as you move your head and spin around restlessly in your desk chair waiting for the meeting to end. That's mighty impressive, but we can't help but wonder: do you really want to see your colleagues in such lifelike detail? Have a gander at the video and decide for yourself.
RIM betas BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing, allows your boss to join his / her own concalls
Fresh to BlackBerry's Beta Zone portal, RIM has introduced BlackBerry Mobile Conferencing, an app designed to take the (apparent) mystery out of joining a conference call -- thus putting the jobs of many executive assistants in jeopardy. Scheduled telephonic meetings are pushed to an employee's phone, automatically blocking out time in the calendar. When it's collaboration time, all attendees are reminded with a handy 'join now' button that automatically dials into hosted conferences -- complete with access codes and all. Should your call be dropped, dialing back in is just another click away. Yeah, we know you should already be the boss, but if yours can't figure this one out, feel free to start arranging that corner office in the back of your mind.
TelePresence Tech kiosk to bring virtual shopping to a mall near you, we go hands-on
If Amazon were to venture beyond the web in favor of a more tangible medium to peddle its wares, it might consider something like Telepresence Tech's new telepresence kiosk for the job. We got a surprise demo of the system at a Samsung event today and came away intrigued. The technology renders 2D images that float and rotate in space, giving retailers a way to let customers see their products as if they were actually there, and at a fraction of the cost -- about $1.50 per hour -- of paying meatbags to man a traditional brick-and-mortar store. A separate touchscreen lets shoppers scroll through available items, speak face to virtual face with customer service, and make purchases. Check the gallery to see more of what our retail future looks like. %Gallery-119628%
RIM's Blackberry Tablet might be seven inches, feature dual cameras and 1GHz CPU?
The rumor mill's been churning out quite the picture of RIM's Blackberry tablet over the past several months, and it's a research analyst who's most recently picked up the brush -- Ashok Kumar of Rodman & Renshaw, to be precise, who anticipates a 7-inch touchscreen device with a 1GHz processor, plus front- and back-facing cameras for video chat. Since that's a good 1.9 inches smaller than the slate rumored a couple months back, this latest spiel fills us with doubt... but hey, it's not like we had confirmation that RIM was even producing such a device, anyhow. It may be a while before we find out for sure, as Kumar told investors that even should the company succeed in an attempt to move up the schedule, the device still wouldn't launch until the end of the year.
Callpod Phoenix: conference calling the Bluetooth headset way
That little pod in the center there is Callpod's Phoenix, a rather unique Bluetooth device that can hook up to five Bluetooth headsets together simultaneously for full-duplex conference calling through Skype or the Bluetooth capable cellphone of your choice. Those buds around the Phoenix are none other than Callpod's own Dragon model, and although pretty much any headsets should work with the system, using Dragons offers the addition of push-to-talk -- a boon we'd imagine for improving call quality when you're all hunched around a Phoenix in, say, the back of a cab. The device is wireless and rechargeable with fresh juice coming in courtesy of a mini USB port. The anticipated December '07 launch promised on Callpod's site has come and gone and we've yet to get updated pricing and availability details, but we may see it shown live at CES -- so stay on the edge of your seats, you teleconference fanatics.
Buffalo's BSKP-CU202/SV Skype phone does conference calling
Conference calling on PSTN is so pre-tech-burst, and Buffalo's making quite sure you're well aware of a VoIP alternative to dialing into those oft held (and frequently toned out) corporate calls. The BSKP-CU202/SV speakerphone boasts a unique, if not awkward design, boasts about its Skype support, and packs six total watts of power to belt out those brutal demands coming from the other end. Reportedly, no drivers are required for this gizmo to work, and it draws all the current it needs to operate from your PC's USB port. Users should also enjoy the echo cancellation technology that's built right in, and just in case you need to swap over to a private conversation, an integrated headphone jack is handily included on the rear. Look for this to hit corporate cubes in Japan soon for a modest ¥9,800 ($82), and feel free to click on through for a few more snaps.[Via EverythingUSB]
Carriers gang up on FreeConference
Mobile carriers blocking numbers -- or entire ranges of numbers, for that matter -- isn't entirely unheard of; 900 and 976 numbers are frequently locked down, for example. Blocking legitimate services running on standard toll numbers is another matter entirely, though, and that seems to be what's happening here. FreeConference, which offers, well... free teleconferencing services by dialing into standard long distance numbers (as its name suggests) has had several of its lines locked out by AT&T, Sprint, and Qwest starting this month. At issue is the reason behind the sudden could shoulder, a reason disputed by FreeConference and the carriers. While FreeConference claims that the carriers are simply forcing users into using their own (more expensive) conferencing services, a more plausible (and slightly less blatantly illegal) explanation is that carriers are getting billed through the nose for termination fees stemming from FreeConference's non-toll-free numbers. Either way, it's uncool, and we're thinking it might be a good enough reason for frequent users to ultimately end up switching carriers.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
