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The best telepresence robot
By Patrick Austin This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After spending 20 hours researching telepresence robots and testing two of the most promising models in office and home settings, we don't think these devices are ready for prime time. But if you want a telepresence robot to give remote employees a physical presence in your office, the Suitable Technologies Beam Enhanced is the only bot that's reliable and user-friendly enough to consider.
Double Robotics turns its telepresence robot into a VR rig
There's one big problem with trying to capture virtual reality video while moving... those pesky humans. Even if you have stabilizing gear, the person carrying the camera will still limit what and how you shoot. Double Robotics has a simple answer to that, though: its newly-launched 360 Camera Dolly robot transforms the company's telepresence bot into a remotely controlled, silent VR camera rig. If you want to record a cinematic tracking shot or college campus tour, you don't need any people or noisy equipment on the scene.
ICYMI: E-paper kicks, robot directions via thought and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-978000{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-978000, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-978000{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-978000").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Shiftwear wants to change your shoe game with color e-paper screens that can move and shift into beautiful pictures on the sneakers you're wearing. It's too early to tell whether they will fund; or look as good as they do in the online video. There's also a nail-art printer if you're in the mood to spend a lot of money on something temporary.
Why wait in line for an iPhone when you can send a robot?
You can now wait in line for an iPhone 6S without leaving your bed at an unearthly hour. At Apple's flagship store in Sydney, Australia, a telepresence robot (essentially an iPad on Segway-style wheels) is standing in for Lucy Kelly. The robot showed up at 5am and is currently fourth-in-line to get a new iPhone. As the robot continues to wait overnight in a tent where it can stay charged for the final phone transaction, Kelly has been using an app to log in and communicate with humans in line from the comfort of her home.
ICYMI: Internet of balls, telepresence tourists and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-122321{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-122321, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-122321{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-122321").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A new basketball has a tracking chip that can tell the difference between a swish and airball. It also syncs with an app that tracks stats and lets the user know how they're doing. Now even the ultimate staycation lazybums can still tour museums and famous spots around the US with telepresence robots. Here's hoping they don't meet the same fate as HitchBot. And Tesla has some competition from Porsche, as it unveils its concept car for an all electric luxury ride.
iRobot teams up with Cisco for Ava 500 telepresence robot
We fully expected to see iRobot offer up further applications for its Ava development platform after *ahem* rolling out the RP-VITA, a medically-themed team up with In-Touch Health. The company's second partner is a biggie: it'll be working with Cisco on the Ava 500 telepresence bot. The system looks quite similar to the VITA, sporting what appears to be a nearly identical base. As with its predecessor, Ava's controlled by a fairly simple iPad program -- you can either pick a destination on a map or choose from a list of employee names and rooms you'd like to visit. Once inputted, the robot is autonomous in navigation, getting to the destination, while avoiding people and obstacles. When the meeting's over, it'll return to its base for charging. On the top, however, you'll find Cisco's TelePresence EX60 end-point, bringing the company's widely adopted platform to the mobile base, courtesy of a 21.5-inch HD display. The user's face will show up on the screen as the 'bot navigates through the halls, allowing you to talk about last night's Mad Men, should you (figuratively) run into anyone around the water cooler. You can also switch to private mode, if telepresence small talk isn't your thing. iRobot and Cisco will be showing off Ava at Infocomm later this month. If you can't wait for that, however, you'll find out a bit more in the press release 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.
Double telepresence bot spotted in the wild, we go eyes-on (video)
Double Robotics' telepresence bot showed up on our radar a few weeks back, and today we got to chat with its creators and see the thing in person. As a quick refresher, Double is a two-wheeled self balancing bot that turns your iPad into a telepresence screen. Company co-founder Marc DeVidts shared a few more details about his bot, letting us know that it's powered by a 28.8V, 2.9Ah lithium ion cell. And, it turns out the Double's controls aren't app-dependant -- it can be operated by either an iPad running the company's app or by web browser. For now, it's iPad-only, but because Double communicates with Apple slates via Bluetooth, the possibility for Android compatibility does exist, even though the company currently has no plans to make it happen. While you iPad owners wait for the one you undoubtedly just ordered to arrive, check out our video of Double's deliberate moves after the break.%Gallery-165183%
Osaka University wants to shake your hand with its robotic glove (video)
Feel like you aren't connecting with the people you video chat with? A team from Osaka University has developed a robotic hand that'll start a chat by gripping your paw with the warmth and firmness of a rugby player. Assembled from silicone and sponge, the researchers fitted a film heater to keep the electrical extremity at 37 degrees Celsius -- the theory being that if its warmer than your own hand, you're more predisposed toward it. Future plans for the mechanical metacarpus include adding a pressure sensor so it'll match your grip and welding it to a telepresence robot for executives to harass their colleagues with a constant stream of formal greetings. If you're wondering, the answer's yes; we do have footage of terrified exhibition guests giving it a go after the break.
VGo telepresence robot gets Verizon LTE, we go eyes-on (video)
The idea of a telepresence robot isn't exactly new in the tech world, considering there's been a few going to school in the place of teenagers for over a year now. But the VGo 'bot -- a chest-high roving device that has a display and camera built-in and allows patients and others to interact with a remote operator -- is at CES this year to show off its inclusion of Verizon LTE, instead of the WiFi-only model we've seen in times past. Certainly, the robot can default to WiFi in the absence of Big Red's next-gen network, but the nationwide coverage definitely gives the robot a lot more appeal... even if it is a mere $6,000. Expect to see the 4G-enabled Johnny Five available in the next two or three weeks. To see exactly what the robot's capable of, check out the gallery below and the video after the break.
Cisco's axing of Flip had an additional casualty: the unannounced FlipLive streaming camera
So Flip Video's last offering wasn't terribly amazing, but we had faith that the USB pocket camcorder would get back to its simplistic roots -- you know, until Cisco axed the whole division, along with 550 souls. Well, the truth is that the company was indeed working on something rather cool, and though we'd only heard whispers until now, the New York Times' David Pogue says the day after Cisco brought down the guillotine is when the FlipLive was due to hit shelves. It would have been a livestreaming camera, connected with WiFi to the cloud, allowing users to share johnny-on-the-spot videos with the entire world in real time. Instead, the camera and its little red button are off to that great big server in the sky.
Johnny Chung Lee makes DIY telepresence bot out of an iRobot Create and a netbook
Most of us don't have $15,000 to drop on an Anybot, even though having one around would be nice in the event we don't feel like leaving the house to get some coffee. To help those of us with more humble means, our old friend Johnny Chung Lee (of Wiimote hacking and Kinect dev team fame) has utilized his prodigious DIY talents to create a video chat robot for the relatively paltry sum of $500. Using an iRobot Create ($250), a netbook with Skype ($250), a cable to connect the two, and some control software he wrote himself, Mr. Lee built a digital surrogate on the cheap. Johnny isn't the first person to so leverage iRobot's hacking platform, but he added a stand on top of the robot to get the PC closer to human height, attached a fish-eye lens to the webcam for better remote viewing, and even did some re-wiring to allow the netbook to charge via the Create's base station. The code and how-to instructions are up on his blog, so hit the source link if you're feeling up to making one yourself. Seems like Johnny Lee's putting that Google 20 percent time to good use thus far -- keep 'em coming. Check the video of this latest creation after the break.
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.
Texas student sends robot to school in his place, can't get it to do his homework
You may have recently seen telepresence robots played for laughs on The Big Bang Theory, but they do also have quite a few practical purposes, and high school student Lyndon Baty from Knox City, Texas is now using one to particularly great effect. He has a weakened immune system that prevents him from actually attending school, so he's using a remotely-controlled Vgo telepresence "robot" that allows him to move from class to class and interact with teachers and other students using nothing more than his laptop and webcam at home. The bot itself is four-feet tall, self-balancing, and simply packs a basic video conferencing system up top that allows its operator to interact with their surroundings -- at $5,000, it's also considerably cheaper than some other similar options. As Popular Science notes, however, this isn't the first time that a telepresence bot has gone to school -- a student in Russia suffering from leukemia has also been using a similar bot since September of last year as part of a pilot project from the robot's designers. Head on past the break for the local news report from Texas.
iRobot debuts AVA telepresence robot with tablet controls
iRobot's first attempt at a telepresence robot, a modified Roomba, was a false start, but now they're back with an all-new bot called AVA which should right all wrongs. The bot can adjust its own height from three feet to five feet tall to meet you at eye level, with a tablet perched on top (this is CES 2011, after all). Its base is an odd three-wheeled configuration for maneuverability, and the robot has DARPA Challenge-style environment mapping to avoid bumping into anything or anybody. For sensors the AVA is using dual Kinect-style PrimeSense sensors, along with laser rangefinders, scanning acoustic sensors, and bump sensors. There's naturally a microphone and camera for the bot's primary purpose: video telepresence. What's more interesting, however, is that iRobot has an apps platform for this, which will allow developers to build new functionality. There's no word on price or when this will go on sale, but we already know one thing: we want one. Check out some quality time that PC Magazine's Lance Ulanoff spent with AVA after the break.
