Tag Archives: telepresence

iRobot Ava 500 Video Collaboration Robot : A Roomba with a View

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The company that became known for its humble robots for cleaning homes will soon be selling a fancy robot for offices. Coming in 2014, iRobot’s Ava 500 will let you work both remotely and on site. It has a 21.5″ HD screen, a webcam, a microphone and its predecessor’s ability to find its way around on its own. Depending on your office dynamics, the Ava 500 will either be a hilarious or a creepy sight.

irobot ava 500

According to iRobot, the Ava 500 can explore and map its assigned area on its own. The idea is for its user to direct it remotely using an iPad app. You just have to pick the robot’s destination and it will figure out how to get there on its own. So no, you won’t be able to “drive’ it and yes, it’s still pretty impressive.

Aside from the iPad app, iRobot says it will provide users with Cisco TelePresence EX60 monitors. The Ava 500 can also adjust its body’s height so that its monitor will be at the appropriate level at all times. When you’re done using the Ava 500, it will return to its charging station on its own. It’ll probably chat with the other ‘bots about that cute copier and how annoying that security cam dude is.

I wonder how many takes that meeting scene took. If I was there I wouldn’t be able to stop laughing when the robot rolls in the room. He looks constipated. And can you imagine a future where the only “employees” in the office are all Ava 500s? The Ava 500s will be so busy they’ll have to use other Ava 500s to do their job.

[iRobot via The Boston Globe]

Ava 500 by iRobot and Cisco is a Robot with a Difference

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The early 90s at MIT saw several science projects that culminated in the iRobot and the rest is history. Robots have taken up space alongside humans and are busy welding and painting cars at...
    


iRobot teams up with Cisco for Ava 500 telepresence robot

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DNP iRobot Cisco

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.

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Comcast reportedly axing Skype on Xfinity June 1st

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Comcast reportedly axing Skype on Xfinity from June 1st

Well, Comcast's idea to charge users $10 a month for set-top Skype hardware went as well as you could have expected. If DSLReports' sources are correct, the offering will be quietly retired on June 1st due to, surprise surprise, "low adoption." If you were one of the few triple-play customers who ponied up for the gear, fear not, as the leaked internal e-mail says that existing users will continue to be supported. Given that you can snag subscription-free gear from Logitech, Biscotti and others, it's no surprise to see Skype on Xfinity joining Cisco's Umi on the island of misfit telepresence devices.

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Source: DSLReports

RP-VITA bringing its telepresence to seven North American hospitals

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We've already seen the RP-VITA in action -- and so, for that matter, has the FDA. Now iRobot / InTouch Health's telepresence 'bot is ready to take the field. The companies today jointly unveiled a list of seven US and Mexican hospitals that will be using the iPad-friendly wheeled robot. The list includes a handful of locations that helped demo RP-VITA ahead of its official release. Check in after the break for all the locations, which include half a dozen in the US and one in Mexico.

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R.BOT shows off Synergy Swan, a phone- or tablet-powered telepresence robot (video)

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RBOT shows off phone or tabletpowered Synergy robots

While wandering around the show floor at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair, we had to stop and take a closer peek at these cute-looking robots. Conveniently dubbed the Synergy Swan, this 14kg machine from Russian-based R.BOT (or Quanzhou Future Robot Technology in China) uses an Android device as its face and camera, as well as sending movement commands for its neck (with four degrees of freedom) and wheels (maximum speed about 1.8km/h) via Bluetooth. The Android phone or tablet will obviously be equipped with the appropriate apps for either telepresence or automated interaction with people -- the latter can simply be the tablet automatically starting to "talk" or play a video clip when a person smiles at it. Interested? You can nab a Synergy Swan for a surprisingly affordable $450, and there's also a smaller but stationary Synergy Mime for just $250. Jump right past the break to see R.BOT US CEO Dmitriy Subbotin show off his robots.

Gallery: R.BOT shows off Synergy Swan, a phone- or tablet-powered telepresence robot

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FDA Approves iRobot RP-VITA Robot to Work in Hospitals

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iRobot makes robots for all sorts of needs in the military and other business areas. In the consumer space, the company is probably best known for its line of robotic vacuum cleaners, including the Roomba and Scooba. Last year, iRobot started trials of a robot designed to work in hospitals – called the RP-Vita, or Remote Presence Virtual Independent Telemedicine Assistant.

rp vita tb

Developed by iRobot and InTouch Health, the robot is a telepresence device that stands about as tall as your typical human. It’s fitted with dual screens, a video camera, Wi-Fi and other sensors and even has its own stethoscope allowing doctors to perform patient examinations remotely. It uses an iPad to control communications, and the robot is able to use sensors to map its environment and navigate autonomously.

iRobot has announced that the RP-VITA has now been approved by the FDA to be used for active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative, and post-surgical settings. It can work in several areas of the hospital including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological, and critical care. These robots are far from cheap and are estimated to cost as much as $4000 per month to purchase and operate, but that still could represent a significant cost savings by allowing doctors to check in on more patients and more frequently.

[via Science World Report]

Revolve Robotics’ KUBI spins your tablet around for teleconferences, we go hands-on

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Revolve Robotics' KUBI spins your tablet around for teleconferences, we go handson

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.

Gallery: Revolve Robotics' KUBI spins your tablet around for teleconferences, we go hands-on

Continue reading Revolve Robotics' KUBI spins your tablet around for teleconferences, we go hands-on

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Source: Revolve Robotics

Robotex Avatar for Home and Office eyes-on

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Robotex Avatar for Home and Office eyeson

Unless you have loads of cash at your disposal or work for the federal government, chances are you haven't heard of Robotex. The start-up, featured here at CES 2013's Eureka Alley, specializes in creating automated solutions for a variety of security applications (think: SWAT busts, radiation level monitoring, etc.). Traditionally, these high-end robotic solutions carry a price tag in the tens of thousands, but starting this week, Robotex is targeting the consumer market with its Avatar. Set to retail for $299, the blue tank-like bot links up with iOS devices (an Android version's coming in Q1) via USB to communicate with a companion app over Bluetooth 4.0 for remote monitoring. In its current incarnation, the Avatar doesn't do much apart from offering telepresence -- authenticated by the company's servers -- but the robot has been designed to be open source. To that end an SDK and HDK will be made available allowing tinkerers to craft up their own innovations. Unfortunately, due to the abundance of wireless signals here at the show, Robotex's reps weren't able to get the Avatar up and moving around the floor. But in a typical home environment, users should expect to get up to an hour and a half of "driving" time out of the robot. There's no video of the Avatar in action, so instead, check out the gallery below.

Gallery: Robotex Avatar eyes-on

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Kubi Movable Robotic Tablet Stand: Teleneckesis

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Thanks to the Internet, the “office” is no longer a strictly physical location. I’m working from home right now, wearing clothes that even a bum would find distasteful. Despite this awesome setup, we can still do better. Maybe in the future we’ll all have proxy robots that can not only let us communicate from thousands of miles away but also move or interact remotely. We’ve seen a few glimpses into this future, but for now the Kubi is what we have. It’s either this or an intern carrying a tablet around.

kubi robotic ipad tablet stand by revolve robotics

Made by Revolve Robotics, the Kubi accepts a considerable compromise from the prototypical telepresence robot. It’s a glorified tablet stand, i.e. it can’t drive about on its own. But while it doesn’t have feet or wheels, the upper part where the tablet is mounted can be controlled remotely by the user to pan and tilt, acting as a remote neck – in fact kubi is Japanese for neck. You think I misspelled my title didn’t you?

Like this telepresence robot, the Kubi uses tablets as its display and camera. That makes it more affordable and practical for ordinary folks.

It’s not exactly a surrogate, but if you’re sold, a pledge of at least $199 (USD) on Indiegogo gets you a Kubi unit. Note that the fundraiser is a “flexible funding campaign”, which means that your pledge will be deducted whether or not Revolve Robotics meets its projected goal of $200,000. I’m not sure if they’re legally bound to give you a Kubi even if they don’t raise that amount. So if you’re not exactly rolling in cash maybe you should wait for the mass market release or later. Who knows, maybe Kubi 2.0 comes in a quadcopter. Or a jet pack.

[via Wired]