Double Robotics Uses iPad to Build 'Telepresence' Robot
The days of "sorry I couldn't make the meeting" are about to come to an end, if Double Robotics has its way.
The company has announced a new telepresence device called the Double Robot, one that takes an iPad tablet and makes it a communication tool around offices or other working areas.
Double Robotics utilizes a thin, maneuverable virtual tool with wheels that stands at a basic height of three-and-a-half feet (though it can be adjusted taller or shorter with the push of a button). The unit comes with a built-in accelerometer (to keep up the pace with some people), as well as a balanced gyroscope system using built-in self-adjustment. It's a tool meant for employees who can't attend meetings if they're in a different location, or ill. (Verizon has teased such a device in its latest commercial, with a sick schoolboy able to "attend" a class and answer questions.)
Users who buy the unit (which Double Robotics is selling for $2500) will be able to control it through logging into the Internet from their computer, controlling its movement while being able to see and hear everything with the iPad's camera and microphone.
With $1.8 million in pre-orders already, the Double Robot has a good shot at success when it begins production this spring.
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