Anybots: Robotic Teleconferencing on Wheels

Silicon Valley startup Anybots sees robots in the future of your workplace. It’s debuting a two-wheeled mobile robot named “QB” that is equipped with a camera and interactive touch display in an effort to one-up the concept of static teleconferencing.

The website promises “one-click commuting” thanks to a web browser interface that allows a remote user to control QB’s movements. The premise is to get much closer to “real” virtual telepresence by allowing the user to roam around and initiate spontaneous conversations as if actually there in the flesh. The QB bot also features a speaker, laser pointer and a telescoping neck that lends it an appearance not unlike your friendly living room halogen floor lamp.

Slated to be released this fall for a $15,000 sticker price, the bot actually compares favorably to the cost of high-end teleconferencing systems from HP, Cisco and other manufacturers. With the still-lagging economy finding businesses wanting to cut down on travel costs, telepresence could be an attractive “next best thing” type of option. Yet it remains to be seen if the marketplace will value the mobility afforded by something like a QB bot over a more traditional conference room setup — so it may be too early to proclaim an imminent takeover from our robotic overlords just yet.

Check out a demo video of the QB bot below as well as an interview with Anybots COO Bob Christopher, featuring more video of QB tooling around. Let us know what you think of robotic telepresence: Could it be the next big thing for distributed workforces or perhaps a novel trend in office entertainment?

Share