Sunday, June 23, 2019

Cisco And iRobot Team Up On A Bot That Lets You Remotely Hang Out In The Office

A couple of years back, I spent per week test-driving the Anybots telepresence robot (think: Segway having a mind and video screen attached) within the Fast Company office. I quickly rammed the robot strongly right into a clear glass door which was impossible to determine on my small laptop, where I had been controlling all of the action.

Technologies have advanced since that time. A brand new telepresence robot produced by 'cisco' and iRobot (the organization behind the Roomba automated vacuum and also the PackBot military robot) bypasses the issue of tricky navigation by navigating instantly-similar to the Roomba. Could this make telepresence robots more desirable towards the masses?



'cisco' has years of experience of traditional telepresence. IRobot has got the autonomous navigation technology lower pat. The Ava 500 video collaboration robot leverages everything understanding: it’s an autonomous telepresence robot that’s controlled with an iPad interface. Users can spend time at 'cisco' telepresence units or using browser-based telepresence software to speak with the robot, with a 21.5-inch HD resolution screen on its “head.”

There's two methods to educate the Ava 500 robot ways to get around: you are able to upload the ground plan from the office into its interface, or allow it to roam, working things out as the story goes along. Once it's everything information available, you are able to command the robot to visit a particular office lower the hall. It may move for six hrs before it requires charging when the Ava 500 does not have enough battery existence to follow along with user instructions, it really declines.

Telepresence robots really are a popular party trick at Plastic Valley gatherings everybody will stand around mingling, and out of the blue, there’s among the hosts on the roaming screen. But they’re also helpful in work situations, states Snorre Kjesbu, the overall manager of Cisco’s Telepresence Systems Business Unit. “Being capable of seeing someone in person is instrumental. We’re trained to see people’s faces because we were newborns.”

Kjesbu believes there are a variety of products that improve at work if you use telepresence technology: you may make decisions faster, scale understanding, use understanding inside an organization in possible ways, unify your business, and cut lower in your carbon footprint (by traveling less).

There's two big factors, he thinks, which will play a role within the robot’s success-the autonomy and how big Cisco’s market. “If you appear at 'cisco' and telepresence, we've 50% around the globe market, we’re a recognised player in shipping numerous of telepresence equipment each year,” he states.

These are adequately sized advantages they could provide the Ava 500 a significant edge over competitors from smaller sized startups that need manual robot navigation. But it'll still be something of the niche product-employed for site tours, inspections, and individuals occasions once the boss just really wants to check into everybody from afar. The typical worker won’t require a telepresence robot every day.

The Ava 500 is going to be obtainable in early 2014 for any monthly rent of $2,000 to $2,500.

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