telepresence

Robots can make pretty good entertainers, and by the looks of it, a German humanoid called Rollin' Justin has the makings of a side show star.

The subject of a paper being presented to this year's IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Justin is an iPad-controlled robot with head-mounted stereo cameras that allow it to catch two thrown balls simultaneously.

In the video below, it moves on its wheeled base as the balls are thrown, getting into the right position for the catch within milliseconds. Justin was developed at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as a robot to repair satellites in orbit through telepresence control.

The ball-catching is a demonstration of Justin's coordination abilities. In the abstract of the paper above, DLR researchers say the robot can also prepare coffee. Fetching beer, of course, has already been robotized.

I think Justin would draw a bigger crowd if it could catch thrown knives, but I'd pay to see it go up against a robot pitcher and batter. … Read more

Cisco Systems said today that it will cut the price of its consumer video-conferencing product called Umi.

The product, which first hit the market in October, will now come in two versions. The original product, which transmits video in 1080p resolution, will cost $499 instead of $599. And the company will offer a $399 version that offers 720p video resolution. There will also be a free software client available for PCs and Macs later this year.

The service will be reduced from $25 a month to $99 for the year or $9.95 a month.

While Cisco maintains it is … Read more

Telepresence robots are way cool, but way expensive. We've seen several platforms for these machines that let you remotely guide a robot around a distant location, with prices ranging from $15,000 for Anybots' QB system to $3,000 for the R.BOT 100.

Well, Google's Johnny Chung Lee has a history of creating low-cost versions of very expensive devices, such as his $14 steadycam, and a homemade electronic whiteboard that uses the Wii Remote.

To keep in touch with his fiancee after moving to Mountain View, Calif., where Google's headquarters are located, Lee made his own telepresence robot for only $500. … Read more

Children too sick to go to school are still getting an education--thanks to robots in the classroom that transmit lessons back to the student.

Stepan Supin, 12, of Moscow has been battling leukemia for two years, and his immune system is so weak he can't leave home. However, telepresence technology allows him to go to school via remote-controlled robot.

The R.BOT 100 was developed by Moscow's 3Detection Labs several years ago, and it's been helping Stepan study history, geography, and languages since September.

Priced at roughly $3,000, the R.BOT 100 moves around on a wheeled base and has a display, Web cam, microphone, speakers, and an Internet link so Stepan can interact with his classmates and teacher.

"I can change the robot's speed, to go slower or faster. I can move his head to look left or right. I really feel as if I am in the classroom," Stepan told Australia's Herald Sun.

In Texas, Lyndon Baty also goes to school through a robot surrogate. He suffers from polycystic kidney disease and has a severely impaired immune system, which confines him to home.

Lyndon attends class with the Vgo telepresence robot, which was released last year by Vgo Communications. With two-way video, audio, and a 10-hour battery, Vgo lets Lyndon roam around the halls of Knox City High School and interact with other students (see the video below).

"I never thought when I was sick that I would ever have any interaction, much less this kind. It is just like I am there in the classroom," Lyndon said. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--What if you could control a 5-foot-tall robot with your iPad? iRobot's AVA, introduced today at the Consumer Electronics Show, is a self-navigating, tablet-controlled droid that can map out environments, project your presence into remote locations, and turn virtually any app into a mobile platform.

"You just tap your tablet screen to tell it where to go," said iRobot CEO Colin Angle, who introduced a prototype of the machine. "It could be serving drinks or act as a mobile alarm clock."

AVA, short for "avatar," is a three-wheel platform that runs on … Read more

If you thought your English teacher was a robotic bore, spare a thought for kids in South Korea. They're being taught by real robots.

The city of Daegu introduced 29 robot teachers in 19 elementary schools as part of a large-scale project to robotize teaching. The ambitious effort envisioned robots in all 8,400 kindergartens in Korea by 2013.

Kids at Hakjung Elementary School seemed thrilled to interact with robots like the globular Engkey (above and in the vid below). It's about 3.2 feet tall and rolls around the classroom on wheels, asking questions in English and … Read more

If you're keen on the idea of teleporting yourself into a distant robot body, French software maker Gostai is introducing a line of telepresence robots that run on a 3G connection in addition to Wi-Fi.

That means you can drive your robot avatar down the Champs-Elysees, if you so fancy.

Or anywhere with 3G service and flat surfaces, for that matter. But the Jazz bots are mainly for use in one location. They're Web browser-controlled, wheeled machines designed to project a user into a distant place.

The Jazz contraptions are about 3 feet tall and have two-way video and audio for interaction (the video below lacks sound, however). They can operate continuously for at least five hours, and will automatically dock when piloted to within a few feet of their charging stations.

They come in three varieties: the Jazz Connect, for meetings and general interaction, the Jazz Icon, which can act as a marketing machine at trade shows (and serve refreshments on a tray), and the Jazz Security, which can detect movement and patrol autonomously. … Read more

"Honey, I'm going to the office," is a remark we may not hear as much if more people have their way.

Three out of five workers around the world said they don't need to be in the office to be productive, according to a study out yesterday from Cisco. The "Cisco Connected World Report" collected the results of two surveys that questioned both IT and non-IT professionals about mobile work habits.

The belief that people can work just fine from home or on the road was especially pervasive in Asia and Latin America. Around … Read more

Cisco Systems unveiled Cisco Umi today, its consumer-focused telepresence offering that lets people connect to each other using videoconferencing on their HD television in their living rooms.

Cisco Umi (pronounced YOU-me) is a telecommunications system that requires a mix of Cisco hardware and hardware you'll already need to own. The Umi service includes a Cisco-issued high-definition camera with an embedded microphone, a set-top box, and a remote, but you'll need your own HD TV (1080p) and Internet connection to use it. There is no external microphone, but you can recalibrate the audio quality. Cisco's algorithms cancel external … Read more