Telepresence robots are not exactly the newest things on the block, but they sure as heck have quite a role to play in the future. After all, when you are unable to come to work because you have caught a highly contagious disease such as the flu, and yet are still feeling well enough to hammer out some reports, why not work from home and have that telepresence robot represent you at the office? Beam, a 5-foot tall robot, comes with a rather large video display that functions as its “head”, displaying your face there for all and sundry to see (and talk to, of course), letting you be “there” at the office with your physical presence being somewhere else.
Needless to say, your interactions and movements are restricted by what the Beam telepresence robot is capable of, but at least this is a start. Beam hails from Suitable Technologies, is just one of the many telepresence robots that are available in the market at this point in time. If you were the boss, would you be willing to fork out $16,000 for this puppy? One thing’s for sure, if you work remotely via Beam, no one can accuse you of letting that fart rip any more.
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