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Conference Robot Connects Offices in Different Countries

Posted by timothy on from the bridging-gaps dept.

An anonymous reader writes "With travel getting so expensive this sure would be a neat way to connect people in separate offices and not just when they are overseas: 'Minneapolis-based PowerObjects Inc. has created an innovative tool to communicate with its development team in Islamabad, Pakistan. It's a 5-foot-3-inch, 215-pound robot called POGO — a sort of rolling, computer-screen on wheels mounted with a webcam that bears a slight resemblance to the R2D2 of "Star Wars" fame.'"

9 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. Webcam? Video Chat? How novel! by hlimethe3rd · · Score: 4, Funny

    POGO = $8,000 iMac + small wheeled cart ~= $1,500 What am I missing?

  2. Short on details... by lastchance_000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    So how does this work? The boss directs the thing to roll up behind you in your cube and tells you to put a cover page on your TPS reports?

  3. This thing resembles R2D2... by Akardam · · Score: 4, Funny

    '... a sort of rolling, computer-screen on wheels mounted with a webcam that bears a slight resemblance to the R2D2 of "Star Wars" fame.'

    I think even "slight" is stretching it a bit. By the same logic, you could claim that a guy on a skateboard with a super soaker resembles an Abrams tank.

    1. Re:This thing resembles R2D2... by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, note to "anonymous reader": when astroturfing your products, it's probably best not to make comparisons that will result in mockage. Although if that was actually your goal, then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
  4. Re:Am I missing something? by planckscale · · Score: 3, Insightful
    The person offshore is able to remotely control the robot and "walk around" the other office, teleconferencing, joining discussions, hang out by the water cooler etc. I think it's a pretty cool idea. Watch the video.

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    Namaste
  5. Uh, yeah... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Conferences happen in conference rooms, and conference rooms don't need to move. You put an LCD and a camera on the wall of the conference room, get better bandwidth and a better picture, waste less space in the cramped conference room despite having a larger screen, don't have to worry about whether the robot is in the room or needs to be moved, and most of all it's cheaper.

    I mean they say they discarded video conferencing as too expensive... So how is this cheaper? Because it's just a web cam and not some custom video conferencing setup from a vendor with super high markup? Okay... Well why not ditch the unnecessary robot, and just get a nice screen and a web cam? Seems like you could get that $8k cost down quite a bit and still end up with better looking video conferences.

    Oh, right, because robots are cool. Well as long as I still get my bonus then I'm not going to complain if my boss wants to buy one...

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    The enemies of Democracy are
  6. Re:Didn't we have a similar story before? by Osurak · · Score: 5, Informative

    About a guy who "telecommutes" via a robot avatar in the office? Not that this thing isn't interesting on its own. http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/04/2330219
  7. so, lemme get this straight... by gadabyte · · Score: 3, Insightful

    instead of buying everyone a $30 pocket-sized webcam, they bought an $8,000 webcam that needs wheels and a propulsion system because it weighs 215 friggin pounds. then, perhaps realizing how stupid they had been, they decided to slap some blue paint on it and claim a (non-existent) resemblance to r2d2.

    huzzah?

    --
    the united states is a nation of laws; badly written and randomly enforced -- frank zappa
  8. R2D2? What about Demolition Man? by ins0m · · Score: 4, Funny

    Rest in peace, Raymond Cocteau.

    Any technology based off a Stallone movie already has the brain damage built in.

    --
    Never attribute to Hanlon that which can be adequately attributed to Heinlein.