Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
PEBBLES Robot - Teleconferencing For Kids At NextFest 2006
The PEBBLES teleconferencing robot from Telbotics is designed to help kids faced with long hospital stays, or who must attend distant schools. PEBBLES, which stands for Providing Education by Bringing Learning Environments to Students, is described by Telbotics as the world's first fully functioning telepresence application. PEBBLES is being shown off at Wired's NextFest 2006 exhibition at the Javits Center in NYC this weekend.
(PEBBLES teleconferencing robot from Telbotics at NextFest)
PEBBLES consists of two units. The first sits in the child's hospital room (or home bedroom); it's camera takes video of the child. It also has a video game controller. This unit is connected to the teleconferencing robot pictured above.
The child's picture appears on the screen; the camera in the 'head' of the robot sends back a video stream of the classroom or hallway. Between classes, the child uses the video game controller to maneuver the robot to its next destination.
The creators of PEBBLES received a da Vinci award at the Ritz Carlton in Dearborn, Michigan yesterday. The da Vinci Awards recognize the most innovative developments and research in adaptive and assistive technology.
I'm sure there were earlier examples of telepresence robots in science fiction, but the one that strikes me is the robot that chief engineer Tony Rand uses in Oath of Fealty, a 1981 Pournelle and Niven novel. He uses it to get around in the vast arcology that forms the central stage for the novel. The story also features a telepresence bulldozer - the driver works on Earth and the 'dozer performs useful work on the Moon.
(Update 19-Nov-2006: See also the Robot Probes (Arr-twos), also from Niven and Pournelle's Oath of Fealty.)
Look at more NextFest 2006 Devices, Stories and Pictures.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/30/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Athena Smart Security Guard Robot With Face Recognition
'You are who we say you are, Dr. Dakin,' Turner said.' - Greg Bear, 2003.
SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet
'...a slender-legged tripod surmounted by a spherical body no larger than a football.' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1972.
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.' Robert Heinlein, 1962.
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.' - Raymond Z. Gallun, 1936.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Athena Smart Security Guard Robot With Face Recognition
'You are who we say you are, Dr. Dakin,' Turner said.'
The FLUTE Project - A Huge Liquid Mirror In Space
'It's area, and its consequent light-gathering capacity, was many times greater than any rigid mirror...'
Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment
'Tell me your torments,' the Padre said, in an elderly voice marked with compassion.
CyberCab - Tesla Renames The Robotaxi
'A cybercab dogged their heels...'
SpaceHopper Microgravity Robot Lands On Its Feet
'...a slender-legged tripod surmounted by a spherical body no larger than a football.'
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'Whisper Mode' ala Blue Thunder Researched At Bristol
'Forest Lawn.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Bespoke Environment Music From AIs
'Call 'em Winter Mute," said the other, making it two words.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
