 |
HeadThere Giraffe Telepresence Robot
The Giraffe is a new telepresence robot created by HeadThere, an engineering start-up based in San Francisco. Giraffe lets you put your "head there" right next to your client or co-workers.
(HeadThere Giraffe telepresence robot)
The Giraffe consists of a video screen and camera mounted on a robotic base; the stalk is adjustable for meeting with people who are standing or sitting. The 2 megapixel camera lets you see everything, and a 14 inch diagonal screen lets everyone see your face. The speaker lets everyone hear what your head has to say.
Special software on your PC or laptop allows you to log into your Giraffe and control its movements, including scooting here and there by maneuvering the robot's base. Presumably, you have a computer with voice input; this allows you to talk to others remotely.
(HeadThere Giraffe telepresence robot)
The screen has a remotely-adjustable tilt to allow you to pan the camera; it also makes it look like you're actually paying attention.
(HeadThere Giraffe telepresence robot)
In their 1981 novel Oath of Fealty, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle provide a great fictional "taste" of what this would be like:
If he sent out two or three of the small tele-operated devices (he called them Arr-twos after the small droid in Star Wars), Rand could effectively be in several places at once...
(Read more about robot probes)
Check out these other fun examples of teleconferencing and telepresence robots:
-
- Secom Robot X Security Guard Works For Less
- Rotundus And Rover: Robotic And Fictional Guardians (Updated)
- PEBBLES Robot - Teleconferencing For Kids At NextFest 2006
- First Chinese Security Guard Robot
- Reborg-Q May You Shop In Peace
- Porta-Person Remote Conferencing Stand-In
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/12/2007)
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 ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
Seabreacher, H.G. Winter's 1939 Torpoon
'Ken lay full-length in the padded body compartment, his feet resting on the controlling bars of the directional planes, hands on the torpoon's engine levers.' - HG Winters, 1939.
Project Soli Radar Gesture Chip Now FCC Approved
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.' - Philip K. Dick, 1955.
Implosion Fabrication Shrinks 3D Objects To Nanoscale
'Carter had watched miniaturization a hundred times...' - Isaac Asimov, 1965.
ODYSSEUS Solar-Powered Stratospheric Plane Flies Forever
'The planes flew continuously, twenty-four hours a day...' - EB White, 1950.
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.
Current News
Asimov and Musk - Boring Company Tunnel vs. Street Race
'There was almost no sound, just a steady velvety whirr as the taxi sped along.'
Project Dylan - Amazon's Voice-Activated Wearable That Recognizes Human Emotions
Life imitates anime art.
Tesla Diagnoses Itself, Sends Part Request
'Tentacles emerged from the side of the machine and felt puzzledly at the damaged area.'
Lilium Electric Air Taxi Prototype
'The air-taxi found its way past and around other ground-cars...'
Swedes Premiere T-Pod Driverless Electric Truck
'the trucks gulped packages and scurried like beetles...'
HEL TVD Laser System To Be Built By Dynetics Lockheed Martin
'Forthwith flashes of actual flame, a bright glare leaping from one to another, sprang from the scattered group of men.'
Alcarelle Synthetic Alcohol Like Star Trek Synthehol
Bottoms up!
Datagrid Model Generation Perfect For Eternal Cities Of Science Fiction
'... there was enough flexibility to allow for wide variation.
Kazahk Ironist Protester Arrested For Blank Sign Protest
'...a man carried a white rectangular sign, blank on both sides.'
Bitcoin Surges Again, To $7,000
'... electronic, private cash, unbacked by any government, untraceable, completely anonymous.'
China Develops Taste Testing Robots
'Install taste buds in the end of one tentacle...'
North Sea Stone Age Reconstruction And Philip K Dick
'Your Dip digs back into antiquity. Rome. Greece. Dust and old volumes.'
Tesla Robotaxis Will Automatically Recharge Themselves
'Then it appeared to make up its mind, and trundled over to a wall socket...'
New Lifelike Material Powered By Artificial Metabolism
'... The biological robots were not living creatures.'
Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD
'Gramp Stevens sat in a lawn chair, watching the mower at work...'
Elon Musk Foretells Tesla Sans Steering Wheel
'How about the steering wheel... I don't need one.'
