Robot makes it easy for teleworkers to be caught in the act

Teleworkers everywhere will be rushing to put their clothes on thanks to a new video conferencing robot from HeadThere. The company, run by Carnegie Mellon and Stanford graduates, this week literally rolled out the Giraffe Video Conferencing Robot. The sales pitch goes :The Giraffe revolutionizes communication by enabling people who are far away to enjoy all the benefits of real-life face to face communication. Of course that’s what you maybe trying to avoid as a remote worker, but I digress. The company says the Giraffe is a mobile robot that can be moved around its location by remote control using the Internet. The Giraffe lets users hear, see, and speak at a far away location, just like traditional video conferencing. This fusion of robotics and video conferencing allows a user to feel like they are at the robot’s location. Because people near the robot can see and hear the user, they interact with him as if he were truly present. In a sense, the robot acts as a stand-in for the user. Yikes.The Giraffe weighs 35lbs, features a 14″ screen and 2 megapixel high resolution The robot uses either 3G telephony or an 802.11x wireless connection to maintain Internet connectivity. Video conferencing and mobility algorithms run on a VIA Mini-ITX main board running at 1Ghz and with 256 MB of RAM. A 512MB Flash-RAM supplies persistent storage. An AVR micro-controller handles hard real-time requirements such as executing motion profiles. In addition a patented suspension system allows the 5″ wheels to climb small obstacles and rugs while maintaining the stalk in an upright position. No word on whether it can avoid cats. The Giraffe is expected to be available in 2008 for prices ranging from $1800 to $3000.