Assuming that not everybody can be telecommuting from a remote location, then one role for this sort of a robot would be in letting remote managerial types chec

Assuming that not everybody can be telecommuting from a remote location, then one role for this sort of a robot would be in letting remote managerial types check up on the workers who ARE working "on site" (not telecommuting). Of course, just having mounted cameras at the workplace could do this, but if you have a very large or complex facility layout, or simply don't want to have a large number of cameras, then a roving robot may be nice. I suspect the unit price will have to come down by an order of magnitude or more before they become competitive enough with the stationary camera alternative.