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iRobot made something similar called the "coworker". It was a spectacular failure. It was shorter and ( i think ) a bit smarter about remote obstacle avoidance.
by ivankirigin 18y ago
iRobot made something similar called the "coworker". It was a spectacular failure. It was shorter and ( i think ) a bit smarter about remote obstacle avoidance. They asked around $5K.
They never answered the question: why is this better than a conference call? This is doubly important considering it has no arms.
I'm certain there is a market for this or a similar kind of robot. It needs to have compelling remote presence, and it needs to be cheaper than $5K.
Adding up motors, computers, cameras, the chassis, plastic modling, etc. can get expensive fast, especially if you haven't ramped up production somewhere fast & cheap like China.
- bprater 18y agoWhy better than a conference call? It has to be it's mobility. (Although, didn't they mention it needed to be tethered? It has to be because it lacks batteries.) I think that in situations where data needs to be sucked up in a mobile way but not in a way that the environment needs to be manipulated (no arms), it'll work. Well, when it gets batteries, it would.
- mileszs 18y agoYou're thinking of the old model, Monty: "Unlike monty, QA is 100% battery powered, and gets 4-6 hours of runtime on every charge. Monty's pneumatics required it to be tethered at all times. Also, its much lighter at around 35lbs. Monty is too heavy to pick up."
- ivankirigin 18y agoIt doesn't have arms to open doors and probably can't go up stairs. Quadriplegic mobility isn't that enticing.
- ericb 18y agoIf it had arms, I could hire a housekeeper from anywhere in the world to sign in and tidy up my place.