Last year Mountain-View based designer David Cann and engineer Marc DeVidts joined forces to create Double Robotics, a company dedicated to the creation of a cutting edge user-robot experience that is different from anything currently offered. After a year of planning, the team is getting ready to release its first product, the iPad telepresence robot called Double.
Consisting of a self-balancing Segway-like component and an iPad bracket, Double allows users to have remote face-to-face meetings from their iPad using an iOS device or desktop. The base allows users to move the robot as well as adjust the height of the iPad, offering a wide range of uses other than video chatting. For example, the company hopes to market the device to museums and galleries, allowing users to make "virtual" visits from the comforts of their home.
As convenient as the device may be, it is still limited by the iPad's front-facing camera which probably won't be ideal for viewing detailed art exhibitions. But for anyone looking to have some remote Facetime calls, the device is currently available for pre-order with a $500 discount, making the grand total $1,999 before the device ship in December.
Tuan Mai is a Los Angeles based writer and marketing manager working within the PC Hardware industry. He has written for Tom's Guide since 2010, with a special interest in the weird and quirky.
Pretty neat design. But how low will it bend over? Can it climb up & down the stairs? I am more interested in a mini-tank like robot (expensive) or iRobot (cheap, but unable to climb stairs). Both can be equipped with a wifi webcam and go under my bed to look for missing items or cat.
Nice prototype... but I'm pretty sure it'll stay that way. "Virtual museum visits" will never work out. Photographs of the art pieces are better than streamed videos.
