Here at Marketplace Tech Report, we’re awfully fond of robot stories. It’s good, we figure, to learn as much as possible about the cold metallic monsters who will replace us.
One of the stories we’ve followed for a while is robotic telepresence, the idea that you will someday be able to skip going in to work because there will be a robot avatar for you there and through it you’ll be able to see, hear, and speak to your colleagues, all while your colleagues wonder why you’re too lazy to bother coming in, jerk.
Well, it’s here. A company called Double Robotics has posted a video of its robot called the Double. Its operated through an iPad app (of course it is) and can basically video chat with anyone it runs into while you’re far away. You can pre-order it now for $2000 or buy it for $2499 when it goes on sale, allegedly later this year.
So it’ll be just like you! Except boy it looks dumb. Like a stick on wheels. Like a rough draft of the robot from Short Circuit but stretched out. And unlike you, it might tip over and then just have to lie there until someone picks it up.
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