It sounded like a CFO’s dream: Replacing line managers with robots. Alas, it turns out technology hasn’t quite gotten there yet.
A Mountain View, CA-based company, Anybots, Inc., is offering a pretty close alternative, however — a line of remote-controlled robots that let execs check up on staff and attend meetings from their laptops.
Anybots calls them “business class telepresence robots.” They look like a cross between a Skegway scooter and a 21st-century version of the lovable robots in 1980s movies.
And here’s how they work, according to the company website:
They’re controlled from your computer in a web browser, using a headset and screen. If you have a camera you can show live video of yourself, or you can show a still picture on bad hair days.
You use the four arrow keys to make it turn or go forward and back. Its built-in guidance system takes care of the rest by avoiding furniture and people and gliding straight through doorways.
All the time you’re seeing real-time video from the robot’s head, so you know where you are.
The company’s suggestion for the robot’s use when execs are out of their offices:
Put it and the charging dock where you normally sit. Join meetings, pop into people’s cubicles, greet visitors, or see what they’re building in the lab.
You can stay logged in all day, or just part of the day. When you’re logged in, the robots eyes are glowing so your colleagues know you’re there. They can just come up to you and ask questions, and you can answer back.
If you’re needed in a meeting or in the lab, just drive the robot there.
The robots travel at 3.5 miles per hour, or a brisk walking pace, and are powered by lithium ion batteries.
Price: $15,000. Oh, and if you’ve got a multi-level operation, it could cost more: The electro-managers don’t go up stairs.
