Bots are there when you can't be (video)

Claire Deliunay looks on from one of her smartphone-friendly Botiful bots as a cheery office worker gets bookish with an Anybot.

(Credit: Left: Claire Deliunay; Right: Anybots )

The idea of teleconferencing has been around for a long time, especially in the corporate world. First there was the joining of phone lines. Next came the introduction of video, maybe even multiple screens from users in different locations. But that technology can be limiting and inflexible. As the remote user, you don't get a great view of the room and can't explore anything beyond its confines. Now companies like Anybots in Silicon Valley are hoping to make the experience more mobile and flexible with robots like the QB.

At Anybots' corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., the team designs, manufactures, and tests its mobile bots. At any given time, a handful of the lightweight guys are rolling around the cubicle maze, controlled by a user a few desks or miles away. Picture a fancy, wireless two-way Web cam on wheels. With a base price of $9,700, the bots are designed with the corporate user in mind. For example, if a manager can't physically be at a meeting at her San Francisco office, she can hop online from her home in Kansas City and log in to control her QB robot that's at the meeting. She can see and hear what's going on through the QB's video camera, and her co-w... [Read more]