Anybots QB Robot is a Telepresence for the 21st Century

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That robot standing over your shoulder is not waiting to grab you by the ears and tear you asunder. In fact, in Anybots' vision, its new QB mobile telepresence robot is simply checking in. To be fair, the robot isn't checking anything at all. It's your telecommuting boss, hundreds of miles away, who's checking up on you through QB.
Unveiled Tuesday, this 5-foot, 9-inch, 32 lb rolling bot, combines a computer, the Internet, mobility, and some self-awareness and autonomy to replace the frequent phone calls, instant messages, and even some video conference calls that distant co-workers have to make to stay in touch and keep on top of work and ongoing projects.

Rolling around at up to 3.5 mph (approximately human walking speed) on two, 12-inch aluminum and rubber wheels (company execs insist this is actually more stable than a three-wheeled robot), QB is a self-balancing robot stuffed with a full Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, as well as numerous mini computers. It uses the technology to capture video though its 5-megapixel eye and deliver it to a browser-based interface on any Mac (Windows support should arrive by the time QB ships in the fall) or PC. Inside QB is a computer running a free BSD operating system that drives, among other things, three motors (two for the wheels and one for a kickstand that pops out when QB stops moving)
QB, which has a wide base, thin telescoping "neck" and Tupperware- bowl-sized "head," is almost entirely remote-controlled; users tap the arrow keys on a PC's keyboard to control direction. However, there is an onboard laser-range-finder-guidance system that assists QB's movements through homes, offices, and factories. With it, a user can simply point the robot in the direction of a doorway and guide it forward without worrying about it bumping into the doorframe.
"The point is to make it as easy to drive as [a character in] Second Life or any first-person shooter game," explained Anybots CEO Trevor Blackwell.
In addition to microphones to pick up and deliver audio to your telecommuter, there's also a smaller camera on the robot's head. It points down at the floor in front of QB, and the video stream is presented as a picture-in-picture thumbnail on the remote control window. The cameras and audio combine to give users real-time information and feedback about QB's location and who's on front of it. All of this is presented, at least for now, in a relatively low-resolution, 640-by-480 video screen. Anybots executives said the video throughput and screen size depend on bandwidth.
A 320-by-240 LCD screen on QB's head offers a still image of the telecommuter and also serves as a control panel for, among other things, Wi-Fi setup. QB can run for up to six hours on a charge and will find its charging base if it runs out of juice.
Robots industry veteran Bob Christopher is the company's president and COO. Christopher was part of the original Ugobe team that brought the Pleo robotic Camosaur to market. He said Anybots is actually testing QB in a California manufacturing facility where the robot is being built.
"We're putting QBs in the manufacturing facility and logging in remotely so we can 'walk' down production lines and meet with engineers and talk with them," said Christopher. "It's an interesting use-case scenario—so you can have a remote presence in China or Taiwan," where, obviously, many America companies manufacture products.
Anybots plans to ship QB, which isn't short for anything, sometime this fall and is clearly targeting the business market. At $15,000 a pop, it's unlikely that anyone would look at as a virtual physical presence for an always-on-the-road parent.

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Anybots QB Robot is a Telepresence for the 21st Century

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