BBC_Knowledge_2014-06_Asia_100p

BUDGET BOTS

ROMO

U

ltimately this is telepresence

for kids. You simply slot your

iPhone into the dock and open up

the Romo app. From there the

Romo has two modes. One turns

your iPhone into a lovable blue alien

robot and the other turns it into a

small telepresence device. The

robot mode is a fantastic way to

teach kids (big and small) about

machine programming, but we’d

borrowed it to test out telepresence

abilities.

Of all the devices we tested, the

Romo was by far the easiest to get

working. Your app has a unique

A

lot of my time on the devices

was spent at my desk, chatting

to my colleagues as usual, so the

Kubi seemed like a viable option. To

be more affordable it’s done away

with wheels and simply sits on a

desk or a meeting room table,

holding a tablet device (Android or

iOS). Once you’ve downloaded the

Kubi app and connected the two by

Bluetooth, you can then remotely

control the stand from a browser or

another tablet or smartphone.

While you can’t wheel around, you

can turn to face different colleagues

and pan up and down. It’s certainly a

‘phone number’ that you can dial

from the Romo website. From

there you can control the little

robot via your keyboard. Of

course, the cute little Romo was a

little small for office life, but it was

fantastically responsive and a real

joy to use. In the end, it was more

useful at home, zipping around my

flat and pestering my other half

while I was away at a conference.

QQQQQ step up from plain old video

conferencing, but it doesn’t really

feel like you have a true, mobile

presence in the office.

QQQQQ

http://www.romotive.com http://www.kubi.me

If you haven’t got thousands to spend on a robotic

alter-ego, here are two other ways of projecting yourself

The Romo is controlled through your web

browser and offers a child-friendly view

The Kubi is remotely controlled via this grid.

Clicking on the screen will move it around

The Romo’s blue-faced alter-ego

Pan around a meeting room with the Kubi, but someone will have to carry you back

to your desk

KUBI

PHOTO: THESECRETSTUDIO.NET

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