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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