Hello, I’m a Robot. (Photo credit: mightyohm)
Reporter Rachel Emma Silverman telecommuted from Austin to The Wall Street Journal’s New York office—in the form of a robot.
The six-foot tall robot is made by Anybots Inc. Equipped with a two-way video camera, it careened through the office on Segway-style wheels. With keyboard commands and the help of a physical “handler,” Silverman navigated the $10,000 bot into elevators and conference rooms from her home office.
It was a very mixed experience, Silverman revealed in The Journal’s podcast. The sound quality wasn’t good and her spotty home WiFi made it difficult to travel around the office and communicate. While the robot experience is better for schmoozing with colleagues than actually working, Silverman still prefers meeting co-workers in person.
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