I came across this news blurb about a new form of telecommuting – telepresence. It is not likely to become mainstream anytime soon (I can only imagine the cost) but Willow Garage, a robot maker, keeps remote workers present by allowing a robot to glide around the office with the employee’s virtual face attached.
I watched the video and while I can certainly see the benefit I have to admit I thought it was a little creepy. It got me to thinking about privacy issues as well. It’s easy to hear the footsteps of someone walking up behind you, however this robot is a bit like Elaine’s sidler. It’s hard to tell how much noise the robot puts out on the video but maybe a few jangly bells around its “neck” are in order.
The benefits, once you get past the silliness of talking to a robot as if it is a physical human, could be quite valuable. Despite conference calls and web sharing, it is important to have face time with colleagues. It is easy to forget or to pay little attention to someone who isn’t in front of you on a day-to-day basis. I never bought that absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder line. I think absence makes you forget, simple.
But the cost of a robot? There are no figures available for this robot, however using Skype a couple times a week for meetings might be a better bet. And a little less creepy.
Filed under: office tools, productivity, telecommuter personality, telecommuting, telecommuting facts, work from home Tagged: | robots, telepresence, work from home
