Robohub.org
 

The state of telepresence


by
09 October 2015



share this:
photo by Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer via Instagram

photo by Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer via Instagram

Telepresence robots have been around since the early 2000s, with a research project called PEBBLES out of Ryerson University in Toronto. When I first started covering this area a little over three years ago, there were only a handful of products available. Since then, the market has exploded, with a slew of robots ranging from the table-top Kubi and the sleek Double to the highly advanced Ava 500. They’ve also been on the move, heading out of the office, attending conferences, and touring museums. In this series I’ll be updating you on telepresence as is stands today, the various market categories, and where the field is headed.

Roughly broken down by pricing levels, we’ll start with enterprise or business class telepresence, where you’ll find high end robots like iRobot’s Ava 500 or Suitable Technologies Beam Pro. These cost several thousand dollars to start and usually have a monthly fee.

Telemedicine robots deserve a category on their own; with requirements for HIPAA and FDA clearance, these aren’t cheap and are not something something the average person or business typically needs.

Then there are the home or personal robots, like the Double, Padbot, and Beam+. These typically have fewer options, but are certainly more affordable. Often, as in the case of the Double, you’ll need a tablet to act as the brain of the device.

Likewise is the toy category, which typically uses a smartphone as a brain. The Romo or Wheelphone are better suited to roam around on a table rather than down a hallway. And if you’re looking for even economy, Kubi and the TableTop TeleMe offer telepresence without mobility. They’ve taken away the wheels, but still offer an interactive experience that allows the user to pan and tilt their view around the room.

Then we have the unique and unusual robots that push the boundaries of telepresence, such as the Telenoid or Orihime, or that cater to niche markets, such as those specifically adapted for use by the physically disabled.

And finally, there are the service robots such as BUDDY, PAL, and OSHBot, which while not built specifically for telepresence, still offer this as a feature. For example, the OSHBot has a telepresence feature that allows a customer in need of help to contact an associate who may be in another store and remote him or her onto the OSHBot screen.

Over the course of the series, I’ll be tallying about 40 different kinds of telepresence robots, a few of which have already gone away or never made it out of the research lab. Keep an eye out over the coming weeks!

* Note: Before I delve too deeply, we have to deal with a very controversial topic: are telepresence robots really robots?  I will be hijacking the definition of robot from Wikipedia, which states that a robot is an electromechanical device that can be autonomous or semi-autonomous. A device like the Double uses an algorithm that allows it to balance itself on two wheels while in operation, while iRobot’s AVA navigates autonomously. Many telepresence devices have some sort of obstacle avoidance, making them at least semi-autonomous. I am arguing that one or more sensors providing feedback, such as obstacle avoidance, is sufficient for referring to the device as a robot.



tags: ,


Michael Savoie Michael is the founder and Chief Robot Wizard at Frostbyte Technologies, a start-up aimed at developing autonomous outdoor mobile robots.
Michael Savoie Michael is the founder and Chief Robot Wizard at Frostbyte Technologies, a start-up aimed at developing autonomous outdoor mobile robots.





Related posts :



Women in robotics you need to know about 2025

  06 Oct 2025
This global list celebrates women's impact across the robotics ecosystem and globe.

Robot Talk Episode 127 – Robots exploring other planets, with Frances Zhu

  03 Oct 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Frances Zhu from the Colorado School of Mines about intelligent robotic systems for space exploration.

Rethinking how robots move: Light and AI drive precise motion in soft robotic arm

  01 Oct 2025
Researchers at Rice University have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks.

RoboCup Logistics League: an interview with Alexander Ferrein, Till Hofmann and Wataru Uemura

and   25 Sep 2025
Find out more about the RoboCup league focused on production logistics and the planning.

Drones and Droids: a co-operative strategy game

  22 Sep 2025
Scottish Association for Marine Science is running a crowdfunding campaign for educational card game.

Call for AAAI educational AI videos

  22 Sep 2025
Submit your contributions by 30 November 2025.

Self-supervised learning for soccer ball detection and beyond: interview with winners of the RoboCup 2025 best paper award

  19 Sep 2025
Method for improving ball detection can also be applied in other fields, such as precision farming.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence