Telepresence is a powerful concept that Kubi intends to introduce to the masses. In short, The idea is that a physical object can “project” your presence to a different location. There are various implementation, including in science fiction movies like Surrogates where folks have full-blown cyborg bodies, but in the real world, there are products like Anybots, E-One, Justin and other rather expensive ($15,000 for Anybots) options. In fact, while most people love the idea, pricing has always been the main friction point in this category.Kubi does not try to move around, look human or act human. Instead, its goal is to make telepresence a practical application for the masses: in most cases, Telepresence happens in a setting where the participants are relatively static. Those are cases where wheel-enabled robots are overkill.
It can however turn around and follow the action and its usage model is dead simple: the robotic Kubi stand can turn around two axis, so it can turn left/right and up/down. This allows it to follow actions around or near it. During that time, the user’s hands are free and not holding the tablet.
At the moment, Kubi is a project that tries to get funding through Indiegogo. People who want to support the project can basically get a Kubi for $199 (early bird discount) and the regular price is $249. there are several options, but you get the idea. Kubi needs to be able to raise $200,000 before they can make this a reality. What do you think?
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