{"id":1991,"date":"2012-10-25T11:03:24","date_gmt":"2012-10-25T15:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artfulmanager\/?p=1991"},"modified":"2013-01-17T12:26:32","modified_gmt":"2013-01-17T17:26:32","slug":"you-are-here-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/artfulmanager\/main\/you-are-here-or-not.php","title":{"rendered":"You are here (or not)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Two technology innovations have me thinking about ‘being’ somewhere, and the seemingly divergent forces now at work in our digital lives. The first was this post about ‘remotely piloted telepresence robots’<\/a> — essentially iPads on wheels running Facetime or Skype or some other videoconferencing system. I’m usually skeptical about prophecies of human-machine hybrids, but this approach seems both practical and inexpensive enough to take a step in that direction.<\/p>\n

It’s all existing technology. It works off existing WiFi networks. And it could (eventually) be reasonably priced (now about $2000 for the Double Robotics pre-order<\/a>). And even at that price, if you could avoid four flights and hotel nights to visit a remote location, you’d have paid for the robot for just a single user (not to mention that the same robot could be used by hundreds of users in the course of a year).<\/p>\n

When you watch the short video (embedded below), you’ll see the potential applications not only in business, but in cultural experience. Can’t make it to the new exhibit in Prague? Rent a remote telepresence robot to wander the exhibit for you. Tired of the cost and time of campus visits with your high school student? Log on and take the campus tour through a remote counterpart. I also have a fantasy of a multi-national live theater production, with big-name actors performing through their robotic telepresence machine (someone suggested\u00a0Waiting for Godot<\/em>, I concur).<\/p>\n