The promise of the electronic office has been so damn close for so damn long now. I know there are thousands and thousands of people out there who now work primarily from home, but I remain on the outside looking in. (or inside looking out?) Visions of a city like Nelson or maybe Prince Rupert dance in my head, with me in my large solitary office overlooking the lake, hardwood everywhere, the distant sound of my daughter playing outside. <deep virtual breath> My neural implants connect me to the office at "ludicrous speed" and my Neo-like abilities make distance immaterial.
Reading reddit too much can make you paranoid (and slightly dysfunctional, and unproductive, and slightly dumber) and these days I'm thinking too much about the impending collapse of our society and my desire to get the hell out of dodge before it happens. Preferably a nice small mountain town on a lake here in BC. Somewhere I can grow and fish/hunt food if the shit hits the fan. Somewhere where I'm not spending 40% of my income on housing. Of course, the idea of me hunting is almost enough to make me cry with laughter... I am so not a hunter.
Anyway, this post is about robots not the apocalypse. There are a few robots now intended to make the awkward ritual of sitting around in a board room and talking to a TV a little more awkward by having the TV come see you! Wonderful wonderful idea, and I'm sure extremely fun for the remote worker. A little less fun for the nervous employee constantly watching their backs for this thing to roll up behind them.
I can't imagine this thing not having kick-me signs and other paraphernalia hanging from it within minutes in mockery of the whole process. I also can't imagine being the remote worker and resisting the urge to roll around the office all day looking for interesting things to see. I think an episode of the office where Michael gets one of these would be brilliant and the comedic geniuses on that show could have some fun.
This isn't what I normally consider a robot because it's not autonomous, but it's still cool, and if it helps me unplug from the city while staying connected to work I love it.
Giraffe video conferencing robot to weird employees out - Engadget
HeadThere - the maker of the Giraffe