Anybots Inc. is a robotics company founded in 2001 by Trevor Blackwell. It is located in Mountain View, CA.
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QA, debuted at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show is the first of Anybots' two telepresence Robots.[1] QA, a 5-foot-tall (1.5 m), 35-pound (16 kg) robot[2], balances on two wheels, like a Segway,[3] has 5-Megapixel cameras, two way audio and a laser pointer for gesturing [4]. You can connect to QA through regular WiFi [5] The robot is not yet in production but is expected by the end of 2009 and will cost $30,000[6]
QB is the latest Anybots development; a two-wheeled, gyroscopically-stabilised remote telepresence unit driven via the Cloud by pretty much any web browser. The user can login to the Anybots.com website, select one of a range of bots located around the world, and drive it off the charging station to interact with people and explore without needing to leave their desk. All that is needed onsite is power, ‘N’ WiFi, and flat surfaces. On-board is a touch screen display, speaker and microphone plus a laser for pointing at objects.
Anticipated applications include a remote lobby service (where receptionists can remotely ‘bot in’ to greet and guide clients), museum guides, translation services in airports and public spaces, remote property tours provided to foreign clients by real estate agents (engendering trust in that the client can drive them-self around), mobile exhibition attendants and security patrols, as well as the more mundane business meeting presence.
Anybots are available to purchase in the United States (as of Summer 2011) at around $15,000, and also Japan, and are soon to be available in Europe, starting with Anybots.co.uk in London, England.
Dexter is a compliant, dynamically balancing bipedal humanoid robot research project. [7] It is learning to walk and can jump, with its feet clearing the ground for a third of a second. [8] Because it uses pneumatics as actuators, its joints are compliant and provide a springy restoring force, much like a human's tendons, allowing it much greater capability to deal with obstacles.[9]
Monty is a telemanipulation prototype. He picks things up with an 18 degree of freedom hand [10] and is operated remotely through the use of a suit that includes a special glove.