Telepresence robots that give workers a physical presence in the office while they work at home are already being marketed to companies. We ask whether they will ever take off.

Portability and connectivity continues to revolutionise the way that we work, whether in the office or out of it. One example of this is telepresence, which uses virtual reality technology and remote control to allow us to be in the office while we’re actually elsewhere.

This means we could have a virtual presence in an important meeting without having to travel to the office, and potentially be more productive by being in two places at once and cutting out the commute. While video-conferencing has already been around for a long time, the developing market is now in telepresence robots, which can be navigated around the office via remote control.

Early adopters: the pioneering telepresence robots

One of the first products to enter the field, or the conference room, was Anybots’ QB. Built in 2007, it is a lightweight robot that can be controlled remotely, display the user’s face and voice and give the user a view of what’s in front of it. A similar product, the Double from Double Robotics, shares the same features but has a bigger screen and is based on a rollable drum.

“It’s much more effective in bringing people together than receiving an email“



“The freedom that comes from the mobile telepresence can mean a lot of different things to different people,” says Noland Katter from Anybots. “I think it is one of the most interactive forms of communication that we do have available. It’s much more effective in bringing people together than receiving an email or a text, phone call, or stationery video conference.”

While the functionality is already established, Katter says that more competition in the market is driving manufacturers to improve the technology all the time. This is why the company is now working on upgrading its model to be more efficient, have a larger screen and offer more features.

Joanan Hernandes from Mollejuo, which makes a mobile platform for travellers, says he has used telepresence robots for meetings with others thousands of miles away. “The interaction is closer to real life than only doing a video conference,” he adds. “So I can see a use case for people working from home. The devices do require to learn a few things, so initially it’s not a straight-forward procedure.”

“I believe ‘telepresence’ will be a driving application in the workforce”

However, non-profit association Educause sees potential problems in the use of such robots. “Although a remote user can drive a telepresence robot around a distant room, the wheels can get stuck on even small obstacles,” the organisation points out. “One common solution is to assign a chaperone to see the hardware over bumps and turns and to re-establish a network connection when necessary.” It also warns that telepresence robots, like any other technology connected to the web, could be vulnerable to hackers.

Using robots at work and beyond

A report from Pew Research Center said that ever-faster internet speeds will have a significant impact on the use of telepresence in not just the workplace, but also in our personal lives.

The Pew report said that as the technology improves it could go beyond video communication and also allow us to experience sounds and smells without being in the same place as the people we are communicating with. However, Bob Briscoe, a chief researcher in networking and infrastructure for British Telecom, believes the technology will make limited progress in the coming decade. “By 2025 it is unlikely to be realistic and natural, although sufficiently realistic to be usable. It will also be becoming available in personal and residential settings,” he said.

“I was able to put a 4G device on the robot and hang out with him during Halloween and do a little trick-or-treating”

Some have suggested that telepresence could also have its uses beyond the worlplace, for example allowing families to interact while they are apart. Katter says he has used Anybots’ robots to see his son while working away. “I was at the Pioneer festival in Vienna and it was on Halloween. My son was two at the time, and Halloween is a pretty big deal so I didn’t want to miss out on it. I was able to put a 4G device on the robot and hang out with him during Halloween and do a little trick-or-treating,” he said.

Given its potential to be adapted, telepresence technology could be used in a variety of different situations and for different purposes in the future.

“No-one has been able to fully piece together the technology that is fully reliable, or has flawless connectivity, great audio and video quality, functionality and has tremendous mobility, especially at a price that you want to trade at market,” says Katter. However, he points out that while the pieces of the puzzle may remain in different hands, as long as companies keep working on improving their technology the telepresence options available to users will continue to grow.

Featured image and image one courtesy of Anybots.