President Barack Obama meets Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, at the White House on July 20.
Alice Wong was President Barack Obama's first telerobotic visitor when
she maneuvered her robot to meet the Commander in Chief on Monday.
This was her view:
Wong is founder of the Disability Visibility Project, an organization that aims to record the stories of people with disabilities. Wong was visiting the White House to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which Obama spoke about after they met. Her robot of choice was the BeamPro, which allows users to control its movements via their computer and have their face projected on the video monitor.
Popular Science has been using telepresence robots for years. Our former editor in chief Jacob Ward wrote about using them in 2013 when he was living in California, 3,000 miles away from our New York offices.
At the office.
Tim Soter
A
robot boss can replace a physical boss in nearly any office situation.
A) Editors often hide from the bot boss as they do from the physical
one. B) A quiet boss can check up on the staff. C) Office drinks are
difficult, but not impossible, to enjoy at a distance. D) Employees
don’t always immediately show respect for the bot.
Today,
Information Editor Katie Peek, Ph.D., uses the BeamPro to
telecommunicate from Washington, D.C. (Sidebar: During my first staff
meeting, I had to contain my considerable excitement when she wheeled
into the room, and it was the first thing I told people about when they
asked how my first week here was). I wonder how long it will be until
telepresence robots are no longer surprising and just become another
part of the workplace, even if that office is the Oval one.
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