A big thank you to all of you who participated in our learning experience on Telepresence Robots.
You were asked to comment on the uses of robots in difference scenarios like office, medicine, and education. You were also asked to choose a field that you felt held the most promise. Below is a summary of your interactions with our learning experience.
Office Space:
In the video, it is stated that “the staff were very accepting of this robot coming up to them. . . just another worker in the room.”
Do you think employees in your work environment would react similarly to such a robot?
Most of you said the robot was excessive in general to have in the office.
Education:
Telepresence robots enable anyone with a wifi connection to explore and learn about places around the world.
What other educational applications can you think of for telepresence robots?
Some suggestions were:
- Using robots in areas too dangerous for humans to go
- Using robots to look for people during a disaster like an earthquake or a storm
- A professor from Harvard lecturing across the world in a remote area.
- Guest speakers or virtual teachers in a classroom
- Researching uses by students in locations that they cannot visit
Some drawbacks suggested by you:
- cost and dependability of the telepresence robot
- loss of face to face interaction
- running out of power, getting stuck between desks/chairs etc
- not useful in a medical emergency like a broken bone, doctors may miss signs of illness not relied upon by sight
- need of technical support for troubleshooting in remote areas where the robot is being used.
Which application of telepresence robots do you think has the most potential for success?
Some suggestions were:
- office space (4/6 responses)
- medicine (2/6 responses)
It appears Office Space won the vote for having the most potential for success!
Thank you all!
Cris and Vibhu