For years, I’ve been covering the Consumer Electronics Show solo for the Mercury News. This year, I was joined by one of my colleagues — virtually at least.
Jeremy Owens, our breaking news and business and technology editor, got to attend CES on Wednesday for the first time, thanks to a robot. Sitting in front of his computer in a conference room in the Mercury News’ office in downtown San Jose, Jeremy connected to one of Suitable Technologies‘ Beam Pro robots that were roaming the company’s space at the show. Once I found his robot — a difficult task given the several dozen the company had on site — I gave Jeremy a virtual tour of the surrounding area in the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The BeamPro is one of a growing number of telepresence robots. Such devices typically have a screen and camera in a “head” segment, a base that includes wheels and sensors that prevents them from bumping into things, and a stand that connects the other two pieces. Among Beam Pro’s competitors are iRobot’s Ava 500, Anybots’ QB Avatar and the Double from Double Robotics.
Below you’ll see my conversation with Jeremy from his viewpoint and mine. Hopefully next time, he’s be able to explore more of the show!
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Photo of Jeremy Owens’s BeamPro robotic avatar by Troy Wolverton.
