iRobot spinoff Ava Robotics launches autonomous telepresence bot


<em>“Don’t look now but he’s snuck up behind you again.”</em>

Ava Robotics, a relatively new company spun off from robo-vacuum maker iRobot, has launched a new telepresence bot named Ava.

Ava is an update on the Ava 500, which iRobot launched back in 2013, and it adds a few hardware and software tweaks: the number of cameras has been increased from one to three, the sound quality on both ends has been improved, and gesture-based controls have been added to the robot’s control app. Like its predecessor, Ava’s video conferencing software is supported by Cisco, and it can autonomously navigate office environments, finding its way to specific areas and returning to its charging post without human guidance.

As Ava Robotics’ vice president of product, Marcio Macedo, explains to The Verge: “The first...

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via The Verge - Tech Posts "http://ift.tt/2FEe7oq"

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