Ultima creator Richard Lord British Garriott has found a creative way to work from home through his new robotic body. Garriott has purchased a $15,000 Anybot from Anybots, Inc. that allows him to work alongside his Portalarium developers without ever being at the office.
Garriott originally purchased the Anybot so that his elderly mother could attend his wedding in France virtually. Since then, Garriott has found a new use for the Anybot since his wifes businesses are in New York and Garriotts Portalarium development studio is based out of Austin, Texas. Garriott can control the Anybot through his laptop, allowing it to move around the office and conduct his daily routines with his company while traveling by using the Anybot's built in cameras and microphone.
Aside from the obvious eavesdropping benefits, Garriott explained to KXAN that the Anybot is rather simple solution to cutting travel costs and being able to actively participate in the work of his studio from a distance. Still, Im willing to bet that anyone walking by that bot will always have the feeling that big brother is watching and some of the developers in the video below would agree. Garriott also seems to enjoy some of the benefits of being disembodied at the office.
I love the fact that if I just sit the robot in the corner of a room, people forget that I'm there, he said.
You're so disembodied, people forget that you're present, so you then get to hear the real scoop, he observed through the speaker on the crown of QB60s plastic head.
Garriott contends that this sort of technology is the wave of the future for many businesses.
What do you think of a virtual robot boss in the office? Tell your thoughts in the comments below.
