Inspired by a Cat, Techie Turns Roomba Into Impressive Telepresence Robot

(Credit: Rubin Huang) Who hasn’t, at some point, wished they could exist in two places at once? Today, you certainly can do that, but in practice, it’s far less sexy than cloning yourself or traveling back and forth through time to simultaneously exist in overlapping timelines. Instead, duplicating yourself entails beaming your face through a tablet device that’s mounted atop a moving pole. Indeed, telepresence robots on the market today are essentially Skype on wheels; they’re expensive; they’re hardly immersive; they're a little awkward.