SXSW show floor: Beam videoconferencing device takes a spin - gintherwascond

Technical school enthusiasts at South-central by South Interactive exploring the exhibit hall's gizmos and apps happening Dominicus were greeted a little otherwise at one cubicle—the figure approaching them was not a person but a television-ninepenny monitor affixed to a sleek base on wheels.

Erect roughly five feet tall, a 17-inch shield mounted to a deuce-wheel chassis base glided toward passersby to say hello and ask them if they had any questions.

Many did.

"Are you real?" one young wide-skew-eyed attendant asked the gimmick.

A pair of Beam videoconferencing units could tie SXSW attendees with representatives back at Suitable Technologies' CA main office.

The product, called Beam and made by Menlo Park, Calif.-settled Suitable Technologies, is genuine, though interacting with it may feel a little bizarre.

At first glimpse, Send virtually has the feel of a robot, but on the concealment of the several units on exhibit at the booth were company representatives, speaking to SXSW attendees in Austin, Texas, in real metre from their offices in CA.

The engineering, which the company refers to As remote bearing, is studied to enable communication between citizenry injured by outstrip but WHO also want more flexibility in unselfish a physical space.

"Television conferencing is cool, walking is cool, so unitedly this is rattling cool," said Suitable Technologies CEO Scott Hassan.

As a matter of fact, Eligible Technologies sees its competitor as face-to-face interactions rather than other teleconference services such as Skype.

"With a video conference you're stuck on the wall, but this is floating," Hassan aforesaid.

The technology could be used by office managers, e.g., to remotely monitor the goings-on at their company OR chat with employees across the power building's floor.

Shine, having just launched last November, is distillery in an early rollout, with fewer than 100 contracts currently sign-language. Though some of Suitable Technologies' current customers are pretty high visibility—they include Google, Microsoft, Intel and the Mars food company.

It lists for $16,000, but pursuit facility and other startup costs, the cost to customers is actually nearer to $20,000, the company same.

Though Suitable Technologies is in the first place pursuing enterprise accounts right now, the product could besides serve hospitals, schools, and people needing extra remote maintenance in the home, company representatives said.

The unit tail draw in 360 degrees, at speeds of astir to 3 mph — the perfect walking speed and then that device could "walk" alongside an employee in the construction, the company claims.

Broadcast's biggest barrier to adoption, Hassan said, is the strength of the customer's wireless network. It full treatmen finished Wifi, only there were actually some kinks in Google's network, for instance, that needed to be sorted out first before the product could live used there, Hassan reported.

Beam's construct is non raw freshly. Sunnyvale, Calif.-founded Double Robotics, for example, showcased its rolling iPad on wheels last month at the Macworld expo. It retails at $2499, a fraction of what Beam costs.