MeBot, the new robot for telepresence

The latest robotic creation developed at MIT is called MeBot and it is a new, small-sized telepresence robot that shows the operator’s face on a screen located on a “neck” with 3 degrees of freedom that moves almost as if it were the head of a person of flesh and blood. The little automaton, presented in Osaka (Japan) during the Robot-Human Interaction Conference held from March 2 to 5, also has two small arms that allow enriching the conversation with gestures and elements of non-verbal communication .

According to its creators, MeBot could be the ideal substitute for current videoconferencing systems , since, by transforming the expressions of the interlocutor who handles it into real movements of his “head”, it manages to reduce the feeling of coldness provided by having a conversation in front of to a monitor when using programs like Skype . In short, he pursues a “more natural” communication despite the distance .

The term telepresence was created by Marvin Minsky and means “remote presence.” It gives the person the sensation of being physically in another place thanks to the use of computer technologies. It is currently used both to hold virtual meetings and to operate real objects from a distance with robotic arms , for example in surgical procedures or in space exploration with rovers .