QB

A smiling man reaches a hand out from behind a telepresence robot. It has a white base with two black wheels, a simple center composed of a tall, thin adjustable black pole, and a white head with camera eyes and a display on top.
There's always a human behind a QB. Photo: Randi Klett

QB is a remote presence robot that you can control over the Internet from anywhere in the world. You drive it around and are able to see what it sees, talk with people, and look like a tall, skinny alien.

Creator

Anybots

Year
2009
Country
United States 🇺🇸
Categories
Features
Robot for a week. Video: IEEE Spectrum

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Appearance

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Did you know?

The mother of video game entrepreneur Richard Garriott used a QB to attend his wedding in Paris in 2011; the robot was decked out in a cardboard cutout of mom.

A wheeled telepresence robot goes down a corridor of offices and cubicles.
QB wanders the IEEE Spectrum office. Photo: Randi Klett
A man in glasses looks at a laptop, which displays a woman, as seen through the eyes of the robot.
IEEE Spectrum robotics editor Erico Guizzo drives a QB. Photo: Randi Klett

History

QB was an early telepresence robot developed by Anybots in Mountain View, Calif. Trevor Blackwell, one of the cofounders of Y Combinator, founded Anybots in 2001 because he couldn't believe "there still weren't robots helping around [my] home and office." Anybots aimed to commercialize teleoperated humanoid robots that could perform useful tasks at remote locations. At Anybots, Blackwell and his colleagues built Monty, a teleoperated humanoid robot with dexterous hands that he could control with wearable sensors. The Anybots QB, however, didn't have arms. It consisted of a two-wheeled mobile base that balanced like a Segway and carried a pole with the robot's head mounted on it. The head had a small display, a camera, and an eye that shot a laser—for pointing at things. In May 2010, Anybots began offering QB, priced at US $15,000, for sale on its website, describing it as a robotic stand-in for workers who could be at the office by "robocommuting."

Close up of QB's shiny white head with has two camera eyes, mouth, and the appearance of a hat, which has a screen showing a mans smiling face.
Erico embodied as a robot. Photo: Randi Klett
Close up of a kickstand in the base of the robot.
QB has a kickstand tail. Photo: Randi Klett

Specs

Overview

Equipped with a dynamic self-balancing mobile base, 4G connectivity, and a laser pointer. Adjustable height up to 1.87 m (6'2").

Status

Inactive

Year

2009

Website
Width
45.7 cm
Height
183 cm (max); 76 cm | 30 in (min)
Length
35.6 cm
Weight
14.5 kg
Speed
11.26 km/h (max)
Sensors

Two cameras, three microphones, LIDAR, gyroscope.

Actuators

Two DC motors

Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
4
Materials

Carbon fiber, sheet metal.

Compute

Intel CPU

Software

FreeBSD OS

Power

Lithium-ion batteries, 6 to 8 hours of operation

Cost
$9,700