A DIY Telepresence Robot

I've met this robot in-person :-) Aside from some minor technical difficulties it worked great.

One observation though. While I was talking to the creator, via the robot, the people around me were talking really loud, like there wasn't another person there. Made it hard to have a conversation. It's easy to dismiss the robot as a piece of furniture if you're not interacting with it. We haven't developed the social cues for robot interaction yet.

I telecommute, but I don't know how much a telepresence robot would help me. I don't have to move around the office (which is another problem altogether :-). All of my work is at a keyboard except for occasional meetings where face-to-face interaction is important.