iRobot on Monday introduced a new member of the family, the AVA 500. Unlike most of the other robots you're likely familiar with from iRobot, this one isn't meant to help clean in and around your home. Instead, the AVA 500 is an enterprise-grade telepresence robot designed to fill your spot at the next company meeting.
The device utilizes a Cisco TelePresence EX60 21.5-inch display that's attached to a vertical, rolling platform with 1080p / 30 frames per second performance. The unit can be raised or lowered for optimal experiences while interacting with colleagues whether it be those standing in a hallway or people seated at a table in a conference room.
It can be fully controlled remotely using an iPad. To navigate to a specific area, simply tap a location on a map and the robot will drive itself there while safely maneuvering to avoid bumping into people and other objects. The robot will build and maintain a precise map of the location it will be used in and keeps tabs of specific destinations like employee workstations, labs and conference rooms.
iRobot says the AVA 500 is ideal when freedom of movement and physical presence are needed. Examples include remote team collaboration, executive management, tours / inspections and remote corporate training and presentations.
The iRobot AVA 500 will be available in early 2014 through select Cisco certified resellers worldwide. It'll be on display at the InfoComm 2013 conference in Orlando, Florida, this week. Pricing remains unknown at this hour, however.