Today, Co-Founder and COO, Tom Ryden, is at the Mass Technology Leadership Council’s Future of Robotics Summit being held at the Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge, MA.

There will be many presentations from New England area professors, including Holly Yanco of University of Massachusetts – Lowell, who will be showing off “Hugo” – a VGo Robotic Telepresence System that they purchased and augmented during their research. 

The top half of the VGo has been modified with a light-up LED tie used to indicate the robot’s status.  Researchers Katherine Tsui and Munjal Desai, also of UMass, worked with Holly to study ways that Telepresence robots can be used in an office environment.  “Hugo” was also featured in an article my Mission Critical earlier this fall entitled, Robotics at the Water Cooler and at Home; Using Telepresence Robots to Make the Workplace, Home Life More Flexible.  In addition to the workplace, the Katherine is also studying how Telepresence robots can benefit people who are hospitalized, by connecting them with their families in distant locations.

But the reality is that the future is here NOW.  Businesses like Fidelity, Steelcase, HP, and even retailers like The Limited, are already using VGo to increase organizational productivity.  Schools across the country are utilizing VGo to allow homebound kids to attend classes as well as interact with their peers.  And in healthcare, Palomar Pomerado Health, Florida Hospital and Children’s Hospital Boston are bringing this technology to the forefront of enhancing patient care.  VGo is literally on the cutting-edge of this life changing technology.

For more information on “Hugo,” including a time-lapse video of the VGo’s transformation, please check out the UMass Lowell Robotics Lab page.