Many people are bed ridden, in hospitals or at home. The disabled are unable to simply drive to their local museum or take a trip to see their favorite art piece and monument. That’s where robots come in.
The Beam robot from Suitable Technologies is changing all of that, giving people the chance to be in two places at once.
Seven museums are testing a beta program which uses the Beam, including the Seattle Art Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, the Computer History Museum and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
How does it work? Visitors control the Beam from their laptop. the tall mobile screen has a wide-angle camera and a second which is pointed at the ground for navigation purposes. Six microphones pick up ambient sounds and make it possible to carry on a conversation with people nearby.
The front facing camera offers a 2x enhanced digital zoom.
If the Beam catches on, this could provide many new experiences for those who are not able to travel to new destinations.
