Double Robotics Blog

Maeve is a second-grader at P.S. 158 in New York City. She suffers from muscular atrophy, which severely hinders her ability to move. Because of her condition, Maeve isn't always able to attend school in person. Thanks to help from the New York City Department of Education and Double Robotics, Maeve has been using Double for over a year and never misses a beat in school. We're honored to be a part of Maeve's story and provide a way for her to attend school. The power of telepresence is limitless!

Watch her story here:

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/the-robot-changing-school-for-students-with-disabilities-819143235773

Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, a leading education services agency that provides professional development and best practices for teachers, has deployed 70 telepresence robots from Double Robotics in the largest deployment of Double Robotics to date. 

Traditionally, a Lindamood-Bell staff member would travel onsite to a school and embed him/herself in the community by living there full-time, from anywhere between six months to a few years. Now, rather than sending a person, Lindamood-Bell sends a Double, allowing staff members to visit schools anywhere in the world, from Colorado to Alaska to Honduras, without having to spend the time or money associated with physical travel. Double allows Lindamood-Bell to provide the same high-quality instruction in a more efficient and cost-effective way. With Double, Lindamood-Bell employees to have greater flexibility to visit multiple sites per day or per week, all while saving the school thousands of dollars per year.

Watch their story here:

2016 is turning out to be one of the greatest years for healthcare innovation ever, with advancements in medicinal technologies, programming, and changes in how human services are controlled, both from a convenience and money related point of view. 

Here are some of the top healthcare advances of 2016:

Fake Retinas

Traditionally, an individual is characterized as visually impaired when the individual's focal vision has debased to 20/200, or the individual has lost periphery vision with the object that he sees less than 20 degrees outside of focal vision. Typical vision is 20/20, and individuals can, as a rule, see up to 90 degrees with their periphery vision. An expected 1.1 million individuals in the United States alone are considered visually impaired.

This has prompted organizations to build up an advanced and exquisite arrangement planned to reestablish vision for individuals who lost their sight because of degenerative retinal sicknesses. The scaled down Nano Retina gadget, the NR600 Implant, replaces the usefulness of the harmed photoreceptor cells and makes the electrical stimulus required to initiate the stability of the retinal cells. NR600 is comprised of two segments: a small-scale implantable chip and an arrangement of eyeglasses worn by the patient. Together, these two technologies can allow an individual to see again.

Lights that Disinfect and Kill Bacteria

Hospitals are, ironically enough, known for their bacteria and infection filled environments. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has built an innovation utilizing noticeable light that persistently purifies the environment and reinforces your present disease aversion endeavors.

The 405nm transmitted from this piece of technology, reflects off of dividers and surfaces, entering destructive small scale life forms. The light targets happening atoms called porphyrins that exist inside microscopic organisms. The light is consumed, and the energized atoms produce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) inside the cell. 405nm makes a synthetic response inside the cell, like the impacts of decay. The Reactive Oxygen Species destroys the microscopic organisms, keeping them from re-populating the space.

While all of the above-mentioned advancements require some physical presence, the following are even more high-tech because they allow medical progression even without a healthcare practitioner being present in person.

Telepresence

Telepresence robots, such as Double, made by Burlingame, Calif.-based Double Robotics, empowers officials, doctors, experts, patients, and suppliers to meet, discuss, and make choices even while being hundreds or thousands of miles away from one another. Using telepresence decreases the requirement for incessant travel, empowering individuals to perform more in the same measure of time – without the anxiety and fatigue connected with travel. With Double, anyone can quite literally be somewhere that they couldn't otherwise be in person, and the connection is seamless. Healthcare officials can also train groups quicker, receive new conventions more productively, and assist in conveying enhanced social insurance scope to satellite and remote areas.

Tooth Regeneration

A study from Harvard University effectively utilized low-controlled lasers to actuate immature microorganisms and animate the development of teeth in rats and human dental tissue in a lab. Stem cells are not like ordinary cells. They have the remarkable capacity to duplicate and change into a wide range of sorts of cells in the body. They repair tissues by partitioning consistently either as another undifferentiated organism or as a cell with a more particular occupation, for example, a red platelet, a skin cell, or a muscle cell.

With tooth re-growth, dentures and dental inserts may soon turn into a relic of times gone by. Undifferentiated organism examination is making it conceivable to regrow your missing teeth!

This is a truly necessary medicinal headway, particularly considering that by the age of 74, at least 26% of grown-ups have lost the greater part of their permanent teeth.

All of these advancements show how health systems are starting to embrace technological assistance in certain things which makes for a stronger framework and a massive overall improvement in our healthcare system as well.

Blog post courtesy of ReviewsBee.com 

Wowl, a creative video production studio specializing in content creation for virtual reality, tested Double Robotics' all-new 360 Camera Dolly to capture beautiful, lake-side 360 video. The studio, based in Switzerland, has worked with companies such as the Swiss Tech Association, Autodesk and Swatch, to create innovate VR concepts and videos. Double Robotics' 360 Camera Dolly is the latest tool the studio has employed to create stunning visuals for virtual reality and 360 video. 

Video courtesy of Wowl (http://www.wowl.ch/).

DOUBLE ROBOTICS INTRODUCES 360 CAMERA DOLLY WITH UNIVERSAL 360 CAMERA MOUNT

First-of-its-kind Robotic Camera Dolly & Mount to Take Virtual Reality to the Next Level

Burlingame, Calif. - June 1, 2016 - Double Robotics today unveiled its 360 Camera Dolly with Universal 360 Camera Mount, the world’s first remotely controlled, robotic VR dolly. A project of Double Labs, the company’s internal research and development team, the 360 Camera Dolly with Universal 360 Camera Mount leverages the existing technology of the iconic Double telepresence robot base and can hold any 360 camera up to five pounds. An iPhone 6 (or earlier) or an iPod Touch is required to enable the remote driving feature.

“The 360 Camera Dolly with Universal 360 Camera Mount is a great solution for 360 filmmakers who wish to expand on their approach and begin filming in a more creative way, without any crew getting in the frame,” said David Cann, co-founder and CEO of Double Robotics. “Built on technology that people already love, the 360 Camera Dolly is a game-changer for filmmaking.”

The 360 Camera Dolly and Universal 360 Camera Mount is an expansion of the Double platform. The attachable aircraft-grade aluminum 360 Camera Mount attaches to the Double base using an industry standard ¼”-20 bolt. An iPhone is secured in the mount and the camera operator can drive Double wirelessly from behind the scenes via LTE/4G, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

Pricing & Availability

• The 360 Camera Dolly with Universal 360 Camera Mount will be available online (www.doublerobotics.com) immediately, with shipping starting on June 15.

• The full set of the 360 Camera Dolly, which includes the Double telepresence robot base, the Universal 360 Camera Mount, and the Pelican Travel Case is available at $3,000 USD.

• The Universal 360 Camera Mount is also sold separately at $249.

About Double Robotics

Double Robotics is the creator of Double, the world’s leading telepresence robot. Double is an iPad-based robot that gives people a physical presence at work or in school when they can’t be there in person. Founded in 2012 and a graduate of the startup accelerator Y Combinator, Double Robotics is a privately-held technology company headquartered in Burlingame, California. Visit www.doublerobotics.com for more information.

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Media Contact

Sara Broyles

Double Robotics

sara@doublerobotics.com

408-396-3874  

Mattermark collects and organizes comprehensive information on the world’s fastest growing companies.

Our company has grown from 35 to over 50 employees in the past year. With the growth, we have started to have a few remote employees. The more time our employees spent working remote, the more everyone became frustrated communicating across distance. We tried to host meetings using simple tools like Google Hangouts or conference rooms with a speakerphone.  The audio quality was terrible. At first, the remote employees would tell us in headquarters they couldn’t hear, but eventually they just started to give up on interrupting the flow of the meeting. It was clear that if we didn’t do something, we were going to give up on having remote workers.

In early 2016, we took the plunge and bought a Double Robot for our San Francisco headquarters. Right away, we started to notice a difference.  The first “aha” moment for me came in our weekly engineering meeting. Someone had stepped to the whiteboard in our headquarters to start drawing an architecture diagram. Previously, we were connecting with the team using Google Hangouts, and no one in the conference room would think to reposition the laptop’s video camera to look away from the conference table and towards the whiteboard. With the Double, it was easy for our Seattle office employees to just turn the camera and see what was being drawn on the whiteboard.  Under our old Google Hangouts approach, they would have just given up on seeing what was on the whiteboard.

A few weeks later, I was out on a sick day. I had a quick question for one of our data analysts, but she wasn’t paying attention to Slack. I really needed an answer to make progress on a project, and previously i would have been relatively helpless to do anything about it. I realized, “Oh I can just drive the Double Robot over to her desk and see if she’s around.” Sure enough, after a few minutes rolling across the office I found her and got the answer I needed. This is a big deal for us, because we really dislike it when people still recovering from a cold or flu come into the office trying to show off their work ethic while making everyone else sick. The Double Robot gives them a bit more encouragement that they can work remote an extra day while they finish recovering.

These are just two of the many ways that our Double Robot helps has build a great remote work experience. We’re excited to keep finding more ways to use it.

Blog post & video courtesy of Kevin Morrill, co-founder & CTO, Mattermark

The Sheboygan Area School District is a large, urban school district on the eastern shore of Wisconsin. Our district is made up of 26 schools and serves a diverse student population of over 10,300 students in four-year-old kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Sheboygan Area School District is a forward-thinking district and we are always looking for solutions to meet the varied needs of our student population.

At one of our elementary schools, we have a 2nd grade student who is recovering from a rare form of cancer called Burkitt's Lymphoma and could not physically attend classes. Joseph’s illness and treatments made it difficult for him to attend school. “We found that piling days of school work on this student wasn’t very effective because it became very overwhelming for him,” said Mike Jaber, who is the Sheboygan Area School District Coordinator of Instructional Technology. “I watched a news story on the Double Robot, it piqued my interest as a district technology leader and I looked into it further.” Jaber was able to test drive a demo of the Double, and after speaking to one of the Double employees, knew this technology could help serve our students in need.

There were other technologies out there that had some similarities with functionality, but nothing compared to the Double’s build quality, ease of use, and capacity to navigate around a space to actively participate.  The Sheboygan Area School District purchased two robots from Double Robotics.

While the Sheboygan Area School District had hired a tutor to work with Joseph, he was missing out on the social aspect of school as well as the academics. Through use of the Double, we were able to offer Joseph a unique opportunity to attend school virtually. After a few test runs, Jaber met with Joseph’s family and teacher to explain the idea. Joseph would use his iPad at home or at the hospital to control his Double, which would be kept in the classroom.

The robot affectionately became known as ‘Jobot.’

Joseph’s teacher Mrs. Karen Rowan-Lieser welcomed the opportunity to have Joseph virtually attend class.

"As we strive to do with all kids, we are meeting Joseph’s needs in a different manner,” Rowan-Lieser said. “We always try to provide different options for kids and their parents. This is just another option.”

‘Jobot’ has given Joseph the ability to attend school from a hospital bed, or the comfort of his own home, and still feel “connected” to his classmates and classwork.

Joseph virtually joined the classroom most days. He could listen to lessons presented by his teacher or work with his classmates on assignments. Sometimes, Joseph’s dad would accompany ‘Jobot’ around school during a special event, so other students at school can say hi and Joseph can be a part of the school activity. In October, the school held a color run and Joseph was able to travel through part of the course using his Double.

Joseph has recently begun transitioning back to school and his academic and social interaction with his peers through the Double was invaluable during this absence from the classroom. His teacher felt the Double provided an essential connection to his school work and classmates, which has made his transition back much easier.

The strength of the Sheboygan Area School District is our ability to offer learning opportunities to meet the varied learning needs of our students and families. In this situation, Double Robot was able to help us provide a learning solution for a student in need. Utilizing the newest technology to help kids learn keeps us at the forefront of education.

Joseph’s classmates also benefitted from the Double’s presence, as they are able to experience how the integration of technology can be a real value in education, as well bringing awareness of how technology surrounds them in everyday life.

Pictured below, Joseph virtually practices his spelling words with a classmate, using his Double Robot.

Pictured below, Coordinator of Instructional Technology Mike Jaber, poses for a photo with Joseph who is virtually attending class through his Double.

Video:

Sheboygan Press article: http://www.sheboyganpress.com/story/news/2015/12/07/robot-attends-school-young-cancer-patient/76737008/

Based in Japan, FIGLAB is a creative platform and online community devoted to the exploration of visual expressions with cutting-edge technology. By featuring new technology, we instantly visualize and materialize new ideas for both social and business problem solving. The open innovation community accelerates the collaboration of various kinds of creative fields, such as film, graphic, photography and engineering.

FIGLAB approaches unbounded visual expression such as physical installations that inspires human five senses,  apps with new interaction design, interactively generated motion graphics, and robotics installation. FIGLAB covers not only brand promotions and advertisements, but also the creation of whole new creative output by making our original prototypes continuously.

Double from Double Robotics is a two-wheel, self-balancing telepresence robot that moves about in the exhibition area of FIGLAB. Visitors can interact with the person driving Double, as their face appears on the screen. The driver can also display a web page on the iPad screen. The visitor can touch the screen and interact with the content that's being displayed. 

See Double in action at FIGLAB: 

Blog post & photo courtesy of Kento Sugimoto, FIGLAB

Tallaght Hospital, located in Dublin, Ireland, is developing a reputation for the innovative use of technology in their patient care. It's the first hospital in the country to deploy a Remote Presence Robot which helps doctors diagnose strokes quickly so that clot busting drugs can be administered within the four-and-a-half hour target time, improving the chances of recovery.

Double Bridging the Gap Over the Atlantic Ocean

Printful's 35,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Los Angeles houses more than 60 employees and 60 printers. While our printing and shipping magic takes place in sunny California, we also have an office and dedicated staff halfway across the world in Riga, Latvia. We use email, Skype, Reamaze and Slack to communicate across continents, but sometimes it's not enough and we enlist the help of our Double. 

What is Printful?

In a nutshell, Printful is a dropshipping service for print products, like t-shirts, posters, and leggings. Online retailers connect their stores with us, submit their designs, and sync their products. When an order comes in for something from their store, it goes to us and then we print and ship it to the customer.

We were founded as part of the Draugiem Group, the largest IT company in Latvia. Our Latvian team consists of programmers, designers, customer service reps, and marketing coordinators. The team in California is responsible for fulfillment, and additional customer service.

Why Double Works for Us

It's hard communicating with an ocean and a 10-hour time difference separating both offices. Our Double is useful when the programmers in Latvia need to check up on a printer or run test prints when the LA office is already closed for the day. Rather than waiting until somebody is in the office to call them, we can activate the Double and take a closer look ourselves. This keeps time difference delays at a minimum.

"Operating the Double feels like operating a character in a video game, except you're moving it around in a real space." – Ģirts Upītis, programmer and main Double user

It's also handy when somebody in the Latvian office needs to contact someone in California about an urgent matter. Rather than playing phone tag and emailing back and forth, it's possible to zip around on the Double to find the right person.

On a slightly less practical level, it's nice for the team in Latvia to see the magnitude of our operations first-hand. Working from so far away, it's easy to forget how much Printful prints and ships on a daily basis. Staff members in Latvia can hop on the Double, “walk” around the warehouse, and see for themselves. It's inspiring to see how much we do, and it's reassuring to know that the team's efforts in Latvia really are impacting growth.

Check out Double in action at Printful's office: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yltd6nqgiju3wus/RoboCop.mp4?dl=0

The Future of Work?

The way we work is rapidly changing. Thanks to the internet, we are becoming more globally connected and it's not uncommon to have employees working remotely, or offices split up in different locations.

One of the drawbacks of a remote workforce is the lack of face-to-face interaction with colleagues, but technology is slowly changing this. Using Double might not be quite the same as talking to somebody in person, but it's the closest alternative to the real thing. With more people in the workforce choosing to work remotely and more companies embracing this trend, tools like Double can help people stay connected.

Blog post and photos courtesy of Nora Inveiss, Printful