In the future, our heads will go more places than our bodies ever will

by Mark R - on May 20th, 2011

We have covered devices that allow for telepresence before. Usually, they come in robotic form, like the Anybot. This particular method of mini robot blimps is nothing short of freaky.

Seriously, just watch the video after the jump and see if you don?t agree with me. It looks like something out of Blade Runner or 12 Monkeys, and the dark resolution isn?t helping. In all honesty, I can?t help but think that this is some kind of joke.

However, my Source reveals that this is some project by Tobita Hiroaki and the team at Sony Computer Science Laboratories. The helium filled miniature airships can carry a screen with a live image of the transmitter. As the mini-blimp goes from room to room via tiny propellers, a camera picks up what it sees.

You will note from the video that two of these blimp avatars can actually meet up, taking FaceTime to a whole new level. All joking aside, it really is a very fascinating method of telepresence.

I just wish it didn?t come off as so darned dystopian. It also reminds me of the film The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen, where the king of the moon had a detachable head that would float around on intellectual pursuits while the body engaged in carnal pleasures. Oh man, I really hope this isn?t our future.

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