Ultima Creator Transforms Into A Robot To Work From Home

With his new wife living and working in New York and his company and home base in Austin, Texas, how does legendary game developer Richard Garriott split his time between the two? He doesn’t, that’s what his robot is for.

Garriott’s $US15,000 robot patrols the halls of his Austin-based Portalarium development studio when the big boss isn’t in town. Utilising a webcam, speakers, and a laptop to interface with the Anybots machine, Garriott can communicate with his employees, attend meetings and project his unique presence across a thousand miles via the power of technology.

“When I’m up north, I log in in the morning and can meander over to anyone’s desk and really be a part of the casual conversations that are so essential to our work,” says Richard Garriott in a phone interview with The Huffington Post. “Sometimes I feel like a spy, but fundamentally it feels like I am really there.”

The robot was originally purchased by Garriott as a stand-in for his mother, who was unable to attend his wedding in Paris earlier this year. The dressed the mini Segway-looking machine up in a cutout of dear old mum and set her loose, allowing her to experience the entire event from her Las Vegas home.

Sounds like I’ve found a solution to being based so far from Kotaku‘s New York headquarters. Anyone have a spare $US15,000 I can borrow?

Robot Runs Texas Office For Boss [Huffington Post]