Luna Personal Robot Brings You Telepresence and More for $3k. Can It Be a Game Changer?

Luna Personal Robot Brings You Telepresence and More for $3k. Can It Be a Game Changer?

A few months ago a video was leaked of amysterious robot. Now, after its official launch I can tell you that the mystery bot is none other than the Luna from RoboDynamics. RoboDynamics is a major innovator in telepresence, and Luna is a beautiful 5’2″ (157cm) tall robot capable of telepresence on its 8 inch LCD touchscreen face. Yet Luna is also much more than that. It’s RoboDynamics leap into the personal robotics fray, and it’s not only open source it’s also affordable. Available in the fourth quarter of 2011, Luna will only set you back $3000. Cheap? No. But that’s way less than other telepresence robots, and it could be just the right price to attract a league of developers who want to take advantage of Luna’s App Store as an emerging market. That’s right, RoboDynamics isn’t trying to build another household robot, they’re aiming to create the commercial robotics platform that will revolutionize the way we use personal robots. Check out RoboDynamics’ new baby in the videos and pictures below. Will Luna be the robot equivalent of the iPhone? It certainly has serious potential, but the bigger question is, is the personal robot of our dreams near? Well…I think it’s getting closer.

First off, let’s talk about Luna, because she is one good looking bot. Designed bySchultzeWorks, Luna stands over five feet tall, has a slick white and gray shell with thin metal arms that can support a tray. She reminds me a little of the Serge butler robot from SyFy’s Caprica. Her specs are satisfying, but not mindblowing as befits a robot you want to mass produce for $3k: 2 GHz processor, nVidia9000M graphics card, 8 GB flash memory (which you can upgrade to 32GB), WiFi, 8 MPx camera with digital zoom, 8 inch touchscreen LCD, 3 microphone array, speakers, 10 bit wheel sensors, PrimeSense’s 3D sensor (like the Kinect!), and its battery should last between 4-8 hours and recharge in about the same time. There’s a carrying handle on the back so you can easily lift the 65 lb (~30kg) bot and take it up stairs or in your car if you need to use the HOV lane.