A Japanese researcher affiliated with Sony has presented a “Human Uber” product at an MIT conference in Asia this week.
The device, which provides a way to attend events remotely using another person’s body, uses a real human as a surrogate for another remote user.
The surrogate wears a mask-shaped display that shows a remote user’s live face and a voice channel transmits a remote user’s voice.
It has been likened to the Larry Middleman surrogate in Arrested Development, which saw a helper equipped with an earpiece and a forehead camera stand-in for a rich man trapped in prison.
Similar concepts have also appeared in Modern Family and the Big Bang Theory, where Sheldon uses a TV monitor on a robot device to keep him safe from dangers in the outside world.
According the product’s website, the technology “uses a real human as a surrogate for another remote user,” by giving the surrogate “a mask-shaped display that shows a remote user’s live face, and a voice channel transmits a remote user’s voice.”
Inventor Jun Rekimoto describes the experience of using ChameleonMask as “surprisingly natural,” but advises users to find a surrogate who has a similar body type to avoid confusion.
Watch the pitch below:
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