Case Scenario: COMPANY: DOUBLE ROBOTICS
Business idea: Design and manufacture a telepresence robot that allows someone to remotely inhabit the body of the robot and have the freedom to roam around an office building or facility even through the person inhabiting the body of the robot is hundreds or thousands of miles away. pitch: There are many circumstances that would cause someone to want to be virtually present in one location even though they are physically present in another. An example would be a scientist or engineer in one location wanting to spend a day interacting with colleagues in another location. Short-term discussions can be facilitated by video-conferencing tools such as Skype. But Skype limits participants to a single location where they each have access to a monitor that is projecting the Skype call. what if someone in one location wants to be virtually present in a second location, and wants to be able to move from office to office or lab to lab to interact with a variety of colleagues? Double Robotics has created a solution that facilitates this type of interaction. The solution is a robot, named Double, which has two wheels at its base and a poll that extends upwards to eye level. An iPad is mounted on top of the poll. You can log onto the iPad from a computer, iPad, or iPhone from anywhere in the world and drive the robot around while streaming two-way audio and video that allows you to interact with anyone who is present. There are multiple photos of the Double on Double Robotic's website. It is sleek with a futuristic, minimalist design.
The poll with the iPad on top is adjustable so it can be placed at eye level with people sitting or standing. The Segway-style base uses high-efficiency motors to zip around for up to eight hours on a single charge. A touch-based interface makes controlling the Double a breeze, while an accelerometer and gyroscope work to keep the device stable until you're done moving it, at which point dual kickstands pop out to let the batteries take a rest. The Double's initial price tag is $2,500. The Double has a number of potential applications. It is first and foremost the ultimate tool for colleagues working in separate locations that need to interact with one another. Most workers know how difficult it can be to schedule a call or ask someone to set up a computer or a laptop for a video chat. with Double one engineer or executive can be in Chicago, for example, and if the company has a second facility in new York City that has a Double robot available, the engineer or executive in Chicago can log onto the Double in new York City and literally roam from office to office, interacting with his or her colleagues who are in a different location. There are other potential uses. For example, museums or art galleries could offer virtual tours utilizing Double. The person taking the tour could log onto one of the museum or gallery Double robots, and then follow the person giving the tour by steering the robot from location to location. The same approach could be used in providing prospective students tours of colleges or universities. Several large corporations, including Johnson & Johnson and the Coca-Cola Company, are reportedly testing Double for telecommuters and for employees who need to interact with one another but are situated in different geographic locations.
1. Based on the material covered in this chapter, what questions would you ask the firm's founders before making your funding decision? what answers would satisfy you?
2. If you had to make your decision on just the information provided in the pitch and on the company's website, would you fund this company? why or why not?