If you’ve had the good fortune to be at a conference where Matt Webb has spoken recently (e.g., EuroOSCON), you’ll have seen the Schulze and Webb Availabot. It’s a tiny puppet that plugs into your USB port and stands to attention when a given buddy comes online in AIM. Cute, simple, and apparently prophetic of the future. The Globe and Mail has an interesting article on robotic puppets. Imagine videoconferencing not with pictures on the screen but a robot that uses compressed air to make gestures and which even has moving lips.
Current teleconferencing and videoconferencing feels incomplete–it’s a problem that needs a solution, and animatronic avatars may well be the way. The best part is that you can arrange them however you want. I imagine Cory dressing the avatars in his office like pirates and wenches, so every teleconference feels like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It’d certainly make weekly status meetings a lot more interesting!