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You can live in NYC and be face-to-face half a country away

January 7, 2019 /

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Richard Garriott, creator of the Ultima game series, lives in New York City but telecommutes to his Austin, Texas, office with Beam, essentially a video screen attached to a movable robot. “When people want to speak with me, they visit me normally, I participate in hallway chatter and even loiter in the kitchen wishing I could share in the snacks when I am a robot,” he says.

When I awake in NYC, I am an hour ahead of my Austin staff. This allows me to help get the kids off to school without a rush. I then log into my Beam and teleport to Austin from my home office desk in NYC. I then go about starting my day’s work, while leaving my robot body present in my Austin office, just as I would be if physically present in Austin. This allows me to welcome employees as they arrive, and participate in the natural flow and rhythm of the office.

I attend the morning standup reports (either as a human or robot) daily. When people want to speak with me, they visit me normally, I participate in hallway chatter and even loiter in the kitchen wishing I could share in the snacks when I am a robot.

Hanging out all day IS THE KEY for me, not just logging into a fixed-position video conference call. I am present all day, every day, just as any employee. Sometimes I am just there in the flesh, or more often in my robot body on my Beam.

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