Gostai’s telepresence robot is gearing up for promotional activities at trade shows and other events.  The Jazz Icon is all about putting a friendly robotic face to your business, controlled remotely from a joystick or laptop.  When it detects a human face it can play recorded messages or repeat specific phrases entered through its simple text-to-speech interface, or you can speak to potential customers or clients through a microphone.  It comes with a detachable tray to carry pamphlets and other giveaways, and can run for 5 hours at a time.  It should spark the interest and curiosity of even the most jaded convention-crawler.    At only 100cm tall and 8kg, the robot should be easy to transport, but the $12,000 price tag may prove too high.  Rentals, anyone?

[source: RobotShop]