HP Labs has unveiled an almost self-parodying 'Virtual You' Robot.

This is another entry in the long line of 'telepresence' dreams, where some clunky combination of video and audio is thought to serve as an almost perfect replacement for being in the presence of a real person. Indeed, the last line of the press release ends with the obligatory statement that has capped every such press releases since the 1964 launch of Bell Labs' picture phone: "Researchers hope the concept will one day serve as a cost- and time-effective alternative to business travel."