All Stand for the Availabot – The Instant Messaging USB Custom Character Who Stands on Contact Availability

Once in a while we come across an idea for a gadget that has ‘smash hit’ written all over it, and this Availabot from Schulze & Webb, who plugs into your computer’s USB port and who stands up every time a particular contact becomes available via your instant messaging application – therefore alerting you to there online status – is a prime example of just such a gadget.

Based on those wooden (these days, plastic) toys that collapse once a button once the base is depressed, the Availabot will lie immobile whilst a given contact is offline only to stirring to life (or, rather, standing up) when their status changes to online – as can be seen in the demonstration video below.

Of course, as this device is USB based, you’re not limited to just one Availabot – the idea being that you can have as many of your contacts represented as you have available ports.

The Availabot is at prototype status at the time of writing with the creators looking to offer customisation so that each figure looks in some way like the person they serve to represent – however, quite how far such customisation can be taken should the Availabot see it into commercial production is, as its creators openly admit, wholly open to question.

We think you’ll agree, Schulze & Webb have come up with a gem here and we don’t doubt that, if their Availabot can make the difficult transition from prototype to fully fledged, commercially available product it would positively fly off the shelves.

We wish them every success.

[Source | Productdose]