Are you ready for a robot boss?

And it will seem entirely normal, robotics developers say.

The technology, called robotic telepresence, is already under development by dozens of companies and takes teleconferencing to the next level by allowing users to freely move through a remote workplace via a robot.

This means executives can monitor and manage teams from any location, switch their presence among branch offices thousands of miles apart, and visit and interact with colleagues in their work space -- all while navigating robotic avatars.

"Telepresence or visual collaboration is a powerful tool, however historically it's been in a fixed environment, either in a conference room or desktop," said Youssef Saleh, the vice president and general manager of iRobot's remote presence business unit, based in Bedford, Massachusetts.

"With robotic telepresence, that really opens the door for total freedom. Now you could be at any location at any time, anywhere. It's not limited to just a limited set of conference rooms or offices."

These robots are designed so executives' faces appear through a camera on the video screen, which sits on a stand that often can be adjusted by the user to be at the right height, depending on the interaction.

The practical idea behind robotic telepresence is to put managers in two places at the same time, providing both cost and time saving in an increasingly global work environment, Kazinform cites CNN.

So far, such robots have been used more extensively in hospitals, where the expertise of doctors on the other side of the country, or the world, can be crucial for patients.

Use in corporate offices is still at a very early stage. But those in the industry say it is just the next step in making long-distance communication feel more realistic.

Compared to videoconferencing, interacting with a robot has shown to be more similar to face-to-face interaction, according to Cory Kidd, who has a doctorate in human-robot interaction from the MIT Media Lab in the United States. He is also chief executive of Intuitive Automata, a robotics company.

Kidd says that while robotic teleconference technology is improving month to month right now, many people still find the robots awkward and intrusive - a response that is often seen with new ways of doing things.

"If you look at any sort of new communication technology, there is always backlash against it shortly after it comes out," he said.

Videoconferencing and even telephones were seen as strange and unusual when they were first introduced, Kidd pointed out, and as with any new technology that may go mainstream, it will take getting used to.

"The telephone was going to destroy society because it was so intrusive and changes our lives," he said.

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