Ivan is just a typical employee at the iAnywhere Solutions office in Waterloo, Canada. He works in his cubicle, attends meetings, and gossips with his co-workers during coffee breaks. Just don't give Ivan his own cup of coffee: You might electrocute him.

You see, this Ivan is actually a robotic stand-in for the real thing: Ivan Bowman, a computer programmer who works out of his home office in Halifax, 850 miles away. When Bowman moved, he wanted to keep telecommuting to his job in Waterloo, but it was tough to stay on top of everything through email.

The solution? His computer whiz co-workers have developed a remote control-operated walking, talking robot, complete with web cam. Now, the real Ivan can simply roll his digital doppelganger into someone's office anytime he wants to chat. But no hugs or handshakes, please – you don't want to break him.

Get the full scoop on this space-age workplace here.