A system and method are provided and include a rotatable smartphone cradle mounted in a pedestal and configured to receive a first smartphone. The pedestal has a controller configured to communicate with a remote control server. The first smartphone is configured for video conferencing with a second smartphone. The remote control server receives control commands from the second smartphone for rotating the first smartphone in the rotatable smartphone cradle while the second smartphone is video conferencing with the first smartphone. The remote control server communicates the control commands to the controller. The controller controls a rotational actuator to rotate the first smartphone in the rotatable smartphone cradle based on the received control commands.