telepresence

See also: Presence (telepresence)

Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance that they were present, or to have an effect, at a location other than their true location.

Telepresence requires that the senses of the user, or users, are provided with such stimuli as to give the feeling of being in that other location. Additionally, the user(s) may be given the ability to affect the remote location. In this case, the user's position, movements, actions, voice, etc. may be sensed, transmitted and duplicated in the remote location to bring about this effect. Therefore information may be travelling in both directions between the user and the remote location.

Telepresence: a matter of degree

Telepresence is a matter of degree. Rarely will a telepresence system provide such comprehensive and convincing stimuli that the user perceives no differences from actual presence. But the user may set aside such differences, depending on the application. Watching television, for example, although it stimulates our primary senses of vision and hearing, rarely gives the impression that the watcher is no longer at home. However, television sometimes engages the senses sufficiently to trigger emotional responses from viewers somewhat like those experienced by people who directly witness or experience events. Televised depictions of sports events, or disasters such as the infamous September 11 terrorist attacks can elicit strong emotions from viewers.

As the screen size increases, so does the sense of immersion, as well as the range of subjective mental experiences available to viewers. Some viewers have reported a sensation of genuine vertigo or motion sickness while watching IMAX movies of flying or outdoor sequences.

Even the fairly simple telephone achieves a limited form of telepresence, in that users consider themselves to be talking to each other on the telephone rather than talking to the telephone itself. To an observer with no knowledge of telephones, watching a person chatting to an inanimate object might seem curious, but the telephone is readily usable by almost everyone who can speak and listen.

Most often, currently feasible telepresence gear leaves something to be desired; the user must suspend disbelief to some degree, and choose to act in a natural way, appropriate to the remote location, perhaps using some skill to operate the equipment. In contrast, a telephone user does not see herself as "operating" the telephone, but merely talking to another person with it. A goal of telepresence developers might be to similarly have their users lose direct awareness of the equipment they are using.

Telepresence Today. This particular telepresence system (the 210 series) was built by Destiny Conferencing (bought out by Polycom) and this particular room is owned by Pangeair.

Comparison with virtual reality

Telepresence refers to a user interacting with another live, real place, and is distinct from virtual presence, where the user is given the impression of being in a simulated environment. Telepresence and virtual presence rely on similar user-interface equipment, and they share the common feature that the relevant portions of the user's experience at some point in the process will be transmitted in an abstract (usually digital) representation. The main functional difference is the entity on the other end: a real environment in the case of telepresence, vs. a computer in the case of virtual reality.

Implementation

For a user to be given a convincing telepresence experience, sophisticated technologies are required.

Vision

A minimum system usually includes visual feedback. Ideally, the entire field of view of the user is filled with a view of the remote location, and the viewpoint corresponds to the movement and orientation of the user's head. In this way, it differs from television or cinema, where the viewpoint is out of the control of the viewer.

In order to achieve this, the user may be provided with either a very large (or wraparound) screen, or small displays mounted directly in front of the eyes. The latter provides a particularly convincing 3D sensation. The movements of the user's head must be sensed, and the camera must mimic those movements accurately and in real time. This is important to prevent unintended motion sickness.

Sound

Sound is generally the easiest sensation to implement with high fidelity, with the telephone dating back more than 100 years, and very high-fidelity sound equipment readily available as consumer gear. Stereophonic sound is more convincing than monoaural sound, and surround sound is better still.

Manipulation

The ability to manipulate a remote object or environment is an important aspect of real telepresence systems, and can be implemented in large number of ways depending on the needs of the user. Typically, the movements of the user's hands (position in space, and posture of the fingers) are sensed by wired gloves, inertial sensors, or absolute spacial position sensors. A robot in the remote location then copies those movements as closely as possible. This ability is also known as Teleoperation.

The more closely the robot re-creates the form factor of the human hand, the greater the sense of telepresence. Complexity of robotic effectors varies greatly, from simple one axis grippers, to fully anthropomorphic robot hands.

Haptic teleoperation refers to a system that provides some sort of tactile force feedback to the user, so the user feels some approximation of the weight, firmness, size, and/or texture of the remote objects manipulated by the robot.

Applications

Teleconferencing

Rather than traveling great distances, in order to have a face-face meeting, it is now possible to teleconference instead, using a multiway video phone. Each member of the meeting, or each party, can see every other member on a screen or screens, and can talk to them as if they were in the same room. This brings enormous time and cost benefits, as well as a reduced impact on the environment from air travel. A good telepresence strategy puts the human factors first, focusing on visual collaboration solutions that closely replicate the brain's innate preferences for interpersonal communications, separating from the unnatural "talking heads" experience of traditional videoconferencing. These cues include life–size participants, fluid motion, accurate flesh tones and the appearance of true eye contact. [3] This is already a well-established technology, used by many businesses today. The chief executive officer of Cisco Systems, John Chambers in June 2006 at the Networkers Conference compared telepresence to teleporting from Star Trek, and said that he saw the technology as a potential billion dollar market for Cisco.^[1]

Michael Venditte,Vice President of Engineering of Telanetix defines Telepresence as a human experience of being fully present at a live real world location remote from one's own physical location. Someone experiencing video Telepresence would therefore be able to behave, and receive stimuli, as though part of a meeting at the remote site. The fore mentioned would result in interactive participation of group activities that will bring benefits to a wide range of users. Application examples could be sited within emergency management and security services, B&I, entertainment and education industries.

Connecting Communities

Telepresence can be used to establish a sense of shared presence or shared space among geographically separated members of a group.

Subsea work

The cost of deep water diving operations is extremely high due to safety regulations, hyperbaric equipment, time spent in decompression, and support vessel costs. Telepresence systems for inspection and teleoperation for repair and maintenance would realise significant cost benefits and also remove divers from hazardous environments.

Hazardous environments

Many other applications in situations where humans are exposed to hazardous situations are readily recognised as suitable candidates for telepresence. Mining, bomb disposal, military operations, rescue of victims from fire, toxic atmospheres, or even hostage situations, are some examples.

Pipeline inspection

Small diameter pipes, otherwise inaccessible for examination, can now be viewed using pipeline video inspection.

Remote surgery

The possibility of being able to project the knowledge and the physical skill of a surgeon over long distances has many attractions. Thus, again there is considerable research underway in the subject. (Locally controlled robots are currently being used for joint replacement surgery as they are more precise in milling bone to receive the joints.) The armed forces have an obvious interest since the combination of telepresence, teleoperation, and telerobotics can potentially save the lives of battle casualties by allowing them prompt attention in mobile operating theatres by remote surgeons.

Education

Applying telepresence to education. A professional development expert in Denver uses telepresence to coach a teacher in Utah during initial research of Project thereNow.

The benefits of enabling schoolchildren to take an active part in exploration have been shown by the JASON and the NASA Ames Research Center programs. The ability of a pupil, student, or researcher to explore an otherwise inaccessible location is a very attractive proposition; For example, locations where the passage of too many people is harming the immediate environment or the artifacts themselves, e.g. undersea exploration of coral reefs, ancient Egyptian tombs, and more recent works of art.

Research is also being conducted to investigate the use of telepresence to provide professional development to teachers. Research has shown that one of the most effective forms of teacher professional development is coaching, or cognitive apprenticeship. The application of telepresence shows promise for making this approach to teacher professional development practical. ^[2]

Advertising and sales

Tour operators and property agents could use telepresence to allow potential customers to sample holiday locations and view properties remotely making commitments.

Entertainment

Telepresence systems could be incorporated into theme or nature parks to allow observers to travel through coral reefs or explore underground caves. In amusement parks, the elderly or infirm could experience the thrill of live roller coaster rides without risk.

In the games, users can interact using telepresence, sharing robots to interact one human with another (paired objects as remote surrogate actors). In other words, if one partner shakes the object, the remote object also shakes.

Telepresence Art

In 1998, Diller and Scofidio created the "Refresh", an Internet-based art installation that juxtaposed a live web camera with recorded videos staged by professional actors. Each image was accompanied with a fictional narrative which made it difficult to distinguish which was the live web camera.

In 1993, Eduardo Kac and Ed Bennett created a telepresence installation "Ornitorrinco on the Moon", for the international telecommunication arts festival "Blurred Boundaries" (Entgrenzte Grenzen II). It was coordinated by Kulturdata, in Graz, Austria, and was connected around the world.[4]

Telepresence and AI

Marvin Minsky was one of the pioneers of intelligence-based mechanical robotics and telepresence. He designed and built some of the first mechanical hands with tactile sensors, visual scanners, and their software and computer interfaces. He also influenced many robotic projects outside of MIT, and designed and built the first LOGO "turtle."

Commercial Telepresence Systems

Teliris is a provider of telepresence solutions, offering technology that allows participants to take part in a face-to-face meeting across some distance.

TeleSuite Corporation was the first to introduce telepresence systems in 1993, and was the first to coin the phrase "virtual conferencing" to replace the term "video conferencing" because of the entirely different feel of the experience. They developed many two and four screen rooms that immersed the participants in a space that felt merged to the one that they were meeting with; often thousands of miles away. They sold these rooms to many fortune 500 companies such as Deloitte and Time Warner - and they were distributed on various continents; and many of which are still in use today. They later went out of business, but the product survived under a company called Destiny Conferencing which was later acquired in January of 2007 by Polycom. The same room is now called the RPX (talked about below).

Cisco Telepresence Systems were introduced in 2006. The first systems from Cisco offerer 1080p, spatial audio, and were claimed to be as simple to use as a phone call. Regus signed a deal with Cisco to provide 50 TelePresence systems, which will be rolled out in the leading business cities around the world including New York, London, Tokyo, Sydney and Paris. Cisco has deployed over 100 systems internally all over the world. [5]

HeadThere, introduced the Giraffe Video Conferencing Robot. The Giraffe is a mobile robot that can be moved around its location by remote control using the Internet. The Giraffe allows a user to hear, see, and speak at a far away location, just like traditional videoconferencing. This fusion of robotics and videoconferencing allows a user to feel like they are at the robot's location. Because people near the robot can see and hear the user, they interact with him as if he were truly present. In a sense, the robot acts as a stand-in for the user.

HP Halo is a fully managed, end-to-end collaboration solution that brings team members and clients from across the globe into an environment that looks, sounds and feels as if they are just across the table. Participants see each other in life-sized images projected on high-resolution displays, and, it is claimed, can communicate with no perceived delays, regardless of how far apart the teams may be – whether in neighboring states or across the globe. With the HP Video Exchange Network (HVEN), HP is the only company with a managed specialized network built exclusively for the robust demands of video. Recently HP announced that the HVEN now circumnavigates the globe via an alliance with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited, VSNL, a leading provider of international communication solutions.

MILO is a commercially available telepresence robots that came to market in 2005. The company's Early Adopters Program currently uses 15 robots to explore various applications within the telepresence space, including Elderly Care, Commercial Security, Process Automation, Real-Time Inventory Tracking, and more.

TrueLook is a product that was produced by a company called Perceptual Robotics in the mid 1990s. Perceptual Robotics, Inc. (PRI) used the term Telepresence to describe its remote controlled robotic web cams because of the sense of "being there" that they provided. Later renamed TrueLook, the product still exists although the company does not. PRI was sold to divine, inc. in 2002 and the TrueLook product was later acquired by Silk Road Technologies, where it remains available.

PEBBLES - a solution for hospitalized, homebound and special needs children. PEBBLES is intended to connect children to their home classroom, allowing for participation in classroom activities and social contact^[3]. PEBBLES was first used in 1997 at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and was launched in 2001 in the United States at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. The technology is now in use in Canada, US, and the Netherlands.

POLYCOMmanufactures a telepresence system, which they call the RealPresenceXperience (RPX). This system is claimed, by the developer, to offer high-definition video in cinematic view, full duplex audio, echo cancellation and high resolution content in the most immersive telepresence environment among its counterparts.

Chatten Associates produces a number of roving robotic telepresence systems as well as individual components. Markets include both commercial and military.

Digital Presence™ Technology by Telanetix, Inc. creates a fully immersive and interactive environment that integrates audio, live interactive video, and data from multiple locations into a single environment regardless of geographic boundaries and is as easy to operate as a telephone. It delivers full size, face-to-face images of real-time video, audio, and data in high quality resolution and no visible latency. The result is an experience which makes users feel like they are all present in the same room. Using Telanetix developed products and technology, the company has effectively replaced the central videoconferencing bridge of legacy systems with high quality decentralized IP multicasting which provides speed and resolution which is significantly greater than those found in most existing technologies at a fraction of the cost to the user.

History

The first commercially successful telepresence company, Teleport (which was later changed to TeleSuite), was founded in 1993 by David Allen and Harold Williams.^[4] The original intent was to develop a system that could allow families to interact across great distances without the hassle or costliness of flying. The first systems (which they called TeleSuites) looked more like something out of an upper class home rather than a conference room in an office suite (which are what most systems are used for today). Hilton Hotels had originally made a deal with them to begin installing them in their hotels throughout the United States and other countries, but usage was low. The idea lost momentum and Hilton eventually backed out. They later began to focus on business oriented telepresence systems. Shareholders eventually held enough stock to take over the company, which ultimately led to its collapse. David Allen purchased all of the assets of TeleSuite and then called the new company Destiny Conferencing. Although they survived, the idea didn't actually truly catch on until other mega corporations jumped onboard such as HP, Cisco, and Polycom who released similar systems around the mid 2000's. Polycom eventually bought them out (Destiny Conferencing) and now carries the TeleSuite telepresence system that is now known as the RPX (real presence experience) mentioned above.

See also

• Telerobotics
• Teledildonics
• Unotchit
• Virtual Fixture

Notes

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ "Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Telepresence-Enabled Cognitive Apprenticeship Model of Teacher Professional Development by R. Shawn Edmondson, Ph.D.
3. ^ [http://telbotics.com/research_2.htm Developing a Video-Mediated Communication System for Hospitalized Children Deborah I. Fels, Ph.D., P.Eng., Laurel A. Williams, B.ASC., Graham Smith, Jutta Treviranus, Bsc.O.T. (CAN), M.A., and Roy Eagelson, Ph.D. Telemedicine Journal Volume 5, Number 2, 1999]
4. ^ [2]

References

• "Telepresence" (Minsky 1980; Sheridan 1992a; Barfield, Zelter, Sheridan, & Slater 1995; Welch, Blackmon, Liu, Mellers, & Stark 1996),
• "Virtual presence" (Barfield et al., 1995),
• "Being there" (Reeves 1991; Heeter 1992; Barfield et al., 1995; Zhoa 2003),
• "A perceptual illusion of non-mediation "(Lombard & Ditton 1997)
• "The suspension of disbelief" (Slater & Ushoh 1994)
• unknown title (Sheridan, 1992, 1992; Barfield & Weghorst, 1993;Slater & Usoh, 1994; Barfield, Sheridan, Zeltzer, Slater, 1995)

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