Chapter 1: Telepresence

The term "telepresence" refers to a collection of technologies that enable a person to feel as if they were present at a location other than where they actually are, to give the appearance or effect of being present via telerobotics, and this can be accomplished at a location other than where they actually are.

In order to give users the impression of being in another place, telepresence needs that their senses engage with certain stimuli. This creates the sensation of being there. In addition, users could be given the opportunity to influence the position of the remote device. To achieve this result, it is possible that the user's location, motions, activities, voice, and so on will be detected, sent, and replicated at the distant place. Because of this, information may go in either way between the user and the distant destination.

Telepresence videoconferencing, which is the greatest degree of videotelephony that is currently achievable, is one of the most popular applications for this technology. Telepresence with video makes use of a higher level of technological complexity, which results in increased quality of both the image and the sound compared to standard videoconferencing. The possibilities of videoconferencing have also been expanded outside the boardroom for usage with hand-held mobile devices, thanks to technological breakthroughs in mobile collaboration. This makes it possible for people to collaborate regardless of their physical location.

During a pandemic crisis such as COVID-19, telepresence robots may also be explored for use in social interactions. Recent research by Tuli and colleagues, along with other researchers, outlined the requirements for the creation of such robots.

The influential cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky of the United States said in a seminal work that he believed the science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein was the originator of the concept of telepresence: According to what Robert A. Minsky stated, "My first image of a remote-controlled economy came from Robert A. Heinlein's prophetic book Waldo, which was published in 1948." In the short novel "Waldo," which Heinlein published in 1942, the author of science fiction initially imagined a crude telepresence master-slave manipulator system.

The whole notion of a telepresence master-slave humanoid system was first presented in Fred Saberhagen's novel The Brother Assassin, which was published in 1969. The following is how the idea is articulated throughout the book: "And then, in the next instant, it felt to all of his senses as if he had been transferred from the body of the master into the body of the slave-unit that was standing beneath it on the floor. When he took control of the slave's motions, it began to lean to one side gradually; in response, he adjusted the slave's foot in the same natural way that he moved his own to keep the slave from toppling over. When he tipped his head back, he was able to gaze up through the eyes of the slave and see that the master-unit, which included himself, was keeping the same attitude while it was suspended in its intricate manner."

In an article that was published in 1980, Minsky came up with the concept of telepresence. In this article, he outlined his vision for an updated version of the older concept of teleoperation, which was centered on the idea of providing a remote participant with the sensation of actually being present at a different location. They had previously operated a resort company, and at that time, they saw that business travelers sometimes needed to cut short their stays in order to attend crucial meetings. This observation served as the inspiration for the original idea behind TeleSuite. Their plan was to create a system that would enable executives to attend their meetings without having to leave the resorts in which they were staying, which would allow them to extend the amount of time that they spent at the hotels.

However, despite having obtained licenses to install them in their properties throughout the United States and in other countries, only a small number of guests made use of them. The proposal failed to gain traction, and Hilton ultimately decided not to pursue it. Later on, TeleSuite shifted its emphasis away from the hotel sector and into telepresence solutions that are geared more toward businesses. In the end, shareholders were able to acquire sufficient shares to oust the company's founding management, which finally resulted in the failure of the business. Scott Allen was named president of the newly formed firm that was given the name Destiny Conferencing after his father David Allen bought all of the assets of TeleSuite.

Destiny Conferencing granted a license to HP to use its portfolio of patents, and HP went on to become the first major business to enter the telepresence sector. Soon after, other companies like as Cisco and Polycom entered the market as well. Destiny Conferencing was sold to Polycom for the sum of $60 million on January 5, 2007, after the signing of a distribution deal with Polycom, which is situated in Pleasanton.

In the year 1990, a research study on telepresence got its start. The Ontario Telepresence Project (OTP), which was a collaborative endeavor between the social sciences and engineering and was housed at the University of Toronto, was an example of interdisciplinary research. According to the organization's final report, it "...was a pre-competitive research project that lasted three years and cost $4.8 million. Its mandate was to design and field trial advanced media space systems in a variety of workplaces in order to gain insights into key sociological and engineering issues. The project's goal was to design and field trial advanced media space systems. The Ontario Telepresence Project (OTP), which came to an end in December 1994, was a component of the International Telepresence Project (ITP), which connected academics in Ontario with their equivalents in four countries in Europe. The Government of Ontario, acting via two of its Centres of Excellence, the Information Technology Research Centre (ITRC) and the Telecommunications Research Institute of Ontario (TRIO), was the primary sponsor of the Project."

An authority in the field detailed the following advantages of telepresence: "The choice that we made to do more business through video and telepresence was motivated by four different factors. We intended to cut down on the amount of money we spent on travel, as well as lower our environmental effect and carbon footprint, enhance the work-life balance of our workers, and increase staff productivity.".

It is now normal practice to utilize a telepresence system, which employs a multiple codec video system, in lieu of physically traveling significant distances in order to participate in a face-to-face meeting. This saves time and money (which is what the word "telepresence" most currently represents). Every participant in the conference "dials in" to a telepresence room so that they may see and communicate with every other participant on a screen or screens, just as if they were in the same room together. This results in significant savings, both in terms of time and money. It is also preferable than phone conferencing (except in terms of cost), since the visual component substantially improves communications and makes it possible to see facial emotions and other body languages. This gives it an advantage over phone conferencing.

Mobile collaboration systems allow several parties to participate in real-time video, audio, and on-screen sketching conferences utilizing the newest generation of hand-held mobile devices. This makes it possible for the conferences to take place regardless of the participants' physical locations. The expedited issue resolution that results in cost savings, reductions in downtime and travel, improvements in customer service, and higher productivity are further benefits.

The human feeling of being completely present at a live real-world site that is distant from one's actual physical location is one definition of the phenomenon known as telepresence. Therefore, a person who is participating in video telepresence would be able to act and receive stimuli as if they were a member of a conference that is taking place at a faraway location. The aforementioned would lead to participatory interaction in group activities, which would provide advantages to a diverse audience of users.

It is necessary to have technology that can implement the human sensory components of vision, hearing, and manipulation in order to deliver a telepresence experience.

Visual feedback is often included in even the most basic of systems. In an ideal situation, the perspective of the distant place corresponds to the movement and direction of the user's head, and the user's full field of vision is filled with a view of the remote location. In this respect, it is unlike television or the movies, in which the audience has no influence on the point of view shown on the screen.

Either an extremely big screen (or one that wraps around the user's head) or a series of tiny screens that are positioned immediately in front of the user's eyes may be used in order to accomplish this goal. The latter offers a three-dimensional experience that is very compelling. The camera has to be able to properly and in real time replicate the head motions of the user, and it needs to be able to do this by sensing those movements. This is essential in order to avoid unintentional cases of motion sickness.

A projected display system that features life-sized visuals is yet another potential source of future enhancement for telepresence displays. Some people have likened this technology to holograms.

Based on the basic telephone technology that dates back...