User:Telepresence/sandbox

Telepresence has provided a great platform to present a shared platform to separated members of a group. Although, it started a while ago, there has been a drastic change in the technologies related to it, and the limited conceptions can be further broadened to open new opportunities for further innovation.

History

Bill Buxton was the first one to talk about the term Telepresence in the year 1992 and the first product related to these facilities was Microsoft’s NetMeeting, this was widely distributed and provided the facility to share voice, video and white-board like drawing. Although, there were many more additions after that however it was the launch of Skype in the year 2006, which further enhanced the capabilities by adding instant-messaging and multiparty videoconferencing.

The Current Technology

Telepresence of today’s world has gone a long way and provides a great human experience and real-world location, though remote access. The key features of providing this presence are Vision, Sounds and Manipulation. The vision provides the ability to see and Sound provides an interaction facility, however manipulation is a very interesting feature and given an access to remotely control a computer or device to make changes at the other location.

Usage and Applications

From a business perspective, this is a great tool and can help to save a lot of time related to travel. However, there are various other industries which find an extensive use of Telepresence, including educational services, tele-medical, diagnostic and rehabilitative use. Aircraft engineering and various remote maintenance facilities also require Telepresence to carry out their operations. Medical field has recently introduced pipeline and remote surgery system, where Telepresence is used to see and treat the organs which cannot be seen directly.