Talk:Telepresence

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Ironically the Discussions page is becoming more relavent and better documented than the article. Someone (maybe me) should merge this page with the article. 23 March 2006 -- Tmcsheery

The underlying word is Teleoperation and definitely warrants an entry. It is most commonly associated with robotics but can be applied to a whole range of circumstances in which a device or machine is operated by a person from a distance. "Teleoperation" is a standard term in use both in research and technical communities and is by far the most standard term for referring to operation at a distance. "telepresence" is a less standard term and might refer to a whole range of existence or interaction with a remote connotation. 1 Feb. 2006 --Androidchild 21:16, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

I consider a teleoperator to be distinct from a telepresense, and so consider the merger to not be a good idea. Leonard G. 05:10, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

[JVD, 1:43, 15 December 2005] I think the article confuses "telepresence" with "teleoperator" and fails to capture the the whole meaning of the former. I'd move the "applications" into the teleoperator description and replace the article with this:

Telepresence is a term that developed in the context of teleoperated robots when users reported a sense of being actually present in a remote environment.

The term is used several ways in science and engineering today. First, it may be used to refer to the quality of a human-machine interface. That is, when displays and controls are very efficient a teleoperator may be said to have good telepresence. This quality of a human-machine interface may also be called transparency because users metaphorically don't "see" the interface and can concentrate on the remote work. In this sense, telepresence is sometimes used interchangeably with immersion or immersiveness.

Second, telepresence may be used to refer to the experience, as in the original usage. In this sense it is similar to virtual presence, with the difference that, in the strictest sense, telepresence occurs in the context of teleoperation and virtual presence occurs in the context of virtual reality. As telerobots often include aspects of virtual reality, the distinction between telepresence and virtual presence may be moot. It should be noted that the experience of telepresence is not entirely dependant on either the transparency or immersiveness of the human-machine interface, although good transparency or immersiveness can promote the experience.

Third, telepresence is sometimes used to refer to the hardware and software that allow teleoperation, as when a teleoperator is called a "telepresence system." In a similar sense, telepresence has come to be used in telecommunication to refer to the ability to communicate in a rich and natural manner with people at a distance.

Source: J.V. Draper, D.B. Kaber, and J.M. Usher, "Telepresence," Human Factors, 1998, 40(3), pp. 354-375.

Telepresence is often associated with immersion in a remote location although it could also be used in medical and research applications where the scale is the important differentiator, not distance. In many cases the location can be completely simulated, although the source could be actual photographs or videos.

Teleoperation and telerobotics could certainly be merged, but here you need a mechanical system to operate. While I would consider teleoperation and telerobotics a subset of telepresence, commercially I expect they will dwarf the telepresence in a few years and I'm not sure you want to merge the larger set with vitual and augmented worlds with the robotic applications. TMcSheery

[edit] This definition really needs an update ...

Telepresence consists of Tele- meaning "distant" and the concept of "presence." Presence is a state of consciousness and closely related to immersion and the "suspension of disbelieve." The entry should mention Minsky, (who invented the term) and should also refer to these papers (Sheridan, 1992, 1992; Barfield & Weghorst, 1993; Slater & Usoh, 1994; Barfield, Sheridan, Zeltzer, Slater, 1995) "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) and "the suspension of disbelief" (Slater & Ushoh 1994). IMHO: As the entry is now it is a rather biased and unprofessional definition of telematics - and has only little to do with the fascinating epistemological and phenomenological qualities of it.