Difference between revisions of "Telepresence"

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(Created page with '“A Philco engineer named Steve Moulton made a nice telepresence eye. He mounted a TV camera atop a building and wore a helmet so that when he moved his head, the camera on top …')
 
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===Definition===
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“A Philco engineer named Steve Moulton made a nice telepresence eye. He mounted a TV camera atop a building and wore a helmet so that when he moved his head, the camera on top of the building moved, and so did a viewing screen attached to the helmet. Wearing this helmet you have the feeling of being on top of the building and looking around Philadelphia. If you “lean over” it’s kind of creep. But the most sensational thing Moulton did was to put a two-to-one ratio on the neck, so that when you turn your head 30 degrees, the mounted camera turns 60 degrees: you feel as if you had a rubber neck, as if you could turn your “head” completely around” (93, [[Natural Born Cyborgs]]).
 
“A Philco engineer named Steve Moulton made a nice telepresence eye. He mounted a TV camera atop a building and wore a helmet so that when he moved his head, the camera on top of the building moved, and so did a viewing screen attached to the helmet. Wearing this helmet you have the feeling of being on top of the building and looking around Philadelphia. If you “lean over” it’s kind of creep. But the most sensational thing Moulton did was to put a two-to-one ratio on the neck, so that when you turn your head 30 degrees, the mounted camera turns 60 degrees: you feel as if you had a rubber neck, as if you could turn your “head” completely around” (93, [[Natural Born Cyborgs]]).
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[[File:VGo-telepresence-robot.jpg|350px|thumb|right|Telepresence robot for the workplace made by [http://www.vgocom.com/solutions VGo].]]
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===Telepresence in the Workplace===
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Telepresence robots enable mobility and participation by a remote entity, enabling one to be present and mobile in and throughout a distant location. One can see, hear, talk, interact, and move around just as if one were there. Unlike videoconferences where two or more people are meeting through TV monitors or PCs where people on both sides of the call must be sitting in front the camera, a remote participant can move completely independent of those in the remote location.
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====Telepresence and Twitter HQ====
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[[Twitter]] employee [[Rael Dornfest]] lives in Portland and works in San Francisco. He regularly uses a telepresence bot to attend meetings at Twitter headquarters while he is at home in Portland. Twitter employees have a fondness for his bot and electronic extension of self into their space, and there are many curious stories where rooms have become quiet while one robot talks to a talking head on [[Skype]].
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Rael says he is pleased with the experience [http://twitter.com/rael/status/1021914785], as he doesn't have to tell someone to turn the laptop while he Skypes into a conference call so that he can see who is talking. Rather, he can simply use the controls on the bot to turn his virtual head to meet the speaker.
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====Concepts of Telepresence====
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[[File:chit-chat-club-avatar-chairs.jpg|350px|thumb|right|Chit Chat Club Avatar Chairs]] An early suggestion of telepresence bots for collaboration was [http://smg.media.mit.edu/projects/ChitChatClub/ ChitChatClub] created by the [[Sociable Media Group]] at [[MIT Media Lab]]
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<blockquote>"The avatar chair is designed to let the remote participant be a real presence at the table. It is human scale: the monitor is at ordinary head height at the table and the face in it is human scale. The chest area of the avatar chair houses a screen to display text that an online user types in. For people in the physical space, this is like reading an ever-changing t-shirt" [http://smg.media.mit.edu/projects/ChitChatClub/].</blockquote>

Revision as of 16:04, 27 November 2010

Definition

“A Philco engineer named Steve Moulton made a nice telepresence eye. He mounted a TV camera atop a building and wore a helmet so that when he moved his head, the camera on top of the building moved, and so did a viewing screen attached to the helmet. Wearing this helmet you have the feeling of being on top of the building and looking around Philadelphia. If you “lean over” it’s kind of creep. But the most sensational thing Moulton did was to put a two-to-one ratio on the neck, so that when you turn your head 30 degrees, the mounted camera turns 60 degrees: you feel as if you had a rubber neck, as if you could turn your “head” completely around” (93, Natural Born Cyborgs).

Telepresence robot for the workplace made by VGo.

Telepresence in the Workplace

Telepresence robots enable mobility and participation by a remote entity, enabling one to be present and mobile in and throughout a distant location. One can see, hear, talk, interact, and move around just as if one were there. Unlike videoconferences where two or more people are meeting through TV monitors or PCs where people on both sides of the call must be sitting in front the camera, a remote participant can move completely independent of those in the remote location.

Telepresence and Twitter HQ

Twitter employee Rael Dornfest lives in Portland and works in San Francisco. He regularly uses a telepresence bot to attend meetings at Twitter headquarters while he is at home in Portland. Twitter employees have a fondness for his bot and electronic extension of self into their space, and there are many curious stories where rooms have become quiet while one robot talks to a talking head on Skype.

Rael says he is pleased with the experience [1], as he doesn't have to tell someone to turn the laptop while he Skypes into a conference call so that he can see who is talking. Rather, he can simply use the controls on the bot to turn his virtual head to meet the speaker.

Concepts of Telepresence

Chit Chat Club Avatar Chairs
An early suggestion of telepresence bots for collaboration was ChitChatClub created by the Sociable Media Group at MIT Media Lab
"The avatar chair is designed to let the remote participant be a real presence at the table. It is human scale: the monitor is at ordinary head height at the table and the face in it is human scale. The chest area of the avatar chair houses a screen to display text that an online user types in. For people in the physical space, this is like reading an ever-changing t-shirt" [2].