3D Telepresence
From Horizon Project
2009 Short List
[edit] Time-to-Adoption: One year or Less[edit] Time-to-Adoption: Two to Three Years[edit] Time-to-Adoption: Four to Five Years[edit] Critical Challenges[edit] Key Trends |
3D telepresence is a form of remote conferencing in which the participants appear to be physically present in the conference space. Body language cues like eye contact are easily transmitted and interpreted because of the fidelity, size, and position of the images. Several high-profile demonstrations of the technology took place over the last year, suggesting that 3D telepresence is becoming a little more common; CNN made extensive use of the technology during coverage of the US presidential election. Typically, 3D telepresence requires a specially configured space in which to capture a 360-degree image that can then be inserted into a virtual set, and viewed from any angle.
This technology is far too expensive at the moment for any actual educational uses, but as continued development results in a decrease of the cost and size of the equipment required, 3D telepresence could facilitate remote collaboration between institutions by allowing participants to be present in a lifelike way without requiring travel. Objects and activities could be telecast in 3D to enable experts to collaborate on examining or designing mechanical systems, or give medical students an opportunity to be present for an uncommon surgical procedure. Looking even further down the road, a combination of 3D telepresence and gestural interfaces might one day lead to remote teams that can physically interact with each other and objects at a distance.
[edit] Relevance for Teaching, Learning & Creative Expression
- There were no examples of 3D telepresence that could be found, but it is easy to imagine that many of the same applications of 2D telepresence would be enhanced by 3D telepresence.
- 3D telepresence is being used to some degree in the medical and pharmaceutical industries for training, project collaboration, and advising; educational applications in these fields are likely places in which they will develop.
[edit] Examples
- TelepresenceTech markets systems for both 2D and 3D telepresence: http://www.telepresencetech.com
- Rochester Institute of Technology is participating in an international project to pilot technology for telemedicine, remote collaboration on surgical operations; the project uses 2D technology, but may pave the way for 3D applications: http://www.rit.edu/news/?r=46422
- An interview via 3D telepresence occurred at the IBC 2008 conference in Amsterdam: http://www.ibc-tvnews.com/cgi-bin/video_play.cgi?id=619
[edit] For Further Reading
- A One-Day Lesson in Telepresence Basics
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/06/a_oneday_lesson.html
(Mitch Wagner, InformationWeek’s Digital Life Weblog, June 2007.) This post describes 3D telepresence, some potential applications, benefits, and drawbacks.
- Telepresence-Enabled Professional Development
http://www.telepresenceworld.net/articles/28/1/Telepresence-enabled-Professional-Development/Page1.html
(R. Shawn Edmondson, Telepresence World.net, May 2007.) This article describes how 2D telepresence is being used in a pilot program for teacher professional development.
- Telepresence World: Overview
http://telepresenceworld.com/overview.php
This website for the Telepresence World conference includes an overview that describes telepresence and its applications.
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