Executive Briefing
Topic 2 – Information Communications
Telepresence
Linda Mellon-Hogan
ISYM 540 – SSII
Current Topics in ISM
July 9, 2009
Executive Summary
Telepresence is a technology that is similar to video conferencing, but offers a real-time, in the same room experience for participants at various business locations. For large businesses, telepresence is a viable replacement for business travel. Companies can now minimize travel expenses along with the stress placed upon employees who need to travel. Telepresence also offers an organization the chance to encourage participation of staff at all levels while promoting collaboration, innovation and the experience. While video conferencing is sufficient in some situations, telepresence offers the ability to truly maintain the attention and interaction of all through its high quality video, sound and lighting. A very stimulating experience seems guaranteed. While the benefits appear to be important in the current economic times, there are some social aspects that are not experienced by some. There are a few strong competitors in the telepresence market, but a company should carefully evaluate and analyze their requirements and needs before deploying a telepresence system. The concept of managed telepresence should also be investigated and considered as an alternative to an in house solution when implementation cost is a factor. As the experience of telepresence grows, in time the ability to simulate touch will become part of the telepresence market. Haptics is known as the science that simulates touch. This type of technology is already in existence and is being used in various businesses. In the future, Haptics will inevitably enhance the telepresence experience (Nicolaisen 2009).
Description
Telepresence can be defined as collaboration among people at remote locations through the unique combination of various technologies that produce an “all in the same room” effect for participants. Telepresence can only be truly accomplished by having the proper room setup which includes high quality audio and visual equipment, a proper network infrastructure, with the correct lighting and furniture to further enhance the experience. The proper combination of all the components will produce the “in the same room experience” for participants to “see and talk” to people at remote locations (www.excitingip.com 2009). The requirements can be costly, but the experience will enhance conferencing, and eliminate other cost factors. Telepresence implementation requires key elements. These elements include video compression, high performance codecs, and ability to adapt to external networks, utilization of low bandwidth, session initiation protocol, low audio delay, low latency and knowledge of human engineering (Nicolaisen 2009). Nicolaisen defines each of these requirements. In order to provide a high quality experience telepresence systems include “video compression and high performance codecs” (Nicolaisen 2009). These requirements ensure that video and voice appear to be natural and participants do not experience any sort of distortion. As with any external network, telepresence systems can be subject to the same type of restraints. This is the reason that the network must be able to adjust and provide a stable environment as data will transmit between external networks. This network stability also needs to be able to utilize low bandwidth. A system that reduces bandwidth ensures that there will be no delays in transmission as well as avoiding corruption of the data. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is key to providing a real experience as the protocol signals, controlling the start and finish of sessions. Lower latency is an important factor when implementing a telepresence system. Nicolaisen describes latency as the delay between when a person processes input and realized the “expected output” (2009). For example, if a participant experiences a visual delay, the telepresence session will not appear to be in real-time. Finally, an effective telepresence system depends on the ability and knowledge of humans to design and engineer a system that is able to incorporate video, sound, and lighting effects to simulate a real time experience. Engineers who understand human behavior are able to predicate reactions to the environment are crucial to deploying a telepresence system. For example, understanding audio feedback, eye contact and lighting angles are all major considerations to be engineered (Nicolaisen, 2009). Ideally, a true telepresence experience requires not only a specially designed room by engineers who understand human interaction, but the right mix of network capabilities to ensure success. Currently there are a few major competitors in telepresence.
Competition
Cisco is known for its robust telepresence systems and is consider a leading vendor. Cisco offers several solutions raging in price from $33,900 to $340,000.00. All solutions include “endpoint hardware, management software, and multipoint switching capabilities (Heck, 2009). At the high end, the Cisco solution provides three screens with two tables for approximately 18 participants who will experience “full spatial audio and life-size video (Heck, 2009). At the low end, Cisco provides a solution for a small private office which is designed for two users Heck 2009).
Hewlett Packer’s telepresence solution is called Halo. HP offers three different packages. The HP solution manages the system via the Halo Video Exchange Network (HVEN), a dedicated fiber optic network. The systems differ in the amount of participants as well as the room setup. Ideally, participates are able to walk into and room and begin a meeting. The highest priced solution is approximately $349,000 and the lowest solution for a small office is $135,000. Additionally, the Halo Telepresence service for the high end solution is $18,000 per month. The lower priced solutions also require a service at a fee of $9,900 per month (Heck, 2009).
Teliris is another competitor that offers various priced packages. The low end solution is designed for small offices and is approximately $32,000. Other solutions range from $99,000 to $125,000. These solutions are considered suitable for four to six participants. Their ultimate telepresence setup is installed, supported and managed by Teliris (Heck, 2009). The Teliris solution provides companies the ability to bring together staff at various locations as if they were in the same location. The high implementation cost of using telepresence as an alternative to the cost of business travel must be carefully evaluated before an organization plunges into this type of technology.
Pros and Cons
The pros and cons to be evaluated were addressed in an article written in 2008 by George F. Colony. Among his findings, he experienced some of the following pros. Telepresence provides a natural experience by integrating high quality sound and video. Participates can find themselves in a setting that is very realistic in that it appears that you are actually looking at person across the room. Colony goes on to say that unlike traditional video conferencing that requires extra work to make a meeting become viable, telepresence just naturally works. Along with seamless integration of presentations, the telepresence experience appears to be idiot proof (Colony, 2008). What is important to note are the possible cons. Colony feels that the value of side conversations with others is lost. Along with missing conversations, so are business card exchanges. Some human elements as “humor or chit-chat” are also lost during telepresence (Colony, 2008). Some other annoyances can be clicking picked up by mics from working on computers and people possibly feeling self conscience as they eat or drink during the conference (Colony, 2008).
In keeping perceptive with virtual workers and possible effects of virtual technologies, Cisco conducted a study of the virtual worker. Surprisingly they found that the extroverts are more adaptable to the virtual environment. The study found that, introverts do not appear to be candidates for the mobile workforce. In this regard, Cisco found that telepresence has assisted management in the employees. For example, a Cisco executive was able to meet face to face via telepresence more regularly, providing a more frequent and in-depth interaction with a particular employee. With telepresence, body language, expressions and speech tones can not only aid in managing employees, but can support trust among colleagues (Conlin 2009).
Applications
Telepresence is suitable for several different industries. Industries include deep water diving, hazardous environments, pipeline inspection, remote surgery and education (www.wikipedia.org (2009). For example, subsea work or deep water diving operations is expensive and telepresence systems can be used for inspection reduce the danger for divers as well as reducing operation costs. Remote surgery and education appear to be natural winners with telepresence. For example, the military is interested in telepresence for surgery in remote areas. In the area of education, telepresence is being investigated to improve teacher development (www.wikipedia.com 2009). The above are just a few examples of the possible applications of telepresence.
Conclusion
Telepresence although expensive to implement brings the idea of video conferencing to the next level. The virtual experience when properly implemented brings a very real-time collaboration among colleagues at various physical locations. A system that reduces business travel expenses is a viable component for large organizations. The telepresence system must be able to produce the life like environment by carefully deploying a system that reduces latency and audio feedback, utilizes bandwidth and share materials among distant parties. With the increased interest in Haptics, or “user interface feedback mechanisms” for a touch sensation, the use of telepresence is bound to expand (Nicolaisen, 2009). The future of telepresence will be experienced as companies realize the benefits outweigh the negatives and the price of telepresence becomes affordable for smaller companies as managed services for telepresence become available..
References
Colin, M. (June 17, 2009). Is there a virtual worker personality? Business Week Online. P1-1, 1p. Retrieved on July 7, 2009 from EBSCO Host databases.
Colony, G. F. (July 17, 2008). TelePresence: video teleconferencing gets real. Retrieved on July 8, 2009 from http://blogs.forrester.com/colony/2008/07/telepresence-vi-html
Heck, M. (June 10, (2009). Telepresence shatters communication barriers. Retrieved on July 7, 2009 from http://www.infoworld.com
Nicolaisen, N. (February 2009). Telepresence Marketplace. Retrieved on July 7, 2009 from the Faulkner databases.
Telepresence (n/a), (2009). Retrieved on July 7, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepresence
What is telepresence and what are its components? (2009). Retrieved on July 9, 2009 from http://www.excitingi.com/344/whit-is telepresence-and-what-are-its-components/