Telepresence

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Telepresence

• Allowing widely distributed individuals or groups
  to communicate as if they were together in one
  room

Andy Quay Associate Director Digital Worlds
Institute University of Florida
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How do we communicate?

• Visual
• Audio
• Tactile

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Common forms of electronic interaction

• Phone
• Email
• Fax
• Chat rooms
• Web pages
• Internet cams
• Computer documents
• Shared whiteboards
• Media (tape)

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Telepresence Requirements

• Technology should not be a limiting factor
• Interact naturally without being encumbered by
  equipment limitations or distractions
• Visual and audio interactions should include the
  entire setting
• Realism and detail

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SENSORAMA by Morton Heilig (1965)
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Viewpoint Dependent Imaging (1981)
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VIEWlab, NASA Ames Research Center (1985-1990)
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Commercial
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Video Needs

• Larger images engender a greater sense of
  presence
• Greater frame rates smoother motion
• Larger image resolution for greater detail and
  realism

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Audio Needs

• Fidelity improves believability
• 3D spatialization provides position
• Correct environmental modeling increases
  believability

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The Access Grid

• Supports large-scale distributed meetings,
  collaborative work sessions, seminars, lectures,
  tutorials, and training
• Enables both formal and informal group
  interactions
• Group to group communication

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Examples Spaces Argonne National Laboratory
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Examples Nodes University of Kentucky
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Examples Nodes Ohio Supercomputing Center
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Examples Nodes San Diego Supercomputer Center
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Examples Nodes NCSA
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AG Example Screen
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AG Diagram
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AG Visual Components

• Camera(s)
• Video display(s)

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AG - Audio Components

• Microphone(s)
• Speaker(s)
• Audio Processor
• Echo Control
• Feedback Control
• Noise Reduction
• Automatic Gain Control

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AG - Computer Components

• Video Server
• Display Server
• Audio Machine
• Control Machine
• Networking Equipment

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AG Current Capabilities

• Display ? 3 commodity Projectors
• Video ? QCIF (½ NTSC) x 20 streams
• Audio ? 16 bit mono/stereo ? multichannel
• Network ? multicast enabled 20 Mbit/s

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Digital Worlds Access Grid(Media Monolith)
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Digital Worlds Access Grid(Fine Arts Conference
Room)
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Digital Worlds Access Grid(Portable System)
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Digital Worlds Improvements?

• Video
• quality
• multiple cameras for higher resolution (tile or
  progressive)
• subject recognition
• Stereo (with Motion parallax)
• Local and remote camera control
• Audio
• Quality
• Channels
• Spatial
• Environmental modeling

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Digital Worlds Improvements?

• GUI
• Better document sharing and annotation
• Integration with smaller spaces
• Tools for the artist
• Cost
• Portability

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Dancing Beyond Boundaries

• Distributed real-time collaboration for November
  conference in Denver
• Can internationally distributed dancers,
  musicians, graphic artists, videographers, and
  choreographers create, rehearse, and perform a
  collaborative work?
• Can we use just the Access Grid?

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DanceTechVery short history

• Seven performances while at Georgia Tech
• Integrating technology and dance

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Dancing Beyond Boundaries - Locations
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Dancing Beyond Boundaries
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Dancing Beyond Boundaries
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Dancing Beyond Boundaries
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Dancing Beyond Boundaries
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Dancing Beyond Boundaries