Videoconferencing and Tele-Presence

Introduction

Videoconferencing and Telepresence has created a boom in the past twenty years or so. There are new technologies evolving on an ongoing basis and organizations are adopting these new technologies. There is an increased use of these technologies in most industries, especially the information technology industry. Video conferencing and telepresence have many benefits, but that does not mean there are no underlying limitations. A lot of literature has been produced on these technologies in recent times. Telepresence is the set of technologies that allow someone to be present somewhere they cannot be present physically. The presence is enabled due to telerobotics. There is a lot of use of these technologies in the future, also.

Telepresence allows the user to give the senses a feel of their presence. There is an audio and visual aspect to telepresence. Many companies use telepresence and videoconferencing for carrying out their meetings in different locations. The most popular application is telepresence videoconferencing, which is regarded as the top most level of videotelephony. The telepresence via videoconferencing involves ample sophistication of technical ability. It also involves a lot of technical detail in terms of providing proper sound. The best thing now is that there is the existence of telepresence and videoconferencing in hand-held devices. These devices allow for the mobility of people all over the world. Now the meetings are not restricted to boardrooms.

Discussion

There has been an introduction of 3G technologies, which are mostly present in videophones and camera phones. These technologies and devices have led the society to a tipping point (Gladwell, pp. 01). The tipping point is a duration of time where the world views have the capability to change. The change will be in terms of how people perceive video technology. This technology has been used in the recent years in the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq. Majority of the images that were transmitted were through video technology. Also, people are using video technology on a daily basis in schools, malls, parks, homes and everywhere else. This is in the form of the camera and videophones that are used to record the events in their life. “Since these pioneering days, school usage of videoconferencing has begun to extend the range and potential of the technology in terms of the mode of interaction (one-to-one, many-to-many conferencing, one-to-many), accessories (document cameras, application sharing), videoconferencing equipment (video links, dedicated audio, webcams, and videophones) connectivity (TCP/IP, ISDN), and pedagogies employed (project work, lecture-at-a-distance, virtual tours, peer tutoring , etc)” (Lawson et al, 2010, pp. 02). The videoconferencing market is worth millions or billions of dollars on a global level (Manley, pp. 01).

There is an increased use of the video technology by the media and by students in educational institutes. A simple definition of videoconferencing is the synchronization of audio and video communication through computers and telephone networks. This is done between two or more geographically dispersed locations (Cole, Ray and Zanetis, pp. 01). If one person is in a different city or country, they ...