Cisco's TelePresence: not yet virtual reality

By Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 24 October 2006 09:38

Opinion and Analysis

Cisco has launched its upmarket videoconferencing system, TelePresence accompanied by claims that it is the only system that makes you feel as if you are in the same room with other people, even those on the other side of the world. But I've seen videoconferencing that's way in advance of this.
It was, honestly, a very close substitute for being there, but more of that anon. The first product implementation of the Cisco TelePresence system comprises life-size, ultra high-definition video screens, spatial audio, a specially designed environment, and "interactive elements to create the feeling of being 'in-person' with participants in remote locations."

From the images I've seen on the Cisco website you sit in a conference room in front of a battery of these high definition screens displaying life size images of the tele-participants in the video conference.

The system, in France Telecom's research lab in Beijing last November, was a quantum lead beyond this. We were ushered into a room for a demonstration of an unspecified technology which, we were told would be impressive. And it certainly was.

There sat side by side at desk behind floor to ceiling angled glass were what seemed at first glance to be two women. That was an illusion. The women were half way across the world in another FT research lab, but it was very easy to believe that they were there in the flesh.