Editing Telepresence (section)

== History ==

{{See also|History of videotelephony}}
In a pioneering paper, the U.S. cognitive scientist [[Marvin Minsky]] attributed the development of the idea of telepresence to science fiction author [[Robert A. Heinlein]]: "My first vision of a remote-controlled economy came from Robert A. Heinlein's prophetic 1948 novel, Waldo," wrote Minsky.<ref name="Minsky"/> In his science fiction short story "[[Waldo (short story)|Waldo]]" (1942), Heinlein first proposed a primitive telepresence master-slave manipulator system.

The ''Brother Assassin'', written by [[Fred Saberhagen]] in 1969, introduced the complete concept for a telepresence master-slave humanoid system. In the novel, the concept is described as follows: "And a moment later it seemed to all his senses that he had been transported from the master down into the body of the slave-unit standing beneath it on the floor. As the control of its movements passed over to him, the slave started gradually to lean to one side, and he moved its foot to maintain balance as naturally as he moved his own. Tilting back his head, he could look up through the slave's eyes to see the master-unit, with himself inside, maintaining the same attitude on its complex suspension."
[[File:Louis Rosenberg Augmented Reality Rig.png|thumb|Early system for immersive telepresence (USAF, 1992 - [[Virtual fixture|Virtual Fixtures]])]]
The term ''telepresence'', a neologism due to the futurist [[Patrick Gunkel]], was introduced to the public in a 1980 article by Minsky, who outlined his vision for an adapted version of the older concept of [[telerobotics|teleoperation]] that focused on giving a remote participant a feeling of actually being present at a different location.<ref name="Minsky">{{cite news| author = Marvin Minsky| title = Telepresence| work = [[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]| date = June 1980| url = http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/Telepresence.html}}</ref>  One of the first systems to create a fully immersive illusion of presence in a remote location was the [[Virtual fixture|Virtual Fixtures]] platform developed in 1992 at the U.S. Air Force's [[Armstrong Labs]] by inventor Louis Rosenberg.  The system included stereoscopic image display from the remote environment as well as immersive touch feedback using a full upper-body exoskeleton.<ref name="KimRosenberg1993">{{cite conference|last1=Kim|first1=Won S.|last2=Rosenberg|first2=Louis B.|title=Virtual fixtures as tools to enhance operator performance in telepresence environments |journal=Proceedings|conference=Proc. SPIE 2057, Telemanipulator Technology and Space Telerobotics |volume=2057|date=21 December 1993|pages=10–21|issn=0277-786X|doi=10.1117/12.164901}}</ref><ref>L. B. Rosenberg. [https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a292450.pdf The Use of Virtual Fixtures As Perceptual Overlays to Enhance Operator Performance in Remote Environments]. Technical Report AL-TR-0089, USAF Armstrong Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB OH, 1992.</ref><ref>Rosenberg, "Virtual Fixtures: Perceptual Overlays Enhance Operator Performance in Telepresence Tasks," Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University.</ref>

The first commercially successful telepresence company, ''Teleport'' (which was later renamed ''TeleSuite''), was founded in 1993 by David Allen and Herold Williams.<ref>[http://www.humanproductivitylab.com/telepresencepaper/hpl_telepresence_paper.pdf Human Productivity Lab Whitepaper]</ref> Before TeleSuite, they ran a resort business from which the original concept emerged because they often found businesspeople would have to cut their stays short to participate in important meetings. Their idea was to develop a technology that would allow businesspeople to attend their meetings without leaving the resorts so that they could lengthen their hotel stays.

[[File:TANDBERG E20.jpg|thumb|A [[Tandberg E20]] high resolution [[Videotelephony|videoconferencing phone]] meant to replace conventional desktop phones]]

[[Hilton Hotels]] had originally licensed to install them in their hotels throughout the United States and other countries, but use was low.  The idea lost momentum, with Hilton eventually backing out. TeleSuite later began to focus less on the [[hospitality industry]] and more on business-oriented telepresence systems. Shareholders eventually held enough stock to replace the company's original leadership, which ultimately led to its collapse.{{citation needed|date=August 2010}} David Allen purchased all of the assets of TeleSuite and appointed Scott Allen as president<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/2008/07/one_on_one_with_glowpoint_ceo//|title=Telepresence Options Website|first=Telepresence|last=Options|date=28 April 2018|website=www.telepresenceoptions.com}}</ref> of the new company called ''Destiny Conferencing''.

Destiny Conferencing licensed its patent portfolio to [[Hewlett-Packard|HP]] which became the first large company to join the telepresence industry, soon followed by others such as [[Cisco]] and [[Polycom]] (now called Poly).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://telephonyonline.com/broadband/news/telecom_ready_closeup_2/index5.html |title=Telepresence: Ready For Its Close-Up |date=March 17, 2008 |first=Dawn |last=Bushaus}}</ref> After forming a distribution agreement with Pleasanton-based Polycom (now Poly), Destiny Conferencing sold on January 5, 2007, to [[Polycom]] (now Poly) for $60 million.
[[File:First Telepresence System (TeleSuite).jpg|thumb|First Telepresence Systems in 1993 (TeleSuite): [[Englewood, Ohio]] to New York City]]

A telepresence research project started in 1990.  Located at the [[University of Toronto]], the Ontario Telepresence Project (OTP) was an interdisciplinary effort involving social sciences and engineering. Its final report stated that it "...was a three year, $4.8 million pre-competitive research project whose mandate was to design and field trial advanced [[media space]] systems in a variety of workplaces in order to gain insights into key sociological and engineering issues. The OTP, which has ended in December 1994, was part of the International Telepresence Project which linked Ontario researchers to their counterparts in four European nations. The Project's major sponsor was the [[Government of Ontario]], through two of its Centres of Excellence—the Information Technology Research Centre (ITRC) and the Telecommunications Research Institute of Ontario (TRIO)."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/tp/techdocs/Final_Report.pdf|title=Final Report|website=toronto.edu}}</ref>