Editing Telepresence (section)

== Related technologies ==

=== Virtual presence (virtual reality) ===
[[File:App03 telepresence 01 with light.jpg|thumb|An online video web conference in an office, December 2010]]
''Telepresence'' refers to a user interacting with another live, real place, and is distinct from ''[[Virtual reality|virtual presence]]'', where the user is given the impression of being in a simulated environment. Telepresence and virtual presence rely on similar user-interface equipment, and they share the common feature that the relevant portions of the user's experience at some point in the process will be transmitted in an abstract (usually [[Digital data|digital]]) representation. The main functional difference is the entity on the other end: a real environment in the case of telepresence, vs. a [[computer]] in the case of [[immersive virtual reality]].

Presence is very similar to distal attribution or externalization which is like projecting one's presence and mind beyond the limits of our sensory organs and perceiving the environment in such a way. A distinction is made between two separate perceptions. The first being the unmediated perceptions in which we are unable to feel anything beyond our physical surroundings. The second being the mediated presence through technology which forces us to suddenly perceive two different environments at the same time: The one immediately around us and the one projected for us through technology. Mediated experiences are not limited to virtual technology and can also be experienced with spatially distant places such as space with a telescope or a camera.<ref name="Steuer1992">{{cite journal|last1=Steuer|first1=Jonathan|title=Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions Determining Telepresence|journal=Journal of Communication|volume=42|issue=4|year=1992|pages=73–93|issn=0021-9916|doi=10.1111/j.1460-2466.1992.tb00812.x}}</ref>