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TelePresence Tech and Teleportel Team with Sony and Imago to Launch New Era in 3D High Definition Telepresence
- By Anne Meltzer
- Published 09/16/2007
- Articles & Features
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Anne Meltzer
Anne Meltzer is the Editorial Director of the TelepresenceWorld.net Web Portal. Early in her career, she served as Managing Editor for BioScience Magazineand was Manager of Editorial Operations for the AMA publication Archives of Ophthalmology. Anne has a BS degree in anthropology from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA and received her Masters degree in environmental science from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. As Manager of Computer and Network Services at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins for many years, Anne has substantial experience in computer, networking, and software technologies.
View all articles by Anne Meltzer
Sony (www.sonybiz.net), the media and electronics giant, recently announced that they are partnering with Belgian based Teleportel Europe N.V. (www.teleportel.com), the European distribution and support arm of Duffie White’s TelePresence Tech organization and Imago (www.imagogroupplc.com), one of Europe’s leading video conferencing integrators, to “bring unparalleled realism to video conferencing applications with 3D TelePresence™.” The system combines Duffie’s three-dimensional technology with Sony’s PCS-HG90 HD codec and high-definition displays to create a telepresence solution that truly establishes a sense of presence among its participants. 
For many people, when they think of commercial telepresence solutions, they immediately envision a wall-sized array of plasma screens opposite a mirror-image conference table in a room designed to mimic a seamless environment. Duffie White’s vision of telepresence, however, has always been a bit different from other developers. Duffie, who is the founder of TelePresence Technologies, LLC, with offices in Dallas, Texas, (www.TelePresenceTech.com), wants you to believe that a remote conferee is actually present in the room with you, not just on a screen on the wall. He accomplishes this with an advanced optical setup that creates a view of the remote person that seems to appear physically at the conference table with genuine eye contact (below).
Over the years, Duffie has refined this approach with a series of patents to produce a life-size image that makes eye contact with participants in the room and, with superior audio and video, creates an uncanny three-dimensional impression. Currently, TelePresence Tech systems are in operation in 15 countries with customers using codecs from all the major video conferencing companies. While the TelePresence Tech (TPT) display systems will remain compatible with all of the codecs in the market, the announcement by Sony provides validation of the value of the 3D TelePresence™ solution and matches the TPT products with the exceptional quality of the Sony G90.
Currently, a “rollabout” 3D conferencing model without the 50-inch display or the codec is available for $30,000 US, which can total between $40,000 to $70,000 depending on the specification of the codec and monitor. When compared with the cost of some competing telepresence solutions, which can be up to $400,000, the price of these new systems means that 3D TelePresence™ will now be available to a much wider audience. Teleportel founder Luc De Backer notes that “Through our partnership with Sony, we were able to create a more affordable technology. Sony’s superior codec capabilities and significant market presence has enabled us to deliver a powerful and accessible communications tool.” The PCS-HG90 delivers 1280 x 720 resolution HD video at smooth frame rates of 30P and 60P and is considered by developers and integrators to be one of the best systems in the industry, providing 2-way communication in real-time between up to 4 sites via a built-in multipoint control unit (MCU).
The new 3D systems are ideal for intimate “one-to-few” or “few-to-many” telepresence situations, such as academic lectures, training sessions, or board meetings with a remote CEO. Both Teleportel’s and TelePresence Tech’s websites suggest many other applications, including use in medical evaluation carts, retail banking offices, virtual reception desks, point of sales kiosks, etc.
The TelePresence Tech team engineers product designs for computer controlled manufacturing in light-weight aluminum under tight quality control standards at a recently upgraded 192,000 square foot facility in Texas.
In May of 2007, TelePresence Tech announced the development of 3D TelePresence Room™. Instead of facing a wall of flat screens, the 3D TelePresence Room™ creates the illusion that a small group of remote participants are physically in the three-dimensional setting of the room (picture below). The local and remote groups maintain eye contact through integrated cameras which are aligned between individuals. 3D TelePresence Rooms™ are currently being built simultaneously in Dallas, Texas and Brussels, Belgium.
TelePresence Tech will be demonstrating its remarkable technology at Telepresence World 2008 London, which will be held February 26 – 27, 2008, at the Old Billingsgate Market on the banks of the Thames. For more about TelePresence Tech, please visit www.TelePresenceTech.com. Duffie White may be contacted directly with questions or demonstration requests at duffie@TelepresenceTech.com.
Photographs reprinted courtesy of Thomas Chan, Duffie White, and TelePresence Tech.
For many people, when they think of commercial telepresence solutions, they immediately envision a wall-sized array of plasma screens opposite a mirror-image conference table in a room designed to mimic a seamless environment. Duffie White’s vision of telepresence, however, has always been a bit different from other developers. Duffie, who is the founder of TelePresence Technologies, LLC, with offices in Dallas, Texas, (www.TelePresenceTech.com), wants you to believe that a remote conferee is actually present in the room with you, not just on a screen on the wall. He accomplishes this with an advanced optical setup that creates a view of the remote person that seems to appear physically at the conference table with genuine eye contact (below).
Over the years, Duffie has refined this approach with a series of patents to produce a life-size image that makes eye contact with participants in the room and, with superior audio and video, creates an uncanny three-dimensional impression. Currently, TelePresence Tech systems are in operation in 15 countries with customers using codecs from all the major video conferencing companies. While the TelePresence Tech (TPT) display systems will remain compatible with all of the codecs in the market, the announcement by Sony provides validation of the value of the 3D TelePresence™ solution and matches the TPT products with the exceptional quality of the Sony G90.
Currently, a “rollabout” 3D conferencing model without the 50-inch display or the codec is available for $30,000 US, which can total between $40,000 to $70,000 depending on the specification of the codec and monitor. When compared with the cost of some competing telepresence solutions, which can be up to $400,000, the price of these new systems means that 3D TelePresence™ will now be available to a much wider audience. Teleportel founder Luc De Backer notes that “Through our partnership with Sony, we were able to create a more affordable technology. Sony’s superior codec capabilities and significant market presence has enabled us to deliver a powerful and accessible communications tool.” The PCS-HG90 delivers 1280 x 720 resolution HD video at smooth frame rates of 30P and 60P and is considered by developers and integrators to be one of the best systems in the industry, providing 2-way communication in real-time between up to 4 sites via a built-in multipoint control unit (MCU).
The new 3D systems are ideal for intimate “one-to-few” or “few-to-many” telepresence situations, such as academic lectures, training sessions, or board meetings with a remote CEO. Both Teleportel’s and TelePresence Tech’s websites suggest many other applications, including use in medical evaluation carts, retail banking offices, virtual reception desks, point of sales kiosks, etc.
The TelePresence Tech team engineers product designs for computer controlled manufacturing in light-weight aluminum under tight quality control standards at a recently upgraded 192,000 square foot facility in Texas. In May of 2007, TelePresence Tech announced the development of 3D TelePresence Room™. Instead of facing a wall of flat screens, the 3D TelePresence Room™ creates the illusion that a small group of remote participants are physically in the three-dimensional setting of the room (picture below). The local and remote groups maintain eye contact through integrated cameras which are aligned between individuals. 3D TelePresence Rooms™ are currently being built simultaneously in Dallas, Texas and Brussels, Belgium.
TelePresence Tech will be demonstrating its remarkable technology at Telepresence World 2008 London, which will be held February 26 – 27, 2008, at the Old Billingsgate Market on the banks of the Thames. For more about TelePresence Tech, please visit www.TelePresenceTech.com. Duffie White may be contacted directly with questions or demonstration requests at duffie@TelepresenceTech.com.
Photographs reprinted courtesy of Thomas Chan, Duffie White, and TelePresence Tech.
