Speculations on the value of telepresence

Synthetic environments (SE) feature computer-mediated interaction with an environment physically separate from the user. An SE allows human perceptual, cognitive, and psychomotor capabilities to be projected into distant, dangerous, or simulated environments. This article examines some aspects of application of immersive/telepresence interfaces and discusses how the new technology fits into a user-centered design approach to teleoperators and virtual environments. The central theme of an immersive/telepresence design approach is that the world may be displayed to a user as if that person were physically present in a computermediated world. However, the ability of SEs to re-create a computer-mediated world by using immersive displays does not annul the responsibility of designers to tailor interfaces to meet the task-dependant needs of users. Whether functioning in reality or a virtual reality, interfaces must satisfy user information requirements to optimize performance. It does not necessarily follow that the combination of immersive interfaces, strict reproduction of the remote world, and telepresence gives users the most efficient human-machine interface. Other aspects of human behavior, such as concentration and attentional resource allocation or situation awareness, which are not necessarily encompassed by the concept of telepresence, need to be considered in the interface design.