The Turing Test for Telepresence
Mathias Johanson

TL;DR
This paper proposes a Turing Test for telepresence systems to evaluate if their user experience matches that of face-to-face interactions, analyzing current technology and future challenges.
Contribution
It introduces an optimality condition for telepresence systems based on human perception, guiding future development to achieve indistinguishability from face-to-face meetings.
Findings
Current telepresence tech approaches face perceptual limits
Designing systems to pass the Turing Test requires addressing human perception challenges
Feasibility of achieving this goal with near-future technology is discussed
Abstract
The quality of high-end videoconferencing systems has improved significantly over the last few years enabling a class of applications known as "telepresence" wherein the users engaged in a communication session experience a feeling of mutual presence in a shared virtual space. Telepresence systems have reached a maturity level that seriously challenges the old familiar truism that a face-to-face meeting is always better than a technology-mediated alternative. To explore the state of the art in telepresence technology and outline future opportunities, this paper proposes an optimality condition, expressed as a "Turing Test," whereby the subjective experience of using a telepresence system is compared to the corresponding face-to-face situation. The requirements and challenges of designing a system passing such a Turing Test for telepresence are analyzed with respect to the limits of…
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Taxonomy
TopicsVirtual Reality Applications and Impacts · Social Robot Interaction and HRI
