Telepresence

Telepresence is the use of technology to create the sensation of being physically present in a remote location—spanning video conferencing, robotic avatars, holographic displays, and full VR-mediated remote presence.

The COVID-19 pandemic permanently elevated telepresence from a niche technology to essential infrastructure. Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet became the default meeting layer for knowledge work. But flat video calls capture only a fraction of the information density of in-person interaction—no spatial audio, no peripheral awareness, no sense of shared space. This gap drives the next generation of telepresence technology.

Spatial telepresence aims to restore what video strips away. Meta's Codec Avatars project creates photorealistic, real-time 3D representations of remote participants. Apple's Vision Pro enables "spatial Personas" where FaceTime participants appear as volumetric representations in shared virtual space. Telepresence robots (Double Robotics, OhmniLabs) give remote workers a physical presence they can navigate through offices. Holographic displays promise meeting-room-quality 3D presence without headsets.

The convergence with AI agents adds another dimension. An AI agent can attend meetings on your behalf, take notes, ask questions, and report back—a form of cognitive telepresence that extends beyond physical presence simulation. AI-powered real-time translation, captioning, and summarization make cross-language, cross-timezone collaboration more practical. As smart glasses with AR displays mature, telepresence may become ambient: remote colleagues appear as persistent AR presences in your peripheral vision, available for quick interaction without the friction of initiating a call.