telepresence

noun

tele·​pres·​ence ˌte-lə-ˈpre-zən(t)s 

1

: technology that enables a person to perform actions in a distant or virtual location as if physically present in that location

I was evaluating a new kind of robot that could allow a travel-weary executive to visit any office in the world without ever leaving his or her own desk. The technology is called telepresence, and it takes advantage of the vast information-carrying capacity of the Internet.

—Mark Alpert

The system was developed with funding from the U.S. Army with the main goal of allowing the surgeon to operate through telepresence at a safe distance from a wounded soldier on the battlefield.

—Craig D. Turner

also : the practice of using such technology in the remote operation of a machine (such as a robot)

In telepresence the movements of a human operator on Earth are electronically transmitted to a robot that can reproduce the movements on another planet's surface.

—Paul D. Spudis

While it may seem gimmicky, the fact that telepresence robots offer their controllers a mobile physical presence in another place has a powerful influence on social interactions.

—Helen Knight

2

: the experience of using telepresence technology

It'll take a while before cumbersome VR headsets slim down for everyday use. That's why, inside fledgling startups and tech giants like Google and Facebook, designers are concocting products to make telepresence more compelling and are adding features unique to the digital realm. Collaborative documents, whiteboards, AR, AI.

—Steven Levy

Examples of telepresence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The project, funded by a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, had offshoots focusing on monitoring patients, staff, and resources in senior care centers, as well as providing location context information for people navigating telepresence robots. —IEEE Spectrum, 6 Oct. 2017

Hope for a killer app or use case around remote telepresence to catch fire and drive the vast improvements in the cost and miniaturization of the technology that are currently barriers to its mass appeal. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 20 June 2024

For example, researchers in Japan found that eye contact and life-size scaling significantly enhance social telepresence. —London School Of Economics, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

If only Phil Dunphy’s telepresence robot were real. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 16 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

tele- + presence

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 1