Telepresence services are future communication services that were originally planned to be implemented in 2030 networks, but the need for these services in a pandemic dictates their accelerated implementation. Telepresence services include holographic copies of a person, a variety of augmented reality applications, network remote control of robots. Such services can only be implemented with the required quality of service on base of the transmission systems operating at Tb/s rates.

At the Department of Communications and Data Transmission of St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications we create the telepresence services model network. It is equipped with SDN switches, Russian-developed DWDM system “Volga”, holographic fan, augmented reality glasses, RGB-D cameras, and Arduino-based sensing gloves and robotic arms.

The telepresence services model network is intended for scientific and education purposes. We hope that the obtained research and development results will help to create affordable and efficient telepresence systems that allows people from the remote areas get access to the variety of services, including distant health care, education, and employment. Also, our model network will help to educate a new generation of specialists who will know firsthand what telepresence services are and how to provide them to users in the best possible way.

http://www.seti.sut.ru/model-network-for-telepresence-services/

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Georgia
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Mongolia
• Tajikistan
• Turkmenistan
• Ukraine
• Russian Federation
• Uzbekistan

• Remote and rural communities

All equipment that makes up the model network is available for free sale and has a relatively low cost. All developments and research results have been published or are planned for publication. Thus, similar systems for organizing telepresence services can be deployed in any other places.

Despite the tremendous gains in equity in recent years, the opportunities for access to knowledge and services vary significantly in different countries and region. So, people living in large metropolitan areas in developed countries still have more opportunities in education, employment, health care than people living in small towns in remote regions and developing countries. In many ways, this problem is related to the digital divide and requires a comprehensive solution. One of the approaches to overcome this inequality is to expand the functionality of services for remote interaction, in particular, the development of augmented reality services, remote control of robots, remote transmission of tactile and kinesthetic information. The model network for telepresence services allows to investigate the ways to provide such services and create affordable and efficient telepresence systems.