AccessBot: an Enabling Technology for Telepresence

Abstract

The goal of the AccessBot^TM project is to provide a new form of access for the disabled that integrates teleconferencing with life-sized display screens, robotics and high speed networking, to create a virtual presence for the handicapped participant at meetings. The use of a life-sized display and high-fidelity video and audio conferencing rather than existing conference room meeting systems is to ensure that the handicapped participant commands as equal a presence as the regular participants in the meeting. The use of a zoom/pan/tilt camera empowers the handicapped participant with capabilities beyond what is "humanly" possible- giving them a "bionic" eye with which they can see far greater distances. This paper will describe the implementation of the AccessBot and the lessons learned from its deployment at the Supercomputing 1998 conference in Orlando, Florida; and at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications' ACCESS Center in Washington D.C. Introduction The problem o...