Tag Archives: telepresence

Opus Codec

Posted on by

Opus 1.1 includes:

  • new analysis code and tuning that significantly improves encoding quality, especially for variable-bitrate (VBR),
  • automatic detection of speech or music to decide which encoding mode to use,
  • surround with good quality at 128 kbps for 5.1 and usable down to 48 kbps, and
  • speed improvements on all architectures, especially ARM, where decoding uses around 40% less CPU and encoding uses around 30% less CPU.

These improvements are explained in more details in Monty’s demo (updated from the 1.1 beta demo).

via Opus Codec.

From the Xiph.org developers

Opus is a codec designed for interactive usages, such as VoIP, telepresence, and remote jamming, that require very low latency. In this test Opus is running with 22.5ms of total latency but the codec can go as low as 5ms. Making a codec for low latency requires serious tradeoffs which reduce efficiency, so it might seem a bit strange to test it against a collection of state-of-the-art codecs which are completely unsuitable for these low-latency applications.

Double Robotics – Telepresence Robot for Telecommuters

Posted on by

Double is the ultimate tool for telecommuting. From anywhere in the world, you have a physical presence in the office and can speak to co-workers at anytime. Double is a remotely controlled, mobile teleconferencing system, enabling conversations to happen anywhere and anytime.

via Double Robotics – Telepresence Robot for Telecommuters.

These do seem a little creepy. They appear built on Segway tech and priced at $2500. There could be some use for these such as being able to walk around a museum as shown in the video below. How much would someone pay to do walk around on your own at the Louvre in Paris without having to fly there? Perhaps one day these robots become ubiquitous to a point where entire meeting rooms consist of nothing but these robots talking with other robots.

Double by Double Robotics – Buy Now from Double Robotics on Vimeo.

Business Grade Instant Messaging and Presence

Posted on by

Microsoft® Lync® is an enterprise-ready unified communications platform. With Lync, users can keep track of their contacts’ availability; send an IM; start or join an audio, video, or web conference; or make a phone call—all through a consistent, familiar interface. Lync is built to fully integrate with Microsoft Office. The Microsoft Lync 2010 desktop client is available for Windows and for Mac and mobile versions are available for Windows Phone, iPhone/iPad, and Android devices.

via Business Grade Instant Messaging and Presence – Microsoft Lync.