Telepresence Is A Potentially Transformative Tool For Field Science

Field expeditions have long played a critical role in advancing our understanding of the natural world. From the voyage of the Beagle to the HMS Challenger Expedition and the Apollo Moon landings, researchers have visited remote locations to collect samples and in situ data before returning to the laboratory for further analyses. By allowing scientists in remote locations to engage with a network of experts in real time, telepresence could have a transformative effect on field science. Here, scientists at the University of Rhode Island's Inner Space Center use a telepresence link to discuss deep-sea sampling plans with scientists aboard the Research Vessel Atlantis. Image courtesy of Alex DeCiccio (Inner Space Center, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI). Although this approach has been a hallmark of science for centuries, field expeditions can be logistically, technically, and financially challenging. As a result, field science is inherently constrained, placing practical limits on the instrumentation and personnel involved, particularly in cases where site access requires specialized vehicles and equipment. Easing these constraints—while maintaining a human presence in the field to make real-time decisions and enact experimental procedures and repairs—would dramatically enhance the quantity and quality of data derived from field-based science. In recent years, telepresence technology has created such an opportunity to fundamentally change the way we study natural systems. Its broader adoption could have a dramatic effect on science research and data collection in multiple arenas. Telepresence is the practice of using telecommunications technology to simulate physical presence at a site other than one’s true location (1). It has seen a wide range of applications, including efforts to improve access to healthcare through telemedicine (2), equip remote field technicians (3), and enable incapacitated children to “attend” school (4). In the context of expeditionary science, virtual field laboratories have been proposed to …