Telepresence: Communications and Virtual Transportation

The demand for transportation is primarily an expression of a desire to interact directly with some other person or with some other aspect of the world. That is, any demand for transportation – which is costly in both resources and time – derives from an underlying demand for some direct experience or communication that the travel facilitates. Because of this, any technology that can also enable some fashion of interaction or communication for an individual can serve as a substitute for actual travel and the physical proximity that travel makes possible. Humans (and other species) have devised means of communication at a distance that permit information to be sent and received from others, although these means may be more coarse and less nuanced tools for communications than is direct interaction at a common location. In the past century, rapid developments in electronic and digital communications tools have allowed transmission of increasingly complex messages that verge closer and closer to actual physical presence. We term the (as yet unattained) culmination of these developments “telepresence,” noting that this term is already in use by some business firms for proprietary forms of high fidelity video-conferencing services. In this paper we examine these recent and imminent developments in digital and virtual interactions and communications. They are enabling levels of verisimilitude, complexity and capability that rival and substitute for actual personal interaction. We examine the trends and possibilities that characterize the future development of telepresence, and outline how telepresence can interact with modes of physical travel. We then consider some potential economic and societal impacts of telepresence by examining demographic, economic and environmental consequences of increased use of telecommuting and at home work that replaces some of the physical costs of the nation’s workplaces. We discuss the integration of these telepresence capabilities into two broad economic and demographic models currently being used to examine socio-economic scenarios and assess their consequences for transportation investment requirements. We conclude with a consideration of next steps for better understanding the ways in which telepresence capabilities can contribute to national goals and federal investment requirements