[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/14340\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETech moves to holograms, fine dining and teleporting classes for more immersive experience\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Maurizio Murroni, associate professor of telecommunications at the University of Cagliari in Italy, Star Wars is much more than a science fiction film franchise \u2013 it is a source of inspiration for his work.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn the Star Wars universe, they regularly project holograms of people to have conversations across the galaxy,\u201d Murroni said, explaining his fascination. \u201cThat\u2019s what we are building right now.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMurroni leads an EU-funded initiative called HEAT, which is developing immersive telepresence technologies with low-latency \u2013 keeping delays close to zero \u2013 to bring holographic communication closer to everyday reality.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHow would that work?\u0026nbsp;A standard camera, such as the one on a smartphone, could scan a person. That scan can then be transmitted across the globe and turned into a hologram, visible through virtual reality headsets or projectors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHolograms have been around for a while. In 2012, for example, a hologram of deceased US rap singer Tupac was projected onto the stage of the Coachella Valley Music \u0026amp; Arts Festival.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, however, they have remained mostly a showbiz gimmick, without much impact on everyday life.\u0026nbsp;Many of these early systems were expensive and unwieldy to use, and required very fast internet connections.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInitiatives like HEAT are trying to change that. The researchers aim to make immersive telepresence practical at home, through holograms and a range of other technologies, from virtual and augmented reality to realistic avatars in virtual worlds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESuch systems could be crucial for uses ranging from teleconferencing to healthcare, connecting people who are physically distant.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDuring COVID-19 we all saw how important it was to offer a real experience to people,\u201d said Murroni. \u201cWe want to bring people together.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETelepresence tech brings holograms home\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHEAT is not alone in this effort. Another EU-funded initiative, SPIRIT, is working towards a similar goal. With testbeds in Germany, Belgium and the UK, it is focused on making immersive telepresence more accessible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBehind the holograms, the real hurdle is the network carrying all that data. Much of SPIRIT\u2019s work targets this underlying infrastructure \u2013 a key bottleneck for the technology\u2019s wider adoption.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETransporting data efficiently is\u0026nbsp;essential for data-intensive applications like real-time telepresence. The SPIRIT team has tested and improved network protocols to enable this. \u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EImagine if students could jump across the solar system. They could get close to the Sun and feel its heat.\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EMaurizio Murroni, HEAT\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen you are doing a video call, you use a protocol to send packets of data,\u201d said Tim Wauters, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Ghent and the research centre Imec, in Belgium.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe improved some of these protocols and reduced the latency, or delay on the signal, from a number of seconds to milliseconds.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat can make a huge difference for certain tasks at a distance. Short delays allow people to interact more naturally.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMusicians could play seamlessly together online, conversations will flow and doctors might be able to assess health issues via a video stream.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFine dining in your living room\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe SPIRIT team has tested these network advances in real-world trials. For example, Mugaritz, a Basque restaurant with two Michelin stars near San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain, approached the team to help recreate their restaurant experience virtually.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether with SPIRIT researchers, they designed an immersive restaurant setting that participants could engage with from home.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou consume the dishes at home, but have the feeling of being in a restaurant,\u201d said Peter Van Daele, a professor at Ghent University and Imec, and SPIRIT project coordinator. \u201cIt\u2019s an extreme example, but it shows what we are capable of.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey ran a small pilot involving 50 people who used virtual reality glasses to engage with each other during dinner.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EA doctor might use this technology to talk to and look at a patient.\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EPeter Van Daele, SPIRIT\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to their own research, the SPIRIT researchers also invited people from across Europe to propose their own telepresence projects and get SPIRIT support. The Mugaritz dining experience was one of several pilots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther projects go far beyond restaurant visits. Telepresence could support psychological therapy, remote robot control and more engaging forms of training. It may also change how we receive healthcare.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA doctor might use this technology to talk to and look at a patient,\u201d said Van Daele. \u201cWe even developed tactile systems whereby the doctor can feel parts of the patient\u2019s body from a distance.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFeel and smell: from classrooms to theatre stages\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEducation is another likely beneficiary of telepresence. \u201cImagine if students could jump across the solar system,\u201d said Murroni. \u201cThey could get close to the Sun and feel its heat. Or they could go to Mercury\u2019s craters and feel the cold on the dark side of the planet and the heat on its light side.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe breakthroughs achieved by the SPIRIT and HEAT teams are helping to spark a wave of creative experimentation in other fields. \u201cWe are providing tools to creatives, where they can go beyond the realities of the normal world,\u201d said Murroni.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe HEAT researchers, for example, have worked with theatres. \u201cWhat if actors could use smells to create emotions in their theatre audience?\u201d asked Murroni.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are working with theatres on this. A headset could be used to transfer smell. They are now creating an artistic act using this. Audiences could smell wine and cheese during a lunch scene.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWorking together with artists and creatives is, according to Murroni, the biggest advantage of a project like HEAT.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs a scientist, I find it great to interact with artists,\u201d said Murroni. \u201cThey are not engineers and they offer these wholly fresh perspectives.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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