ARHT Media’s ‘Holopresence’ — a futuristic option for virtual appearances?
As we move closer to the metaverse and continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of holograms and telepresence are getting more attention. This week, I met with ARHT Media, a Toronto-based company with a modern-day answer for presenters who need to get to virtual remote locations without risking their health. It’s a telepresence solution called Holopresence geared toward on-stage performances (and it could be an option for remote live performances, as well).
The problem
Whether they’re business leaders, politicians, or performers, highly valued people hop on planes routinely to get to remote events. If an event is virtual, they don’t need to travel — but many localized events still want an audience. The energy from a live audience has yet to be successfully duplicated by a virtual event. Speakers used to talking in front of real people often struggle when talking to a camera. And when a speaker appears at a remote conference via video streaming, it not only feels artificial to the people on hand, but the speaker generally can’t see the audience — making it harder to get timing right or read the room in real time.