The idea of useful garden automation is an attractive one, but that is not what this book is about. The reference is to a small circular garden, shown on the front cover and on page five, with equipment above it that can be centred on any point to allow remote inspection and manipulation. The emphasis is on the remoteness of the interaction and its implications for epistemology, or what we term reality. The remote observer/operator may not know whether the garden physically exists or is a simulation, and in either case there is an interesting sense in which it is also “telepresent” at the remote observation/control location.
The garden that is pictured is real and exists in Vienna and can be inspected and tended through the Internet. The term “telerobotics” does not usually refer to intelligent, autonomous robots of the kind we would like to see tending our gardens (and able to distinguish dandelions from, say, petunias and to operate accordingly). The emphasis is on remotely‐controlled manipulation devices, though where communication is difficult, as with planetary rovers, this may be combined with a considerable degree of autonomy. Other applications of telerobots that are mentioned include bomb disposal and, interestingly, surgery.
Of the 18 chapters in the book, two are introductory and the remainder are grouped under the four headings of:
- 1.
(1) “Philosophy”, with five chapters;
- 2.
(2) “Art, history and critical theory”, with six chapters;
- 3.
(3) “Engineering, interface and system design”, with four chapters; and
- 4.
(4) a single‐chapter epilogue.
Of the two introductory chapters, the first gives a useful overview of the rest of the book, while the second is mainly concerned with the kind of telepresence provided by “Web cams” or television cameras arranged to transmit live over the Internet.
Interesting topics are raised under the heading of philosophy. It is claimed that earlier philosophical theories, especially those of Descartes concerning the relationship of perception to the outside world, were influenced by the invention of the microscope and the telescope. The telepresence allowed by the Internet represents a further step in remote sensing which also affects the viewpoint. Much attention is given to the difference between proximal experience (which in some circumstances might be termed “hands‐on” or “face‐to‐face”) and the mediated kind provided by technology. One aspect is that of morality, since the feelings about seeing other people subjected to violence or other unpleasantness may be different according to whether they are experienced proximally or by mediation.
In the papers under the heading of “Art, history and critical theory”, a good deal of attention is given to various kinds of immersive or interactive environments for instruction or entertainment. Attempts to produce immersive experiences go back well before the computer age and include early religious constructions as well as displays of the “diorama” type (of which that in Moscow representing the Battle of Borodino is probably the best known). Experimental interactive performances are described. The pioneerrag work of Gordon Pask (1971) and the Russian “colour music” which he mentions are not explicitly mentioned but are also examples of immersive presentations.
Topics discussed in this section of the book inevitably impinge on the related topic of virtual reality and there are pictures of people encased in VR gadgetry. The main focus of the book, however, is on effective presence at a distance, which is not necessarfly a feature of VR, though both are accepted as aspects of cyberspace. A term that was new to me occurs in the descriptions, as “teleborg” to indicate a person, probably cloaked so as to be unrecognisable, and obeying instructions from a remote controller. The word “avatar” has a similar meaning but usually refers to a digitally constructed entity. (Fans of Star Trek will recognise the word “Borg” as denoting a super‐organism within which the unsympathetic character Seven of Nine is assimilated, but there may or may not be a connection.)
One of the chapters under the heading of “Engineering, interface and system design” reviews the development of remote manipulators, starting with purely mechanical devices used to handle radioactive material behind a glass screen. Electrical actuation allowed greater flexibility and greater separation of the controller from the scene of manipulation, and finally control using computers and eventually the Internet became possible. Control via the Internet inevitably introduces variable delay which could cause an operator to overshoot in making adjustments and could degrade the feeling of telepresence. Techniques for minimising these disadvantages are described.
The final, epilogue, chapter actually dates from 1945 and is a vigorous advocacy of a new approach to psychology encouraged by consideration of techniques of film making. It is argued that people are aware of their surroundings as a whole, including features that are hidden at any given time and combining inputs from the various sensory modalities. The new approach accepts this awareness and is presented as superseding earlier approaches examining, for example, specific sensory pathways. It is not made clear, though it must be true, that the earlier approaches are still valid and important and complementary to the comprehensive view. The spirited presentation is a reminder of the importance of what Sherrington (1906), the great pioneer of neurophysiology, described as the “integrative action of the nervous system”.
The book contains a wealth of intriguing and perceptive comments and discussions of aspects of the kind of telepresence, or existence in cyberspace, now possible by digital means and becoming increasingly relevant to Internet use.
