New $23 million research centre by NTU, ETH Zurich and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill will make virtual communication a reality

This Singapore-Swiss-American partnership that spans three continents will revolutionise human communication in the 21st century

Singapore, 26 January 2011 – Need to have a conference with others thousands of kilometres away? A glass-walled room lets all parties interact as if you were all together at one location.

Can’t be physically present for a meeting? Send your avatar which will take on your appearance as well as gestures and even give you a report of the meeting at the end.

Sounds like science fiction? Not at all. These are some of the advanced and sophisticated forms of interactive real-time 3-D communication, known as “telepresence” and “telecollaboration” that we can look forward to in the near future.