Beyond Bunkspace: Telepresence for Deep Sea Exploration

During this multi-year deployment of research vessel (R/V) telepresence (2019–2022), ocean science teams engaged in synchronous working sessions using visual, audio, and textual communication channels over satellite networks while at sea. The system discussed in this paper provides a unique look at telepresence where the stakes are high regarding safety for the people aboard the research vessel, cost per minute of ship time, and opportunity cost of delays in coordination between the scientists, robot operators, and ship’s crew. These high stakes are addressed by creating a formal organizational chain of command with clearly defined roles and responsibilities that also played out in the use of telepresence. We report the empirical results of our interviews with R/V telepresence users (N=29) and behavioral observations of shadowing three telepresence sessions. We present our findings as a source of inspiration for hybrid, geographically distributed work teams, including using more formalized telepresence roles with differing levels of access to communications channels.