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We do a lot of research and development in the broad area of "telepresence." Basically, what is needed to make a person feel like they are somewhere else, and how can a person then communicate and collaborate in that virtual or mixed environment. Systems have gotten better, but there are some fundamental obstacles that still are hard research problems. We have tech that can automatically track and judge engagement, mood, etc - they can work well, but still not a substitute for a good human "reader." The head mounted displays (e.g. Oculus) probably will be another leap forward, but there still is a lot of research to be done on how to best represent information in those and other displays.
There is no substitute for face to face, but that partially may be somewhat of a vestigial preference as new generations who have been born with screens become part of the business landscape.
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