Telepresence refers to a suite of communication technologies and methodologies that provide a means for individuals or groups to participate in ocean science research cruises from remote locations. The implementation of telepresence allows for shore-based users to participate at sea without being physically present on the ship. Typically this is done through the use of cameras, video, and voice. The ability to share data, collaborate with experts in the field, and interact in real-time can lead to a successful scientific cruise.

Table 1. Telepresence Levels and associated minimum bandwidth requirements

Access to common communication systems for voice, video, text, desktop sharing, and file sharing for image and documents can be critical for collaborative ship to shore science communication. Many popular candidate solutions for science communication include the following.

Lite Manager Remote Desktop

http://www.litemanager.com/

Lite Manager is remote access software for remote administration of computers over the Internet for distant learning, providing remote support to users, it can be used to share the screen of an acquisition computer during a cruise. The program allows complete control of a computer desktop in real-time with full support for Windows. It provides secure remote access to the file system, processes and services of the remote computer. LiteManager has built-in tools for creating network map, collecting technical data, ability to deploy and update using remote installation services, configure private ID router (NOIP) and many other features.

TeamViewer

https://www.teamviewer.com/en-us/

TeamViewer is a comprehensive, remote access, remote control, and remote support solution that works with almost every desktop and mobile platform, including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. TeamViewer lets you remote into computers or mobile devices located anywhere in the world and use them as though you were there.

NoMachine

https://www.nomachine.com/

NoMachine is remote PC access software with high performance and security. There are many connection options with NoMachine, including a cloud server, a terminal server and a virtualization server. While NoMachine specializes in remote Linux connections, it's a versatile option for any platform. It has numerous sharing tools and compatibility features for you to use during any remote session.

ZOOM

https://zoom.us/

Zoom Rooms

Zoom Meetings is a popular cloud-based video conferencing application, used primarily by businesses to host meetings with remote or international colleagues and clients. ZOOM allows users to share desktops.

SSH tunnels

SSH tunneling or SSH port forwarding is a method of creating an encrypted SSH connection between a client and a server machine through which services ports can be relayed. It can be used to access remote computers.

CJDNS Mesh Network

https://github.com/cjdelisle/cjdns/#cjdns

An encrypted IPv6 network using public-key cryptography for address allocation and a distributed hash table for routing.