Methods and devices for receiving and transmitting an indication of presence

A method of receiving an indication of presence of a remote subject, comprising the steps of:

• detecting whether an indication of presence of a remote subject is received from a remote system;
• detecting whether realistic live images of the remote subject are being received from the remote system;
• indicating a virtual presence of the remote subject if the indication of presence of the remote subject is received and the realistic live images of the remote subject are not being received;
• and
• displaying the realistic live images of the remote subject when the realistic live images of the remote subject are being received.

A device (31) for transmitting an indication of presence of a subject, comprising electronic circuitry, the electronic circuitry being operative to:

• detect the presence of a subject in a first geographical area (37);
• transmit an indication of presence of the subject to a remote system (41) if the subject is present in the first geographical area (37);
• detect the presence of a subject in a second geographical area (39);
• and
• transmit realistic live images of the subject to the remote system (41) if the subject is present in the second geographical area (39).

A device (41) for receiving an indication of presence of a remote subject, comprising electronic circuitry, the electronic circuitry being operative to:

• detect whether an indication of presence of a remote subject is received from a remote system (31);
• detect whether realistic live images of the remote subject are being received from the remote system (31);
• indicate a virtual presence of the remote subject if the indication of presence of the remote subject is received and the realistic live images of the remote subject are not being received;
• and
• display the realistic live images of the remote subject when the realistic live images of the remote subject are being received.