Tele-presence system with a user interface that displays different communication links

A method for communicating between a control station and a remote device coupled by at least an initial node, comprising:

• transmitting an image that is captured by a station camera to the remote device;
• transmitting an image that is captured by a remote camera to the remote station;
• transmitting an audio instruction from the control station to the remote device;
• and,
• displaying a plurality of graphical icons that each represent a different type of communication link between the remote device and the initial node.

A telepresence system, comprising:

• a remote device that has a remote camera, a remote monitor, a remote speaker, a remote microphone, and microphone port;
• and,
• an auxiliary microphone that can be coupled to said microphone port;
• a control station that includes a station camera, a station monitor, a station speaker and a station microphone, said station speaker emits sound that is mixture of sound captured by both said remote microphone and said auxiliary microphone.

A method for communicating between a control station and a remote device, comprising:

• transmitting an image that is captured by a station camera to the remote device;
• transmitting an image that is captured by a remote camera to the remote station;
• capturing sound with a remote microphone;
• capturing sound with an auxiliary microphone;
• and,
• generating a mixture of the sound captured by the remote microphone and the auxiliary microphone from a remote station speaker.