HOWARD LICHTMAN: "For Princess Leia to talk, Princess Leia needs to move and her mouth needs to move, etc. And you haven't been able to do that with a regular hologram because the hologram would only be fixed in one spot. What they're able to do is, they're able to refresh that image so that the image changes the same way a person changes when they talk."

The researchers in Arizona say their 3-D system is still years away from completion. Even then, Howard Lichtman says it may have trouble competing with systems already on the market.

Most telepresence systems are two-dimensional. But Mr. Lichtman says the images are very realistic.

HOWARD LICHTMAN: "It's a 2-D image, but it's crystal clear, photo realistic, fluid movement, accurate flesh tones, and you would swear you were in the same physical space with people who might be thousands of miles away."

He says prices for telepresence systems are going down as more people use the technology.

HOWARD LICHTMAN: "It's pushing down to everybody as these environments are becoming publicly available or you can rent them by the hour, and at the same time that you're getting very high quality, high definition video conferencing showing up on mobile devices and in the home delivered through the set-top box or through the PC."

A new eighteen-million-dollar project aims to create eleven telepresence centers for federal employees around the United States. The government is working with the AT&T company to save money and reduce pollution by reducing the need for travel.