Method and system for videoconferencing between parties at N sites
First Claim
1. A method for videoconferencing between parties at N sites, comprising:
- creating a virtual space arrangement of N sites including N−
1 remote sites and a local site;
simultaneously displaying N−
1 video sequences of representations of parties at said N−
1 remote sites at display locations on a non-planar display arrangement arranged around a local party at said local site, wherein said N−
1 remote sites are displayed in a manner that is directionally consistent with said virtual space arrangement to provide reciprocal site-accurate eye contact between a local party at said local site and N−
1 remote parties at said N−
1 remote sites;
scaling displayed images of said remote parties in said N−
1 video sequences consistently with their true physical sizes in said virtual space arrangement;
capturing a plurality of real-time video streams of said local party from a plurality of viewpoints; and
generating N−
1 video view streams providing said reciprocal site-accurate eye contact in real-time of said local party representing views of said local party from display locations corresponding to said N−
1 remote parties.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for videoconferencing between parties at N sites. Specifically, a virtual space arrangement of N sites is created. Video sequences of N−1 remote sites are simultaneously displayed on a non-planar display arranged around a local party at a local site consistent with the virtual space arrangement. The displayed images of the remote parties are scaled consistently with their true physical sizes at their distances from the local party in the virtual space arrangement. Real-time video streams of the local party are captured from a plurality of viewpoints and are used to generate N−1 video view streams representing views of the local party from approximately the local display locations of the N−1 remote parties.
78 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for videoconferencing between parties at N sites, comprising:
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creating a virtual space arrangement of N sites including N−
1 remote sites and a local site;
simultaneously displaying N−
1 video sequences of representations of parties at said N−
1 remote sites at display locations on a non-planar display arrangement arranged around a local party at said local site, wherein said N−
1 remote sites are displayed in a manner that is directionally consistent with said virtual space arrangement to provide reciprocal site-accurate eye contact between a local party at said local site and N−
1 remote parties at said N−
1 remote sites;
scaling displayed images of said remote parties in said N−
1 video sequences consistently with their true physical sizes in said virtual space arrangement;
capturing a plurality of real-time video streams of said local party from a plurality of viewpoints; and
generating N−
1 video view streams providing said reciprocal site-accurate eye contact in real-time of said local party representing views of said local party from display locations corresponding to said N−
1 remote parties. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for videoconferencing between parties at N sites, comprising:
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a virtual arrangement selector for creating a virtual space arrangement of N sites including N−
1 remote sites and a local site, wherein each site accommodates a party comprising at least one person;
a non-planar display for simultaneously displaying N−
1 video sequences of representations of said N−
1 remote sites at display locations on a non-planar display arrangement arranged around a local party at said local site, wherein said display locations are directionally consistent with said virtual space arrangement, and wherein said N−
1 remote sites are displayed to provide reciprocal site-accurate eye contact between a local party at said local site and N−
1 remote parties at said N−
1 remote sites;
a life-size scaler for scaling displayed images of said remote parties in said N−
1 video sequences consistently with their true physical sizes at their distances from said local party in said virtual space arrangement;
a plurality of video capturing devices for capturing a plurality of real-time video streams of said local party from a plurality of viewpoints;
a view generator for generating N−
1 video view streams in real-time of said local party, each of said N−
1 video view streams representing a view of said local party from a display location corresponding to one of said N−
1 remote parties, wherein said N−
1 video view streams provide said reciprocal site-accurate eye contact; and
a controller for adapting to a new virtual space arrangement that accommodates a change in N without physical reconfiguration of said non-planar display arrangement and without physical reconfiguration of said plurality of video capturing devices at said plurality of sample viewpoints. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer readable medium containing program instructions that implement a method for videoconferencing between parties at N sites, comprising:
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creating a virtual space arrangement of N sites including N−
1 remote sites and a local site;
simultaneously displaying N−
1 video sequences of representations of parties at said N−
1 remote sites at display locations on a non-planar display arrangement arranged around a local party at said local site, wherein said N−
1 remote sites are displayed in a manner that is directionally consistent with said virtual space arrangement to provide reciprocal site-accurate eye contact between a local party at said local site and N−
1 remote parties at said N−
1 remote sites;
scaling displayed images of said remote parties in said N−
1 video sequences consistently with their true physical sizes in said virtual space arrangement;
capturing a plurality of real-time video streams of said local party from a plurality of viewpoints; and
generating N−
1 video view streams providing said reciprocal site-accurate eye contact in real-time of said local party representing views of said local party from display locations corresponding to said N−
1 remote parties. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification