Importance

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Abstract

A teleconference system for N conferees, N being greater than two, includes at least two separate stations. Each station has N conferee positions, confronting a virtual conference space, and corresponding conferee positions at each station have the same relative locations about the virtual conference space. At least one conferee position at each station is adapted to be occupied by a conferee in person. Surrogate conferees, which include a video display, a video camera, and a loudspeaker, occupy each conferee position not adapted to be occupied by a conferee in person. Each video display faces one conferee and displays the image of another conferee at a corresponding position at another station; the loudspeaker reproduces the voice of the other conferee. The video camera forms image signals of the one conferee and couples these signals to the display device of a surrogate conferee at a conferee position corresponding to the position of the one conferee at the other station. The system includes a shared graphic display system. A video display device is positioned at the center of the virtual conference space and has a display screen at about the level of a table top. A target area for each conferee is scanned by an overhead video camera, and the target image signals are combined for display on the screens in the table tops at each station. Images from a video storage device are also combined in the composite signal. The display devices and cameras at each station are so oriented with respect to the virtual conference space that the target images from each station will appear on the screen as oriented the same as the conferee at that station.

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First Claim