VIDEO COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND VIDEO DISPLAY METHOD

Abstract

To perform smooth communication without displaying camera video.SOLUTION: A video communication device includes: a communication unit that receives information showing movements or facial expressions of people taken with cameras of a plurality of other terminals from the plurality of other terminals; an analysis unit that analyzes the information received by the communication unit and obtains a ratio showing a predetermined movement or facial expression; an icon generation unit that generates an icon reflecting the ratio obtained by the analysis unit; and a display control unit that causes a display unit to display the icon generated by the icon generation unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a video communication device and a video display method. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Web conferencing devices that enable a user to hold a conference or the like with remote parties via a network are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-93315 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A WEB conference device allows participants to share video captured from the direction of the user's face, but the camera function may be turned off as necessary. For example, in a multi-person WEB conference, the camera function of all users other than the speaker may be turned off. In such cases, the speaker cannot see the facial expressions of other users and cannot understand their reactions to the content of the speech, which may result in communication not being smooth.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a video communication device and a video display method that enable smooth communication without displaying camera images. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The video communication device of the present invention comprises a communication unit that receives information indicating the movements or facial expressions of a person captured by the cameras of each of a plurality of other terminals from a plurality of other terminals; an analysis unit that analyzes the information received by the communication unit and obtains a proportion of people showing a specified movement or a specified facial expression; an icon generation unit that generates an icon reflecting the proportion obtained by the analysis unit; and a display control unit that displays the icon generated by the icon generation unit on a display unit.

[0007] The video display method of the present invention is performed by a video communication device, which performs the following steps: receiving information from multiple other terminals indicating the movements or facial expressions of a person captured by the cameras of each of the multiple other terminals; obtaining a proportion of the received information indicating a predetermined movement or a predetermined facial expression; generating an icon reflecting the obtained proportion; and displaying the generated icon on a display unit. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, smooth communication can be carried out without displaying camera images. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video communication device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of the video communication device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an image that the display control unit causes to be displayed on the display unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method for displaying images or icons of individual participants in sequence. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of displaying an icon reflecting a ratio of a predetermined action or facial expression. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of reflecting a nodding motion in a gesture icon. [Figure 7]FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of displaying an icon reflecting the proportion of a predetermined action or facial expression. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of reflecting the action of shaking one's head from side to side in the gesture icon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below.

[0011] [Embodiment] A video communication device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a video communication device according to an embodiment.

[0012] 1, video communication device 10 includes camera 12, microphone 14, operation reception unit 16, communication unit 18, display unit 20, audio output unit 22, and control unit (video communication control device) 24. Video communication device 10 is a device such as a PC (Personal Computer), smartphone, tablet terminal, etc., that includes a display screen for displaying images and a camera located near the display screen and facing in the same direction as the display screen. Video communication device 10 is a device that can be used in, for example, a web conference to enable communication between participants in the web conference using images and audio.

[0013] Camera 12 captures an image of the periphery of video communication device 10. Camera 12 is disposed so as to capture an image in the direction in which display unit 20 faces, for example. Camera 12 captures continuous images in time series, so-called moving images, at a predetermined frame rate. Camera 12 outputs the captured images to video acquisition unit 30. Camera 12 may be an external camera connected to video communication device 10.

[0014] The microphone 14 picks up sounds around the video communication device 10. The microphone 14 picks up the sound of a person speaking toward the microphone 14. The microphone 14 outputs the picked up sound to the sound acquisition unit 32. The microphone 14 may be an external microphone connected to the video communication device 10.

[0015] The operation reception unit 16 receives various operations for the video communication device 10 by user operations. The operation reception unit 16 may include, for example, a touch panel, a switch, a button, etc. The operation reception unit 16 outputs operation information related to the operation received from the user or the like to the operation control unit .

[0016] The communication unit 18 is connected to a communication network such as the Internet (not shown) by wire or wirelessly. The communication unit 18 transmits and receives information to and from other external devices via the communication network. The communication unit 18 transmits and receives information to and from, for example, other video communication devices. The communication unit 18 transmits, for example, video captured by the camera 12 and audio picked up by the microphone 14 to the other video communication devices. The communication unit 18 receives, for example, video captured by the camera of the other video communication devices and audio picked up by the microphone. The communication unit 18 receives, for example, information restricting video captured by the camera of the other video communication devices from the other video communication devices. The communication unit 18 receives, for example, an analysis result of analyzing the actions or facial expressions of a person captured from a video captured by the other video communication devices. In the following description, when it is described that the communication unit 18 transmits video, etc. to the other video communication devices, it also includes the communication unit 18 transmitting video, etc. to an external server to which the other video communication devices are connected and from which the other video communication devices can refer to the video, etc. transmitted by the communication unit 18. In addition, when it is described that the communication unit 18 receives video, etc. from another video communication device, this also includes the communication unit 18 receiving video, etc. from an external server, etc. to which the other video communication device is connected and which can refer to video, etc. transmitted by the other video communication device.

[0017] The display unit 20 displays various information. For example, the display unit 20 displays an image of the user captured by the camera 12, an image of other users captured by other video communication devices participating in the WEB conference, etc. The display unit 20 displays, for example, a predetermined icon indicating the user of the video communication device 10, or an icon indicating the user of the other video communication devices participating in the WEB conference. The display unit 20 is, for example, a display including a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display.

[0018] The audio output unit 22 is a speaker, a headphone, or the like, which is provided in the video communication device 10, or an external speaker, a headphone, or the like connected to the video communication device 10. The audio output unit 22 outputs various types of audio. For example, the audio output unit 22 outputs audio uttered by other users transmitted from other video communication devices participating in the WEB conference.

[0019] The control unit 24 is a so-called video communication control device that controls the operation of each unit of the video communication device 10. The control unit 24 realizes various functions by, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or a micro processing unit (MPU) executing a program stored in a storage unit (not shown) using a RAM or the like as a working area. For this reason, the control unit 24 executes the video display method according to the embodiment. The control unit 24 is a computer that runs the program according to the present invention. The control unit 24 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The control unit 24 may be realized by a combination of hardware and software.

[0020] The control unit 24 includes a video acquisition unit 30, an audio acquisition unit 32, an operation control unit 34, a communication control unit 36, a display control unit 38, an audio output control unit 40, an analysis unit 42, and an icon generation unit 44. In other words, the control unit 24 realizes the functions of the video acquisition unit 30, the audio acquisition unit 32, the operation control unit 34, the communication control unit 36, the display control unit 38, the audio output control unit 40, the analysis unit 42, and the icon generation unit 44.

[0021] The video acquisition unit 30 acquires the video output by the camera 12. The video acquisition unit 30 acquires, for example, the video captured by the camera 12, covering an area including the face of the user of the video communication device 10.

[0022] The voice acquiring unit 32 acquires the voice output by the microphone 14. The voice acquiring unit 32 acquires, for example, the voice uttered by the user of the video communication device 10, which is acquired by the microphone 14.

[0023] The operation control unit 34 acquires operation information related to the operation accepted by the operation acceptance unit 16 .

[0024] The communication control unit 36 ​​controls the communication unit 18. The communication control unit 36 ​​controls the communication unit 18 to transmit and receive various information to and from other external devices. The communication control unit 36 ​​controls, for example, the communication unit 18 to transmit and receive video and audio to and from other video communication devices.

[0025] The display control unit 38 causes various images to be displayed on the display unit 20. For example, the display control unit 38 causes images of the user of the video communication device 10 and users of other video communication devices participating in the WEB conference to be displayed. For example, when the communication unit 18 receives information restricting the video display, the display control unit 38 causes the display unit 20 to display icons generated by the icon generation unit 44 instead of the images of the other users.

[0026] The audio output control unit 40 causes the audio output unit 22 to output various sounds. For example, the audio output control unit 40 causes the audio output unit 22 to output the sounds of other users participating in the Web conference.

[0027] The analysis unit 42 analyzes the video captured by the camera of the other video communication device received by the communication unit 18. The analysis unit 42 analyzes the sound picked up by the microphone of the other video communication device received by the communication unit 18. The analysis unit 42 recognizes a person from the video captured by the camera of the other video communication device, for example. When the analysis unit 42 recognizes a person from the video captured by the camera of the other video communication device, for example, the analysis unit 42 analyzes at least one of the recognized actions and facial expressions. The analysis unit 42 analyzes the information received by the communication unit 18 to obtain the ratio of the number of people who show a predetermined action or a predetermined facial expression. The predetermined action includes, for example, a positive action or a negative action in response to the speaker's remark, but is not limited to this. The analysis unit 42 may obtain, for example, the ratio of people who show a predetermined action or a predetermined facial expression from the analysis result of the video captured by the camera of the other video communication device received by the communication unit 18.

[0028] The icon generating unit 44 generates various icons. For example, the icon generating unit 44 generates an icon according to the analysis result of the analysis unit 42. For example, the icon generating unit 44 generates an icon reflecting a ratio acquired by the analysis unit 42. For example, the icon generating unit 44 generates an icon reflecting an action or facial expression that the analysis unit 42 has determined to be a ratio equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold. The icon generating unit 44 may also display an icon that has been stored in advance. In this case, the icon generating unit 44 executes a function of acquiring icon data.

[0029] [Video communication device processing] The process of the video communication device according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process of the video communication device according to the embodiment.

[0030] The process in Fig. 2 is started, for example, when a WEB conference is started. When the process in Fig. 2 is started and communication with other participants in the WEB conference is started by the communication unit 18, the control unit 24 acquires information indicating actions or facial expressions, which is a result of analyzing captured video or video captured by each participant's video communication device, from the other video communication devices (step S10). Specifically, in this embodiment, the communication control unit 36 ​​acquires information according to the mode set in the other participants' video communication devices. In this embodiment, one of "video on mode", "video restricted mode", and "video off mode" is set in the other video communication devices.

[0031] For example, when the other video communication device is set to "video on mode," the communication control unit 36 ​​acquires the video captured by the other video communication device, which is transmitted. For example, when the other video communication device is set to "video restricted mode," the communication control unit 36 ​​acquires information indicating the actions or facial expressions of the other participants, which is the analysis result of the video captured by the other video communication device. For example, when the other video communication device is set to "video off mode," the communication control unit 36 ​​acquires attribute information of the other participants. The attribute information may include various information such as names and participant names.

[0032] The control unit 24 judges whether the number of participants in the WEB conference is equal to or greater than a predetermined number (step S12). Specifically, the communication control unit 36 ​​judges based on the number of participants in the WEB conference at the time of judgment in step S12, but may judge based on the number of participants requested to participate by the organizer of the WEB conference. The predetermined number is, for example, 10 people, but is not limited to this. The predetermined number may be set to an upper limit number of people that allows the participants in the WEB conference to grasp the overall status from the images and sounds of other participants in the WEB conference on the display unit 20. If it is judged that the number of participants in the WEB conference is equal to or greater than the predetermined number (step S12; Yes), proceed to step S14. If it is not judged that the number of participants in the WEB conference is equal to or greater than the predetermined number (step S12; No), proceed to step S16.

[0033] If the answer to step S12 is Yes, the control unit 24 starts analyzing the behavior or facial expression of the other participants (step S14). Specifically, the analysis unit 42 analyzes the ratio of the predetermined behavior or facial expression at the same time for the other video communication devices in which the "video on mode" or "video restricted mode" is set. For example, if there are 30 participants in a WEB conference and one speaker, the speaker may automatically be in the "video on mode". For example, in a lecture using a WEB conference, the speaker's video needs to be displayed on the video communication devices of the other participants. In the following, it is assumed that, of the other 29 participants, 15 are in the "video on mode", 10 are in the "video restricted mode", and 4 are in the "video off mode". Then, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0034] If the result of the determination in step S12 is No, the control unit 24 displays the video or icon of each participant (step S16). Specifically, the display control unit 38 causes the display unit 20 to display the video acquired in step S10. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the video that the display control unit 38 causes the display unit 20 to display. The display screen 20a shown in FIG. 3 is an example of a screen that is displayed when, for example, four people including the user U1 of the video communication device 10 are holding a WEB conference. The same video as the display screen 20a is displayed on the video communication devices of the other three users other than the user of the video communication device 10. The display screen 20a shown in FIG. 3 is common to all participants of the WEB conference.

[0035] The display screen 20a includes a first display area 50, a second display area 52, a third display area 54, and a fourth display area 56. The first display area 50 displays, for example, information about a user U1 who is a first user who is a speaker among the four users. The second display area 52 displays, for example, information about a second user among the four users. The third display area 54 displays, for example, information about a third user among the four users. The fourth display area 56 displays, for example, information about a fourth user among the four users.

[0036] An image of user U1 and an icon I1 are displayed in the first display area 50. User U1 is displayed, for example, in the center of the first display area 50. Icon I1 is displayed in the upper right corner of the first display area 50. Icon I1 is an icon showing information about user U1. Icon I1 may display, for example, the initials of user U1's name, such as "YS."

[0037] An icon I2 is displayed in the center of the second display area 52. The icon I2 is an icon that indicates information about the second user. The icon I2 may display the initials of the second user's name, such as "RS."

[0038] An icon I3 is displayed in the center of the third display area 54. The icon I3 is an icon that indicates information about the third user. The icon I3 may display the initials of the third user's name, such as "KT."

[0039] An icon I4 is displayed in the center of the fourth display area 56. The icon I4 is an icon that indicates information about the fourth user. The icon I4 may display the initials of the fourth user's name, such as "CJ."

[0040] That is, on the display screen 20a, the first user who is the speaker selects the "video on mode", and the second to fourth users select the "video restricted mode" or the "video off mode". If the result of the determination in step S12 is No, the "video restricted mode" does not have to be selected.

[0041] After step S14, the control unit 24 judges whether the predetermined movement or facial expression of the other participants is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio (step S18). Specifically, the analysis unit 42 judges whether the predetermined movement or facial expression of the other participants is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio based on the analysis result of step S14. The predetermined ratio is preferably a ratio that allows the reaction of the other participants to the contents of the speaker's speech to some extent, such as 10% or more of all participants, or 20% or more of all participants who are set to "video on mode" or "video restricted mode". If the predetermined movement or facial expression is not judged to be equal to or greater than the predetermined ratio (step S18; No), proceed to step S20. If the predetermined movement or facial expression is judged to be equal to or greater than the predetermined ratio (step S18; Yes), proceed to step S22.

[0042] If the result of the determination in step S18 is No, the control unit 24 sequentially displays the images or icons of the individual participants (step S20). Specifically, the display control unit 38 causes the display unit 20 to sequentially display the images or icons of the individual participants. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method for sequentially displaying the images or icons of the individual participants. The display screen 20b shown in FIG. 4 is an image common to all participants of the WEB conference. The display screen 20b shows, for example, a case where there are 30 participants in the WEB conference. As shown in FIG. 4, the display screen 20b includes a first display area 50A, a second display area 52A, a third display area 54A, a fourth display area 56A, and a fifth display area 58A.

[0043] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the first display area 50A displays an image of a user U1A who is a first user who is a speaker, and an icon I1A representing the first user. The icon I1A represents, for example, the initials of the first user's name. The fourth display area 56A displays an image of a user U2A who is a fourth user, and an icon I4A representing the fourth user. The icon I4A represents, for example, the initials of the fourth user's name. The first user and the fourth user are set to "video on mode."

[0044] The second display area 52A, the third display area 54A, and the fifth display area 58A respectively display an icon I2A indicating the second user, an icon I3A indicating the third user, and an icon I5A indicating the fifth user. For example, the icons I2A, I3A, and I5A respectively indicate the initials of the names of the second user, the third user, and the fifth user. The second user, the third user, and the fifth user are set to the "video restricted mode" or the "video off mode", respectively.

[0045] In the example shown in Fig. 4, the display control unit 38 displays the images or icons of the 25 participants other than the first user to the fifth user in a predetermined order or randomly in an area other than the first display area 50A in which the first user who is the speaker is displayed. The display control unit 38 may, for example, appropriately change the size of the area in which the images or icons of the participants other than the speaker are displayed depending on the number of participants. After step S20, the process proceeds to step S24.

[0046] If the result of the determination in step S18 is Yes, the control unit 24 displays an icon reflecting the ratio of a predetermined action or facial expression (step S22). Specifically, the display control unit 38 displays an icon reflecting the ratio of a participant's action or facial expression of the WEB conference. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of displaying an icon reflecting the ratio of a predetermined action or facial expression. The display screen 20c shown in FIG. 5 is an image common to all participants of the WEB conference. Specifically, the display screen 20c shown in FIG. 5 shows an example of a method of displaying a positive action or ratio in response to a speaker's remark. The display screen 20c shows, for example, a case where the number of participants in the WEB conference is 30. As shown in FIG. 5, the display screen 20c includes a first display area 50B, a second display area 52B, a third display area 54B, a fourth display area 56B, and a first action information display area 60.

[0047] In the example shown in FIG. 5, the first display area 50B displays an image of a user U1B who is a first user who is speaking, and an icon I1B representing the first user. The icon I1B shows, for example, the initials of the first user's name. The third display area 54B displays an image of a user U2B who is a third user, and an icon I3B representing the third user. The icon I3B shows, for example, the initials of the third user's name. The first user and the third user are set to "video on mode."

[0048] The second display area 52B and the fourth display area 56B display an icon I2B indicating a second user and an icon I4B indicating a fourth user, respectively. For example, the icon I2B and the icon I4B indicate the initials of the names of the second user and the fourth user, respectively. The second user and the fourth user are set to the "video restricted mode" or the "video off mode", respectively.

[0049] The first action information display area 60 is an area where information on the proportion of actions or facial expressions of all participants participating in the web conference is displayed. Specifically, the first action information display area 60 is an area where information on the proportion of positive actions or facial expressions toward the speaker is displayed. The first action information display area 60 includes a gesture icon GI1 and a character icon LI1.

[0050] The gesture icon GI1 is an icon showing a movement or facial expression of a participant participating in a web conference. Specifically, the gesture icon GI1 is an icon showing a positive movement or facial expression of a speaker in response to a statement made by the speaker. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the gesture icon GI1 is an icon showing a nodding movement inclined as if nodding. That is, the gesture icon GI1 shows a movement of agreeing with a statement made by the speaker. Such a gesture icon GI1 is generated by the icon generating unit 44. That is, the icon generating unit 44 generates an icon showing a movement or facial expression that the analysis unit 42 has determined to be a predetermined ratio or more of a predetermined movement or facial expression of another participant.

[0051] The character icon LI1 indicates the number of participants who are performing the gesture indicated by the gesture icon GI1 among all participants participating in the WEB conference. In the example shown in Fig. 5, the character icon LI1 indicates "12 People." That is, in the example shown in Fig. 5, the character icon LI1 indicates that 12 of the other 25 participants in "video on mode" and "video control mode" are performing the nodding gesture.

[0052] In the example shown in Fig. 5, icon I2B faces forward. This indicates that the second user is not making a positive gesture or facial expression in response to the speaker's remark. Also, in the example shown in Fig. 5, icon I4B is leaning as if nodding. This indicates that the fourth user is making a positive gesture or facial expression in response to the speaker's remark.

[0053] A method of reflecting a nodding motion in a gesture icon will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of reflecting a nodding motion in a gesture icon.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 6, first, the display control unit 38 displays, for example, a gesture icon GI1 tilted as if nodding in the first action information display area 60 (step S1). Next, the display control unit 38 displays, for example, a gesture icon GI1 facing forward in the first action information display area 60 (step S2). The display control unit 38 gives a nodding motion to the gesture icon GI1 by switching the display between the state of step S1 and the state of step S2 every second, for example, to reflect the nodding motion of other participants in the WEB conference. The display control unit 38 can also reflect the nodding motion in the icon I4B shown in FIG. 5 by the method shown in FIG. 6.

[0055] Furthermore, the display screen 20c shown in FIG. 5 is not limited to a case in which all 12 people are nodding, and may instead show that 12 people are showing positive emotions, such as nodding and smiling.

[0056] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of displaying an icon reflecting a ratio showing a predetermined action or facial expression different from that in FIG. 5. The display screen 20d shown in FIG. 7 is an image common to all participants of the WEB conference. Specifically, the display screen 20d shown in FIG. 7 shows an example of a method of displaying a positive action or ratio and a negative action or ratio for a speaker's remark. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the method of displaying a positive action or ratio is the same as the method shown in FIG. 5, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0057] 7, the display screen 20d includes a first display region 50B, a second display region 52B, a third display region 54B, a fourth display region 56B, a first action information display region 60, and a second action information display region 62. The display screen 20d differs from the display screen 20c shown in FIG. 5 in that it includes the second action information display region 62.

[0058] The second action information display area 62 is an area where information on the proportion of actions or facial expressions of all participants participating in the web conference is displayed. Specifically, the second action information display area 62 is an area where information on the proportion of negative actions or facial expressions toward the speaker is displayed. The second action information display area 62 includes a gesture icon GI2 and a character icon LI2.

[0059] The gesture icon GI2 is an icon that indicates the action or facial expression of a participant participating in the web conference. Specifically, the gesture icon GI2 is an icon that indicates a negative action or facial expression of a speaker in response to a statement made by the speaker. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the gesture icon GI2 is an icon of a head shaking action. That is, the gesture icon GI2 indicates an action of not agreeing with a statement made by the speaker. Such a gesture icon GI2 is generated by the icon generating unit 44.

[0060] The character icon LI2 indicates the number of participants who are performing the action indicated by the gesture icon GI2 among all participants participating in the WEB conference. In the example shown in Fig. 7, the character icon LI2 indicates "8 People." That is, in the example shown in Fig. 7, the character icon LI2 indicates that 8 of the other 25 participants in "video on mode" and "video control mode" are performing the action of shaking their heads.

[0061] A method of reflecting a head shaking action from side to side in a gesture icon will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of reflecting a head shaking action from side to side in a gesture icon.

[0062] 8, first, the display control unit 38 displays, for example, a gesture icon GI2 of turning the face to the right in the second action information display area 62 (step S3). Next, the display control unit 38 displays, for example, a gesture icon GI2 of turning the face to the left in the second action information display area 62 (step S4). The display control unit 38 switches the display between the state of step S3 and the state of step S4 every second, for example, to give the gesture icon GI2 a head shaking action, thereby reflecting the head shaking action of other participants in the WEB conference.

[0063] After step S16, step S20, or step S22, the control unit 24 judges whether or not to end the process of FIG. 2 (step S24). For example, when the operation reception unit 16 receives an operation to end the process of FIG. 2 and an operation to turn off the power, the control unit 24 judges to end the process of FIG. 2. If it is judged to end the process (step S24; Yes), the control unit 24 ends the process of FIG. 2. If it is not judged to end the process (step S24; No), the control unit 24 proceeds to step S10. The end of the process judged in step S24 is, for example, the end of the WEB conference. Also, even if the WEB conference has not ended, if some users have terminated the connection to the WEB conference, the control unit 24 ends the process of FIG. 2 for those users.

[0064] As described above, in this embodiment, when video display is restricted in a web conference, etc., the icon of the user whose video display is restricted is displayed with the user's actions or facial expressions reflected. This allows the user to properly grasp the reaction of other users participating in the web conference even when the other users are not displaying camera video, making communication smoother.

[0065] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when video display is restricted in a web conference, the number of participants who acted positively and negatively in response to a speaker's remarks is displayed. This allows other users participating in the web conference to better understand the reactions of web participants even when the camera video is not displayed.

[0066] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the contents of these embodiments. The above-described components include those that can be easily imagined by a person skilled in the art, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the so-called equivalent range. Furthermore, the above-described components can be appropriately combined. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the above-described embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 10. Video communication equipment 12 Camera 14 Microphones 16 Operation reception section 18 Communications Department 20 Display section 22 Audio output section 24 Control unit (video communication control device) 30 Video Acquisition Unit 32 Voice Acquisition Unit 34 Operation control section 36 Communication control section 38 Display control section 40 Audio output control unit 42 Analysis Department 44 Icon Generation Section

Claims

1. a communication unit that receives information indicating a movement or facial expression of a person captured by a camera of each of the plurality of other terminals from the plurality of other terminals; an analysis unit that analyzes the information received by the communication unit and obtains a ratio of a predetermined movement or a predetermined facial expression; an icon generating unit that generates an icon that reflects the ratio obtained by the analysis unit; a display control unit that displays, when the number of the persons is less than a predetermined number, images of the persons or icons representing the persons in the respective display areas, and, when the number of the persons is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, causes the display unit to display a display area that displays the icons generated by the icon generation unit based on the ratio acquired by the analysis unit; A video communication device comprising:

2. From a plurality of other terminals, the actions or expressions of a person photographed by the cameras of each of the plurality of other terminals A communication unit that receives information indicating the The communication unit analyzes the received information to obtain a ratio of a predetermined movement or a predetermined facial expression. An analysis unit for an icon generating unit that generates an icon that reflects the ratio obtained by the analysis unit; a display control unit that causes the icon generated by the icon generating unit to be displayed on a display unit; Equipped with The communication unit receives, from the multiple other terminals, an analysis result of analyzing a movement or facial expression of a person captured from a video captured by the multiple other terminals as information indicating a movement or facial expression of the person captured by each camera of the multiple other terminals, and The analysis unit acquires a ratio of a predetermined motion or a predetermined facial expression from the analysis result received by the communication unit. Video communication equipment.

3. The icon generating unit generates an icon reflecting a behavior or facial expression that is determined by the analysis unit to have a ratio of a predetermined behavior or a predetermined facial expression equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

3. A video communication device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. receiving information indicating a motion or facial expression of a person captured by a camera of each of the plurality of other terminals from the plurality of other terminals; obtaining a ratio of a predetermined movement or a predetermined facial expression from the received information; generating an icon reflecting the obtained ratio; a step of displaying, in a state where the number of said persons is less than a predetermined number, an image of said person or an icon representing said person in each display area, and, when the number of said persons becomes equal to or greater than the predetermined number, displaying on the display unit a display area displaying an icon reflecting said ratio; The video display method is executed by a video communication device.

Images