Video Conference Device Augmented View Dead Space Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current video-conference devices often present suboptimal views of in-room participants due to 'dead space' between them, which can lead to a less engaging experience for far-end participants and fail to maintain authentic room and participant proportions in augmented views.
Innovation Solution
A video-conference device equipped with an image sensor and a depth sensor that captures and measures the room and participants, using a processing unit to create an augmented view by virtually positioning and scaling in-room participants closer together while maintaining their relative positions and room proportions, thereby removing dead space and enhancing co-presence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If in-room participants are captured in the same common view with actual physical distances maintained, then the view accurately represents the real room layout and safety distancing, but dead space appears between participants reducing engagement and co-presence for far-end participants
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the common view into multiple virtual camera perspectives, capturing each in-room participant from an individual close-up viewpoint rather than a single distant common view. This segmentation allows removal of dead space while maintaining participant identity and spatial relationships through virtual positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of the physical room layout and participant positions through image processing and depth sensor data. These virtual representations allow participants to be repositioned closer together in the augmented view while maintaining the authenticity of the original spatial arrangement through proportional scaling.
2Productivity
If in-room participants are virtually positioned closer together to remove dead space, then engagement and co-presence for far-end participants improve, but the authentic room proportions and layout understanding may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the spatial parameters of participant positioning by calculating scaling factors that proportionally adjust distances between participants. This allows virtual repositioning closer together while maintaining relative proportions and authentic room layout understanding through controlled parameter transformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single 2D common view to a multi-dimensional augmented view that combines virtual camera perspectives with depth information. This dimensional change enables participants to be positioned closer together while maintaining spatial relationships through three-dimensional virtual positioning.
3Device complexity
If a single common view is used to capture all in-room participants, then the device complexity is low, but dead space between participants reduces the quality of the view for far-end participants
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the single common view into multiple virtual camera perspectives, capturing each in-room participant from an individual close-up viewpoint. This segmentation is achieved through image processing of depth sensor data, allowing removal of dead space while maintaining participant identity and spatial relationships.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary processing layer that combines image sensor data with depth sensor information to create augmented virtual views. This intermediary processing enables transformation of the simple common view into an enhanced augmented view that eliminates dead space while maintaining authenticity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a more engaging and realistic augmented view for far-end participants by eliminating dead space and maintaining the authenticity of the meeting room and participant seating arrangement, improving the sense of co-presence without compromising the understanding of the room's layout or safety distancing.
Implementation Method 1
a depth sensor configured for measuring the distance to each of the in-room participants
Data Source
AI summary
A video-conference device for providing an augmented view of in-room participants in a video-conference. The image sensor is configured to capture images comprising the room and the in-room participants. The device comprises a depth sensor configured for measuring the distance to each of the in-room participants having a processing unit configured for providing the augmented view of the in-room. The processing unit is configured to performing an image processing of the captured images from the image sensor to virtually identify each of the in-room participants. The processing unit is configured to determining a desired virtual position for each of the in-room participants in the augmented view. The processing unit is configured to performing a virtual scaling of each of the in-room participants to the desired virtual size.