Virtual Circular Conferencing System Using Video Stream Merging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional online conferencing tools fail to effectively simulate a face-to-face meeting experience by presenting individual video streams as separate images, emphasizing geographical separation and decreasing the sense of camaraderie among participants.
Innovation Solution
A conferencing system that combines multiple video streams into a seamless virtual circular video stream, creating a unified virtual conference room where participants' video portraits are composited around a virtual table, simulating a shared space and enhancing the illusion of being together.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If individual video streams are presented as separate images, then each participant's video can be clearly displayed, but the sense of camaraderie and face-to-face meeting experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple separate video streams are merged into a single composite video stream that displays all participants together in a unified virtual conference room environment, transforming individual isolated video feeds into a cohesive group scene that simulates face-to-face interaction
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from displaying videos in a two-dimensional grid of separate images to creating a three-dimensional virtual conference room environment where participants are positioned around a virtual table, adding spatial depth and realism to the interaction
2Adaptability or versatility
If a panoramic video stream is divided into sub-streams for each participant, then the virtual conference room can be constructed, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The panoramic video stream is segmented into individual participant sub-streams by detecting boundaries between participants, allowing each participant to be extracted and positioned independently in the virtual conference room while maintaining overall system manageability
Solution Approach 2:
A participant detection module serves as an intermediary that automatically identifies and separates participants in the panoramic stream, reducing the manual processing complexity that would otherwise be required to divide the video into individual sub-streams
3Ease of operation
If participants are composited into a virtual room around a virtual table, then the face-to-face meeting simulation improves, but the computational resources required increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using complex real-time 3D rendering that would require significant computational energy, the system creates a simplified two-dimensional representation of the virtual conference room that copies the essential spatial relationships and visual elements needed to simulate face-to-face interaction
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the complexity parameters of the virtual environment by using pre-defined virtual room templates and standardized participant positioning rather than allowing full customization, reducing computational requirements while maintaining the immersive effect
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual circular conferencing experience using unified communication technology is described. An apparatus may comprise a communications module operative to receive a plurality of incoming video streams from corresponding client devices for a conference call, a multimedia controller operative to retrieve video information of participants from each of the incoming video streams and generate a seamless virtual circular video stream from the video information comprising a virtual circular image having a composite of participants in a virtual room, and a communications module operative to broadcast the seamless virtual circular video stream to the client devices. Other embodiments are described and claimed.