Teleconferencing Using an Attentive Camera System

State-of-the-art teleconference systems are not capable of recording a discussion of an entire group. The reason is that limited bandwidth of computer networks only allows for the use of cameras with a limited resolution just large enough to transmit a detailed image of a single person. In this contribution an attentional camera system for teleconferencing is presented that is able to follow a conversation of a group of people by actively controlling the camera. The system acts like a silent observer who continuously gaz es at the person who is talking. Detection and tracking is based on visual as well as on acoustic cues. The system is designed as a Perception-Action Cycle (PAC) which is an example of a behaviour-based vision system.

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