"Talking head" system using object-oriented display

This paper proposes 'X'tal Head (Crystal Head)' using 'X'tal Vision (Crystal Vision)' and a fixed screen based visual system for 'telexistence.' X'tal Vision is a projection-based augmented-reality system composed of a projector with a small iris and a retroreflective screen. The fixed screen based telexistence visual system is based on a fixed-orientation link mechanism. We applied X'tal Head to telecommunication as a novel implementation of the traditional 'Talking Head' system. As these systems use face-shaped screens, they pose the difficulty of matching the projected face to the shape of the screen. Our solution takes another approach, named X'tal Head. On the remote end, a fixed-orientation camera captures the image and tracks the orientation of a person's head. At the receiving end, a user can observe the remote person's head image, which is projected onto a retroreflective screen. This screen is attached to a mechanism that is controlled to follow the remote person's head motion. If the remote person nods his/her head, the screen and projected image not together. Thus, the user can observe the stereoscopic head image with an improved sensation of existence.