A gaze-preserving group video conference system using screen-embedded cameras

In this paper, we propose a system that presents correct gaze directions of each user in a group-to-group video conference. It is known that gaze direction plays a significant role in face-to-face communication. However, in ordinary video conference systems, there is a problem that gaze directions cannot be correctly transmitted to a user in the other side since the camera is placed on the top or bottom of the display. We propose a method to generate images of each person from an appropriate viewpoint position using Kinect and screen-embedded cameras and to present the images to the user. By estimating each user's gaze direction and rendering the image of the person who the user is looking at from the users' viewpoint position, it is possible to present an image suitable for each user even in a group-to-group situation. We show demonstration of a group-to-group video conference using the proposed system and show that the system can present images suitable for each user.