Communications of the ACM
Skype Eye Contact Finally Possible
Innovative software rotates the face of the person on screen during video conferences in order to make eye contact.
Credit: Computer Graphics Laboratory/ETH Zurich
A software prototype from ETH Zurich's Computer Graphics Laboratory could make videoconferencing more realistic for home users.
The lack of eye contact is believed to be a key reason why videoconferencing does not have the feel of a real conversation, as speakers mainly look at their counterpart's picture instead of the camera. Large companies have the resources to pursue solutions to this problem, essentially creating artificial eye contact during videoconferences by investing in technology that uses complex mirror systems or several cameras and special software.
TH Zurich's Claudia Kuster and colleagues have designed software to recognize the face in the video and rotate it so that the person appears to be looking at the camera. Using a Kinect camera, the system creates a depth map calculated from image information and a program that recognizes faces in real time. The software can handle changing light conditions and even two faces at the same time.
The team wants the software to work for mobile devices with standard webcams and to develop a Skype plugin.
From ETH Life
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