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Perched atop my computer is a shiny, high-tech video camera. Through the miracles of modern technology, I can have live video chats with friends or business associates on the other side of the country or the other side of the world, without even paying long-distance phone charges. Although I could opt for an audio-only conversation or even the text-only format of email or instant messaging, there’s something about seeing another person’s face that makes communication much richer and more satisfying. Using similar technology, I’ve participated in countless videoconferences involving multiple people in each of two or more locations, using cameras mounted on large video monitors and special microphones so that we can all see and hear each other. This is all good. But there’s one thing about the current state of the art in video communication that still bothers me greatly: the inability to make eye contact with the person or people on the other end. This was never a problem on Star Trek, which was of course the source of all my technological expectations.
Look at Me When You Say That
If you have ever tried video chats or videoconferencing yourself, you undoubtedly know what I mean. If not, let me describe what’s going on. The camera that’s pointing at your face is positioned above, below, or to the side of your display. This means the angle at which you’re viewing the screen is different from the angle at which the camera (and therefore the person on the other end) sees you—an effect known as parallax. Only if you were looking directly into the camera would the viewer have the impression you’re looking into his or her eyes. As a result, while you see your friend’s image on the screen, your friend appears to be looking down (or in some direction other than right at you), and you appear the same way on your friend’s screen. You could, of course, position the camera directly in front of your own screen, but then, the camera itself would block your view of the person on the other end.
Eye contact is extremely important for meaningful communication, and after all, seeing the person you’re talking to is the whole point of videoconferencing. But if you can’t look that person in the eye, this eliminates much of the advantage of video over a regular phone call. Guides to effective business videoconferencing usually say you should look at the camera when speaking, to give the people on the other side the sense that you’re speaking directly to them. But this is unnatural, and prevents you from seeing their reactions as you speak. What we really need is exactly what they have on the starship Enterprise: video displays that also somehow function as cameras, such that wherever you direct your gaze on the screen, that’s where your eyes will appear to be looking on the other end. Sure enough, engineers are trying to achieve this effect right now, working from several different angles (as it were).
It’s All Done with Mirrors
One fairly easy way to get eye-to-eye contact over a video link is to use technology borrowed from the television industry: the teleprompter. If you watch a news broadcast on TV, you’ll notice that the announcer is looking directly at the camera. TV news anchors don’t memorize their reports in advance; they read them from a special video screen that appears to be directly in front of the camera. In reality, the screen (an ordinary CRT or LCD) is positioned face-up just below and in front of the camera lens, with its text displayed as a mirror image. Above this display, and thus in front of the lens, is a partially silvered (or two-way) mirror positioned at a 45° angle. The announcer sees the text reflected onto it from below, while the camera sees only the announcer.
Teleprompters are a simple and tested technology; they’ve been around for more than 50 years. When similar designs are used for video communication, they’re sometimes referred to as video tunnels. They do, however, have some problems. One issue is size: the equipment is by nature quite bulky, because it requires that angled mirror in front of the camera as well as special shielding to protect the camera from glare. So even a design that uses an LCD panel will end up being at least as large as a CRT display. Teleprompters also tend to be heavy, fragile, and expensive—all factors that make them unattractive for ordinary consumers.
There’s yet another problem, which comes into play when more than two people are involved in a videoconference. If I look directly into a camera, all the people who see me on the screen will perceive that I’m making eye contact, even if they’re in different locations. So the participants will not have the impression that my gaze shifts as I turn my attention from one person to another—nor can I tell who is looking at me (or my image) at any given time.
Just Like Being There
One solution to the problem of gaze direction, being developed by researchers at Keio University in Tokyo, is called MAJIC (multi-attendant joint interface for collaboration). This system replaces the two-way glass mirror of the teleprompter with a large, curved screen made of a thin, perforated material that provides a reflective surface on one side and from the other side is mostly transparent. Cameras behind the screen record the participants in one location, while ordinary video projectors display the images of other participants (in one or more locations) on the front of the screen. What’s unique about MAJIC is that behind each person’s image on the screen in each location is a separate camera that functions as that person’s virtual eyes for that location (along with a speaker to reproduce the person’s voice). The result is that I always appear to be looking at whichever participant I’m facing at the moment, and I can even tell when one participant is looking at another. An additional bonus: the life-size projections make it feel as though you’re really sitting across a table from the other participants. This is pretty much the effect we’re all looking for, but with all those cameras and projectors, the cost of such a system is quite high, and it also uses a tremendous amount of bandwidth to transmit all that video data. Not quite what we need for desktop or laptop use.
A very different approach, called gaze correction, is being studied by researchers at major companies such as HP, Microsoft, and AT&T. It starts with one or two ordinary video cameras mounted near a conventional computer display. A special video processor digitally modifies the image of each person’s face in real time so that it appears that his or her eyes are looking straight at the camera, even though they’re not. Early demonstrations of these systems appear relatively convincing—maybe even a bit spooky—but they are not yet ready for commercial use. They also have not yet been adapted to work well with multiple participants in a single location, or to permit selective eye contact with just one of several remote participants.
Yet another method of correcting for gaze is a system called GAZE-2, under development at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. GAZE-2 uses multiple cameras in a video tunnel design along with a device that tracks eye movement. The system detects which part of the screen a user is looking at (corresponding to one of several remote participants), then automatically switches to the camera behind that part of the screen—thus ensuring that each participant is always making eye contact with the others, regardless of which image any person is looking at. The system can even rotate the images of other participants on the screen to show who is looking at whom.
It’s exciting to see progress being made, but I’d still like to see a slim, flat-panel display with cameras mounted invisibly inside and seamless gaze correction for any number of users. I have an idea for a completely novel design that just might provide all that, but it would require a few hundred thousand dollars and several months of experimentation to prove the concept and develop a working prototype. Since those resources are far beyond my means for the foreseeable future, my idea will have to remain speculation for now. But with or without my help, I expect to see eye-to-eye video displays long before starships. —Joe Kissell
UPDATE #1: In January 2006, Apple was awarded a patent for an eye-to-eye video system in which a large array of microscopic cameras is embedded in a monitor along with the display elements; software combines all these thousands or millions of images into a single picture. Time will tell if, when, or in what form this technology becomes available to consumers. Apple’s approach wasn’t quite the idea I had in mind, but it’s nice to see that they have been worrying about the same problem and applying their considerable resources to solving it.
UPDATE #2: Bodelin Technologies’ See Eye 2 Eye (SE2E), introduced in 2007, brings teleprompter-like features to most desktop and laptop computers with either built-in or add-on video cameras. The SE2E is inexpensive (US$50–60) and relatively compact, but also has a rather small viewing area.
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You can’t put a price on enlightenment.Support Interesting Thing of the Day today. [?]Manufacturers of teleprompter equipment and software include:
Digital Video Enterprises manufactures high-end teleprompter-design videoconferencing equipment based on plasma displays.
You can read an abstract of MAJIC and DesktopMAJIC conferencing system a conference presentation given by MAJIC developers Ken-ichi Okada, Shunsuke Tanaka, and Yutaka Matsushita. Gaze correction research is also being carried out by Microsoft Research (the “StareMaster” or “GazeMaster” project) and a joint project by the University of North Carolina and Microsoft Research (using two cameras).
For information about GAZE-2, see GAZE-2: An Attentive Video Conferencing System (PDF) and GAZE-2: Conveying Eye Contact in Group Video Conferencing Using Eye-Controlled Camera Direction (also PDF).
For reasons the company never disclosed, Apple discontinued its popular external iSight camera. New MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and iMac models feature integrated iSight cameras, however. Unfortunately, Bodelin’s See Eye 2 Eye device does not work with the iMacs’ built-in cameras.
Apple’s new patented system is covered in Invention: Apple’s all-seeing screen by Barry Fox in New Scientist.
℗ & © 2004, alt concepts. All rights reserved.
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It’s pretty laughable to watch the leader of the party of stagnation and obstructionism claim that Republicans will win in November once they prove to voters that they’re the real “agents of change.” I wonder if Boehner realizes how foolish he sounds? Doubtful.
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BOEHNER: Well, Wolf, we’ve got a steep hill to climb. It’s a challenging year for Republicans. I think Republicans, we have to do is show that we’re agents of change. We have to go out there and show the American people that we have solutions, which we do, for the economy, gas prices, our national security and health care. And I think if we’re able to go out there and present a clear choice to the American people, I think we’ll do much better than the people expect in this election cycle.
The American people do realize that Republicans have “solutions” to their problems, Congressman. The only thing is that they categorically reject them on every level.
This month, the Democrats are trusted more than Republicans on eight out of ten electoral issues tracked regularly by Rasmussen Reports (see data tables). The two parties are essentially even on the other two issues.
Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, the Democrats also have the advantage on eight out of ten issues.
So, by all means, please go out there and make the case that Republicans want to make the tax cuts permanent, cover up the energy crisis with “gas tax holiday” gimmicks, vest the President with draconian and unchecked spying powers, and deny millions of Americans access to quality health care. That will just make our jobs easier.
Transcript below the fold:
BLITZER: Welcome back to LATE EDITION. Throughout the program, we’re going to reflect a little bit on the life and legacy of NBC’s Tim Russert. Tim was a consummate journalist and one of the toughest interviewers on television. Here’s a little sample.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOEHNER: We’re going to have Republicans who are skeptical of this plan who will probably vote for this.
RUSSERT: How many?
BOEHNER: And while —
RUSSERT: How many do you think?
BOEHNER: We may lose the vote on this, we will not lose the debate on this.
RUSSERT: You lose a third of the Republicans?
BOEHNER: I don’t think we’ll lose a third.
RUSSERT: Ten percent?
(CROSSTALK) RUSSERT: You had said that this resolution would demoralize the troops. But the secretary of defense, Robert Gates, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs said that is just not true.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Joining us now from Cincinnati is the man who got some pressure that day, pretty hard pressure, from Tim Russert, the House Republican Leader John Boehner. Congressman, thanks very much for coming in.
BOEHNER: Wolf, good morning.
BLITZER: Before we get to some of the other issues, the economy, taxes, energy, your thoughts right now? I know you were on the receiving end sometimes of some tough questions from Tim Russert. But give us your thoughts on this very sad Father’s Day weekend.
BOEHNER: Wolf, he was a tough journalist and clearly the preeminent political journalist in Washington. But Tim and I had a very special relationship. We kind of grew up in the same kind of blue collar neighborhoods. He in Buffalo, I here in Cincinnati. My dad owns a tavern. We both went to Jesuit schools. And, you know, growing up Catholic together.
And so after he wrote his book about “Big Russ & Me,” I had a chance to talk to Tim about his experiences growing up with his father, my experiences growing up with my father and I can tell that you the two of us shed a tear together one day. He was a great human being. Someone who clearly loved his family and did a marvelous job covering those of us in politics. But let me tell you, he was a tough, well-prepared interviewer.
BLITZER: He certainly was and we will all miss him. We’re going to have some more reflections on Tim coming up here on LATE EDITION.
Let’s get to the most important issues out on the agenda right now. And you’re the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives. In our latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, we asked registered voters all across the United States who would handle the economy better. Fifty percent said Barack Obama. John McCain got 44 percent. Among registered voters, we asked your choice for Congress. Look at this.
BLITZER: Do you support a Democratic Congress? Fifty-four percent said they do, 44 percent said they would support Republicans in Congress. You’ve got a huge problem awaiting you come November because it looks, if you believe in these numbers, congressman, you believe in some of the special elections that have recently taken place, you’re on the verge of suffering even greater losses in your minority status in the House of Representatives.
BOEHNER: Well, Wolf, we’ve got a steep hill to climb. It’s a challenging year for Republicans. I think Republicans, we have to do is show that we’re agents of change. We have to go out there and show the American people that we have solutions, which we do, for the economy, gas prices, our national security and health care. And I think if we’re able to go out there and present a clear choice to the American people, I think we’ll do much better than the people expect in this election cycle.
BLITZER: Senator Obama, the new leader of the Democrats, now says that if the Republicans take over, if McCain gets elected, it’s simply going to be more tax giveaways to the wealthiest Americans. Listen to Senator Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Senator McCain is now calling for this new round of tax giveaways that are twice as expensive, twice as expensive as the original Bush plan and nearly three times — nearly three times as regressive. Understand regressive means it is skewed to hurt low income and middle income people and that help rich people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right. You want to respond to Senator Obama?
BOEHNER: Wolf, if you look back over the — really the last 27 years, since 1981 when Ronald Reagan cut the top tax rate from 70 percent to 28 percent, we’ve been cutting taxes for the last 27 years by and large.
And what’s happened? We’ve allowed the American people to keep more of their own money, to invest in our economy, to expand the jobs in our economy and, guess what? We’ve got more people working, a healthier economy. More people are paying taxes. More revenue coming to the federal government.
Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem. Washington has a spending problem. And I think that reducing taxes, allowing the American people to invest in their own future is a much better prescription than what Barack Obama and the liberal Democrats want which is higher taxes, bigger government in Washington and more control from Washington.
BLITZER: During the past almost eight years when the Republicans were — except for the last year or so were in charge of both the White House and the Congress, the national debt went from around $5 trillion to more than $9 trillion. This is the debt that our children and grandchildren and their grandchildren are going to be paying off for a long time to come. Why should the voters trust the Republicans?
BOEHNER: Well, the real issue here is that you look at the additional domestic spending, it was mostly for our — the efforts after 9/11. Homeland security, war in Afghanistan, war in Iraq and a growing entitlement problem.
The president is trying to address the Social Security entitlement program and got nowhere. If we don’t address the long- term problem of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid where we’ve made promises, we, the baby boomers, have made promises to ourselves that our kids and their kids cannot afford. We need to address these programs because that’s where the real run-up in the national debt is occurring. And I can tell you the Republicans earn back the majority of the Congress, we will address this entitlement crisis head on and be straight up and honest with the American people.
BLITZER: The price of a gallon of gas here in the United States, the average now over $4. And in some parts of country even approaching $4.50 and even $5 a gallon. Many Republicans including you, you want to start drilling. Especially drilling in Alaska, the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. The leader of the republicans now John McCain says bad idea. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: I understand that the attractiveness of it. I would also say to you I would not drill in the Grand Canyon. I wouldn’t drill in the Everglades. And I believe that this area should be kept in pristine preservation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: He is referring to what’s called the Anwar oil reserves, the oil fields out there. Why he is wrong?
BOEHNER: Well, in my opinion, we can drill in Anwar in an environmentally safe way. And so John McCain and I disagree. But we do agree we could have more domestic drilling here in the United States in an environmentally safe way.
You know, if we’re going to get serious about getting off of our dependence on foreign energy, we got to do what I call all of the above. We need more conservation. We need an alternative fuels. We need biofuels. We need to look at nuclear energy in a more serious way. And, yes, we need to drill more and to develop more domestic production.
And over the 18 years that I’ve been in Congress, there have been 46 votes to bring more domestic production online. And I voted 46 times to have more production in the United States. Nancy Pelosi on those same 46 votes, only voted twice to bring more domestic production.
And if you look at the record over the last 18 years, Republicans have been for more domestic production, trying to get off of our dependence of foreign energy and about 90 percent of the time the Democrats have opposed this. And I can tell you, Wolf, that each and every day over the next five months leading up to this election, Republicans are going to force the Congress to deal with this issue. It’s time to be honest with the American people and show them if you don’t want to drill, show the American people you don’t want to drill.
BLITZER: Congressman Boehner, thanks very much for joining us. Happy Father’s Day.
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