Virtual conference room: a metaphor for multi-user real-time conferencing systems

We have implemented a real-time desktop conferencing system, where many users share applications along with voice data. One of its unique features is its user interface, named the virtual conference room. Each room, shown in a window on the PC monitor, represents a conference status, and each participant is represented as an animation character, called an agent. The conference management, such as floor passing, is executed through direct manipulation on agents. Voices are intermixed so that they reflect the positions and status of agents within the room. The virtual conference room has achieved features suitable for multi-user conferencing systems, such as visualization of the conference status, unified floor control and dynamic subgrouping of participants.<>