Multimedia communication and collaboration for remote loan contracting

Multimedia conferencing systems have been applied to several areas. In their applications, multimedia conferencing functions are used only for a video phone and data sharing in explicit collaboration. This paper describes a new type of a multimedia system, which tightly integrates an information kiosk and a multimedia conferencing system. It provides local interactive data input, paper form processing, implicit and explicit remote collaboration, event monitoring by sensors, workflow control, and host communication. The architecture, configuration, and functions of the system are explained through an example of a remote contract system, which automates a loan contract procedure.