A multi-user videoconference-based collaboration tool: design and implementation issues

This paper presents CSVTool (Collaboration Supported by Video Tool), a video-based collaboration tool designed to be simple, platform-independent, and to support multiple users over unicast network. Some design and implementation issues are stressed, such as strategies for controlling user participation, which are essential in this kind of collaborative setting, where many participants may interact with each other through audio and video streams. Moreover, we present aspects related to the introduction of the tool in a large company.