The AVIS project: a mixed communication/interactive/broadcast teleconferencing system

There is now no clear distinction between the three traditionally distinct service models: communication, interactive and broadcast. These service models can be mapped on the telecommunication, information technology and entertainment sectors, respectively. MPEG-4 is a proposed standard that supports all of these service models and consequently allows mixed models to be built. This paper presents the architecture of a mixed communication/interactive/broadcast teleconferencing system based on a data flow model and MPEG-4 tools. The management of the distributed audio and video sources is done using an ATM network. Faces of the participants to the conference are analyzed in real-time using computer vision techniques and clones are locally synthesized using computer graphics tools. Video and audio spatialization are based on experience drawn from the entertainment sector. Immersive aspects are implemented using MPEG-4 tools.