Multipoint teleconferencing with ISDN

With reliable audio, video, and data transfers using digital technologies such as ISDN (integrated services digital network), high technology applications such as: teleconferencing, tele-training, tele-medicine, tele-commuting, and tele-education etc. are becoming very popular. Also innovations in the interactive audio, video, and data transfers have given rise to multitude of new applications such as screen sharing, multimedia, and distributed processing. In the industrial circles, already concurrent engineering is being practised with different operations taking place at different locations, but integrated through appropriate communication networks. In addition to the ISDN, Internet connectivity with proper sequencing of the packets can have a tremendous impact on the multimedia transfers. At Florida International University Electrical & Computer Engineering Laboratories, work has been in progress to define and develop a multipoint and multimedia teleconferencing scheme, which will blend itself to the other applications mentioned above. Such a scheme is very cost-effective and expandable to several locations readily. The authors describe the essentials of the multipoint teleconferencing scheme and present results based on the actual case studies.