MAJIC Videoconferencing System: Experiments, Evaluation and Improvement

Abstract

We need to know the real intentions of participants that are not expressed by verbal languages. This means that not only verbal information but also non-verbal information (i.e., gestures, facial expression, eyes of participant, etc.) is a very important factor. We proposed and implemented MAJIC, a multi-party videoconferencing system that enables eye contact among people in remote places, with life-sized images of participants. In order to evaluate users' perceptions of MAJIC, we have experimented with the size, background and boundary of the video images. These experiments verify the sense of presence in MAJIC environments where life-size video images without boundaries are supported. We developed a new MAJIC prototype based on these experiments.