OverHear: augmenting attention in remote social gatherings through computer-mediated hearing

Authors:
David Smith;Matthew Donald;Daniel Chen;Daniel Cheng;Changuk Sohn;Aadil Mamuji;David Holman;Roel Vertegaal
Affiliations:
Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada;Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada;Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada;Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada;Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada;Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada;Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada;Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Venue:
CHI '05 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Year:
2005

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Abstract

One of the problems with mediated communication systems is that they limit the user's ability to listen to informal conversations of others within a remote space. In what is known as the Cocktail Party phenomenon, participants in noisy face-to-face conversations are able to focus their attention on a single individual, typically the person they look at. Media spaces do not support the cues necessary to establish this attentive mechanism. We addressed this issue in our design of OverHear, a media space that augments the user's attention in remote social gatherings through computer mediated hearing. OverHear uses an eye tracker embedded in the webcam display to direct the focal point of a robotic shotgun microphone mounted in the remote space. This directional microphone is automatically pointed towards the currently observed individual, allowing the user to OverHear this person's conversations.