Remote control for videoconferencing

We have designed, implemented, and deployed a camera control system and a conference controller that provide remote control capabilities for videoconferencing over the Internet. The camera control system allows users to pan, tilt, and zoom the cameras, switch between cameras, and get a picture-in-picture view from their desktops. The conference controller allows conference participants to not only start and stop the media tools on a remote host, but also to dynamically change settings and turn transmission on and off. It supports the vic (video) and vat (audio) Internet videoconferencing tools and enhances their usability by providing an integrated and secure user interface for local and remote control of these applications. This paper describes the design and implementation of the camera control system (devserv and camclnt) and the conference controller (confcntlr). The remote control capabilities offered by these tools have changed the videoconferencing paradigm to one of telepresence. With these tools remote users can “walk” around the room, focus in on objects, and actively participate rather than just observe.