Abstract
Many virtual meeting or virtual office apps provide users with a focus zone. Avatars of users in a focus zone are visible to other participants; however, users in the focus zone are shut out from ongoing conversations in their vicinity in the virtual office. A problem arises when a first participant desires to talk to a second participant that is in a focus zone or is otherwise engaged, e.g., in a separate conversation or simply away from their desk. This disclosure describes soft-alerting techniques to gently obtain the attention of individuals in a focus zone within an ambient video communications environment such as a virtual office or world. The techniques are analogous to a shoulder tap in the physical world and allow participants to seek attention without excessive intrusion.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Pitts, Colvin and Donsbach, Aaron, "Shoulder Tap in Ambient Video Communications", Technical Disclosure Commons, (October 27, 2021)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/4678