The Owl: Immersive Telepresence Communication for Hybrid Conferences

The Owl is an immersive telepresence communication system in which remote attendees feel teleported to a physical location where a capture/communication device is placed. During the session they can interact naturally with the people present in that location and also with the other remote participants. Remote attendees get the full immersive experience using commercial VR goggles or Android phones with cardboard-like HMDs. It is also possible to engage in the experience using Android phones or tablets without HMD; in this case the gaze in the remote scenario is controlled using the user's fingers on the screen. Remote attendees using HMD are represented through avatars in the scene, while participants using plain phones or tablets will get their real time video captured by the device and rendered in overlayed windows. The latter can also be used to provide the local attendees (with) a real-time view of both the remote participants and their local surroundings. Client Software can be downloaded and installed by any user on standard devices.