Back in May 2009 Apple was granted a patent for what they described as being an "eye-to-eye" video conferencing system. The sophisticated system involved integrating video camera technology directly into the make-up of the display itself. The idea that originally came to light in 2004 is now one that Microsoft's engineers are interested in bringing to market. Like Apple, Microsoft thinks that today's videoconferencing systems lack essential eye-to-eye contact that is important to instill trust and foster an environment of collaboration and partnership. In the end, while Apple and Microsoft are taking different approaches to deliver this next generation eye-to-eye video conferencing experience, it's bound to be beneficial to both consumer and enterprise markets alike.
Microsoft's patent FIG. 1 shown below illustrates a perspective view of an image enhancement system related to videoconferencing.
In April of this year Patent Bolt uncovered another Microsoft patent application that related to a next generation video conferencing system. In that particular invention, Microsoft focused on integrating a body tracking system into a videoconferencing system for a future Smart TV which was very cool.
Microsoft's patent application was filed in Q2 2011 by inventors Cha Zhang, Timothy Large, Zhengyou Zhang and Ruigang Yang. The patent application was published by the US Patent Office on November fifteenth. To get into the details of this invention, see patent application 20120287223.
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