Research And Realization Of The Meeting Feedback System Based On Directshow Technology

Being gathering activities for communication, conferences take place more often with the progress of the society and the development of the democracy. Henceforth the focus has been shifted to improve the efficiency of conferences. However, technical supports for the mass participation and satisfaction of conference attendants has not been put sufficient emphasis on, for the main objective of current conference equipments is just to increase the efficiency of the information sharing, such as electrical blackboard, projector, VCR, microphone. Theoretically, team cohesion is the lifeline of a group, according to psychologists, who find that, a group of perfect cohesion can accomplish tasks with higher efficiency, and team members can acquire better fulfillment through the teamwork.As the software development kit based on Windows platform by Microsoft, DirectShow supplies a total solution for high performance multimedia applications, such as media play, audio, video capture on Windows operating system. The system provides participants of small-size conferences with real time feedback based on DirectShow, which visualizes nonverbal behaviors, including every person's speech time and his eyes gaze, and reveals them on the screen. Besides real time feedback, the system also supports face data acquisition, display and record in non-real time mode, which lays ground for further research.In the end, the service was evaluated in two studies, in order to test whether the feedback influences the participants'visual attention and speaking time and enhances the satisfaction with the group interaction process. In a qualitative evaluation it was found that groups in general perceive the social feedback during the meeting as a useful and positive experience, which makes them aware of their group dynamics. In a second study, aiming at a more quantitative analysis, we obtained preliminary evidence that the feedback service affected participants'behavior and resulted in more balanced participation and gaze behaviors.