SpeakersCorner

SpeakersCorner was developed by the ICVR group at the Center for Product Development at ETH Zurich. It is a digital lectern that allows an effective and low priced usage of the so-called rich media technology.

SpeakersCorner is a digital lectern that allows to use all kind of analog and digital media without a large effort in infrastructure. All presentations can be synchronized with the annotations and the speaker's voice and image. They can be made available almost in real-time in the internet without any time consuming post processing. The speaker controls all functions with a pencil on the inductive touchscreen. The screen can be adjusted in height and declination for the best ergonomical position. The additional software can be operated intuitively and most of the needed functionalities run automatically. This reduces the training phase for the speaker to several minutes and allows him to concentrate on his talk. If a text has to be entered during a presentation, a compact slide-away keyboard underneath the display can be used.

SpeakersCorner allows an interactive presentation from to integrated PC or from an external laptop that can be connected to SpeakersCorner. The laptop can be placed on a fold-away table, an additional power supply and a network connection is available. An additional object camera with zoom and autofocus allows to visualize and to digitize traditional transparencies, written papers and 3D objects. The integrated DVD drive and additional video sources, which can be connected to SpeakersCorner, complement to the possibilities with video presentation. All media can be annotated with additional remarks, saved and projected with a beamer. The large selection of possible media allows to use SpeakersCorner in many different ways, starting from a simple whiteboard functionality up to a complex rich media presentation or a presentation as an internet broadcasting. An integrated soundsystem with a wireless microphone guarantees independence from local amplifier systems. However, SpeakersCorner can also be connected to external systems, if available. The lectern can be used can be used for presentations and talks in front of a local auditory. Livestreaming and storage facilities on a central server also allow presentations for a remote auditory over the internet. A live participation is possible as well as watching the presentation on demand. A video camera in the lecture hall complements the presentation system. The image is transmitted over a wireless link to SpeakersCorner, where the received image and sound is streamed. This additional synchronized channel with the video image of the speaker guarantees a presentation quality over the internet that can be compared with local presence.