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ARGUS is a prototype system which achieves awareness before starting face-to-face communication by utilizing multiple far-end controllable cameras on a broadband network. A user desiring awareness information can change camera directions and angular fields of view at will in order to get the desired image. We call this active control of cameras to aquire awareness information Òactive awareness.Ó Camera locations and viewing fields can be quickly grasped by camera icons on the Map Viewer, which shows the actual office layout. ARGUS has a merit to provide both wide area views and close, detailed views via the control of remote cameras. However, the privacy of people may be violated, for example, through extreme magnificaiton. Therefore, it is very important to carefully consider the camera placement and usage. We have modeled office enviroments and have introduced two camera types: private cameras and public cameras. The aim of the former type is to catch a personal view whereas the aim of the latter type is to monitor common spaces. To protect privacy, ARGUS has several levels of access restrictions for each of these camera types. In this video, we describe the policy and implementation of ARGUS from the viewpoints of user interface and privacy. |