LookAtChat: Visualizing Gaze Awareness for Remote Small-Group Conversations

Abstract

Fig. 1. We present LookAtChat, an online group chat system that takes advantage of eye-tracking technology available with ordinary webcams to visualize eye contacts in group chats. LookAtChat implements and evaluates both 2D directional and 3D perspective layout to inform users with spatial cues. To convey eye contacts in a), b) directional layout renders arrows between video streams, while out-glowing the video window of users who are looking at you. c) Perspective layout transforms video streams to gaze targets, while slightly shaking the video window of users who are looking at you. As a proof-of-concept, LookAtChat explores the potential of using gaze information during online video chat.Video conferences play a vital role in our daily lives. However, many nonverbal cues are missing, including gaze and spatial information.We introduce LookAtChat, a web-based video conferencing system, which empowers remote users to identify eye contact and spatial relationships in small-group conversations. Leveraging real-time eye-tracking technology available with ordinary webcams, LookAtChat tracks each user's gaze direction, identifies who is looking at whom, and provides corresponding spatial cues. Informed by formative interviews with 5 participants who regularly use videoconferencing software, we explored the design space of eye contact visualization in both 2D and 3D layouts. We further conducted an exploratory user study (N=20) to evaluate LookAtChat in three conditions: baseline layout, 2D directional layout, and 3D perspective layout. Our findings demonstrate how LookAtChat engages participants in small-group conversations, how gaze and spatial information improve conversation quality, and the potential benefits and challenges to incorporating eye contact visualization into existing videoconferencing systems.CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → Collaborative interaction.