The rapport multimedia conferencing system

Abstract

This paper describes the design and initial implementation of the Rapport multimedia conferencing system, which supports interactive, real-time, distributed conferences among two or more users. Using computers connected by data and voice networks, this system creates an environment in which many sorts of meetings can take place, including telephone conversations, discussions among colleagues, and lectures. Rapport provides new opportunities for meetings, allowing a user to interact with distant colleagues and to participate in several conferences concurrently at his or her workstation. The system allows many existing computer programs to be used, unmodified, within its conferencing environment. Thus computer-generated data and displays are available to the conferees for manipulation and editing, enhancing the exchange of information during meetings. Although Rapport does not encourage a particular methodology of meeting conduct, such specialized support can be built using Rapport.The paper outlines Rapport's conference abstraction and the model on which it is based -the "virtual meeting room." It then presents an overview of Rapport's architecture, discusses the system's environmental requirements, and concludes by mentioning some of our plans for future work with Rapport.

Groupware: some issues and experiences

“…MMConf provides a shared display of a multimedia document, as well as communications channels for voice and shared pointers. Another example is the Rapport multimedia conferencing system [1]. Rapport is designed for workstations connected by a multimedia network (a network capable of transmitting data, voice, and video).…”

“…Examples of technological protocols are the floor control mechanisms in several conferencing systems [1,27,56]. These systems can only process one user's input requests at a time, imposing on participants a group process of turntaking.…”

An audio and telephone server for multi-media workstations

“…Audio requires packet transfer in a bounded amount of time (if a packet arrives late or out of sequence it is useless), but can tolerate a certain amount of error and still remain intelligible. Where standard Ethernet has been used for audio transport in a workstation environment, a separate net has usually been employed [3,23,25].…”

“…The AT&T Rapport computer conferencing system [3] also uses a separate, dedicated Ethernet to carry voice between special audio-processing boards on the workstations. It is not clear whether there is any audio storage in this system.…”

Multimedia Conferencing

“…Noteworthy conferencing implementations include work at SRI [1], the Rapport system at Bell Labs [2], several MCC efforts [10], the Olivetti-sponsored research of Lantz and Lauwers [25] as well as the Pandora project [19], and Sakata's work at NEC [32].…”