To provide image communication equipment with which the user can communicate with its communicating counterparty by transmitting its image and which can realize such a presence that the user communicates with the counterparty through a window, and to provide an image communication method.
The image communication equipment photographs the image of an image transmitting user 1a with a plurality of cameras from different viewpoints, and inputs the positional information on the communicating counterparty 1b through a network. Then the equipment selects an image which is close to the image of the user 1a viewed from the viewpoint of the coutnerparty 1b with respect to the user 1a, and displayed on the display device on the counterparty 1b side from among the plurality of images of the user 1a picked up with the plurality of cameras of the photographing section of the equipment as the image to be transmitted to the counterparty 1b and transmits the selected image. Consequently, the users 1a and 1b can observe such images that are obtained when the users look at their counterparties from desired positions and can communicate with each other with such a presence that the users 1a and 1b communicate with each other through a window, because their gaze can be made to coincide with each other even when the users 1a and 1b move.
COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI
Keisuke Yamaoka
Yoshiaki Iwai
Hayashi Kazuyoshi
Yokoyama Atsushi
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Eiji Yamada
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