Ring based voice mixing method for sharing atmosphere in interactive distance learning

Providing a shared atmosphere, in which the participants can feel the existence of others, greatly enhances the efficiency of interactive distance learning (IDL). We propose a ring-based voice mixing method for creating a shared atmosphere in IDL. In this method, mixing devices called mixing units are logically connected to form a ring over a network. Each mixing unit mixes the voice signals received such that the output reflects the distance from the unit to the speakers on the ring. A software-based prototype system is realized by using common PC technology. Several experiments show that the method well supports medium size classes.