Multiparty desktop conference system based on integrated group communication architecture

A computer-supported desk-to-desk conference system, which allows a group of users to conduct a meeting from their telephone-attached workstations, is described. Participants can jointly view and manipulate relevant multimedia information distributed through a local area network and simultaneously use voice communication to discuss the information they are sharing. The system design is based on an integrated group communication architecture that consists of multimedia document interchange protocols containing various types of information, such as text, graphics, images and hand-drawn figures, and conference coordination protocols involving floor-passing control, convening control, and dynamic joining and leaving control. The architecture is described, and an implementation example is presented including the system configuration, service functions, related control mechanisms and protocols overview for conference coordination. User experiences, evaluation results, and ongoing extensions to integration with other conferencing facilities are briefly discussed