Look left, look right, look closer — would a videoconference be more useful if you could see things as naturally as if you were in the same room with the other participants?

That’s the theory behind a forthcoming gadget called the PanaCast, a panoramic camera designed to be set at eye level atop a conference table tripod. The device includes digital processing software that allows remote participants to pan and zoom through the scene it captures without the camera actually needing to move. The client software, which will be available for smartphones and tablets as well as PCs, allows each viewer to manipulate the scene independently of other participants. “It works the way people work in in-person meetings, where you’re able to look around and use your peripheral vision,” said Aurangzeb Khan, co-founder, president and CEO of Altia Systems, which developed the PanaCast.
Network Computing