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Eye Catcher Now in Series Production.
The Eye Catcher, the worlds first device to make true eye-to-eye, long-distance communication possible, has moved beyond the prototype phase and is now in series production. Various organisations and multi-national companies, including Akzo Nobel, ABN Amro and Arcadis, have been using the Eye Catcher for months, and are extremely enthusiastic about its ability to improve the way they do business.
(PRWEB) October 9, 2004 -- The Eye Catcher, the worlds first device to make true eye-to-eye, long-distance communication possible, has moved beyond the prototype phase and is now in series production. Various organisations and multi-national companies, including Akzo Nobel, ABN Amro and Arcadis, have been using the Eye Catcher for months, and are extremely enthusiastic about its ability to improve the way they do business.
The Eye Catcher is a revolutionary tool that lets people any distance apart communicate with each other in the best and most effective way possible -- eye to eye. Those who experience the Eye Catcher for the first time are astonished. Its as if your conversation partner is right there in the same room, even if he or she is on the other side of the world. This makes Eye Catcher extremely useful for business professionals who want to be able to look each other in the eye when discussing sensitive issues or important deals. But its also useful for diplomats in areas where travelling is difficult or dangerous, families that are spread around the world, and bankers or lawyers who want to have truly personal interaction with their clients without having to travel great distances. And these are only a few examples of potential users.
The cost of transporting two brains
IT guru Eckart Wintzen, founder of BSO (now Atos Origin), is the conceptual father of the Eye Catcher and the financier behind Exovision, the company that developed and now produces it. Ten years ago, Wintzen wondered why, in a time of advanced telecommunications, we continue to waste so much money, material and fuel simply to bring two kilograms -- two brains -- together for interaction. He realised that it comes down to being able to have the eye contact that is so crucial for optimal communication, and which is so imperative when the business is important. The existing videoconference technology simply did not provide this essential aspect of communication.
Exovision was able to turn Wintzens vision into reality, and developed the Eye Catcher. Just like the Teleprompters used by newsreaders, the Eye Catcher projects an image in front of the lens of a camera that is facing you, but which is invisible behind the image. Users look into the lens at eye level, with the result that conversation partners see each others life-size face directly opposite, looking them straight in the eye. The Eye Catcher produces such a high-quality image and sound that the effect is amazingly realistic. Its as if your conversation partner is sitting across the table from you.
Seeing is believing
The Eye Catchers strength is also its only drawback -- there is really only one way to grasp its subtle, but profound, added-value in communication: you have to experience it yourself. The effect is more than confirmed by our numerous enthusiastic clients, who find the Eye Catcher extremely valuable in important management communication. The eye contact, in combination with the excellent image quality, make real 'mental contact possible in a way that teleconferencing never has. Now they can fine-tune an issue, make decisions and handle emergencies -- however sensitive -- at a distance, that previously would have required a personal meeting to resolve. Even Human Rsouurce tasks, such as job interviews, work appraisals and 'bad news meetings, can take place successfully and effectively with the Eye Catcher.
The Eye Catcher: facts and figures
To date, approximately €10 million has been invested in the development and production of the Eye Catcher. After intensive customer experiments with prototype series, its commercial successor is now launched. From September 2004 onwards series produced Eye Catchers are available with resellers in the Benelux, the UK through Fast Communications Ltd. (www.fastcomm.co.uk) and Germany. The cost of the Eye Catcher is set at €8,000. Exovision CEO Pieter Peletier anticipates that from 2007, the Eye Catcher will also be of interest to the consumer market, due to improved technology and costs of scale. The Eye Catcher requires a reasonable amount of bandwidth -- 0.5 megabit per second provides optimum results for IP links. However, it is also suitable for use with ISDN, in which case three ISDN lines will be necessary.
Exovision: High-tech Dutch innovation
Pieter Peletier works together with a multi-disciplinary team at Exovision, which is located in the wooded surroundings of Austerlitz, near the city of Zeist in The Netherlands. The company develops and produces systems and services that focus on the use of video communication in combination with eye contact. Within Exovision, there is an impressive amount of expertise in the fields of video technology, broadband, and human communications, but the company is also a key player in an international knowledge network. A small core team works closely with a group of partner companies; usually small, flexible organisations, like Exovision. The Eye Catcher, the companys first product, was developed in cooperation with numerous specialists in research, product development, industry and marketing. Even though it is now in production, research and development continues: Exovision is already working on a new generation of video telephony systems.
University of Amsterdam research -- Eye Catcher really works
Recent research at the University of Amsterdam into the effectiveness of negotiation via Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) showed that eye contact had a positive influence on the negotiation process and the results. The study indicated that those who interacted via the Eye Catcher had better control of the negotiation process than those who held the same deliberations via a similar set-up without eye contact. Those using the Eye Catcher also exchanged more information with each other, achieved better consensus, and experienced a closer 'group feeling.
Trends in video telephony
Video telephony is far from new; experiments were being conducted in this field even before World War II. Since the introduction of the PC and broadband telecommunications, a number of systems have emerged that allow people to see and hear each other over a distance. However, in terms of quality of communication, none of these systems have been able to compete with meeting in the flesh. Using a screen and monitor forces you to look at the camera, and therefore away from the person you are talking to. Video conferencing is laborious: it requires a separate conference room, significant distance between the camera and screen, and it doesnt offer users eye contact. These traditional forms of video communication simply do not provide the interpersonal element necessary for the very best communication possible
The Eye Catcher is the only system to simulate actual physical presence and personal contact. Its easy to use, can be immediately and permanently accessible on the desktop, and the screen size and audio and video quality ensure that effective, person-to-person communication can take place. The fact that the amount of bandwidth the Eye Catcher requires is increasingly available and affordable means it can only become an even more attractive and relevant medium in the future.
Exovision CEO Pieter Peletier anticipates that the development of the Eye Catcher will be similar to that of the telephone when it was introduced. First, it will enter the business market, with one system per department. Then, with increasing bandwidth available, more and more employees will have video telephony at their own desks. And, just as the telephone used to be given a central location in the home, in the not too distant future, the Eye Catcher will appear in the first households.
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