The study aimed to evaluate the difficulty in maintaining eye contact during a teleconference for different camera-gaze angular offsets. Videoconferencing systems may compromise the eye contact between participants due to imperfect angular alignment between the center of the screen and the camera. During a teleconference, difficulty maintaining eye contact may be perceived as uncomfortable or unsatisfying by participants in the call. An experiment deploying 33 test subjects was performed and evaluated. Groups of three test subjects performed a videoconference call. The effect of camera-gaze angular offset was quantified by assessing Effectiveness and Engagement ratings. It was shown that even 10 degrees of misalignment cause a statistically significant drop in Effectiveness for business-type teleconference calls. Camera-gaze angular offset is an important parameter to be considered during videoconferencing equipment design or setup. Higher misalignments may cause significant drops in perceived call quality (Quality of Experience). Our research results can be practical in conferencing equipment design and setup, modern telecommunication equipment design, workplace ergonomics, or distance learning equipment setup.
Research areas
