Although speech and writing are the most natural ways for people to interact, teleconferences and chat-room discussions can be frustrating. In teleconferencing, it is either impossible to make out what one person is saying over the chatter of others, or the conversation degenerates into a formal and painfully slow series of dialogues. New research from the commercial PARC [The Economist, June 2003] laboratories promises a way around this problem by simulating the personal interactions that take place during social chit-chat at cocktail parties. In a prototype computer simulation, voice volume is enhanced according to how closely participants are interacting. If you can't be heard, you might also write your message using a virtual pen that translates movement into a digital text message. These developments have implications for distance collaboration and the airline business.
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