Method and apparatus for mode switching in a camera-based system

摘要

A camera-based system includes a number of sites, each having a camera associated therewith. A processing system processes a video signal received from a camera at a given one of the sites, and provides a controlled switching between a representative presence mode and at least one other mode for presentation, at one or more of the sites remote from the given site, of corresponding output video associated with the given site. The processing system utilizes information derived from the video signal generated by the camera to control the switching between the representative presence mode and the other mode, which may be, e.g., a live video mode. For example, the processing system may process the video to identify a user of the system, retrieve a corresponding user profile, and control the switching between the modes in accordance with information in the retrieved user profile.