Audio Conferencing Enhancements

Abstract

Audio conferencing allows multiple people in distant locations to interact in a single voice

call. Whilst it can be very useful service it also has several key disadvantages. This thesis

study investigated the options for improving the user experience of the mobile

teleconferencing applications. In particular, the use of 3D, spatial audio and visualinteractive

functionality was investigated as the means of improving the intelligibility and

audio perception during the audio conference calls. User experience studies: web based user

survey, subjective tests, demonstrations and focus groups were conducted in order to collect

feedback from the audio conference users and identify the issues with current audio

conference systems.

Keywords: 3D, spatial audio, audio conferencing, interaction, user interfaces, visualisation,

HRTF, Head Related Transfer Functions, user experience