Patent ID: 8199185

Claim:
An eye contact teleconferencing terminal for allowing a first conferee to maintain eye contact with a second conferee imaged by the teleconferencing terminal, the teleconferencing terminal comprising: an image display with an image bearing surface; a semireflective transparent panel forming an angle of between about 30 and 70 degrees with the image display for viewing by the first conferee the image bearing surface through the semireflective transparent panel; a video camera disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the image display, the video camera capturing a reflection on the semireflective transparent panel of the first conferee who is disposed on a camera-side of the semireflective transparent panel; an ambient light shield disposed on a side of the semireflective transparent panel opposite the camera, the camera aimed toward the shield through the semireflective panel to increase the reflectivity of the first conferee on the semireflective transparent panel; and a second display observed by the local conferee for collaborating data, the second display positioned between the local conferee and the semireflective transparent panel and positioned so as to not obstruct the first conferee from viewing the image bearing surface through the semireflective transparent panel.