Enhancing Online Meeting Experience through Shared Gaze-Attention

Eye contact represents a fundamental element of human social interactions, providing essential non-verbal signals. Traditionally, it has played a crucial role in fostering social bonds during in-person gatherings. However, in the realm of virtual and online meetings, the capacity for meaningful eye contact is often compromised by the limitations of the platforms we use. In response to this challenge, we present an application framework that leverages webcams to detect and share eye gaze attention among participants. Through the framework, we organized 13 group meetings involving a total of 43 participants. The results highlight that the inclusion of gaze attention can enrich interactive experiences and elevate engagement levels in online meetings. Additionally, our evaluation of two levels of gaze sharing schemes indicates that users predominantly favor viewing gaze attention directed toward themselves, as opposed to visualizing detailed attention, which tends to lead to distraction and information overload.