Join our Mailing List. In this paper we describe the Telebuddy project that aims to connect a live audience with an Internet community. Telebuddy is a physical avatar equipped with camera, microphone and speakers and connected to the Internet. Online users access the Telebuddy system via an Internet platform and communicate with people at remote places.
Within a museum's environment several application scenarios are possible and will be discussed. Nowadays museums are confronted with the demand to bring their exhibits into the Internet and to maintain online archives about their exhibition.
The challenge here is to find a suitable form of presentation. The more traditional way is to show the exhibit with the help of photographs or images enhanced with textual information or to offer video clips about it.
From a rational point of view it seems that all necessary information could be given that way. But from an emotional point of view there is a lack of holistic user experience, e.
Another possibility is to provide live video streams online. For the users, that could be more exciting and enjoyable because they get the atmosphere and have the impression of watching a live event. But there are still unsatisfying aspects concerning the online users' experience. The Telebuddy project aims to connect a live audience in a museum's environment with an online community in the Internet. Additionally, the puppet contains an infrared sensor to specify its position in a building.
