Video conferencing beyond the boardroom

Video conferencing is often seen as a tool used exclusively for business meetings, but the technology is used in many other ways.

In fact, business meetings may be in the minority if you broaden your definition of the term to refer simply to telecommunications via audio and video; for example, hundreds of thousands of people use webcams on a regular basis. A liberal interpretation could even include the prolonged use of UHF/VHF links by television stations to report from distant locations, although usually only one individual can see the other.

As you can see in these two examples, there are more applications for video conferencing technology than for business meetings. However, even if we narrow the definition even further, there are other areas where video conferencing has proven to be an extremely useful tool:

Telecommunications for the deaf

For obvious reasons, the telephone systems that have connected the majority of the population for the better part of a century have never been available to those of us who are speech-impaired or hard-of-hearing. The use of video as a means of telecommunication for the deaf and other people with communication difficulties is evident. While the relatively recent introduction of text services may seem easier to use, deaf people generally prefer to use sign language. Video conferencing makes it possible for these people to communicate with their full range of emotions and expressions, and has even been used to offer remote interpreting services through a third party.

distance learning

One of the fastest growing areas with the introduction of broadband services and increased bandwidth, video conferencing can help reduce education costs and extend services to people in remote locations. There are dozens of possible uses that universities and educational organizations have for this technology; some examples include:

• Lectures delivered by academics at remote institutions or by staff outside their home campus
• Researchers from different institutions can contact each other regularly without wasting time traveling
• Smaller institutions can pool resources and deliver courses remotely that would not otherwise be available
• Learning at home can be a two-way experience rather than just absorbing secondary material

telemedicine

At the most basic level, medical professionals can use video conferencing technology to discuss case experiences with colleagues over great distances. Beyond this, it is also used to offer real-time medical advice and expertise for routine and emergency medical situations, allowing a surgeon to consult on an operation taking place several miles away, for example. The most impressive application, however, incorporates peripherals that can record data about a patient, such as ultrasound imaging devices or microscopes equipped with digital cameras, which can allow diagnosis to be made over great distances.

Policy

Finally, there is politics. Since meetings between high-level officials tend to resemble those between executives in the private sector, this may not be much of a revelation. Yet it is one of the most common and effective uses of technology, saving millions in public funds. Heads of state and high-level politicians can consult crisis situations in real time without waiting to travel and without risking travel to unstable regions. Since few international discussions involve just one or two parties, this app has arguably had the biggest effect on the world at large, even if no one notices.