ABSTRACT
The ESPRIT programme, the Multipoint Interactive Audiovisual System (MIAS) project has built a multipoint teleconferencing demonstrator as part of the work necessary to produce international technical standards for the technology. A group of desktop terminals are connects together to provides a conferencing facility. In MIAS the conferencing is via a video window on the terminal screen. Human factors engineering for the type of technology is not simply a question of interpreting the currently recommended guide-lines. The design of the MIAS terminal makes use of the Microsoft Windows operating environment to provide the look and feel of the interface. The trial consisted of BTRL staff technical and non–technical carrying out a set of tasks with a prototype MIAS terminal. The integration of different types of meeting support tool into the desktop conferencing systems such as MIAS will enable the systems to support a broad range of workgroup tasks. MIAS is a demonstration of the potential of the technology and methods of approaching its usability.
