Community Table

Community Table creates a safe, accessible, and inclusive virtual space where anxious, depressed, and lonely teens can gather around a table with peers to participate in support groups and play games online while being represented in a way that corresponds with their identity. Webcams on a personal computer, using video based motion tracking, would allow users to convey emotion by animating customized avatars while optional voice filters would help them better convey their gender and personality. By using spatialized audio and removing the boxes around participants, Community Table replicates the experience of sitting with friends, where everyone can be talking at once, and everyone can be heard. Conference applications are designed to convey information to large groups but they struggle to convey personality and emotion, features that are fundamental to establishing community for groups where gathering in person is not an option or carries additional risks.