Today Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) announced the launch of the award-winning Intelligent Director for Zoom Rooms. For hybrid meetings with a Zoom Room, Intelligent Director uses AI and multiple cameras to provide the best image and angle of participants in the room so remote participants can see each person clearly, even in large conference rooms.
“As more people return to the office, it’s no longer enough to deliver the best remote worker experience; every business needs a solution to deliver the best hybrid meeting experience,” said Smita Hashim, chief product officer at Zoom. “Even with some employees in the office, oftentimes other team members are dispersed, so meeting equity and inclusion become more important than ever. Intelligent Director is the solution that can bring employees together, regardless of location, so they can truly connect face-to-face.”
Intelligent Director is specifically designed for medium- to larger-sized rooms and helps avoid the “bowling alley effect.” Intelligent Director can individually frame up to 16 participants in a Zoom Room using multiple cameras, choosing the best video stream via a Zoom-designed AI, and send that stream to the gallery view of the Zoom Meeting.
An evolution of Zoom’s Smart Gallery feature, which uses a single camera and AI to give each person in a small to medium-sized room their own space in a Zoom Meeting, Intelligent Director takes this same technology to the next level for larger conference rooms.
For bigger meeting spaces, it is easier to be hidden by others when only using a single camera, so Intelligent Director’s multi-camera configuration and use of video AI technology provide meeting equity to everyone in the room, selecting the best view of each individual, even if they move around or turn their heads. Remote participants can now have face-to-face conversations with each Zoom Rooms participant, allowing in-room participants to be seen and heard.
Intelligent Director is made possible through the support of Zoom’s hardware partner ecosystem. Manufacturers, including Apple, AVer, Dell, HP | Poly, Intel, Logitech, and Yealink have supported Zoom with the computer, controller, and camera solutions necessary to produce this major advancement.