The MIRROR project: a virtual meeting place

A description is given of a project designed to combine different communication channels in an environment that integrates audio, visual, and textual media to provide synergistic, comprehensive, and robust support for effective and efficient group interaction. This environment, a virtual meeting place called the MIRROR Project, will further the effective application of information technology (IT) through electronic meeting systems (EMS). A broad spectrum of technical and behavioral issues are explored. The key issues presented represent the challenges associated with effective and efficiently integrating the three channels in a fashion supportive of robust group communication. The authors also discuss the need for a team-oriented multi-disciplinary, multi-methodological stream of research with a longitudinal focus at group, project, and organizational levels of analysis to study the potential, capabilities and capacities of the proposed environment