VSee

VSee is a proprietary low-bandwidth, group video chat and screen-sharing software tool. It came out of a Stanford University PhD project addressing the problem of making virtual teamwork easy and conveying trust over video.[1][2]

VSee Lab, Inc
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Videoconferencing
HeadquartersSunnyvale, California
Founder(s)Milton Chen
Key peopleMilton Chen, CEO
William Perry, Board of Directors
James Gibbons, Board of Directors
Terry Winograd, Board of Advisors
Pat Hanrahan Board of Advisors
David Kelley, Board of Advisors
James Davis, Board of Advisors
URLwww.vsee.com

The service allows multiple users in various locations to communicate in real-time by video and audio. Its interface is able to concurrently display video faces and allow users annotate on shared screen content. VSee sends video at rates as low as 50 kbit/s and is capable of real-time video communication over 3G cellular networks.[3]

VSee is based in Sunnyvale, California with remote staff located worldwide. In April 2018, Vsee had 47 employees.

Origins and notable dates

VSee Lab, LLC was founded by Dr. Milton Chen. VSee came out of his doctoral studies at Stanford University where he focused his work on video communication and the psychology of teamwork. His thesis "Conveying Conversational Cues Through Video".[4] addresses both the psychological and technical aspects of video communications. VSee became a C corporation in 2008.

  • In 2008, VSee Lab, Inc. was incorporated [5]
  • In 2008, VSee also received investment funding from In-Q-Tel[6] and an award grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.[7]
  • In 2010, Salesforce invested in VSee.[8]
  • In 2011, VSee pushed out its Mac client.[9]
  • In 2012, VSee released secure instant messaging. It was also approved by US Congress for use behind their firewall.[10]

VSee Board of Directors include former Defense Secretary William Perry, former Stanford University Dean of Engineering James Gibbons, and Jingle Video for RTP co-author[11] Milton Chen. Its Board of Advisors include Terry Winograd, Pat Hanrahan, David Kelley, and James Davis.

According to the company, its customers include IBM, Shell, Kaiser Permanente, NASA, the Navy SEALs, and US Congress,[10] and its users include well-knowns such as Angelina Jolie,[12] Mandy Moore,[13] and Linkin Park.[14]

Investors include In-Q-Tel and Salesforce.com.

Features and design

VSee sends and receives high quality video over consumer-grade networks using software.[3] VSee uses a managed peer-to-peer architecture similar to Skype. However, a server is used for address lookup and for administrative purposes. Data being sent and received among clients does not pass through the server. This data is encrypted using FIPS 140-2.[15] VSee also uses a proprietary network-sensing algorithm that adapts to network conditions, allowing it to deliver video over very low-bandwidths and with minimal impact to a network.[3] VSee supports the following features:

  • group video chat up to 15–20 people
  • screen-sharing with annotation
  • file sharing
  • group and private chat (during video chat)[16]
  • stand-alone instant messaging
  • auxiliary camera support
  • remote camera control

See also

References
  1. "VSee offers the best Group Video Conferencing tool for FREE [Review]". tru VoIP buzz. Retrieved 7 Oct 2012.
  2. Lu, Yue; Yong Zhao; Fernando Kuipers; Piet Van Mieghem (2010). "Measurement Study of Multi-party Video Conferencing" (PDF). Retrieved 2 Oct 2012. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Locatis, Craig; Deborah Rilliamson; James Sterret; Isabel Detzler; Michael Ackerman (December 2011). "Video Medical Interpretation over 3G Cellular Networks: A Feasibility Study". Telemedicine and E-health. 17 (10): 809–13. doi:10.1089/tmj.2011.0084. PMC 3236102. PMID 22011055.
  4. Chen, Milton (2003). Conveying Conversational Cues Through Video (PDF). Stanford PhD Thesis Paper.
  5. "Crunch Base – VSee". Crunch Base. Retrieved 9 Oct 2012.
  6. "Vsee's video conferencing solutions arrive in Europe". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 8 Oct 2012.
  7. "Keeping an Eye on the Inauguration". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 6 Oct 2012.
  8. "Exclusive: Salesforce Invests In Video Messaging Startup (And Skype Rival) VSee". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 9 Oct 2012.
  9. "VSee™ Launches Secure Group Video Chat for Mac® Today". Retrieved 9 Oct 2012.
  10. Siegelbaum, Debbie. "House offers new video teleconferencing service for members, staff". The Hill. Retrieved 5 Oct 2012.
  11. "Jingle Video for RTP". Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  12. "The Story Behind World Refugee Day Live". Refugee Day Live. Retrieved 7 Oct 2012.
  13. "VSee, Ustream, Facebook and Mandy Moore Fight Malaria". Business Wire. Retrieved 9 Oct 2012.
  14. "VSee Enables "Haiti Today, Haiti Tomorrow" - a Facebook Town Hall, Featuring Linkin Park and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon". Reuters. Retrieved 9 Oct 2012.
  15. "VSee Security". Retrieved 1 Oct 2012.
  16. "Secure and Simple Video Conferencing". Retrieved 10 Oct 2012.
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