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iPhone As Video Conferencing Tool?

Two Mac-hacking brothers set out to create an application for this year's C-4 Developer Conference Iron Coder competition. What did they come up with? A video conferencing program for the iPhone.

Ken and Greg Aspeslagh apparently specialize in doing fun and interesting things with cameras, and both happen to be Mac fiends, as well. Since this year's Iron Coder competition centered on the iPhone, they set out to capitalize on its camera. (For those of you puzzled by how the Aspeslagh's get around the iPhone's lack of two cameras, I'll get to that in a minute.)

First, here's a passage written by the Aspeslagh's on how they did it:

Our contest entry captures video from the iPhone’s camera, compresses it, and sends it to a web server [via Wi-Fi], where it’s relayed to another iPhone, and vice-versa, resulting in a nice two-way video conference. Need audio too? That’s not our department, but simply make a phone call to the other person’s iPhone and put them on speaker phone. Then fire up our program and you’re in business.

The Aspeslagh's relied on the iPhone Toolchain to free their iPhones (called jailbreaking) from the software blocks installed by Apple, and then wrote their app using Apple APIs that they were already used to using for other hacks. (I've used the iFuntastic program to jailbreak my iPhone. It really isn't a big deal.)

OK, so here's how they get around the camera issue. They use an attachment. (Bummer!) They actually designed and built a periscope/stand that the iPhone sits in and routes a picture of you via mirrors around to the back of the phone. They call this device, which also works with MacBooks and MacBook Pros, the Huckleberry Mirror and they'll sell it to you in their Web site.

So it's not a totally compact solution, but if you're really into video conferences and hacking your iPhone, this app could be for you...once the Brother's Aspeslagh make it available for download.

(By the way, they won the competition.)

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