Using the Owl App

Watch the video here

Accessing and using the Owl App. We will cover the 4 main reasons to use the app. While you will generally not NEED to use the app there are instances in which you may prefer to have more control. 

• Wake up the owl - 95% of the time, the Owl will wake up when you start the meeting and the mic, speakers and video will automatically be active.  Sometimes it wakes up faster than others, but if you find that it’s taking too long, you can use the app.
•   Lock and Zoom -The main function of the Owl is the listen to who is talking and aim a portion of its 360 degree lens to feature that person.  If you want to select a location in the room for the Owl to focus on  and/or zoom in on, you can use the app.
• Return to Auto Focus- If you do use the Manual Lock & Zoom feature, you will use the app to go back to auto-focus.
• Turn off/on the panorama view

The video from the Owl features the current and most frequent speakers, but it also includes a full view of the room.  If you don't want that view, you can turn it off. 

You should install the Owl App on your phone, look in the app store or play store for “Meeting Owl”

After opening the app, you will see all the owls in proximity, select the owl for the room you are in. 

Camera controls are the only option you will need here 

On the Camera controls page you will find two options Camera Lock and Zoom which you can use to wake up the owl , manually control what the owl is focusing on and return to auto focus

If an owl is not responding or you very quickly need your owl to get it together you can do that by tapping Take Control, which will wake the owl up, you can then select “ Reset to Auto Focus” which will appear at the bottom of the screen. This process wakes the owl and gets them ready to work just as if you’d woken them up using the podium.    

For more detailed control you can continue working in the Camera Lock and Zoom screen. Here you can tell the owl to only look at a specific area by moving the rectangle around until what you want is in frame.

You can use the slider to zoom in and out.

You may have noticed the panorama at the top of the images from the Owl. You can use the 360 pano toggle to turn that off and on. It will remove the strip from the top of the image and will just focus on the speaker or speakers rather than showing the whole room. This does not change the 360 microphone, only the camera. 

Note in the image the panorama is sharp and small while the focused image is bigger and fuzzier. The owl is great for viewing a discussion, it’s not so great for just viewing the board.