METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TWO WAY AUDIO COMMUNICATION USING REMOTELY DEPLOYED OBSERVATION DEVICES

A method and apparatus for facilitating audio communication remotely with a person includes the use of several observation devices, each having an audio system that can play audio signals and receive acoustic signals and convert them to audio signals. The audio signals are wirelessly communicated in the region via a wireless local area network, and outside of the region by a wide area network via a gateway device. The audio signals from a command console located remotely from the region are playing in a synchronizations by several of the observation devices such that the resulting acoustic signals combine additively at the location of a person in the region with whom communication is conducted. The observation devices are designed to be deployed on an ad hoc basis to facilitate rapid deployment of the system.