As video calls become ubiquitous, new interactions are created. A video call creates a dynamic and temporary "shared space", a virtual room that comprises of not only the participant's screens, but also their physical environments. While many services allow the user to guard off other participants' access to their physical environment (replace or blur the background, filter out noise), sometimes the purpose of these calls is referring to the physical environment itself, and showing it to somebody who is not physically there.

ShowMe Assist is created for such a scenario. Example: ringing a handy family member to diagnose and fix a problem with your car. Here, traditional screen-to-screen solutions present some barriers. The video call …