Interference-free audio pickup in a video conference
Granted: November 20, 2018
Patent Number:
10134414
A videoconference apparatus at a first location detects audio from a location and determines whether the sound should be included in an audio-video stream sent to a second location, or excluded as an interfering noise. Determining whether to include the audio involves using a face detector to see if there is a face at the source of the sound. If a face is present, the audio data from the location will be transmitted to the second location. If a face is not present, additional motion…
System and method for localizing a talker using audio and video information
Granted: November 6, 2018
Patent Number:
10122972
A videoconferencing endpoint includes at least one processor a number of microphones and at least one camera. The endpoint can receive audio information and visual motion information during a teleconferencing session. The audio information includes one or more angles with respect to the microphone from a location of a teleconferencing session. The system evaluates the audio information is evaluated to determine at least one candidate angle corresponding to a possible location of an…
System and methods for automatic call initiation based on biometric data
Granted: November 6, 2018
Patent Number:
10122970
A videoconferencing endpoint can provides a caller with the ability to make unscheduled video calls to a callee without having knowledge of dialing information of a videoconferencing endpoint where the callee is currently located. The videoconferencing endpoint searches a location database using an identity of the callee provided by the caller, where the location database can store dialing information of a videoconferencing endpoint where the callee is known to be located. The…
Audio feedback reduction utilizing adaptive filters and nonlinear processing
Granted: October 30, 2018
Patent Number:
10117021
Systems and methods for holistically modelling audio feedback and removing the entire feedback signal corresponding thereto. The systems can operate at a much larger loop-gain (and hence with a much higher loudspeaker volume), than those conventional systems which seek to remove singing frequencies with PEQs. The systems are an improvement over traditional audio feedback elimination systems which attempt to reduce the effect of the audio feedback by simply scaling down the audio volume…
Intelligent layouts for call scaling and layout persistence
Granted: October 23, 2018
Patent Number:
10110852
Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and techniques for creating media conferencing layouts that are intelligent (i.e., based on some underlying principle to enhance user-perceived conference quality) and persistent (i.e., consistent within a call and from one call to the next).
Pairing devices in Conference using ultrasonic beacon and subsequent control thereof
Granted: October 9, 2018
Patent Number:
10097794
A videoconferencing system has a videoconferencing unit that use portable devices as peripherals for the system. The portable devices obtain near-end audio and send the audio to the videoconferencing unit via a wireless connection. In turn, the videoconferencing unit sends the near-end audio from the loudest portable device along with near-end video to the far-end. The portable devices can control the videoconferencing unit and can initially establish the videoconference by connecting…
System and method for real-time adaptation of a conferencing system to current conditions of a conference session
Granted: October 2, 2018
Patent Number:
10091461
A system and method provide a rule-based technique for adapting a videoconferencing system to current conditions of a conference session, automatically converting the session from one conferencing technique to another, based on those current conditions. Rules may involve criteria including number of participants, ability to use a common codex, among others. An escalation module can be used to manage the transition between one type of conference session and another. If a condition occurs…
Optimal view selection method in a video conference
Granted: October 2, 2018
Patent Number:
10091412
A system for ensuring that the best available view of a person's face is included in a video stream when the person's face is being captured by multiple cameras at multiple angles at a first endpoint. The system uses one or more microphone arrays to capture direct-reverberant ratio information corresponding to the views, and determines which view most closely matches a view of the person looking directly at the camera, thereby improving the experience for viewers at a second endpoint.
Lossy channel video blur avoidance
Granted: September 18, 2018
Patent Number:
10080032
Blurriness in a video image transmitted over a lossy network can be reduced by filtering the decoder output to determine whether updating of the reference frame based on the current video data is indicated. An update may be appropriate if the decoder output is sharper than the contents of the display buffer after the last update. Additionally, an update may be appropriate if there was a significant change to the underlying image, and thus to the encoder's input. Whether such a change has…
Method and system for conducting video conferences of diverse participating devices
Granted: September 11, 2018
Patent Number:
10075677
A novel universal bridge (UB) can handle and conduct multimedia multipoint conferences between a plurality of MREs and LEPs without using an MRM, an MCU and a gateway. Further, a UB can be configured to allocate and release resources dynamically according to the current needs of each conferee and the session.
Differential audio-video synchronization
Granted: August 28, 2018
Patent Number:
10063907
Techniques of audio-video synchronization that can be performed on audio and video streams are described. In one scenario, a processor can receive audio-video information comprising a video stream and an audio stream. Each of the video and audio streams can include one or more of: a compressed stream; and a decoded stream. A region of motion in the video stream can be determined based on a property of the video stream. A video signal can be generated based on the determined region of…
Method and design for optimum camera and display alignment of center of the room video conferencing systems
Granted: July 17, 2018
Patent Number:
10027924
Systems for videoconferencing are designed for where people are seated around a video conferencing system. The systems include a camera so the far site can see the local participants and the systems include displays that show the far site. The displays are properly aligned with the cameras so that when people at the far site view the displayed images of the near site, it looks like they have eye contact with the near site. Obtaining the alignments of the camera and the displays to…
System and method for cascaded peer-2-peer video conferences
Granted: July 17, 2018
Patent Number:
10027725
A P2P configuration where only the active talker or talkers are providing media streams, to reduce uplink bandwidth demands on an active talker, participants relay the active talker stream to other participants. A signaling server determines the closest participant receiving a requested stream and with available bandwidth to relay the requested stream to a requesting participant and controls the provision of the relayed stream. In certain cases, an additional intermediate participant may…
Speakerphone
Granted: July 10, 2018
Patent Number:
RE46940
Optimizing panoramic image composition
Granted: July 3, 2018
Patent Number:
10015446
An automatic process for producing professional, directed, production crew quality, video for videoconferencing is described. The process includes a method for positioning a 360 degree panoramic strip view of a room. The method includes receiving motion detection data, accepting presence sensor data, receiving video data from cameras related to a room view, and centering individuals in a room view, based on the received motion detection data, the accepted presence sensor data and…
System and method for brightening video image regions to compensate for backlighting
Granted: June 19, 2018
Patent Number:
10003765
A videoconferencing system includes at least one processor and at least one camera. The endpoint can capture one or more images with the camera. The system can locate a region of interest within an image, such as the area surrounding the face of a person participating in a videoconference. If the face area or other region of interest is too dark, the system can brighten the region to make it more visible. The system can determine whether the face is too dark by comparing the captured…
Method and system for dispatching received sessions between a plurality of instances of an application using the same IP port
Granted: June 5, 2018
Patent Number:
9992247
A logical module, referred as Load Balancer Module (LBM), is disclosed which listens to one of certain common predefined port number. These well-known ports for receiving communication video conference signaling and control protocols is thereafter load balanced and multi-plexed to a number of instances of protocol stack applications. By balancing the multi-media data stream across a multitude of application instances multiple multi-media data streams may be serviced and processed by a…
Apparatus for imaging the passenger compartment of a vehicle
Granted: April 24, 2018
Patent Number:
9950677
There is described a camera system for imaging a passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising: a support body having an adjustable length for accommodating the passenger compartment and being removably securable within the passenger compartment of the vehicle; and a camera movably secured to the support body and being movable along at least a portion of the support body, the camera for imaging at least a portion of the passenger compartment.
Loudspeaker arrangement with on-screen voice positioning for telepresence system
Granted: March 20, 2018
Patent Number:
9924252
A videoconferencing system has a plurality of displays arranged side-by-side. Top loudspeakers are arranged adjacent the tops of the displays, and bottom loudspeakers are arranged adjacent the bottoms of the displays. A control unit operatively coupled to the displays and the loudspeakers routes video to each of the displays and routes audio corresponding to each display to any of the top and bottom loudspeakers arranged adjacent the display. Thus, the top and bottom loudspeakers form a…
System and method for in-box electronic device provisioning
Granted: March 13, 2018
Patent Number:
9916169
Configurable electronic devices contain identifying information in a dual-ported memory. A plurality of un-configured units are assembled into a set. Using identifying information, a provisioning server matches each particular unit to configuration settings needed to appropriately configure that device for use by a specific end user. The configuration settings and/or data may be transmitted to the devices via their embedded RFID systems and stored in their dual-ported memory (via the…
