Automated remote transaction assistance

• US 10,706,426 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2014
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Ward, Joseph, Christensen, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Ouellette, Jonathan P
• Application Number:
  US14/266,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20150317639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,260 Days
• Field of Search: 705 11-912, 705316, 705346
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/209 Monitoring, auditing or diagnose of functioning of ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

A customer uses a customer device to interact with an expert using a remote device in a real-time communication session. The expert drives the interactions and can activate peripherals on the customer device to capture information, which is automatically sent from the customer device to the remote device for consumption by the expert.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

connecting a local device to a remote device during a transaction being processed on the local device;

engaging the local device in a communication session with the remote device during the transaction;

capturing information on the local device at the direction of the remote device that causes a peripheral camera integrated into the local device to activate and capture the information as a picture of a customer or an image document presented in front of the peripheral camera of the local device, wherein capturing further includes activating the peripheral camera without a customer consent of the customer when a customer profile associated with the customer includes authorization to control the peripheral camera remotely without the customer consent of the customer and obtaining the customer consent when the customer profile indicates control requires the customer consent, wherein activating further includes providing control to integrated devices and peripherals of the local device to the remote device during the communication session, wherein providing control further includes printing a specific document from a peripheral printer of the local device during the communication session after obtaining customer consent to access the peripheral printer based on the customer profile, wherein activating further includes obtaining a signature provided on a screen of a peripheral display associated with the local device during the communication after obtaining customer consent to activate a signature block within the screen of the peripheral display based on the customer profile; and

automatically sending the information from the local device to the remote device once captured during the communication session in continuance of ongoing transaction.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, receiving expert-provided information on the local device.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, sending an image of the signature of the customer from the local device to the remote device.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, automatically activating a specific one of the peripheral devices of the local device based on instruction from the remote device.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, activating the display of the local device on instruction from the remote device after a control presented in a second screen of the display for the local device is activated from the local device authorizing the peripheral display activation.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting further includes establishing the connection with a third device that is not associated with the remote device and local device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting further includes establishing the connection on a request activated from the local device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting further includes establishing the connection at the direction of the remote device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein engaging further includes establishing the communication session as a real-time and live two-way video call between an expert operating the remote device and the customer operating the local device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein capturing further includes activating one or more additional peripheral devices of the local device to obtain images of one or more of:

a customer identification card, a customer document, a picture of the customer, a customer fingerprint, and a picture of a customer article.

11. A method, comprising:

connecting a local device with a remote device during a transaction being processed on the local device;

establishing a video conference call between an expert operating the local device and a customer operating the remote device;

directing multiple peripherals of the remote device to activate based on an action of the expert during operation of the local device, wherein directing further includes identifying customer preferences from a customer profile with respect to the directing allowing the customer through the customer preferences to determine whether the local device needs a customer consent before the directing or whether the local device does not need the customer consent based on the customer preferences in the customer profile before the directing, wherein directing further includes determining from the customer preferences appropriate permissions and based on the appropriate permissions taking control of the multiple peripherals of the remote device from the local device; and

receiving, automatically, information captured from the multiple peripherals of the remote device as soon as the peripherals obtain the information provided from the remote device, wherein the multiple peripherals include at least one peripheral includes a camera that captures an image of a document presented in front of the camera as a first portion of the information, a printer that prints a document as a second portion of the information, and a peripheral display that permits a signature block to be activated within a screen of the peripheral display and captures a third portion of the information as a signature provided within the signature block.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising, sending other information from the local device to the remote device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein directing further includes instructing the remote device to obtain the customer consent from the customer before activating the each of the multiple peripherals based on the customer preferences associated with the customer profile.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein directing further includes sending the document from the local device to the remote device and instructing the peripheral printer interfaced to the remote device to automatically print the document on behalf of the customer as the second portion of the information.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein directing further includes instructing the remote device to present the signature block on the screen of peripheral display for the remote device to obtain an image of the signature for the customer.

16. A portable terminal, comprising:

a display;

peripheral devices; and

an customer-assistance application configured and adapted to;

i) execute on the portable terminal, ii) establish a communication session with a remote device on at least one screen of the display during a transaction being processed, iii) capture images representing information provided by for a customer operating the portable terminal by using a peripheral camera device on the direction of the remote device based on an action of an expert operating the remote device and during the transaction, the action remotely activates the peripheral camera device of the portable terminal, and identify customer preferences from a customer profile with respect to the action and determine through the customer preferences of the customer profile to determine whether the remote device needs a customer consent before the action or whether the remote device does not need the customer consent before the action based on the customer preferences identified in the customer profile, wherein at least one of the images is a picture of the customer or a particular image of a document presented to the peripheral camera device, print a document based on a second action received from the remote device on a peripheral printer device based on a second action of the expert and determine whether to automatically print the document or require the customer consent based on the preferences, and present a signature block on a screen of the display to capture a signature of the customer based on a third action received from the remote device and determine whether to automatically present the signature block on the screen or require the customer consent based on the preferences, and automatically provide control to the remote device of any of the peripheral devices during the communication session based on the customer consent being present in the preferences for the corresponding peripheral devices and iv) automatically send the information to the remote device during the transaction as soon as the peripheral camera device captures the images, wherein the peripheral camera device is integrated into the portable terminal.

17. The portable terminal of claim 16, wherein the customer-assistance application is further configured and adapted to v) establish a live and real time video feed between the portable terminal and the remote device, and vi) only capture images representing information for the customer using the peripheral camera device in response to receiving the customer consent from the customer at the portable terminal based on the customer preferences from the customer profile indicating that the customer consent is required from the customer.

18. The portable terminal of claim 17, wherein the portable terminal further comprises a touch-sensitive panel overlying the display, and the customer-assistance application is further configured and adapted to vii) receive other information from the expert for presentation to the customer during the communication session, and viii) receive the signature from the customer via the touch-sensitive panel within the signature block presented on the screen of the display.

19. The portable terminal of claim 16, wherein the portable terminal is one of:

a mobile phone, a tablet, and a wearable processing device.