Methods of establishing a communications link using perceptual sensing of a user's presence

• US 20020163572A1
• Filed: 11/13/2001
• Published: 11/07/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Perceptive Network Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Perceptive Network Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Basu, Sumit, Gusyatin, Evgeniy, Wren, Christopher, Center, Julian
• Granted Patent: US 7,242,421 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A method of establishing a communications link uses automatic sensing of a computer user'"'"'s presence and activity state to record user attributes in a form accessible to other computers in a communications network. Such automatic sensing may include keyboard/mouse monitors, cameras with associated image processing algorithms, speech detectors, RF radiation detectors, and infra-red sensors. Preferably, the attribute recording is done in a server process which can be accessed by other computer programs. A first application of this method is to inform persons at remote locations whether the party to be called is available to receive a call. A second application of the method is to use a Connection Agent to determine whether all desired participants for a conference, or at least a quorum of them, are present and available, so that the conference can be started. A third application of the method is to allow a called party to adjust the kind of notification, if any, he or she receives of an incoming call, depending upon what activity is currently engaging the called party.

Claims

1. A method of sensing whether a person is present within a predefined space and, if present, what their activity state is, comprising the steps of:

periodically generating an image of a scene including said predefined space;

comparing successive images of said scene and determining whether differences between said successive images are due to arrival or departure of a person; and

monitoring sounds in said predefined space to determine whether speech is coming from a person detected in at least one of said successive images.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising evaluating any speech coming from said detected person and determining whether said speech constitutes conversation with another person.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of determining whether any speech coming from said detected person is accompanied by radio-frequency radiation indicative of a wireless communications call.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of checking whether a peripheral input device of a computer is being actuated by a person detected in at least one of said successive images.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of checking whether a person detected in at least one of said successive images has eye movements indicative of reading activity.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording a current activity state of a detected person, for automatic indication of such status to other computers in a network.

7. A method of determining when to establish a communications link among multiple individuals by automatically determining each individual'"'"'s availability, comprising the steps of:

determining whether each individual is present near a communications device;

determining whether each individual is available, namely in an activity state which permits interruption; and

if each individual is both present and available, initiating a communications link among said individuals.

8. A method of determining when to establish a communications link among multiple individuals by automatically determining each individual'"'"'s availability, comprising the steps of:

determining whether each individual is present near a communications device;

determining whether each individual is available, namely in an activity state which permits interruption; and

if a predetermined quorum of desired participants are present and available, generating an indication that a communications link can begin.

9. A method of notifying a person of an incoming request for a communications link, comprising the steps of:

sensing whether the person to be notified is present near a communications device and, if not, transferring the incoming request to a message-taking service;

sensing whether the person to be notified is working at a computer and, if so, displaying a message about said request on a display of said computer;

if a person to be notified is present but not working at a computer, sensing whether said person is speaking with other persons who are also present and, if so, delaying notification of any incoming request having less than a predetermined priority level while providing an audible announcement of any incoming request having greater than a predetermined priority level.