Techniques for archiving audio information

• US 20040121790A1
• Filed: 04/03/2002
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Wolff, Gregory J., Terry, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,310,517 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/518
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/685 using automatically derived transcript of audio data, e.g. lyrics speech recognition G10L15/00

Abstract

Techniques for archiving audio information communicated between members of a group using an audio communication system such as a point-to-multipoint audio communication system. The archived audio information can then be retrieved by members of the group or by any other user at any time subsequent to the live transmission of the audio information. Audio information communications between communication devices used by members of a group are monitored and recorded. The recorded audio information is then analyzed to identify one or more conversation portions in the audio information. Audio information corresponding to the conversation portions is then archived. The archived information is then available for retrieval.

Claims

1. A method of archiving audio information communicated between a plurality of communication devices in a point-to-multipoint audio communication system, the method comprising:

recording audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices of the plurality of communication devices;

determining one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information, the one or more conversation portions including a first conversation portion, each conversation portion comprising audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices from the plurality of communication devices; and

storing the first conversation portion.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information comprises:

identifying a set of one or more utterance portions in the recorded audio information, each utterance portion characterized by a start point and an end point, wherein an amplitude of the recorded audio information is used to determine the start point and end point for each utterance portion; and

determining the one or more conversation portions based upon locations of utterance portions included in the set of utterance portions.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the start point of an utterance portion occurs when the average amplitude of the recorded audio information is greater than a first threshold value for a first time period; and

the end point of an utterance portion occurs after a start point when the average amplitude of the recorded audio information is less than a second threshold value for at least a second time period.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the first time period is approximately ½

second and the second time period is approximately 3 seconds.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein determining the one or more conversation portions based upon the locations of the one or more utterance portions included in the set of utterance portions comprises:

grouping utterance portions in the set of utterance portions into one or more groups based upon time gaps between adjacent utterance portions, each group comprising one or more utterance portions from the set of utterance portions, wherein the time gap between adjacent utterance portions in a group is less than a third time period, each group corresponding to a conversation portion.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the third time period is approximately 3 minutes.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

for each communication device in the set of communication devices, determining a portion of the audio information included in the first conversation portion transmitted by the communication device.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein determining the set of one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information included in the first conversation portion comprises:

determining one or more device identifiers from the audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

determining a communication device corresponding to each device identifier in the one or more device identifiers.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

determining identity of a user of each communication device in the set of communication devices based upon the one or more device identifiers.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein determining the set of one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information included in the first conversation portion comprises:

determining information identifying one or more speakers of the audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

identifying the set of one or more communication devices based upon the information identifying the one or more speakers.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein storing the first conversation portion comprises:

transcribing the audio information included in the first conversation portion to generate a text transcript for the first conversation portion; and

storing the text transcript.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

wherein the text transcript for the first conversation portion comprises information identifying one or more users of communication devices in the set of communication devices.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the information identifying the one or more users of communication devices in the set of communication devices comprises images of the one or more users.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein transcribing the audio information included in the first conversation portion comprises manually transcribing the audio information included in the first conversation portion.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a request from a first device requesting the first conversation portion; and

in response to receiving the request, communicating the first conversation portion to the first device.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

wherein;

storing the first conversation portion comprises storing the first conversation portion in a first format, the first format including a transcript of audio information included in the first conversation portion and information identifying users of the set of communication devices; and

communicating the first conversation portion to the first device comprises communicating the first conversation portion stored in the first format to the first device.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the first format is a web page.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein communicating the first conversation portion to the first device comprises:

determining if a user of the first device is permitted to access the first conversation portion; and

communicating the first conversation portion to the first device only if the user of the first device is permitted to receive the first conversation portion.

20. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving information requesting broadcast of audio information included in the first conversation portion at a first time; and

broadcasting the audio information included in the first conversation portion to the plurality of communication devices at the first time.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving information requesting broadcast of audio information included in the first conversation portion upon occurrence of a first event; and

broadcasting the audio information included in the first conversation portion to the plurality of communication devices when the first event occurs.

22. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion;

identifying a first communication device from the plurality of communication devices that did not receive the audio information included in the first conversation portion when the audio information was transmitted by the set of communication devices; and

communicating the stored first conversation portion to the first communication device.

23. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving permission information from the one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information, the permission information received from each communication device from the one or more communication devices indicating access permissions for audio information transmitted by the communication device; and

storing the permission information.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the permission information for a communication device is configured using a user-selectable switch provided by the communication device.

25. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

receiving a request from a first device requesting the first conversation portion;

determining if the first device is permitted to access the first conversation portion based upon the permission information; and

communicating the first conversation portion to the first device only if the user of the first device is permitted to receive the first conversation portion.

26. A method of storing audio information communicated between a plurality of communication devices in a point-to-multipoint audio communication system, the method comprising:

recording audio information transmitted by the plurality of communication devices;

determining one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information, the one or more conversation portions including a first conversation portion, each conversation portion comprising audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices from the plurality of communication devices;

transcribing audio information included in the first conversation portion to generate a text transcript for the first conversation portion; and

storing the text transcript such that a user can subsequently retrieve the text transcript.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein determining the one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information comprises:

determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising:

for each communication device in the set of communication devices, determining a portion of the audio information included in the first conversation portion transmitted by the communication device.

29. A method of outputting an audio signal using a device, the device comprising a user-selectable control capable of being set to a first position or a second position, the method comprising:

receiving a first audio signal at the device;

detecting if the user-selectable control has been set to the first position or the second position;

outputting the first audio signal via the device if it is detected that the user-selectable control has been set to the first position; and

outputting a second audio signal via the device if it is detected that the user-selectable control has been set to the second position.

30. A system for archiving audio information communicated between a plurality of communication devices in a point-to-multipoint audio communication system, the system comprising:

a memory;

a communication module configured to record audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices of the plurality of communication devices; and

a processor module configured to;

determine one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information, the one or more conversation portions including a first conversation portion, each conversation portion comprising audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices from the plurality of communication devices; and

store the first conversation portion in the memory.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein to determine the one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information, the processor module is configured to:

identify a set of one or more utterance portions in the recorded audio information, each utterance portion characterized by a start point and an end point, wherein an amplitude of the recorded audio information is used to determine the start point and end point for each utterance portion; and

determine the one or more conversation portions based upon locations of utterance portions included in the set of utterance portions.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein:

the start point of an utterance portion occurs when the average amplitude of the recorded audio information is greater than a first threshold value for a first time period; and

the end point of an utterance portion occurs after a start point when the average amplitude of the recorded audio information is less than a second threshold value for at least a second time period.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the first time period is approximately ½

second and the second time period is approximately 3 seconds.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein to determine the one or more conversation portions based upon the locations of the one or more utterance portions included in the set of utterance portions, the processor module is configured to:

group utterance portions in the set of utterance portions into one or more groups based upon time gaps between adjacent utterance portions, each group comprising one or more utterance portions from the set of utterance portions, wherein the time gap between adjacent utterance portions in a group is less than a third time period, each group corresponding to a conversation portion.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the third time period is approximately 3 minutes.

36. The system of claim 30 wherein the processor module is further configured to determine a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein, for each communication device in the set of communication devices, the processor module is configured to determine a portion of the audio information included in the first conversation portion transmitted by the communication device.

38. The system of claim 36 wherein to determine the set of one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information included in the first conversation portion, the processor module is configured to:

determine one or more device identifiers from the audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

determine a communication device corresponding to each device identifier in the one or more device identifiers.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein the processor module is further configured to determine identity of a user of each communication device in the set of communication devices based upon the one or more device identifiers.

40. The system of claim 36 wherein to determine the set of one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information included in the first conversation portion, the processor module is configured to:

determine information identifying one or more speakers of the audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

identify the set of one or more communication devices based upon the information identifying the one or more speakers.

41. The system of claim 30 wherein to store the first conversation portion, the processor module is configured to:

transcribe the audio information included in the first conversation portion to generate a text transcript for the first conversation portion; and

store the text transcript in the memory.

42. The system of claim 41 wherein the processor module is configured to:

determine a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

wherein the text transcript for the first conversation portion comprises information identifying one or more users of communication devices in the set of communication devices.

43. The system of claim 42 wherein the information identifying the one or more users of communication devices in the set of communication devices comprises images of the one or more users.

44. The system of claim 41 wherein the processor module is configured to automatically transcribe the audio information included in the first conversation portion.

45. The system of claim 30 wherein the processor module is configured to:

receive a request from a first device requesting the first conversation portion; and

in response to receiving the request, cause the communication module to communicate the first conversation portion to the first device.

46. The system of claim 45 wherein the processor module is configured to:

determine a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

wherein;

the processor module stores the first conversation portion in a first format, the first format including a transcript of audio information included in the first conversation portion and information identifying users of the set of communication devices; and

the communication module communicates the first conversation portion stored in the first format to the first device.

47. The system of claim 46 wherein the first format is a web page.

48. The system of claim 45 wherein the processor module is configured to:

determine if a user of the first device is permitted to access the first conversation portion; and

cause the communication module to communicate the first conversation portion to the first device only if the user of the first device is permitted to receive the first conversation portion.

49. The system of claim 30 wherein the processor module is configured to:

receive information requesting broadcast of audio information included in the first conversation portion at a first time; and

cause the communication module to broadcast the audio information included in the first conversation portion to the plurality of communication devices at the first time.

50. The system of claim 30 wherein the processor module is configured to:

receive information requesting broadcast of audio information included in the first conversation portion upon occurrence of a first event; and

cause the communication module to broadcast the audio information included in the first conversation portion to the plurality of communication devices when the first event occurs.

51. The system of claim 30 wherein the processor module is configured to:

determine a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion;

identify a first communication device from the plurality of communication devices that did not receive the audio information included in the first conversation portion when the audio information was transmitted by the set of communication devices; and

cause the communication module to communicate the stored first conversation portion to the first communication device.

52. The system of claim 30 wherein the processor module is configured to:

receive permission information from the one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information, the permission information received from each communication device from the one or more communication devices indicating access permissions for audio information transmitted by the communication device; and

store the permission information in the memory.

53. The system of claim 52 wherein the permission information for a communication device is configured using a user-selectable switch provided by the communication device.

54. The system of claim 52 wherein the processor module is configured to:

receive a request from a first device requesting the first conversation portion;

determine if the first device is permitted to access the first conversation portion based upon the permission information; and

cause the communication module to communicate the first conversation portion to the first device only if the user of the first device is permitted to receive the first conversation portion.

55. A system for outputting audio information, the system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive first audio information;

a user-selectable control capable of being set to a first position or a second position; and

a speaker configured to output the first audio information if the user-selectable control is set to the first position and to output a second audio information if the user-selectable control has been set to the second position.

56. A computer program product stored on a computer readable storage medium for archiving audio information communicated between a plurality of communication devices in a point-to-multipoint audio communication system, the computer program product comprising:

code for recording audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices of the plurality of communication devices;

code for determining one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information, the one or more conversation portions including a first conversation portion, each conversation portion comprising audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices from the plurality of communication devices; and

code for storing the first conversation portion.

57. The computer program product of claim 56 wherein the code for determining the one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information comprises:

code for identifying a set of one or more utterance portions in the recorded audio information, each utterance portion characterized by a start point and an end point, wherein an amplitude of the recorded audio information is used to determine the start point and end point for each utterance portion; and

code for determining the one or more conversation portions based upon locations of utterance portions included in the set of utterance portions.

58. The computer program product of claim 57 wherein:

the start point of an utterance portion occurs when the average amplitude of the recorded audio information is greater than a first threshold value for a first time period;

the end point of an utterance portion occurs after a start point when the average amplitude of the recorded audio information is less than a second threshold value for at least a second time period; and

the code for determining the one or more conversation portions based upon the locations of the one or more utterance portions included in the set of utterance portions comprises code for grouping utterance portions in the set of utterance portions into one or more groups based upon time gaps between adjacent utterance portions, each group comprising one or more utterance portions from the set of utterance portions, wherein the time gap between adjacent utterance portions in a group is less than a third time period, each group corresponding to a conversation portion.

59. The computer program product of claim 56 further comprising:

code for determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion.

60. The computer program product of claim 59 further comprising:

code for determining, for each communication device in the set of communication devices, a portion of the audio information included in the first conversation portion transmitted by the communication device.

61. The computer program product of claim 59 wherein the code for determining the set of one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information included in the first conversation portion comprises:

code for determining one or more device identifiers from the audio information included in the first conversation portion;

code for determining a communication device corresponding to each device identifier in the one or more device identifiers; and

code for determining identity of a user of each communication device in the set of communication devices based upon the one or more device identifiers.

62. The computer program product of claim 59 wherein the code for determining the set of one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information included in the first conversation portion comprises:

code for determining information identifying one or more speakers of the audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

code for identifying the set of one or more communication devices based upon the information identifying the one or more speakers.

63. The computer program product of claim 56 wherein the code for storing the first conversation portion comprises:

code for transcribing the audio information included in the first conversation portion to generate a text transcript for the first conversation portion; and

code for storing the text transcript.

64. The computer program product of claim 63 further comprising:

code for determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

wherein the text transcript for the first conversation portion comprises information identifying one or more users of communication devices in the set of communication devices.

65. The computer program product of claim 64 wherein the information identifying the one or more users of communication devices in the set of communication devices comprises images of the one or more users.

66. The computer program product of claim 56 further comprising:

code for receiving a request from a first device requesting the first conversation portion; and

code for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device in response to receiving the request.

67. The computer program product of claim 66 further comprising:

code for determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

wherein;

the code for storing the first conversation portion comprises code for storing the first conversation portion in a first format, the first format including a transcript of audio information included in the first conversation portion and information identifying users of the set of communication devices; and

the code for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device comprises code for communicating the first conversation portion stored in the first format to the first device.

68. The computer program product of claim 67 wherein the first format is a web page.

69. The computer program product of claim 66 wherein the code for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device comprises:

code for determining if a user of the first device is permitted to access the first conversation portion; and

code for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device only if the user of the first device is permitted to receive the first conversation portion.

70. The computer program product of claim 56 further comprising:

code for receiving information requesting broadcast of audio information included in the first conversation portion at a first time; and

code for broadcasting the audio information included in the first conversation portion to the plurality of communication devices at the first time.

71. The computer program product of claim 56 further comprising:

code for receiving information requesting broadcast of audio information included in the first conversation portion upon occurrence of a first event; and

code for broadcasting the audio information included in the first conversation portion to the plurality of communication devices when the first event occurs.

72. The computer program product of claim 56 further comprising:

code for determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion;

code for identifying a first communication device from the plurality of communication devices that did not receive the audio information included in the first conversation portion when the audio information was transmitted by the set of communication devices; and

code for communicating the stored first conversation portion to the first communication device.

73. The computer program product of claim 56 further comprising:

code for receiving permission information from the one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information, the permission information received from each communication device from the one or more communication devices indicating access permissions for audio information transmitted by the communication device; and

code for storing the permission information.

74. The computer program product of claim 73 wherein the permission information for a communication device is configured using a user-selectable switch provided by the communication device.

75. The computer program product of claim 73 further comprising:

code for receiving a request from a first device requesting the first conversation portion;

code for determining if the first device is permitted to access the first conversation portion based upon the permission information; and

code for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device only if the user of the first device is permitted to receive the first conversation portion.

76. A computer program product stored on a computer readable storage medium for outputting an audio signal using a device, the device comprising a user-selectable control capable of being set to a first position or a second position, the computer program product comprising:

code for receiving a first audio signal at the device;

code for detecting if the user-selectable control has been set to the first position or the second position;

code for outputting the first audio signal via the device if it is detected that the user-selectable control has been set to the first position; and

code for outputting a second audio signal via the device if it is detected that the user-selectable control has been set to the second position.

77. A system for archiving audio information communicated between a plurality of communication devices in a point-to-multipoint audio communication system, the system comprising:

means for recording audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices of the plurality of communication devices;

means for determining one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information, the one or more conversation portions including a first conversation portion, each conversation portion comprising audio information transmitted by one or more communication devices from the plurality of communication devices; and

means for storing the first conversation portion.

78. The system of claim 77 wherein the means for determining the one or more conversation portions in the recorded audio information comprises:

means for identifying a set of one or more utterance portions in the recorded audio information, each utterance portion characterized by a start point and an end point, wherein an amplitude of the recorded audio information is used to determine the start point and end point for each utterance portion; and

means for determining the one or more conversation portions based upon locations of utterance portions included in the set of utterance portions.

79. The system of claim 78 wherein:

the start point of an utterance portion occurs when the average amplitude of the recorded audio information is greater than a first threshold value for a first time period;

the end point of an utterance portion occurs after a start point when the average amplitude of the recorded audio information is less than a second threshold value for at least a second time period; and

the means for determining the one or more conversation portions based upon the locations of the one or more utterance portions included in the set of utterance portions comprises means for grouping utterance portions in the set of utterance portions into one or more groups based upon time gaps between adjacent utterance portions, each group comprising one or more utterance portions from the set of utterance portions, wherein the time gap between adjacent utterance portions in a group is less than a third time period, each group corresponding to a conversation portion.

80. The system of claim 77 further comprising:

means for determining a set of one or more communication devices that transmitted audio information included in the first conversation portion; and

means for determining, for each communication device in the set of communication devices, a portion of the audio information included in the first conversation portion transmitted by the communication device.

81. The system of claim 77 wherein the means for storing the first conversation portion comprises:

means for transcribing the audio information included in the first conversation portion to generate a text transcript for the first conversation portion; and

means for storing the text transcript.

82. The system of claim 77 further comprising:

means for receiving a request from a first device requesting the first conversation portion; and

means for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device in response to receiving the request.

83. The system of claim 82 wherein the means for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device comprises:

means for determining if a user of the first device is permitted to access the first conversation portion; and

means for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device only if the user of the first device is permitted to receive the first conversation portion.

84. The system of claim 77 further comprising:

means for receiving information requesting broadcast of audio information included in the first conversation portion at a first time; and

means for broadcasting the audio information included in the first conversation portion to the plurality of communication devices at the first time.

85. The system of claim 77 further comprising:

means for receiving information requesting broadcast of audio information included in the first conversation portion upon occurrence of a first event; and

means for broadcasting the audio information included in the first conversation portion to the plurality of communication devices when the first event occurs.

86. The system of claim 77 further comprising:

means for receiving permission information from the one or more communication devices that transmitted the audio information, the permission information received from each communication device from the one or more communication devices indicating access permissions for audio information transmitted by the communication device, wherein the permission information for a communication device is configured using a user-selectable switch provided by the communication device;

means for receiving a request from a first device requesting the first conversation portion;

means for determining if the first device is permitted to access the first conversation portion based upon the permission information; and

means for communicating the first conversation portion to the first device only if the user of the first device is permitted to receive the first conversation portion.

87. A system for outputting audio information, the system comprising:

means for receiving first audio information;

a user-selectable control means capable of being set to a first position or a second position; and

means for outputting the first audio information if the user-selectable control is set to the first position and for outputting a second audio information if the user-selectable control has been set to the second position.