SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING CONTEXT-SENSITIVE DECISIONS ABOUT IDEAL COMMUNICATION MODALITIES CONSIDERING INFORMATION ABOUT CHANNEL RELIABILITY
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Abstract
A system and method for identifying ideal channels for communications based on an analysis of communication channel reliability, communicating party preferences, and communicating party contexts is provided. The system attempts to optimize the utility of a communication based on inferred or directly accessed channel reliability data, communicating party preferences and communicating party contexts. Such optimization can be achieved using reliabilities, preferences and policies concerning handling the attempted contact based on a deterministic specification or through inferring reliability, context, content and task under uncertainty by employing decision-theoretic inferences. The methods may consider channels currently available as well as channels available at later times. Thus, the service can include automated rescheduling of communications based on a consideration of forecasts of reliability and availability. The approach may include the use of forecasts about the time required for a communication and the likelihood that a connection will be dropped or will lose fidelity over this period of time. The methods may also include a consideration of metadata within a standard schema that is transmitted along with a communication attempt, the metadata representing information about attributes like the potential communication channels, the identity of the contactor, the task at hand, and the context of the communicating parties. The invocation of the communication service may be performed in a variety of ways, including single button invocations, and via a communication service that is more deeply integrated with other applications and functionalities.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. A system for increasing the utility of a communication between communicating parties, the system comprising:
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a reliability analyzer that predicts reliability of communication channels; and
a channel manager that selects a communication channel based on the communication channel maximizing utility of communication between the communicating parties as a function of the reliability prediction. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for identifying a communication channel that facilitates optimizing utility of a communication between communicating parties, comprising:
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identifying a potential communication channel for the communication; and
determining maximum utility associated with the communication based on analyzing communication channel reliability, communicating party preferences, and communicating party context. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A system for optimizing contacts between one or more parties, comprising:
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means for determining one or more expected utilities associated with the contact based, at least in part, on data associated with one or more contactors, data associated with one or more contactees and data associated with one or more communication channels, where the data associated with the communication channels comprises at least reliability data; and
means for establishing the contact based upon maximizing the expected utility.
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Specification