Communication System and Method

• US 20120207147A1
• Filed: 12/29/2011
• Published: 08/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Skype S.Ã R.L. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: MacDonald, Derek, Brenes, Manrique
• Granted Patent: US 10,291,660 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds

Abstract

There is provided an instance of a client application enabling a first user terminal to access a packet-based communication system to conduct voice or video calls over a packet-based network. The client application is configured to receive an input from one or more audio and/or video input transducers of the first terminal, and to operate in conjunction with one or more other instances of the client application executed on one or more respective second terminals so as to participate in an analysis of the one or more inputs in relation to an input from one or more audio and/or video input transducers of the one or more second terminals; thereby enabling selection of one of the first and second terminals for use by a near-end user in conducting a call with a far-end user of a third user terminal via the respective client instance and packet-based communication system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a packet-based communication system for conducting voice or video calls over a packet-based network; and

providing an instance of a client application enabling a first user terminal to access the packet-based communication system, the client application being configured so as when executed on the first terminal to receive an input from one or more audio and/or video input transducers of the first terminal, and to operate in conjunction with one or more other instances of the client application executed on one or more respective second terminals so as to participate in an analysis of said one or more inputs in relation to an input from one or more audio and/or video input transducers of the one or more second terminals;

thereby enabling selection of one of the first and second terminals, based on said analysis, for use by a near-end user in conducting a voice or video call with a far-end user of a third user terminal via the respective client instance and packet-based communication system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analysis relates to a relative proximity of a user to the first and second terminals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the analysis comprises a comparison of the energy or power level of the audio input from audio input transducers of the first and second terminals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the analysis comprises a Fourier analysis applied the input audio or video inputs of the first and second terminals.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the analysis comprises a voice recognition algorithm applied to the audio input audio input transducers of the first and second terminals.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the analysis comprises a facial recognition algorithm applied to the video input from video input transducers of the first and second terminals.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the analysis comprises a motion recognition algorithm applied to the video input from video input transducers of the first terminal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said selection is made upon answering or initiating a call.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said selection is made during an ongoing call.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the client application is configured to recognize voice commands for controlling the call, and said selection is made based on the analysis of audio inputs received due to one or more voice commands.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the instance of the client application on the first terminal is configured to determine a local selection of a most relevant input from one a plurality of said input transducers of the first terminal, and said analysis comprises comparing the local selection from the first terminal with a local selection from the one or more other instances on the respective one or more second terminals, said selection of one of the first and second terminals being based on the comparison of the selected local inputs.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the client application is configured to perform an initial calibration process to determine relative input response properties of the different input transducers.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the instance of the client on the first user terminal is configured to automatically discover a respective identity of each of the one or more second user terminals.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the instance of the client on the first user terminal is configured to automatically discover a respective address of each of the one or more second user terminals for use in said analysis and/or call.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the instance of the client on the first user terminal is configured to automatically discover a respective media capability of each of the one or more second user terminals for use in said call.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the instance of the client on the first user terminal is configured to automatically discover a respective online status of each of the one or more second user terminals for the purpose of said analysis and/or call.

17. The method of claim 1, comprising making involvement of the one or more second terminals in conjunction with the first user terminal conditional on an authorization procedure.

18. A computer program product comprising code embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and configured so as when executed on a first terminal to perform operations of:

accessing a packet-based communication system to conduct voice or video calls over a packet-based network;

receiving an input from one or more audio and/or video input transducers of the first terminal; and

operating in conjunction with one or more other instances of the client application executed on one or more respective second terminals so as to participate in an analysis of said one or more inputs in relation to an input from one or more audio and/or video input transducers of the one or more second terminals;

thereby enabling selection of one of the first and second terminals, based on said analysis, for use by a near-end user in conducting a voice or video call with a far-end user of a third user terminal via the respective client instance and packet-based communication system.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the code is further configured wherein the analysis relates to a relative proximity of a user to the first and second terminals.

20. A first user terminal comprising:

a transceiver operable to access a packet-based communication system to conduct voice or video calls over a packet-based network;

a storage medium storing an instance of a client application enabling the first user terminal to access the packet-based communication system; and

processing apparatus arranged to execute the instance of the client application, the client application being configured so as when executed on the first terminal to receive an input from one or more audio and/or video input transducers of the first terminal, and to operate in conjunction with one or more other instance of the client application executed on one or more respective second terminals so as to participate in an analysis of said one or more inputs in relation to an input from one or more audio and/or video input transducers of the one or more second terminals;

thereby enabling selection of one of the first and second terminals, based on said analysis, for use by a near-end user in conducting a voice or video call with a far-end user of a third user terminal via the respective client instance and packet-based communication system.

21. The first user terminal of claim 20, wherein the client application is further configured wherein the analysis relates to a relative proximity of a user to the first and second terminals.