SMART COLLABORATIVE BRAINSTORMING TOOL

• US 20120317108A1
• Filed: 06/09/2011
• Published: 12/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Sun, Tong, Okazaki, Akiko, Mateo, Joshua, Werner, Edward, Hendricks, Robert, Woodbury, Alexandra
• Granted Patent: US 8,954,431 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/732
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

Methods and a system are disclosed for a collaborate brainstorming interface that defines a collaboration session with a three dimensional holographic mind map. An intelligent agent guides a collaboration session that is structured by the interface. The intelligent agent detects key words, work flow steps and user interactions in the session to initiate searches that are filtered using artificial intelligence. The results are presented to developers interacting through the interface.

Claims

1. A method for collaborate brainstorming executed via a processor of a computer with a memory storing executable instructions for the method, comprising:

initiating a brainstorming session with a brainstorming topic on a main display with a user interface that interconnects a plurality of developer units;

creating a mind map based on idea input generated in a duration of the brainstorming session including;

in the main display and developer unit displays, generating idea images and interconnect related idea images with idea links based on the idea input received from at least one of the developer units or the main display;

dynamically evaluating the idea input received from the developer units and the main display by filtering input related to the brainstorming topic and retrieving related query terms; and

searching for related query terms in a repository and in at least one network, wherein the searching is initiated automatically according to the input received and/or initiated by at least one of the main display and the developer units from a touch screen input received.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

suggesting query terms within a search display in at least one of the main display and one or more of the developer unit displays based on the evaluating and the searching.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

ranking the query terms suggested based on a relevance ranking within the mind map.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

importing data stored in a repository and the network based on the brainstorming session initiated; and

providing concepts suggested from at least one developer unit or the main display to respective displays of the developer units based on at least one control input received at the main display.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing a re-ranking automatically of suggested concepts based on a vote received by the developers via the developer units and the main display, or re-ranking the suggestions manually from the main display; and

adding/cancelling idea images from votes received at the main display.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

fusing search results from searches conducted on more than one of the main display and the developer units.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing video and/or voice data through the units and the main display from developers participating in the brainstorming session via the display and the developer units.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the idea input includes a voice input received that is processed by the processor with a speech recognition engine operative to recognize speech terms in a plurality of different languages, a touch screen interface input received from a touch screen surface of the main display and/or the developer units, and/or an input signal received from an input device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

converting speech to text and extracting the related terms from speech into idea images and/or idea image links representing associations therebetween into the mind map displayed.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising;

converting the mind map from a two dimensional image to a three dimensional image projected externally from the main display or one or more of developer unit displays, wherein the three dimensional image includes three dimensions along a vertical axis forming a plane with a horizontal axis and a depth axis that is substantially perpendicular to the plane.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the depth axis corresponds to a time ordering of ideas created during the session for three dimensional observation of the brainstorming session in totality.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface interconnects the developer units by providing visual data, textual data, audio data and user interface input from developers concurrently through the plurality of developer units.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing invitation and authorization to developers to engage the brainstorming session remotely through the developer units within a predetermined time period.

14. A method for collaborate brainstorming executed via a processor of a computer with a memory storing executable instructions for the method, comprising:

initiating a brainstorming session with a brainstorming topic on a main display with a user interface that interconnects a plurality of developer units, wherein initiating the brainstorming session includes providing at least one of text, speech, audio and touch screen interface input control to the developers at the main display and the developer units;

importing data from at least one of a brainstorming repository that includes at least one of prior brainstorming sessions having at least one mind map, field definitions and search terms on a network respectively related to a rank of association to the brainstorming topic initiated;

creating a mind map based on idea input generated from ideas created by developers including;

providing, in the main display and developer unit displays, idea images and idea links that associate related idea images based on the idea input from at least one of the developer units or the main display;

dynamically evaluating the input received from the developer units and the main display by filtering input related to the brainstorming topic and searching for data items related to the topic in the repository and in at least one network; and

presenting the data items related to at least one developer in a developer unit display or the main display.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

initiating the searching based on a touch screen input received at an idea graphic of the mind map presented on the main display and the developer units.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

wherein creating the mind map includes;

detecting speech related to the brainstorming topic;

converting speech to text in a chosen language with a speech recognition engine; and

generating idea images ranked as having an association to the topic and providing associations thereto within the user interface based on related terms in the text.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing a collaborative voting tool at an idea presented in the mind map that enables developers to veto or keep the idea in the mind map based on votes received, and sharing the mind map over a network.

18. A user interface and control system that facilitates collaborative brainstorming among developers, comprising:

a processor coupled to a memory of a computer device;

a main display having a user interface that is configured to display a mind map to a plurality of developer users;

a remote viewing interface that provides contents of the main display to developers via remote devices and is configured to receive input from the remote devices that is displayed on a screen of the main display;

a touch screen interface for controlling the mind map comprising;

a three dimensional holographic engine that processes inputs from the touch screen interface and translates the inputs into a three dimensional holographic image extending out of the main display from a two dimensional idea image; and

an artificial intelligence (AI) engine that filters query terms according to topic relevance received from at least one of voice, audio, text, touch or input/output devices provided as idea input during a brainstorming session among the developers, searches the query terms in a brainstorming project repository and a network and provides searched terms found according to a relevance ranking.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a multi-language speech recognition engine that converts speech of at least one language from a plurality of different languages into text, and wherein the AI engine is automatic or manual based on input received at the main display.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein mind map includes different idea images corresponding to an idea input provided during the brainstorming session and idea links portraying relationships between the idea images, and wherein the idea images provide features that include a developer initiated search, an AI initiated search of queried terms and respective ranking according to relevance to the idea image, and system resources available at the remote viewing interface.