METHOD FOR VISUALIZING TEMPORAL DATA

• US 20120331066A1
• Filed: 06/24/2011
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: FitzGerald, Cary
• Granted Patent: US 9,923,982 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method and system are provided that receive, during a selected time period, a plurality of different media streams exchanged, over a communications network, in one or more communications between a plurality of parties; and generate a multimedia presentation of the plurality of different media streams, wherein, in the multimedia presentation, the different media streams are referenced according to a common time scale.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, during a selected time period, a plurality of different media streams exchanged, over a communications network, in one or more communications between a plurality of parties; and

generating a multimedia presentation of the plurality of different media streams, wherein the multimedia presentation comprises a plurality of display segments associated with a plurality of;

(i) sequential video images from the plurality of different media streams, (ii) one or more audio and/or video streams from the plurality of different media streams, (iii) one or more text messages from the plurality of different media streams, (iv) any other temporal data stream, and (v) information accessed and/or created by one of the plurality of parties, the information not being included in the plurality of different media streams and wherein, in the multimedia presentation, the plurality of display segments are referenced according to a common time scale.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of different media streams are associated with a multimedia session between the plurality of parties and wherein the plurality of different media streams comprise a plurality of an audio conversation between two or more of the parties, video images of at least one or more of the parties, instant messages exchanged between two of more of the parties, email messages exchanged between two or more of the parties, text chat messages exchanged between two or more of the parties, keyboard chat between two or more of the parties, whiteboard session, desktop sharing session, application sharing session, and power point session.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the display segments contains a graphical representation of a different media stream and wherein the plurality of display segments are associated with (i) sequential video images from the plurality of different media streams, (ii) one or more audio and/or video streams from the plurality of different media streams, (iii) one or more text messages from the plurality of different media streams, (iv) any other temporal data stream, and (v) information accessed and/or created by one of the plurality of parties, the information not being included in the plurality of different media streams.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the multimedia presentation, when activated, presents the progressions of the different media streams as a function of time.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a first display segment contains a set of text messages between the parties, a second display segment contains a set of voice communications between the parties, and a third display segment contains a video representation of a whiteboard session, a desktop sharing session, an application sharing session, and a power point session.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the multimedia presentation is associated with a timeslot in an electronic calendar of a party.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a first media stream of the plurality of media streams is a pivot and is in a primary display segment, wherein a user selects a second media stream in a secondary display segment as a new pivot, and further comprising in response to the user selection:

reordering the multimedia presentation, whereby the second media stream is in the primary display segment and the first media stream is in the secondary display segment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a user selects an event along a selected one of the plurality of media streams to navigate to and further comprising:

in response to the event selection, one of fast forwarding and fast reversing automatically to the selected event.

9. A computer readable medium comprising processor readable and executable instructions that, when executed, perform the steps of claim 1.

10. A method, comprising:

receiving a request to record one or more media streams exchanged in a conference session between multiple participants;

determining that at least one communication transmitted, by one of the multiple participants, during the conference session, is related to the conference session, wherein the at least one communication is not transmitted as part of the conference session; and

associating a recorded version of the at least one communication with the recorded one or more media streams.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a transmission or delivery of the at least one communication is not controlled by a conferencing application effecting the conference session.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one communication is one or more of an instant message and an email and wherein the one or more media streams comprise audio information.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

during the conference session, determining, for at least one participants, an electronic address of a first communication device other than a second communication device of the at least one participant involved in the conference session; and

tracking, during the conference session, a plurality of communications sent and received by the first communication device, wherein the at least one communication is one of the plurality of communications.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating a multimedia presentation of the plurality of recorded media streams and the at least one communication, wherein, in the multimedia presentation, the different recorded media streams are referenced according to a common time scale.

15. A computer readable medium comprising processor readable and executable instructions that, when executed, perform the steps of claim 11.

25. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining step comprises applying at least one of the following rules:

(i) the at least one communication is related to the conference session when the at least one communication and the conference session comprise one common participant;

(ii) the at least one communication is related to the conference session when the at least one communication and the conference session comprise a common key word;

(iii) the at least one communication is related to the conference session when the at least one communication is related temporally to the conference session;

(iv) the at least one communication is not related to the conference session when the at least one communication and conference session involve multiple different participants; and

(v) the at least one communication is not related to the conference session when a participant indicates that a type of the at least one communication is to be excluded.

16. A communication system, comprising:

a processor readable and executable event association module operable to;

receive, during a selected time period, a plurality of different media streams exchanged, over a communications network, in one or more communications between a plurality of parties; and

generate a multimedia presentation of the plurality of different media streams, wherein the multimedia presentation comprises a plurality of display segments associated with a plurality of;

(i) sequential video images from the plurality of different media streams, (ii) one or more audio and/or video streams from the plurality of different media streams, (iii) one or more text messages from the plurality of different media streams, (iv) any other temporal data stream, and (v) information accessed and/or created by one of the plurality of parties, the information not being included in the plurality of different media streams and wherein, in the multimedia presentation, different media streams are referenced according to a common time scale; and

a processor readable and executable communication visualization module operable to display the multimedia presentation to a requestor.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of different media streams are associated with a multimedia session between the plurality of parties and wherein the plurality of different media streams comprise a plurality of an audio conversation between two or more of the parties, video images of at least one or more of the parties, instant messages exchanged between two or more of the parties, email messages exchanged between two or more of the parties, text chat messages exchanged between two or more of the parties, keyboard chat between two or more of the parties, whiteboard session, desktop sharing session, application sharing session, and power point session.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein each of the display segments contains a graphical representation of a different media stream and wherein the plurality of display segments are associated with (i) sequential video images from the plurality of different media streams, (ii) one or more audio and/or video streams from the plurality of different media streams, (iii) one or more text messages from the plurality of different media streams, (iv) any other temporal data stream, and (v) information accessed and/or created by one of the plurality of parties, the information not being included in the plurality of different media streams.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the multimedia presentation, when activated, present the progressions of the different media streams as a function of time.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein a first display segment contains a set of text messages between the parties, a second display segment contains a set of voice communications between the parties, and a third display segment contains a video representation of a whiteboard session, a desktop sharing session, an application sharing session, and a power point session.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the multimedia presentation comprises one or more objects embedded in an object of the same type.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of different media streams are associated with a multimedia session between the plurality of parties and wherein the event association module is further operable to determine that at least one communication transmitted, by one of the parties, during the conference session, is related to the conference session, wherein the at least one communication is not transmitted as part of the conference session and associate, in the multimedia presentation, a recorded version of the at least one communication with the one or more media streams.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein a first media stream of the plurality of media streams is a pivot and is in a primary display segment, wherein a user selects a second media stream in a secondary display segment as a new pivot, and wherein the processor, in response to the user selection, reorders the multimedia presentation, whereby the second media stream is in the primary display segment and the first media stream is in the secondary display segment.

24. The system of claim 16, wherein a user selects an event along a selected one of the plurality of media streams to navigate to and wherein the processor, in response to the event selection, one of fast forwards and fast reverse automatically to the selected event.