METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING VIDEO CONFERENCING

• US 20140139609A1
• Filed: 11/16/2012
• Published: 05/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lu, Min, Chin, Yi, Hoover, Gerald L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,357,165 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.03
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/10 Segmentation; Edge detection motion-based segmentation G06T7/215
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/194 involving foreground-background segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/166 using acquisition arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/0208 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, capturing images that are associated with a video conference communication session, obtaining a video conference policy associated with the video conference communication session, applying object pattern recognition to the images to detect an object in the images, and retrieve first replacement image content according to the video conference policy. The images can be adjusted by replacing a first portion of the images other than the detected object with the first replacement image content to generate first adjusted video content. The first adjusted video content can be provided to the first recipient communication device via the video conference communication session. Non-adjusted video content can be provided according to the video conference policy to the second recipient communication device via the video conference communication session. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A server, comprising:

a memory to store computer instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving images captured by a source communication device associated with a video conference communication session established among video conference participant devices comprising the source communication device, a first recipient communication device, a second recipient communication device and a third recipient communication device;

obtaining a video conference policy associated with the video conference communication session;

applying facial pattern recognition to the images to detect a facial object in the images;

retrieving first replacement image content according to the video conference policy;

adjusting the images by replacing a portion of the images other than the facial object with the first replacement image content to generate first adjusted video content;

providing the first adjusted video content to the first recipient communication device via the video conference communication session;

retrieving second replacement image content according to the video conference policy;

adjusting the images by replacing the portion of the images other than the facial object with the second replacement image content to generate second adjusted video content;

providing the second adjusted video content to the second recipient communication device via the video conference communication session; and

providing non-adjusted video content including the images according to the video conference policy to the third recipient communication device via the video conference communication session, wherein the first adjusted video content is provided to the first recipient communication device without providing the non-adjusted video content to the first recipient communication device, and wherein the second adjusted video content is provided to the second recipient communication device without providing the non-adjusted video content to the second recipient communication device.

2. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise providing the first and second adjusted video content to the source communication device for presentation at the source communication device in separate graphical user interface windows.

3. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining a list of private objects from the video conference policy;

applying object pattern recognition to the images to detect a private object from among the list of private objects,

wherein the replacing of the portion of the images to generate the first adjusted video content includes replacing the private object in the images with a replacement object from the first replacement image content.

4. The server of claim 1, wherein the source communication device is a mobile communication device, and wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining location data associated with the mobile communication device; and

detecting a change in location of the mobile communication device during the video conference session,

wherein the providing of the first adjusted video content to the first recipient communication device via the video conference communication session comprises switching from providing the non-adjusted video content to the providing of the first adjusted video content responsive to the detecting of the change in location of the mobile communication device.

5. The server of claim 1, wherein the first replacement image content comprises a still image, and wherein the adjusting the images to generate the first adjusted video content comprises superimposing the facial object on the still image, and wherein sub-conferencing is performed among a subset of the video conference participant devices to limit distribution of target content among the subset.

6. The server of claim 1, wherein the adjusting the images to generate the first adjusted video content includes retaining another portion of the images other than the facial object in the first adjusted video content, and wherein the first replacement image content comprises moving image content.

7. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

adjusting facial features of the facial object in the first adjusted video content according to user preferences in the video conference policy.

8. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining identification information associated with the source communication device;

determining an identity of a source device user of the source communication device; and

accessing the video conference policy based on the identity of the source device user.

9. The server of claim 1, wherein the video conference policy is a group of video conference policies associated with each of the first, second and third recipient communication devices and with a source device user of the source communication device, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining video content distribution rules according to the group of video conference policies;

detecting a rules conflict in the video content distribution rules; and

resolving the rules conflict according to a priority rule associated with the mobile device user to generate an adjusted video content distribution rules,

wherein the providing of the first and second adjusted video content and the non-adjusted video content is according to the adjusted video content distribution rules.

10. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining audio content captured by the source communication device during the video conference communication session;

applying audio recognition analysis on the audio content to detect noise in the audio content;

adjusting the audio content to generate adjusted audio content that reduces the noise; and

providing the adjusted audio content to the first recipient communication device without providing the audio content to the first recipient communication device.

11. The server of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise accessing a voice sample for a source device user of the source communication device, wherein the noise is detected utilizing the voice sample.

12. The server of claim 11, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

receiving user preference information from the source communication device, wherein the user preference information is based on user preferences selected at the source communication device via user input at the source communication device,

wherein the first replacement image content is selected from among a group of replacement image content according to the user preference information.

13. A method comprising:

receiving, by a system including a processor, images captured by a mobile communication device associated with a video conference communication session established among video conference participant devices comprising the mobile communication device and a recipient communication device;

obtaining, by the system, a video conference policy associated with the video conference communication session;

applying, by the system, facial pattern recognition to the images to detect a facial object in the images;

obtaining, by the system, first location data associated with the mobile communication device;

retrieving, by the system, first replacement image content according to the video conference policy and the first location data;

adjusting, by the system, the images by replacing a portion of the images other than the facial object with the first replacement image content to generate first adjusted video content;

providing the first adjusted video content to the recipient communication device via the video conference communication session;

obtaining, by the system, second location data associated with the mobile communication device;

detecting a change in location of the mobile communication device that satisfies a location change threshold based on a comparison of the first and second location data;

retrieving, by the system and responsive to the change in location, second replacement image content according to the video conference policy and the second location data;

adjusting, by the system and responsive to the change in location, the images by replacing the portion of the images other than the facial object with the second replacement image content to generate second adjusted video content; and

providing, by the system and responsive to the change in location, the second adjusted video content to the recipient communication device via the video conference communication session in place of the first adjusted video content.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the video conference participant devices include an additional recipient communication device, and further comprising:

providing, by the system, non-adjusted video content including the images according to the video conference policy to the additional recipient communication device via the video conference communication session, wherein the first and second adjusted video content is provided to the recipient communication device via the video conference communication session without providing the non-adjusted video content.

15. The method of claim 13, comprising:

receiving, by the system, user preference information from the mobile communication device, wherein the user preference information is based on user preferences selected at the mobile communication device via user input at the mobile communication device, and wherein the first replacement image content is selected from among a group of replacement image content according to the user preference information.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first replacement image content includes moving images, and wherein the adjusting the images to generate the first adjusted video content includes superimposing the facial object on the moving images.

17. The method of claim 13, comprising:

obtaining audio content captured by the mobile communication device during the video conference communication session;

applying audio recognition analysis on the audio content to detect noise in the audio content utilizing a stored audio sample;

adjusting the audio content to generate adjusted audio content that reduces the noise; and

providing the adjusted audio content to the recipient communication device without providing the audio content to the recipient communication device.

18. A tangible computer-readable storage device comprising computer instructions, which, responsive to being executed by a processor of a source communication device, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

capturing images via a camera coupled with the source communication device, wherein the images are associated with a video conference communication session established among video conference participant devices comprising the source communication device, a first recipient communication device and a second recipient communication device;

obtaining a video conference policy associated with the video conference communication session;

applying facial pattern recognition to the images to detect a facial object in the images;

retrieving first replacement image content according to the video conference policy;

adjusting the images by replacing a first portion of the images other than the facial object with the first replacement image content to generate first adjusted video content, wherein the adjusting of the images to generate the first adjusted video content includes retaining a second portion of the images other than the facial object in the first adjusted video content;

providing the first adjusted video content to the first recipient communication device via the video conference communication session; and

providing non-adjusted video content including the images according to the video conference policy to the second recipient communication device via the video conference communication session, wherein the first adjusted video content is provided to the first recipient communication device without providing the non-adjusted video content to the first recipient communication device.

19. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining a list of viewable objects associated with the video conference policy; and

applying object pattern recognition to the images to detect a viewable object from among the list of viewable objects,

wherein the retaining of the second portion of the images other than the facial object includes superimposing the viewable object and the facial object on the first replacement image content.

20. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the video conference participant devices comprise an additional recipient communication device and wherein the operations further comprise:

retrieving additional replacement image content according to the video conference policy;

adjusting the images by replacing the portion of the images other than the facial object with the additional replacement image content to generate additional adjusted video content; and

providing the additional adjusted video content to the additional recipient communication device via the video conference communication session.