CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT FACILITY VIDEO VISITATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20140313275A1
• Filed: 03/10/2014
• Published: 10/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Keefe Group, LLC (TKC Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Centric Group LLC (TKC Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gupta, Atul, Kapoor, Rahul
• Granted Patent: US 9,247,200 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085

Abstract

Video visitation systems and methods for correctional facilities include an audio/video processor element interconnecting an inmate station and a remote visitor station. The audio/video processor element adjusts audio and/or video feeds to facilitate monitoring by a plurality of officers at remote monitoring stations without experiencing network bandwidth and latency issues.

Claims

1. A video visitation system comprising:

a first workstation comprising a first camera and a first microphone configured to generate a first complete audio/video feed;

a second workstation comprising a second camera and a second microphone configured to generate a second complete audio/video feed;

the first and second workstations configured to communicate with one another over at least one network, whereby a video visitation may be conducted between a first user at the first workstation and a second user at the second workstation; and

at least one processor-based audio/video element configured to remove at least a portion of at least one of the first and second complete audio/video feeds.

2. The video visitation system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor-based audio/video element is provided integrally with the first workstation.

3. The video visitation system of claim 1, wherein the first workstation is an inmate workstation provided in a correctional facility.

4. The video visitation system of claim 1, further comprising a director element configured to communicate with the first and second workstations.

5. The video visitation system of claim 4, wherein the director element includes the at least one processor-based audio/video element.

6. The video visitation system of claim 4, wherein the director element is configured to record the first and second audio/video feeds after the portion has been removed.

7. The video visitation system of claim 6, further comprising a database to store the recorded first and second audio/video feeds after the portion has been removed, and the at least one audio/video processing device configured to retrieve the stored recorded first and second audio/video feeds for subsequent playback.

8. The video visitation system of claim 4, further comprising at least one monitoring station configured to communicate with the director element.

9. The video visitation system of claim 8, wherein the monitoring station is provided with investigative tools for analyzing the first and second audio feeds.

10. The video visitation system of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second complete audio/video feeds comprise a video feed having a series of successive frames, the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to remove frames from at least one of the first and second complete audio/video feeds.

21. The video visitation of claim 1, wherein the first workstation is provided with biometric identification tools to authorize access to the first workstation.

45. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one monitoring station, and the at least one monitoring station configured to provide simultaneous video visitations for review by a person at the at least one monitoring station.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the at least one monitoring station is configured to provide simultaneous review of eight or less video visitations by a single person at the least one monitoring station.

47. The system of claim 46, wherein the first workstation is located in a correctional facility, the first user is an inmate, and the single person is an officer.

48. The system of claim 1, wherein the first workstation is located in an institutional facility housing residents in a controlled manner, and wherein the first user is a resident of the institutional facility.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the institutional facility is a correctional facility, and wherein the first user is an inmate.

11. The video visitation system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to remove a frame of a video feed at a predetermined and regular interval in the series of successive frames.

12. The video visitation system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to remove a plurality of successive frames in the series of successive frames.

13. The video visitation system of claim 11, wherein each of the first and second complete audio/video feeds comprises an audio feed corresponding to the video feed, and the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to monitor the audio feed to determine the frames to be removed.

14. The video visitation system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to dynamically adjust the removal of the frames based on network analytic considerations.

15. The video visitation system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to adjust the removed of the frames based on a time of day that the first and second workstations are in use.

16. The video visitation system of claim 11, wherein each of the first and second complete audio/video feeds comprises an audio feed corresponding to the video feed, and wherein the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to remove a portion of the audio feed.

17. The video visitation system of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to remove a portion of the audio feed corresponding to the removed video frames.

18. The video visitation system of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to remove a portion of the audio that does not correspond to the removed video frames, and the at least one processor based audio/video element is configured to delay one of the audio and video feeds with the portions removed to obtain synchronicity of the audio and video feeds with the portions removed.

19. The video visitation system of claim 11, wherein at least the first workstation is located in an institutional facility that houses residents in a controlled environment.

20. The video visitation system of claim 20, wherein the institutional facility is a correctional facility,

22. A video visitation method, the method implemented with a system including a first workstation comprising a first camera and a first microphone configured to provide a first complete audio/video feed, a second workstation comprising a second camera and a second microphone configured to provide a second complete audio/video feed, the first and second workstations configured to communicate with one another over at least one network and provide a video visitation between a first user and a second user, and at least one processor-based audio/video element, the method comprising:

removing, with the at least one processor-based audio/video element, at least a portion of at least one of the first and second complete audio/video feeds.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor-based audio/video element is provided integrally with one of the first and second workstations, and the method comprises:

removing a portion of at the complete audio/video feed at the one of the first and second workstations; and

communicating the audio/video feed with the portion removed to the other of the first and second workstations.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the first workstation is an inmate workstation provided in a correctional facility, wherein the first user is an inmate, and the method further comprises accepting an inmate login.

25. The method of claim 22, the system further including a director element configured to communicate with the first and second workstations, and the method comprising interfacing each of the first and second workstations with the director element.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising scheduling a video visitation with the director element.

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising recording the first and second audio/video feeds after the portion has been removed.

28. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

storing the recorded first and second audio/video feeds after the portion has been removed; and

retrieving the stored recorded first and second audio/video feeds for subsequent playback.

29. The method of claim 25, the system further including at least one monitoring station configured to communicate with the director element, and the method comprising receiving the first and second audio/video feeds with the at least one monitoring station after the portion has been removed.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the monitoring station is provided with investigative tools for analyzing the first and second audio feeds, the method further comprising analyzing the first and second audio/video feeds with the investigative tools.

31. The method of claim 22, wherein each of the first and second complete audio/video feeds includes a video feed having a series of successive frames, and the method comprises removing frames from at least one of the first and second complete audio feeds with the at least one processor based audio/video element.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the method comprises removing a frame of a video feed at a predetermined and regular interval in the series of successive frames.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the method comprises removing a plurality of successive frames in the series of successive frames.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein each of the first and second complete audio/video feeds comprises an audio feed corresponding to the video feed, and the method comprises monitoring the audio feed, with the at least one processor based audio/video element, to determine the frames to be removed.

35. The method of claim 31, the method further comprising dynamically adjusting, with the at least one processor based audio/video element, the removal of the frames based on network analytic considerations for the network.

36. The method of claim 31, the method comprising adjusting the removed of the frames, with the at least one processor based audio/video element, based on a time of day that the first and second workstations are in use.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein each of the first and second complete audio/video feeds comprises an audio feed corresponding to the video feed, and the method comprises removing a portion of the audio feed with the at least one processor based audio/video element.

38. The method of claim 37, the method comprising removing a portion of the audio feed corresponding to the removed video frames.

39. The method of claim 37, further comprising removing a portion of the audio that does not correspond to the removed video frames, and delaying one of the audio and video feeds with the portions removed to obtain synchronicity of the audio and feeds with the portions removed.

40. The method of claim 31, wherein at least the first workstation is located in an institutional facility that houses residents in a controlled environment, and the method comprises billing a use of the system by at least one of the residents.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the institutional facility is a correctional facility, and the method includes accepting a logon from at least one inmate in the correctional facility.

42. The method of claim 31, the method comprising applying biometric identification tools to authorize access to the first workstation.

43. The method of claim 22, the system including a plurality of monitoring stations at different locations remote from at least one of the first and second workstations, the method comprising dynamically adjusting the audio video feeds of at least one of the first and second workstations to facilitate monitoring of the video visitation by a person at each of the plurality of monitoring stations.

44. The method of claim 22, the system including a plurality of first workstations and a plurality of second workstations, the system further including at least one monitoring station, the method comprising providing simultaneous video visitations for review by a person at the at least one monitoring station.