Multipoint conference scalability for co-located participants

• US 8,416,281 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2010
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AirBNB Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ogle, David M., Osenbach, Bryan D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US12/953,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20120127263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1416
• US Class Current: 348/14.09
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2094 Proximity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A terminal device associated with a participant of the multipoint session can be identified. The multipoint session can be associated with a video and an audio stream. The terminal device can be a computing device comprising of an audio and video input, and a video output. The multipoint session can be a conference associated with a telephony session. The location of the terminal device and a conferencing device can be determined. The conferencing device can be associated with an audio input and output. If the terminal device is proximate to the conferencing device, a terminal device audio stream can be terminated and a conference device audio stream can be received. A video stream and an audio stream can be simultaneously presented upon the audio and video output of the conferencing device and terminal device. The video and the audio stream can be a synchronized stream of the session.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a presence engine configured to determine the location of a terminal device associated with a multipoint session, wherein the terminal device is associated with an audio stream and a video stream, wherein the multipoint session is a conference associated with a telephony session;

a bridge manager able to add and remove a conferencing device from the session, wherein the conferencing device is associated with an audio stream; and

a mapping structure configured to link a conferencing device with at least one of a unique identifier and a location, wherein the unique identifier of the mapping is at least one of a Media Access Layer (MAC) address and an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an A/V engine capable of synchronizing a video stream associated with the terminal device utilized by a participant of the session and an audio stream associated with the conferencing device, wherein the audio stream is speech associated with the participant.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the location of the mapping is at least one of a geographic location, coordinates, and a zone.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the bridge manager triggers the termination of an audio stream of at least one of a terminal device and a conferencing device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the presence engine, bridge manager, and mapping is associated with a multipoint controller unit.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the bridge manager is associated with a H.323 gatekeeper.

7. An apparatus comprising:

a computer readable storage medium for storing at least one computer program product;

a processor operable to execute the computer program product to cause an interface window to be displayed by the display hardware; and

the computer program product that upon being executed by a processor is operable to identify a terminal device associated with a participant of the multipoint session, wherein the multipoint session is associated with a video stream and an audio stream, wherein the terminal device is a computing device comprising of an audio input, video input, and a video output, wherein the multipoint session is a conference associated with a telephony session;

the computer program product that upon being executed by a processor is operable to determine the location of the terminal device and a conferencing device, wherein the conferencing device is associated with an audio input and an audio output; and

the computer program product that upon being executed by a processor is operable to terminate an audio stream associated with the audio input of terminal device and receiving an audio stream from the audio input of a conference device if the terminal device is proximate to the conferencing device; and

the computer program product that upon being executed by a processor is operable to simultaneously present a video stream upon the video output of the terminal device and an audio stream upon the audio output of the conferencing device, wherein the video stream and the audio stream is synchronized, wherein the video stream and audio stream is associated with the session.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

display hardware within with an interface window of a graphical user interface is displayed to a user; and

the interface window automatically presenting at least one proposed conferencing device proximate to the location of at least one terminal device.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the proposed proximate conferencing device is automatically associated with the multipoint session.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the session is associated with a video switching capability, wherein the video switching capability visually indicates a video stream associated with a participant of interest, wherein the video switching capability is maintained in response to an audio stream associated the audio input of the terminal device is terminated.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the synchronization is a lip synchronization.

12. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising:

computer usable program code stored in the non-transitory storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to identify a terminal device associated with a participant of the multipoint session, wherein the multipoint session is associated with a video stream and an audio stream, wherein the terminal device is a computing device comprising of an audio input, video input, and a video output, wherein the multipoint session is a conference associated with a telephony session;

computer usable program code stored in the non-transitory storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to determine the location of the terminal device and a conferencing device, wherein the conferencing device is associated with an audio input and an audio output; and

computer usable program code stored in the non-transitory storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to terminate an audio stream associated with the audio input of terminal device and receiving an audio stream from the audio input of a conference device if the terminal device is proximate to the conferencing device; and

computer usable program code stored in the non-transitory storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to simultaneously present a video stream upon the video output of the terminal device and an audio stream upon the audio output of the conferencing device, wherein the video stream and the audio stream is synchronized, wherein the video stream and audio stream is associated with the session.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising:

computer usable program code stored in the non-transitory storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to automatically present at least one proposed conferencing device proximate to the location of at least one terminal device.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the proposed proximate conferencing device is automatically associated with the multipoint session.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the session is associated with a video switching capability, wherein the video switching capability visually indicates a video stream associated with a participant of interest, wherein the video switching capability is maintained in response to an audio stream associated the audio input of the terminal device is terminated.

16. A system comprising:

a presence engine configured to determine the location of a terminal device associated with a multipoint session, wherein the terminal device is associated with an audio stream and a video stream, wherein the multipoint session is a conference associated with a telephony session;

a bridge manager able to add and remove a conferencing device from the session, wherein the conferencing device is associated with an audio stream; and

means for automatically terminating an audio stream associated with audio input of the terminal device associated with the multipoint session and a means for receiving a corresponding audio stream from a conference device if the terminal device is proximate to the conferencing device; and

means for presenting a video stream upon the terminal device wherein the video stream and the corresponding audio stream are synchronized, and wherein the video stream and audio stream are streams of the multipoint session.