Media detection and packet distribution in a multipoint conference

• US 8,736,663 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2012
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Triplicane, Vijayaraghavan R., Atmakuri, Murthy V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Hemant
• Application Number:
  US13/608,708
• Publication Number:
  US 20130047192A1
• Time in Patent Office: 624 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1416, 370259-271, 370351-357, 709201-207, 709217-248, 4554121-4262, 4554561-466, 4555501-560, 4555751-5759, 455 901- 903, 704270-278
• US Class Current: 348/14.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/565 relating to time schedule aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/569 using the instant speaker's algorithm speech detection per se G10L25/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A method includes receiving a plurality of audio signals. Each of the plurality of audio signals includes audio packets, wherein one or more audio packets from each of the plurality of audio signals is coded with an audiometric, the audiometric including an acoustic measurement from a conference site. The method further includes, for each of the plurality of audio signals, extracting an audiometric from one or more audio packets and selecting an active audio signal based on the extracted audiometrics. In addition, the method includes determining a change in the active audio signal and in response to determining a change in the active audio signal, updating a media forwarding table, the media forwarding table including a directory for routing one or more of the plurality of audio signals. The method further includes distributing audio packets to one or more conference sites in accordance with the media forwarding table.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a plurality of audio signals, wherein each of the plurality of audio signals is coded with one or more audiometrics, each of the audiometrics including an acoustic measurement from a conference site of a plurality of conference sites;

receiving a plurality of video signals, each of the plurality of video signals associated with one or more of the plurality of audio signals;

extracting one or more audiometrics from each of the plurality of audio signals;

selecting one or more first active audio signals based on extracted audiometrics over a first time interval;

selecting one or more first active video signals based on extracted audiometrics over a second time interval, the second time interval being different from, but coinciding with at least a portion of, the first time interval;

updating a media forwarding table in response to selecting the one or more first active audio signals and the one or more first active video signals, the media forwarding table including a directory for routing the selected audio and video signals, the media forwarding table further including instructions for routing only the selected audio and video signals; and

distributing the one or more first active audio signals and the one or more first active video signals to one or more of the plurality of conference sites in accordance with the media forwarding table.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a change in the one or more first active video signals; and

updating the media forwarding table in response to determining a change in the one or more first active video signals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one or more first active video signals based on the one or more first active audio signals is based on an archive, the archive maintaining a record of the one or more first active audio signals.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the one or more first active video signals at a conference site.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more first active audio signals based on the one or more extracted audiometrics includes comparing a plurality audiometrics from each of the plurality of audio signals, wherein the plurality of audiometrics are extracted from audio signals generated over a given time interval.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

broadcasting the one or more first active audio signals at a remote conference site.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the audiometric includes a decibel measurement at a conference site.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the audiometric is weighted based on a plurality of acoustic measurements at a conference site.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

ranking the plurality of audio signals according to the extracted audiometrics.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an instantaneous decoder refresh frame prior to distributing the one or more first active audio signals and the one or more first active video signals to one or more conference sites in accordance with the media forwarding table.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting one or more second active audio signals in response to determining a change in the one or more extracted audiometrics;

selecting one or more second active video signals in response to selecting the one or more second active audio signals; and

updating the media forwarding table in response to selecting the one or more second active audio signals and selecting the one or more second active video signals.

11. A system, comprising:

an interface operable to;

receive a plurality of audio signals, wherein each of the plurality of audio signals is coded with one or more audiometrics, each of the audiometrics including an acoustic measurement from a conference site of a plurality of conference sites; and

receive a plurality of video signals, each of the plurality of video signals associated with one or more of the plurality of audio signals; and

a processor operable to;

extract one or more audiometrics from each of the plurality of audio signals;

select one or more first active audio signals based on extracted audiometrics over a first time interval;

select one or more first active video signals based on extracted audiometrics over a second time interval, the second time interval being different from, but coinciding with at least a portion of, the first time interval;

update a media forwarding table in response to selecting the one or more first active audio signals and the one or more first active video signals, the media forwarding table including a directory for routing the selected audio and video signals, the media forwarding table further including instructions for routing only the selected audio and video signals; and

distribute the one or more first active audio signals and the one or more first active video signals to one or more of the plurality of conference sites in accordance with the media forwarding table.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is operable to:

determine a change in the one or more first active video signals; and

update the media forwarding table in response to determining a change in the one or more first active video signals.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is operable to select the one or more first active video signals based on an archive, the archive maintaining a record of the one or more first active audio signals.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor includes:

a media layer operable to;

extract one or more audiometrics from the audio signals;

forward the one or more extracted audiometrics to a switching layer; and

distribute one or more of the video signals in accordance with the media forwarding table; and

a switching layer operable to;

select one or more active audio signals based on the one or more extracted audiometrics;

determine a change in the active audio signal;

update the media forwarding table in response to determining a change in an active audio signal.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is operable to select the one or more first active audio signals based on the extracted audiometrics by comparing a plurality audiometrics from each of the plurality of audio signals, wherein the plurality of audiometrics are extracted from the audio signals generated over a given time interval.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the audiometric includes a decibel measurement at a conference site.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the audiometric is weighted based on a plurality of acoustic measurements at a conference site.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further operable to rank the plurality of audio signals according to the extracted audiometrics.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further operable to receive an instantaneous decoder refresh frame prior to distributing the one or more first active audio signals to one or more conference sites in accordance with the media forwarding table.

20. A computer readable medium including instructions operable, when executed by a processor, to:

receive a plurality of audio signals, wherein each of the plurality of audio signals is coded with one or more audiometrics, each of the audiometrics including an acoustic measurement from a conference site of a plurality of conference sites;

receive a plurality of video signals, each of the plurality of video signals associated with one or more of the plurality of audio signals;

extract one or more audiometrics from each of the plurality of audio signals;

select one or more first active audio signals based on extracted audiometrics over a first time interval;

select one or more first active video signals based on extracted audiometrics over a second time interval, the second time interval being different from, but coinciding with at least a portion of, the first time interval;

update a media forwarding table in response to selecting the one or more first active audio signals and the one or more first active video signals, the media forwarding table including a directory for routing the selected audio and video signals, the media forwarding table further including instructions for routing only the selected audio and video signals; and

distribute the one or more first active audio signals and the one or more first active video signals to one or more of the plurality of conference sites in accordance with the media forwarding table.