Method and system for monitoring contact center transactions

• US 8,744,065 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2010
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Edholm, Philip, Weiner, Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Asanbayev, Oleg
• Application Number:
  US12/887,734
• Publication Number:
  US 20120069986A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,350 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265.06, 37920201-20601, 37926501-26503, 379/266.01, 381/17, 381/18, 381/61, 381/63, 381/365, 381/386, 381/387, 370/260, 370/266, 455/414.1, 455/414.4, 455/415, 455/416
• US Class Current: 379/265.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30

Abstract

A method and system for concurrently monitoring contact center agents. A user interface executes on a supervisor station and displays multiple agent identifiers, including a first agent identifier and a second agent identifier, on a display device. The supervisor station provides to a three-dimensional spatial audio engine (3DSAE) first audio attribute data identifying a location of the first agent identifier in the user interface with respect to a supervisor reference position, the first audio attribute data including first audio direction data and first audio distance data. The supervisor station receives from the 3DSAE first voice signals corresponding to the first agent identifier, wherein the first voice signals include aural characteristics based on the first audio attribute data, and presents the first voice signals to an output port.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for controlling audio streams, comprising:

providing, by a computing device comprising a processor, a user interface on a display device, the user interface comprising a plurality of agent identifiers, including a first agent identifier and a second agent identifier, and a user-movable supervisor identifier having a supervisor reference position comprising a supervisor reference location and a supervisor reference direction;

providing to a three-dimensional spatial audio engine (3DSAE) first audio attribute data identifying a location of the first agent identifier in the user interface with respect to the supervisor reference position of the supervisor identifier, the first audio attribute data comprising first audio direction data based on the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference direction and first audio distance data based on the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference location;

providing to the 3DSAE second audio attribute data identifying a location of the second agent identifier in the user interface with respect to the supervisor reference position, the second audio attribute data comprising second audio direction data and second audio distance data;

receiving first voice signals corresponding to the first agent identifier, wherein the first voice signals include first aural characteristics based on the first audio attribute data, the first aural characteristics aurally positioning the first voice signals based on the first audio direction data and amplifying the first voice signals based on the first audio distance data;

receiving second voice signals corresponding to the second agent identifier, wherein the second voice signals include second aural characteristics based on the second audio attribute data, the second aural characteristics aurally positioning the second voice signals based on the second audio direction data and amplifying the second voice signals based on the second audio distance data;

concurrently presenting the first voice signals and the second voice signals to the output port; and

responsive to the supervisor identifier being moved to a new location in the user interface;

determining third audio attribute data based on a change in the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference position, the third audio attribute data comprising third audio direction data and third audio distance data;

providing to the 3DSAE the third audio attribute data;

receiving the first voice signals corresponding to the first agent identifier, wherein the first voice signals include third aural characteristics based on the third audio attribute data, the third aural characteristics aurally positioning the first voice signals based on the third audio direction data and amplifying the third voice signals based on the third audio distance data; and

presenting the first voice signals to the output port.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first audio direction data is different from the second audio direction data.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first audio distance data is different from the second audio distance data.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first audio attribute data is different from the second audio attribute data.

5. A supervisor station comprising:

a display device;

a communications interface adapted to interface with a network; and

a controller coupled to the communications interface and configured to;

provide a user interface on the display device, the user interface comprising a plurality of agent identifiers, including a first agent identifier and a second agent identifier, and a user-movable supervisor identifier having a supervisor reference position comprising a supervisor reference location and a supervisor reference direction;

provide to a three-dimensional spatial audio engine (3DSAE) first audio attribute data identifying a location of the first agent identifier in the user interface with respect to the supervisor reference position of the supervisor identifier, the first audio attribute data comprising first audio direction data based on the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference direction and first audio distance data based on the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference location;

provide to the 3DSAE second audio attribute data identifying a location of the second agent identifier in the user interface with respect to the supervisor reference position, the second audio attribute data comprising second audio direction data and second audio distance data;

receive first voice signals corresponding to the first agent identifier, wherein the first voice signals include first aural characteristics based on the first audio attribute data, the first aural characteristics aurally positioning the first voice signals based on the first audio direction data and amplifying the first voice signals based on the first audio distance data;

receive second voice signals corresponding to the second agent identifier, wherein the second voice signals include second aural characteristics based on the second audio attribute data, the second aural characteristics aurally positioning the second voice signals based on the second audio direction data and amplifying the second voice signals based on the second audio distance data;

concurrently present the first voice signals and the second voice signals to the output port; and

responsive to the supervisor identifier being moved to a new location in the user interface;

determine third audio attribute data based on a change in the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference position, the third audio attribute data comprising third audio direction data and third audio distance data;

provide to the 3DSAE the third audio attribute data;

receive the first voice signals corresponding to the first agent identifier, wherein the first voice signals include third aural characteristics based on the third audio attribute data, the third aural characteristics aurally positioning the first voice signals based on the third audio direction data and amplifying the third voice signals based on the third audio distance data; and

present the first voice signals to the output port.

6. The supervisor station of claim 5, wherein the first audio direction data is different from the second audio direction data.

7. The supervisor station of claim 5, wherein the first audio distance data is different from the second audio distance data.

8. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having a computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed on a processor to implement a method for controlling audio streams, the method comprising:

providing, by a computing device comprising a processor, a user interface on a display device, the user interface comprising a plurality of agent identifiers, including a first agent identifier and a second agent identifier, and a user-movable supervisor identifier having a supervisor reference position comprising a supervisor reference location and a supervisor reference direction;

providing to a three-dimensional spatial audio engine (3DSAE) first audio attribute data identifying a location of the first agent identifier in the user interface with respect to the supervisor reference position of the supervisor identifier, the first audio attribute data comprising first audio direction data based on the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference direction and first audio distance data based on the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference location;

providing to the 3DSAE second audio attribute data identifying a location of the second agent identifier in the user interface with respect to the supervisor reference position, the second audio attribute data comprising second audio direction data and second audio distance data;

receiving first voice signals corresponding to the first agent identifier, wherein the first voice signals include first aural characteristics based on the first audio attribute data, the first aural characteristics aurally positioning the first voice signals based on the first audio direction data and amplifying the first voice signals based on the first audio distance data;

receiving second voice signals corresponding to the second agent identifier, wherein the second voice signals include second aural characteristics based on the second audio attribute data, the second aural characteristics aurally positioning the second voice signals based on the second audio direction data and amplifying the second voice signals based on the second audio distance data;

concurrently presenting the first voice signals and the second voice signals to the output port; and

responsive to the supervisor identifier being moved to a new location in the user interface;

determining third audio attribute data based on a change in the location of the first agent identifier with respect to the supervisor reference position, the third audio attribute data comprising third audio direction data and third audio distance data;

providing to the 3DSAE the third audio attribute data;

receiving the first voice signals corresponding to the first agent identifier, wherein the first voice signals include third aural characteristics based on the third audio attribute data, the third aural characteristics aurally positioning the first voice signals based on the third audio direction data and amplifying the third voice signals based on the third audio distance data; and

presenting the first voice signals to the output port.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first audio direction data is different from the second audio direction data.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first audio distance data is different from the second audio distance data.