Conference roll call

• US 8,885,298 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2006
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Yee, Dawson, Gupta, Anoop
• Primary Examiner(s): GOLDBERG, ANDREW C
• Application Number:
  US11/562,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20080117838A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,911 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 370/260
• US Class Current: 360/260
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/38 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5072 Multiple active speakers conducting a computer conference, e.g. Admission detection H04L12/1822
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/5081 Inform conference party of participants, e.g. of change of participants conducting a computer conference, e.g. admission detection, H04L12/1822
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/569 using the instant speaker's algorithm speech detection per se G10L25/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A facility is described for providing conference roll calls that identify participants in electronically facilitated conferences. In various embodiments, the facility receives identifiers of participants in an electronically facilitated conference and displays a list of the participants in a roll call. The list can include indications of which participant is speaking, whether participants are authenticated, and other information associated with the participant, such as the participant'"'"'s name.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method performed by a computing system for providing conference roll calls for an electronically facilitated conference, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first computerized roll attendant, indications of a first participant and a second participant participating in the electronically facilitated conference;

storing, by the first computerized roll attendant, the received indications of the first participant and the second participant in a first list of conference participants, wherein the first list of conference participants comprises a first roll call for the electronically facilitated conference;

receiving by a second computerized roll attendant, indications of the first participant and the second participant participating in the electronically facilitated conference, wherein the second computerized roll attendant is different than the first computerized roll attendant;

storing, by the second computerized roll attendant, the received indications of the first participant and the second participant in a second list of conference participants, wherein the second list of conference participants comprises a second roll call for the electronically facilitated conference, and wherein the second list of conference participants available for retrieval by the first computerized roll attendant;

providing, by the first computerized roll attendant, the first roll call to the first participant;

providing, by the second computerized roll attendant, the second roll call to the second participant;

dynamically detecting that the first participant is speaking;

receiving a verifiable digital signature associated with the first participant;

authenticating the first participant based on the received verifiable digital signature and the first uniform resource identifier; and

displaying the second roll call to the second participant, the display indicating identifiers for the first and second participants and an indication that the first participant is speaking, and further wherein displaying the second roll call includes displaying a first graphical indication and a second graphical indication, wherein the first graphical indication is displayed on the second roll call near the first participant identifier to indicate that the first participant has been authenticated, and wherein the second graphical indication is displayed on the second roll call near a second participant identifier to indicate that the second participant has been authenticated;

receiving a message with an indication of a third participant joining the electronically facilitated conference;

updating, by the first computerized roll attendant, the first roll call to add the third participant;

updating, by the second computerized roll attendant, the second roll call to add the third participant;

notifying, by the first computerized roll attendant, the first and second participants that the third participant has joined the electronically facilitated conference;

receiving an indication of the third participant departing the electronically facilitated conference; and

notifying, by the first computerized roll attendant, the first and second participants that the third participant has departed the electronically facilitated conference.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a message indicating that the first participant is authenticated and displaying in the displayed second roll call an indication that the first participant is authenticated.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving information associated with the first participant and displaying in the displayed second roll call the retrieved information.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, such that the retrieving includes employing an application program interface provided by an address book provider to retrieve the first participant'"'"'s name.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving from the first participant a verifiable digital signature and authenticating the first participant based on the identifier for the first participant and the received verifiable digital signature.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising sending a message to the second participant indicating that the first participant is authenticated.

7. A computer-readable storage device the device storing computer-executable instructions for performing a method of providing a conference roll call for an electronically facilitated conference, the method comprising:

receiving, from a first participant, a second uniform resource identifier of a second participant, the first participant associated with a first uniform resource identifier;

sending to a location associated with the second uniform resource identifier a message inviting the second participant to the electronically facilitated conference;

upon receiving an acceptance to the invitation from the second participant, providing, by a first computerized roll attendant, a first roll call for the electronically facilitated conference, wherein the a first roll call lists the first and second uniform resource identifiers;

receiving a first verifiable digital signature associated with the first participant;

authenticating the first participant based on the first verifiable digital signature and the first uniform resource identifier;

receiving a verifiable digital signature associated with second participant;

authenticating the second participant based on the second verifiable digital signature and the second uniform resource identifier;

displaying the second roll call to the second participant, the display indicating identifiers for the first and second participants and an indication that the first participant is speaking, wherein displaying the second roll call includes displaying a first graphical indication and a second graphical indication, wherein the first graphical indication is displayed on the second roll call near the first participant identifier to indicate that the first participant has been authenticated, and wherein the second graphical indication is displayed on the second roll call near a second participant identifier to indicate that the second participant has been authenticated;

displaying the first roll call to the participants in the electronically facilitated conference;

receiving, by a second computerized roll attendant, indications of the first participant and the second participant participating in the electronically facilitated conference, wherein the second computerized roll attendant is different from the first computerized roll attendant;

storing, by the second computerized roll attendant, the received indications of the first participant and the second participant in a list of conference participants stored by the second computerized roll attendant, wherein the list of conference participants stored by the second computerized roll attendant is available for retrieval by the first computerized roll attendant, and wherein the list comprises a second roll call;

receiving a message with an indication of a third participant joining the electronically facilitated conference;

updating, by the first computerized roll attendant, the first roll call to add the third participant;

notifying, by the first computerized roll attendant, the first and second participants that the third participant has joined the electronically facilitated conference;

updating, by the second computerized roll attendant, the second roll call by the second computerized roll attendant to add the third participant;

receiving, by the first computerized roll attendant, an indication of the third participant departing the electronically facilitated conference;

receiving, by the second computerized roll attendant, an indication of the third participant departing the electronically facilitated conference;

displaying the second roll call to the second participant, the display indicating identifiers for the first and second participants and an indication that the first participant is speaking; and

notifying, by the first computerized roll attendant, the first and second participants that the third participant has departed the electronically facilitated conference.

8. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7, further comprising determining whether one of the participants is speaking and, when a participant is speaking, identifying in the displayed roll call the speaking participant.

9. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7 wherein the graphical indication is an icon.

10. The computer-readable storage device of claim 7, further comprising:

prior to the third participant departing the electronically facilitated conference, identifying that the third participant is employing a conventional telephone; and

indicating a telephone number associated with the third participant in the displayed roll call.

11. A system for providing a conference roll call for an electronically facilitated conference, the system comprising:

a first apparatus that enables the electronically facilitated conference, the first apparatus employed by a first participant in the electronically facilitated conference, the first participant identified by a first identifier, wherein the first identifier includes a first uniform resource identifier;

a second apparatus that enables the electronically facilitated conference, the second apparatus employed by a second participant in the electronically facilitated conference, the second participant identified by a second identifier wherein the second identifier includes a second uniform resource identifier;

a network that enables communications between the first apparatus and the second apparatus, the first apparatus and the second apparatus connected to the network;

a first computerized roll attendant connected to the network that;

receives the first identifier and the second identifier;

stores a first list of the first and second participants in the electronically facilitated conference, the first list of participants providing the roll call for the electronically facilitated conference;

provides the roll call to the first and second participants;

receives a message with an indication of a third participant joining the electronically facilitated conference;

updates the roll call to add the third participant;

receives an indication of the third participant departing the electronically facilitated conference;

receives a first verifiable digital signature associated with the first participant;

authenticates the first participant based on the first verifiable digital signature and the first uniform resource identifier;

receives a second verifiable digital signature associated with the second participant;

authenticates the second participant based on the second verifiable digital signature and the second uniform resource identifier;

notifies the first and second participants that the third participant has joined the electronically facilitated conference; and

a second computerized roll attendant connected to the network, wherein the second computerized roll attendant is different from the first computerized roll attendant, and wherein the second computerized roll attendant;

receives the first identifier and the second identifier;

stores the first identifier and the second identifier in a second list of participants, wherein the second list of participants is available for retrieval by the first computerized roll attendant;

receives the third identifier; and

updates the second list of participants to add the third identifier; and

a display unit associated with the first apparatus that displays information associated with identifiers of the participants, the displayed information including the roll call, provided by the first computerized roll attendant, of the participants in the electronically facilitated conference, wherein display of the roll call includes displaying a first graphical indication near the identifier of the first participant to indicate the first participant has been authenticated, and further wherein display of the roll call includes displaying a second graphical indication near the identifier of the second participant to indicate that the second participant has been authenticated.

12. The system of claim 11, such that the first apparatus comprises a computing device executing a Voice over Internet Protocol application.

13. The system of claim 12, such that the second apparatus comprises a computing device executing a Voice over Internet Protocol application.

14. The system of claim 12, such that the second apparatus comprises a Voice over Internet Protocol telephone.

15. The system of claim 11, such that the second apparatus comprises a conventional telephone and the first apparatus displays a telephone number associated with the second participant.

16. The system of claim 11, such that the first computerized roll attendant provides an indication that the first participant is speaking.

17. The system of claim 11, such that the second computerized roll attendant is a multipoint control unit.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the second apparatus comprises a mobile phone and the first apparatus displays a telephone number associated with the second participant.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the first computerized roll attendant is a mobile device.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the second computerized roll attendant is a multipoint control unit.