Intelligent communication routing system and method

• US 8,300,798 B1
• Filed: 04/03/2007
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Patent Armory Inc. (Jeffrey M. Gross)
• Original Assignee: Steven Mark Hoffberg, Wai Wu
• Inventors: Wu, Wai, Hoffberg, Steven M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Antim
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope, Kharye
• Application Number:
  US11/695,691
• Time in Patent Office: 2,037 Days
• Field of Search: 706/47, 370/401, 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/356, 370/357, 379/266.08, 379/265, 379/266, 379/258, 379/270, 375/224
• US Class Current: 379/265.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5235 Dependent on call type or called number [DNIS]

Abstract

A communications routing system, and method, for representing a plurality of predicted characteristics of a plurality of communications sources, each having an economic utility; representing a plurality of predicted characteristics of a plurality of communications targets each having an economic utility; and determining an optimal routing between the plurality of communications sources and the plurality of communications targets, by maximizing an aggregate utility with respect to the respective predicted characteristics of communications source and communications destination represented by linkages.

Claims

1. A communications control system comprising:

(a) a data structure representing a plurality of characteristic classes for each of a plurality of communications sources;

(b) a data structure representing a plurality of characteristic classes for each of a plurality of communications destinations; and

(c) a processor, configured to determine an optimal set of routings representing communications linkages between respective communications sources and communications destinations for a plurality of communications selected from a group of sets of alternate possible routings representing communications linkages between respective communications sources and communications destinations, based on an economic optimization of the set of linkages of the respective communications sources and communications destinations data structures subject to at least one discrimination factor which biases the optimal set of routings away from the maximum aggregate economic value,

wherein each respective communications destination has an associated cost, and a set of utility attributes, said data structure representing the plurality of communications sources comprising a set of likely requirements,

wherein the processor is further configured to optimally assign an available communications destination to a respective communications source in a cost-efficient manner such that the likely requirements are satisfied by the utility attributes of the assigned available communications destination, and is configured to treat at least one discrimination factor as a cost associated with a respective assignment in an optimization.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the data structure infers a cost or value of the respective communications source or destination, and the processor is configured to perform a combinatorial optimization seeking to maximize an economic surplus function for the linkages of the plurality of communications, subject to the at least one discrimination factor.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to route the plurality of communications sources to the plurality of communications destinations in dependence on the optimized linkages.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one discrimination factor comprises a subjective discrimination factor.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the optimized linkages between the plurality of communications sources and the plurality of communications destinations represent voice over packet switched data network communication paths.

6. A communications control system comprising:

(a) at least one characteristics vector representing a plurality of predicted characteristics of a plurality of communications sources;

(b) at least one characteristics vector representing a plurality of predicted characteristics of a plurality of communications targets;

(c) a processor, configured to determine a routing between the communications sources and communications targets, by optimizing an aggregate value function represented by linkages of the respective communications sources and communications targets, wherein a value function associated with at least one linkage used to determine the aggregate value is biased by at least adjustment based on at least one discrimination factor, and the biased aggregate value is then maximized; and

(d) a memory configured to store the routing determined by the processor,

wherein each respective communications target has an associated cost, and a set of utility attributes, said communications source characteristics vector comprising a set of likely requirements, and

wherein the processor is further configured to optimally assign an available communications target to a respective communications source in a cost-efficient manner such that the likely requirements are satisfied by the utility attributes of the assigned available communications target, wherein the processor is configured to treat at least one discrimination factor as a cost associated with a respective assignment in an optimization.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to cross multiply the respective characteristics vectors of a communications source and a communications target to determine an economic value represented by a respective linkage.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to perform a combinatorial optimization seeking to maximize a discrimination factor-adjusted economic value represented by the various feasible aggregate linkages of the plurality of communications sources and the plurality of communications destinations.

9. The system according to claim 6, wherein at least one characteristics vector comprises a content classification attribute.

10. The system according to claim 6, wherein at least one characteristics vector comprises a specific skill weight.

11. The system according to claim 6, wherein the at least one discrimination factor represents an economic cost applied to an association of a respective communication source and a respective communication target.

12. The system according to claim 6, wherein the communications sources are each associated with at least one cost or value function.

13. The system according to claim 6, wherein the communications targets are each associated with at least one cost or value function.

14. The system according to claim 6, wherein at least one communications source or communications target has an associated availability, the optimization being further dependent on the availability.

15. The system according to claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to determine the routing responsive to a latency before routing.

16. A communications routing method comprising the steps of:

(a) representing a plurality of predicted characteristics of a plurality of communications sources, each having a set of likely requirements and an economic utility for a communication dependent on respective characteristics of at least one respective communication target;

(b) representing a plurality of predicted characteristics of a plurality of communications targets each having a set of economic utility attributes and an associated cost for a communication dependent on respective characteristics of at least one respective communication source; and

(c) determining an optimal routing linking respective communications sources and communications targets from a plurality of mutually inconsistent alternate routings linking respective communications sources and communications targets, in a cost-efficient manner such that the likely requirements of the communications sources are likely satisfied by the utility attributes of the assigned available communications targets, wherein an economic utility of at least one possible link between a respective communications source and a communications target is biased by a discrimination adjustment treated as a cost factor associated with a respective link in an optimization, the determined optimal routing being a routing that, subject to bias by at least the discrimination adjustment, maximizes an aggregate economic utility with respect to the respective predicted characteristics of communications source and communications destination represented by linkages.

17. The communications method according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of predicted characteristics are represented in a multiparametric vector.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the economic utility comprises a cost or value function, and wherein a net value of a linkage between a communications source and a communications target is a function of an anticipated cost, an anticipated outcome, and a discrimination adjustment cost, determined by analyzing at least the respective predicted characteristics, wherein the determining step performs a combinatorial optimization.

19. A method for communicating, comprising providing a value function comprising at least a cost, and utility attributes for each of a set of nodes, and optimizing, by an automated processor, a concurrent association of a plurality of the respective nodes subject to a discrimination factor adjustment for at least one association of at least two nodes, at least one of which having likely requirements,

wherein:

said optimizing is cost-efficient and dependent on a prediction of an evaluation of the value function at a future time from when the value function was defined such that the likely requirements of the associated nodes are probably satisfied by the utility attributes of the associated nodes, and wherein the at least one discrimination factor is treated as a cost associated with a respective association, and wherein the prediction is dependent on at least one of (i) a history of change in the value function of the respective node, and (ii) an analysis of dynamic changes of a value function associated with at least one other node having a correspondence to the respective node, and selects an aggregate maximum predicted economic value biased by at least the discrimination factor for the respective at least one association of at least two nodes.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein concurrent associations of respective nodes are exclusive, and the optimization by the processor determines a highest aggregate biased economic value of a plurality of mutually exclusive concurrent associations between respective nodes.