Multi-user and multi-device collaboration

• US 8,682,973 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2011
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kikin-Gil, Erez, Friend, Joseph F., Friend, Ned B., Kotler, Matthew J., Parker, Charles W., Zaika, Igor
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tammy
• Application Number:
  US13/253,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20130091205A1
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/802, 709/205
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

Multi-user, multi-computing device collaborative work experience is provided. One or more computing devices, including wired and wireless personal computers, laptop computers, servers, handheld mobile computing devices, for example, mobile telephones, tablet type computers, slate type computers and the like, may be linked together to allow users of such devices to engage in a collaborative work session. Information for each user engaged in the collaborative work session may be displayed on the one or more devices along with any content such as agenda items, documents, data, images, and the like. User participation may be tracked, and information on user participation, work session communications and content may be stored for subsequent use.

Claims

1. A method for providing a collaborative work session, comprising:

associating a plurality of work session participants with the collaborative work session;

displaying on a computer-generated display information for identifying each of the plurality of work session participants;

reporting information for each of the plurality of work session participants on the computer-generated display for review by each other of the plurality of work session participants;

tracking participation by each of the plurality of work session participants during the collaborative work session, including determining which of any of the plurality of work session participants is speaking at any given time during the collaborative work session and determining an amount of time each of the plurality of work session participants is speaking as compared to an amount of time other of the plurality of work session participants is speaking during a given duration of the collaborative work session;

reporting information relevant to the collaborative work session on the computer-generated display for review by one or more of the plurality of work session participants, including reporting participation information for each of the plurality of work session participants, including an indication of the amount of time each of the plurality of work session participants is speaking as compared to the amount of time other of the plurality of work session participants is speaking during the given duration of the collaborative work session; and

receiving one or more content items from one or more of the plurality of work session participants, and displaying the received one or more content items on the computer-generated display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer-generated display includes a computer-generated display of a wall-disposed integrated computing device and display.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting information relevant to the collaborative work session on the computer-generated display for review by one or more of the plurality of work session participants includes reporting one or more task items associated with the collaborative work session and mapping one or more of the one or more task items to one or more of the plurality of work session participants.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein reporting information relevant to the collaborative work session on the computer-generated display for review by one or more of the plurality of work session participants includes reporting news information relevant to the collaborative work session.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising capturing audio and/or video input from one or more of the plurality of work session participants for providing audio and/or video conferencing between one or more of the plurality of work session participants participating in the collaborative work session at a first location and one or more of the plurality of work session participants participating in the collaborative work session at a second location.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying on a computer-generated display information for identifying each of the plurality of work session participants includes displaying an identifying image for each of the plurality of work session participants for distinguishing each of the plurality of work session participants from one another.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying on a computer-generated display information for identifying each of the plurality of work session participants includes displaying presence status information for each of the plurality of work session participants.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein displaying presence status information for each of the plurality of work session participants includes displaying calendar information for each of the plurality of work session participants.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving one or more communications from one or more of the plurality of work session participants, the one or more communications being directed to the collaborative work session, and displaying the one or more communications on the computer-generated display for review by the plurality of work session participants.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the one or more communications from one or more of the plurality of work session participants includes receiving a message from one or more of the plurality of work session participants indicating a status of attendance of the one or more of the plurality of work session participants to the collaborative work session.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the one or more communications from one or more of the plurality of work session participants includes receiving one or more work session content items directed to the collaborative work session, and wherein displaying the one or more communications on the computer-generated display for review by the plurality of work session participants includes displaying the one or more work session content items on the computer-generated display.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of work session participants is situated remotely from one or more other of the plurality of work session participants and wherein the collaborative work session, including any display of any work session information is distributed among any of the collaborative work session participants and is displayed on a computer-generated display associated with each of the remotely situated work session participants.

13. The method of claim 1, prior to associating a plurality of work session participants with the collaborative work session, further comprising logging one or more of the plurality of work session participants into the collaborative work session according to one or more log-in means.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising limiting a display on the computer-generated display of information, including content items, associated with any work session participant associated with the collaborative work session who is not logged into the collaborative work session.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein logging one or more of the plurality of work session participants into the collaborative work session according to the one or more log-in means includes logging one or more of the plurality of work session participants into the collaborative work session automatically when presence information for the one or more of the plurality of work session participants indicates the one or more of the plurality of work session participants is available for participation in the collaborative work session.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein logging one or more of the plurality of work session participants into the collaborative work session according to the one or more log-in means further comprises providing one or more work session access options to a work session participant logged into the collaborative work session.

17. A computer-readable storage device containing computer-executable instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method for providing a collaborative work session, comprising:

associating a plurality of work session participants with the collaborative work session;

displaying on a computer-generated display information for identifying each of the plurality of work session participants;

displaying on the computer-generated display presence status information for each of the plurality of work session participants;

tracking participation by each of the plurality of work session participants during the collaborative work session, including determining which of any of the plurality of work session participants is speaking at any given time during the collaborative work session and determining an amount of time each of the plurality of work session participants is speaking as compared to an amount of time other of the plurality of work session participants is speaking during a given duration of the collaborative work session;

reporting information for each of the plurality of work session participants on the computer-generated display for review by each other of the plurality of work session participants, including reporting participation information for each of the plurality of work session participants, including an indication of the amount of time each of the plurality of work session participants is speaking as compared to the amount of time other of the plurality of work session participants is speaking during the given duration of the collaborative work session; and

receiving one or more content items from one or more of the plurality of work session participants, and displaying the received one or more content items on the computer-generated display.

18. A system for providing a collaborative work session, comprising:

a collaborative work session application operative to;

associate a plurality of work session participants with the collaborative work session;

display on a computer-generated display information for identifying each of the plurality of work session participants;

track participation by each of the plurality of work session participants during the collaborative work session;

determine which of any of the plurality of work session participants is speaking at any given time during the collaborative work session;

determine an amount of time each of the plurality of work session participants is speaking as compared to an amount of time other of the plurality of work session participants is speaking during a given duration of the collaborative work session;

display on the computer-generated display an indication of which of any of the plurality of work session participants is speaking at any given time during the collaborative work session and an indication of the amount of time each of the plurality of work session participants is speaking as compared to the amount of time other of the plurality of work session participants is speaking during the given duration of the collaborative work session; and

display one or more content items received from one or more of the plurality of work session participants on the computer-generated display, the one or more content items including one or more of messages or one or more types of data.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising the collaborative work session application operative to:

display on the computer-generated display an indication of presence status information for each of the plurality of work session participants.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the indication of presence status information for each of the plurality of work session participants includes displaying calendar information for each of the plurality of work session participants.