Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Kerry Woolsey

Syed Mansoor Jafry

Peter M Bergler

Mahendra D Sekaran

Krishnan Ananthanarayanan

Larry Jin

Susan Chory

Rylan Michael Hawkins

Ganapathy V Raman

Pat Halvorsen

Keith Stuart Kaplan

John David Bruner

Humayun Mukhtar Khan

Gursharan Singh Sidhu

Jeffrey B Kay

Shawn M Thomas

Peter Hammerquist

Anish Desai

Mansoor Jafry

Eric S Hamilton

Amit Kumar Dutta

Casey J Dvorak

Tony He

Mieszko G Matkowski

Ray Froelich

Ted T Chen

Eugen Pajor

Clif Gordon

A digital assistant operating on a device is configured to be engaged as an active participant in communications between local and remote parties by listening to voice and video calls and participating in messaging sessions. The digital assistant typically can be initiated by voice using a key word or phrase and then be requested to perform tasks, provide information and services, etc. using voice or gestures. The digital assistant can respond to the request and take appropriate actions. In voice and video calls, the interactions with the digital assistant (i.e., the request, response, and actions) can be heard by both parties to the call as if the digital assistant was a third party on the call. In a messaging session, messages are generated and displayed to each participant so that they can see the interactions with the digital assistant as if it was a participant.

Use of a digital assistant in communications

A real-time sharing component operating on a computing device such as a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer (PC) is configured to enable a local sharing party to share content with a remote party during a phone call. The real-time sharing component exposes tools, controls, and functions that enable the shared content to be a curated experience in which content available to the sharing party can be selected and shared with the remote party with voice narration while controlling the pacing of the sharing, maintaining privacy so that only intentionally shared content can be seen by the remote party but not other content, and controlling how and when shared content can be saved by the remote party, and enabling the shared content to be zoomed and panned and be highlighted with graphics and/or annotated with text.

Real-time sharing during a phone call

Various embodiments provide real-time translation of a voicemail into a readable format as the voicemail is being recorded. In some cases, a system server records the voicemail by first answering a call from an originating device that goes unanswered by a destination device. Upon answering the call, the system server translates the recording, while it is being recorded, into a readable format. Alternately or additionally, the system server forwards portions of the readable format to the destination device. In turn, as the destination device receives portion(s) of the real-time translation, it can display the associated content, and/or update what is displayed as new portions are received. At times, the destination device provides additional call control that interrupts the voicemail while it is being recorded at the system server, and redirects the call to the destination device if the originating device is still connected.

Text translation of an audio recording during recording capture

Various user interfaces and other technologies for seamlessly transitioning between calls of different types can be implemented. The technologies can be implemented to give the impression of a single call that is upgraded from one call type to another. A new application can register so that an appropriate user interface control appears for activation when seamless call transition is possible. Transitioning for third party applications can thus be supported. Cross-platform implementations can be supported.

Seamless call transitions

Signaling from a mobile device is transparently tunneled through a cellular voice network to a Voice over Internet Protocol ('VoIP') core network so that multi-party calls, including conference calls and call waiting, can be managed entirely within the VoIP core network. The tunneled signals enable call control to be implemented in the VoIP core network and also establish a way to communicate requests, instructions, and call state. The signaling is transparent to the cellular network because that network does not receive and interpret the signaling. Instead, the cellular network's existing and unmodified control plane is repurposed by the mobile device by placing new, brief outgoing calls through the cellular network to the VoIP core network where the called party number (i.e., the caller-ID) encodes specific information. The VoIP core network immediately releases the new cellular call once the caller-ID is received and the encoded information is interpreted.

Tunneling VoIP call control on cellular networks

An automated technique is discussed for processing audio data and generating one or more actions in response thereto. In particular embodiments, the audio data can be obtained during a phone conversation and post-call actions can be provided to the user with contextually relevant entry points for completion by an associated application. Audio transcription services available on a remote server can be leveraged. The entry points can be generated based on keyword recognition in the transcription and passed to the application in the form of parameters.

Action generation based on voice data

Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of tools and techniques for updating services in sharing-experience sessions during communications calls. According to one exemplary technique, a first computing device initiates a communications call and receives capability information for a second computing device. The capability information for the second computing device includes information indicating attributes of a service supported by the second computing device. Additionally, the first computing device evaluates the capability information to determine that the service is supported by the first and second computing devices. The first computing device initiates a sharing-experience session that includes the service. An update message comprising update information for the service is received, and based on the received update information, content of the service is updated.

Updating services during real-time communication and sharing-experience sessions

VoIP calls associated with VoIP applications installed on a mobile computing device are treated similar to calls not associated with installed VoIP applications. VoIP applications invoke the same native incoming call user interface that is invoked when a mobile device detects an incoming call that is not associated with an installed VoIP application. Mobile devices can simultaneously host a VoIP call and a call not associated with an installed VoIP application while a mobile device is locked. A reduced call user interface is displayed while a mobile device is simultaneously hosting multiple calls. Selection of the reduced call user interface causes the mobile device to make the active call the inactive call and vice versa. The reduced call user interface is managed by the mobile device operating system.

Unified user experience for mobile calls

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Duvall, WA, United States of America

Kerry Woolsey