Polycom, Inc.

Plantronics, Inc.

Stephen Paul Schaefer

Alain Elon Nimri

Shu Gao

Rommel Gabriel Childress, Jr

Robert Murphy

Anthony Martin Duys

Junqing Shao

Glenn G George

Alvin Okunami

Rob Murphy

Peter L Chu

David A Bryan

Casey King

David Young

Wei-Cheng Su

Jeffrey C Rodman

Jinwei Feng

Rajen Bhatt

Wayne Grosvenor Dunlap

Kui Zhang

Rick Flott

Raghavendra Balavalikar Krishnamurthy

Jonathan Gallmeier

Martin G Sexton

Varun Ajay Kulkarni

Daniel Palmer

Rommel Gabriel Childress

A system for preventing private image data captured at an endpoint from being shared during a videoconference is provided. A user can select three-dimensional regions which will not be seen during a videoconference while areas in front of the designated regions remain viewable.

Securing image data from unintended disclosure at a videoconferencing endpoint

Scene changes should be done pleasingly and without user input or control. Based on the number of speakers and changes in speakers, either to a different individual or movement by the same speaker, based on the locations of the speakers, and based on the overlap of the current and intended scenes, a decision is made whether to perform a smooth transition or do a cut. It has been determined that the decision on cut versus smooth transition is preferably based on the location of the center of the intended new scene versus the boundaries of the current scene, a cut used if the center is outside the boundaries and a smooth transition if inside. If a smooth transition, an easing function, such as ease in ease out, is performed to change the scene. A preferred value for the smooth transition is to perform the transition over 80 frames.

System and method of dynamic, natural camera transitions in an electronic camera

A method for determining camera framing in a teleconferencing system comprises a process loop which includes acquiring an audio-visual frame from a captured a video data frame; detecting objects and extracting image features of the objects within the video data frame, ingesting the audio-visual frame into a context-based audio-visual map in an intelligent manner, and selecting targets from within the map for inclusion in an audio-video stream for transmission to a remote endpoint.

Context based target framing in a teleconferencing environment

The frame or image of a video stream of a videoconference is divided into a series of segments for analysis. There is a primary grid, which covers the entire frame, and an alternate grid, which is shifted from the primary grid. Each segment is small enough to allow a neural network to efficiently operate on the segment without requiring downsampling. By operating on full resolution images, a participant can be identified at a greater distance from the camera. The entire frame is analyzed at a lower frequency, such as once per five seconds, but each segment containing a participant in the conference is scanned at a higher frequency, such as once per second, to maintain responsiveness to participant movement but also allow the full resolution operation.

Enhanced person detection using face recognition and reinforced, segmented field inferencing

A presentation system capable of detecting one or more gestures and contacts on a touch sensitive display. The presentation system can displaying indicia of such contacts, such as when a user writes with a fingertip, and can remove or alter such indicia responsive to other gestures and contacts. The system can accurately distinguish between types of gestures detected, such as between a writing gesture and an erasing gesture, on both large and small touch sensitive displays, thereby obviating the need for a user to make additional selective inputs to transition from one type of gesture to another. The system can determine how long to keep user annotations displayed during a presentation, based on the nature of the gesture used to make the annotations and the context in which they are made.

Context based annotating in an electronic presentation system

A method of view selection in a teleconferencing environment includes receiving a frame of image data from an optical sensor such as a camera, detecting one or more conference participants within the frame of image data, and identifying an interest region for each of the conference participants. Identifying the interest region comprises estimating head poses of participants to determine where a majority of the participants are looking and determining if there is an object in that area. If a suitable object is in the area at which the participants are looking, such as a whiteboard or another person, the image data corresponding to the object will be displayed on a display device or sent to a remote teleconference endpoint.

Detecting and tracking a subject of interest in a teleconference

Systems and methods for collaboratively controlling the display of information across multiple displays is disclosed. A plurality of electronic devices linked to a plurality of co-located display devices are accessed. At least one of the plurality of electronic devices is a master electronic device. Different users can select and transfer content elements from the set displayed on the master display device to the remainder of display devices, such that the selected and transferred content elements advance in order across the remainder of display devices. Users can select individual content elements from a device under their control for display by one or more display devices without the need to transfer an entire document or file from which the content element is taken. Once a content element is so displayed, other currently displayed content elements are advanced in a logical manner, or removed from display.

Collaboratively controlling display of information across multiple displays

Scene changes that are done pleasingly and without user input or control. Based on the number of speakers and changes in speakers, either to a different individual or movement by the same speaker, based on the locations of the speakers and based on the overlap of the current and intended scenes, a decision is made whether to perform a smooth transition or do a cut. It has been determined that the decision on cut versus smooth transition is preferably based on the location of the center of the intended new scene versus the boundaries of the current scene, a cut used if the center is outside the boundaries and a smooth transition if inside. If a smooth transition, an easing function, such as ease in ease out, is performed to change the scene. A preferred value for the smooth transition is to perform the transition over 80 frames.

Utilization of a state machine to determine participant framing. The states include empty room, group framing, any talker, conversation mode and unambiguous talker. In empty room state, the conference room is framed. In group framing state, any participants in the room are framed. In any talker state, the talking participant is framed. In conversation mode state, all talking participants are framed. In unambiguous talker state, the single talking participant is framed. Various framing conditions define transitions between the states. Conditions include, presence of participants, which and number of participants that are talking for how long, system mute and far site talking. The conversation states and conditions and framing decisions provide a fully automated framing mechanism to provide pleasant framing of the individuals in the near site or end for any of the conditions relating to number of talkers, participants and the like.

System and method for automatically framing conversations in a meeting or a video conference

Detecting and framing a subject of interest in a teleconference

Systems for videoconferencing are designed for where people are seated around a video conferencing system. The systems include a camera so the far site can see the local participants and the systems include displays that show the far site. The displays are properly aligned with the cameras so that when people at the far site view the displayed images of the near site, it looks like they have eye contact with the near site. Obtaining the alignments of the camera and the displays to provide this apparent eye contact result requires meeting a series of different constraints relating to the various sizes and angles of the components and the locations of the participants.

Method and design for optimum camera and display alignment of center of the room video conferencing systems

A digital storyboard system that uses multiple displays and related methods are disclosed. The systems and methods may be used to present graphical content such as slides of a slide shows or boards of a storyboard sequence simultaneously on multiple screens at each of a plurality of locations. One or more users of the system may, through their interface device, update or edit the content on any of the screens, resulting in real-time updates to those designated screens at all locations and on any interface devices on which those screens appear. Portable devices may be used to interface with the storyboard system to choose content, place content on display areas, edit and annotate content. Concurrent editing and/or annotating of content by multiple users is supported. The systems and methods may also partition screens at a plurality of locations into display areas to display different content, such that all content is visible at all locations, regardless of the number of available screens.

Growing community of inventors

Cedar Park, TX, United States of America

Stephen Paul Schaefer