Systems and methods for enhancing teleconferencing collaboration
View Patent ↗An advanced video teleconferencing system facilitates an engaging and realistic video conferencing experience. Key design elements and video, audio, and control capabilities are provided for a video conferencing experience that cannot be attained with conventional methods, which elements and capabilities include careful design of the table and room at each site, supplementary displays showing imagery in a mirrored manner, networked environmental control, an AutoDirector with keyword and gesture recognition, and audio reflection from a display or beam splitter.
1. An auto director apparatus for emulating behavior of a human video director during a video teleconference between a plurality of conference sites, comprising:
means for automatically selecting a video signal from among one or more video camera feeds and other video inputs;
wherein said means for automatically selecting a video signal responds to both of audio signals obtained from one or more microphones at each site and to verbal content of said audio signals;
wherein a particular video signal is selected upon recognizing one of a number of predetermined keywords stored in a database.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein detection of said predetermined keywords triggers any of the following actions as appropriate:
a video feed that displays a particular participant is selected if said participant's name is detected within one or more audio signals;
a particular video input is displayed upon any of a main or supplementary display if a corresponding keyword is detected;
predefined, explicit verbal commands are executed.
3. An auto director apparatus, operating at a local conference site, for emulating behavior of a human video director during a video teleconference between a plurality of conference sites, comprising any of:
means for automatically selecting, from among one or more local video camera feeds and other local video inputs, an outbound video signal for transmission to remote video conferencing sites;
means for automatically selecting, from among one or more inbound video signals received from remote sites, a primary video signal for display on a primary display at said local conference site; and
means for automatically selecting, from among said plurality of local video camera feeds, said local video inputs, and said inbound video signals, one or more supplementary video signals for display on one or more supplementary displays, wherein at least one of said means for automatically selecting responds to both of audio signals obtained from one or more microphones at one or more conference sites and to verbal content of said audio signals.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein at least one of said means for automatically selecting comprises means for detecting one or more of a plurality of keywords stored in a database.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein said keywords comprise a name of a participant in said teleconference and any of said outbound video signal, said inbound video signal, and said supplementary video signals comprises a video feed displaying said participant.
6. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein said content comprises any of:
verbal cues inherently present within a conversation, and predefined, explicit verbal commands.