Device and method for providing telepresence conference service

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for providing a telepresence conference service, the method including: an operation of exchanging configuration information with a user terminal to identify whether a user is attending a conference; an operation of transmitting a control message to the user terminal to identify whether the user is attending the conference; an operation of transmitting, to the user terminal, an initiation message to measure a location of the user; an operation of receiving, from the user terminal, a response message corresponding to the initiation message; an operation of transmitting a measurement report message to the user terminal; and an operation of receiving, from the user terminal, a result report message indicating whether the user is attending the conference.

Description

Device and method for providing telepresence conference service

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a device for providing a telepresence conference service and an operating method thereof.

[0002] Telepresence refers to a technology or experience that replaces people, equipment, or robots in a remote location and makes them feel as if they are present there. This technology is used to enhance interactions with remote users through high-definition video, voice calls, robot control, and virtual reality. Telepresence can be utilized in business meetings, medical care, education, entertainment, and a variety of other fields, enabling more effective participation and collaboration in remote locations.

[0003] When applied to business meetings, telepresence technology enables immersive video conferencing. This allows remote participants to hold real-time meetings and collaborate as if they were in the same room, using high-quality video and audio communication technology. For example, meeting participants in different conference rooms can communicate with each other by transmitting and receiving video and audio from the conference room via telepresence devices. Participants attending online from other locations can also communicate. Telepresence technology can provide an interactive environment for both offline and online participants participating in a meeting.

[0004] However, telepresence technology doesn't simulate the physical presence of people in the same location. Therefore, technical limitations may arise depending on the purpose of the meeting. For example, if voting is required for decision-making, the physical presence of meeting participants may be crucial. However, in a meeting where both online and offline participants are present, the physical presence of offline participants must be determined manually by someone. As such, there are still cases where meeting-related information must be manually calculated, and there is a need for technology that can automatically calculate the necessary meeting information.

[0005] The above information may be provided as background art to aid in understanding the present disclosure. No claim or determination is made as to whether any of the above is applicable as prior art related to the present disclosure.

[0006] A method performed by a conference control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, comprising: an operation of exchanging setting information for confirming whether a user terminal attends a conference; an operation of transmitting a control message for confirming whether the user terminal attends a conference; an operation of transmitting an initiation message for measuring a user's location to the user terminal; an operation of receiving a response message corresponding to the initiation message from the user terminal; an operation of transmitting a measurement report message to the user terminal; and an operation of receiving a result report message indicating whether the user terminal attends a conference.

[0007] A method performed by a conference control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, comprising: an operation of exchanging setting information for confirming whether a user and a terminal attend a conference; an operation of transmitting a control message for confirming whether a user attends a conference to a user terminal; an operation of transmitting an initiation message for measuring a user's location to the user terminal; an operation of receiving a response message corresponding to the initiation message from the user terminal; an operation of receiving a measurement report message from the user terminal; an operation of generating information indicating whether a user attends a conference; and an operation of transmitting information indicating whether the user attends a conference to a server providing a conference service.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device within a network environment according to one embodiment.

[0009] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a meeting situation according to one embodiment.

[0010] Figure 3 is a diagram showing a meeting situation according to one embodiment.

[0011] Figure 4 illustrates an information transmission and reception process between a conference control device and user terminals according to one embodiment.

[0012] Figure 5 illustrates an information transmission and reception process between a conference control device and a user terminal according to one embodiment.

[0013] Figure 6 shows setting information according to one embodiment.

[0014] Figure 7 illustrates an information transmission and reception process between a conference control device and a user terminal according to one embodiment.

[0015] Figure 8 illustrates an information transmission and reception process between a conference control device and a user terminal according to one embodiment.

[0016] Figure 9 illustrates information included in a control message according to one embodiment.

[0017] FIG. 10 illustrates information included in a measurement report message according to one embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 11 illustrates information included in a ranging result report message according to one embodiment.

[0019] Figure 12 shows details of a positioning result report message according to one embodiment.

[0020] Figure 13 shows UWB setting information according to one embodiment.

[0021] Figure 14 shows UWB setting information according to one embodiment.

[0022] Fig. 15 shows a flowchart of the operation of a conference control device according to one embodiment.

[0023] Fig. 16 shows a flowchart of the operation of a conference control device according to one embodiment.

[0024] Figure 17 illustrates components of a device according to one embodiment.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device (101) within a network environment (100) according to one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, in the network environment (100), the electronic device (101) may communicate with the electronic device (102) via a first network (198) (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or may communicate with at least one of the electronic device (104) or the server (108) via a second network (199) (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may communicate with the electronic device (104) via the server (108). According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (120), a memory (130), an input module (150), an audio output module (155), a display module (160), an audio module (170), a sensor module (176), an interface (177), a connection terminal (178), a haptic module (179), a camera module (180), a power management module (188), a battery (189), a communication module (190), a subscriber identification module (196), or an antenna module (197). In some embodiments, the electronic device (101) may omit at least one of these components (e.g., the connection terminal (178)), or may have one or more other components added. In some embodiments, some of these components (e.g., the sensor module (176), the camera module (180), or the antenna module (197)) may be integrated into one component (e.g., the display module (160)).

[0026] The processor (120) may, for example, execute software (e.g., a program (140)) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the electronic device (101) connected to the processor (120) and perform various data processing or calculations. According to one embodiment, as at least a part of the data processing or calculations, the processor (120) may store commands or data received from other components (e.g., a sensor module (176) or a communication module (190)) in a volatile memory (132), process the commands or data stored in the volatile memory (132), and store result data in a non-volatile memory (134). According to one embodiment, the processor (120) may include a main processor (121) (e.g., a central processing unit or an application processor) or a secondary processor (123) (e.g., a graphics processing unit, a neural processing unit (NPU), an image signal processor, a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor)) that can operate independently or together therewith. For example, if the electronic device (101) includes a main processor (121) and a secondary processor (123), the secondary processor (123) may be configured to use less power than the main processor (121) or to be specialized for a specified function. The secondary processor (123) may be implemented separately from the main processor (121) or as a part thereof.

[0027] The auxiliary processor (123) may control at least a portion of functions or states associated with at least one component (e.g., a display module (160), a sensor module (176), or a communication module (190)) of the electronic device (101), for example, on behalf of the main processor (121) while the main processor (121) is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processor (121) while the main processor (121) is in an active (e.g., application execution) state. In one embodiment, the auxiliary processor (123) (e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as a part of another functionally related component (e.g., a camera module (180) or a communication module (190)). In one embodiment, the auxiliary processor (123) (e.g., a neural network processing unit) may include a hardware structure specialized for processing artificial intelligence models. The artificial intelligence models may be generated through machine learning. This learning can be performed, for example, on the electronic device (101) itself where the artificial intelligence model is executed, or can be performed through a separate server (e.g., server (108)). The learning algorithm can include, for example, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning, but is not limited to the examples described above. The artificial intelligence model can include multiple artificial neural network layers.The artificial neural network may be one of a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), a deep Q-network, or a combination of two or more of the above, but is not limited to the examples described above. In addition to, or alternatively to, a hardware structure, an artificial intelligence model may include a software structure.

[0028] The memory (130) can store various data used by at least one component (e.g., processor (120) or sensor module (176)) of the electronic device (101). The data can include, for example, software (e.g., program (140)) and input data or output data for commands related thereto. The memory (130) can include volatile memory (132) or non-volatile memory (134).

[0029] The program (140) may be stored as software in the memory (130) and may include, for example, an operating system (142), middleware (144), or an application (146).

[0030] The input module (150) can receive commands or data to be used in a component of the electronic device (101) (e.g., a processor (120)) from an external source (e.g., a user) of the electronic device (101). The input module (150) can include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, a key (e.g., a button), or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

[0031] The audio output module (155) can output audio signals to the outside of the electronic device (101). The audio output module (155) can include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker can be used for general purposes, such as multimedia playback or recording playback. The receiver can be used to receive incoming calls. In one embodiment, the receiver can be implemented separately from the speaker or as part of the speaker.

[0032] The display module (160) can visually provide information to an external party (e.g., a user) of the electronic device (101). The display module (160) may include, for example, a display, a holographic device, or a projector and a control circuit for controlling the device. In one embodiment, the display module (160) may include a touch sensor configured to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor configured to measure the intensity of a force generated by the touch.

[0033] The audio module (170) can convert sound into an electrical signal, or vice versa, convert an electrical signal into sound. According to one embodiment, the audio module (170) can acquire sound through the input module (150), output sound through the sound output module (155), or an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102)) (e.g., speaker or headphone) directly or wirelessly connected to the electronic device (101).

[0034] The sensor module (176) can detect the operating status (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic device (101) or the external environmental status (e.g., user status) and generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected status. According to one embodiment, the sensor module (176) can include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an IR (infrared) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

[0035] The interface (177) may support one or more designated protocols that may be used to directly or wirelessly connect the electronic device (101) with an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (102)). In one embodiment, the interface (177) may include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, an SD card interface, or an audio interface.

[0036] The connection terminal (178) may include a connector through which the electronic device (101) may be physically connected to an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102)). According to one embodiment, the connection terminal (178) may include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

[0037] A haptic module (179) can convert electrical signals into mechanical stimuli (e.g., vibration or movement) or electrical stimuli that a user can perceive through tactile or kinesthetic sensations. In one embodiment, the haptic module (179) can include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulation device.

[0038] The camera module (180) can capture still images and videos. According to one embodiment, the camera module (180) may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

[0039] The power management module (188) can manage power supplied to the electronic device (101). According to one embodiment, the power management module (188) can be implemented, for example, as at least a part of a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

[0040] A battery (189) may power at least one component of the electronic device (101). In one embodiment, the battery (189) may include, for example, a non-rechargeable primary battery, a rechargeable secondary battery, or a fuel cell.

[0041] The communication module (190) may support the establishment of a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device (101) and an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102), electronic device (104), or server (108)), and the performance of communication through the established communication channel. The communication module (190) may operate independently from the processor (120) (e.g., application processor) and may include one or more communication processors that support direct (e.g., wired) communication or wireless communication. According to one embodiment, the communication module (190) may include a wireless communication module (192) (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module (194) (e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module, or a power line communication module). Among these communication modules, the corresponding communication module can communicate with an external electronic device (104) via a first network (198) (e.g., a short-range communication network such as Bluetooth, WiFi (wireless fidelity) direct, IrDA (infrared data association), or UWB (ultra-wide band)) or a second network (199) (e.g., a long-range communication network such as a legacy cellular network, a 5G network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., a LAN or WAN)). These various types of communication modules can be integrated into a single component (e.g., a single chip) or implemented as a plurality of separate components (e.g., multiple chips). The wireless communication module (192) can verify or authenticate the electronic device (101) within a communication network such as the first network (198) or the second network (199) by using subscriber information (e.g., an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module (196).

[0042] In one embodiment, UWB is a wireless communication technology that uses a bandwidth of 500 MHz or more, as defined by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. Due to its wide frequency band characteristics, it can be used to measure precise distances and angles. The IEEE 802.15.4z standard enhances security and increases usability by introducing a scrambled timestamp sequence (STS) function that prevents external attackers from accessing or manipulating UWB communications at the physical layer.

[0043] The wireless communication module (192) can support 5G networks and next-generation communication technologies following the 4G network, such as NR access technology (new radio access technology). The NR access technology can support high-speed transmission of high-capacity data (eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband)), minimization of terminal power and connection of multiple terminals (mMTC (massive machine type communications)), or high reliability and low latency (URLLC (ultra-reliable and low-latency communications)). The wireless communication module (192) can support, for example, a high-frequency band (e.g., mmWave band) to achieve a high data transmission rate. The wireless communication module (192) can support various technologies for securing performance in a high-frequency band, such as beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, or large scale antenna. The wireless communication module (192) can support various requirements specified in the electronic device (101), an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (104)), or a network system (e.g., the second network (199)). According to one embodiment, the wireless communication module (192) can support a peak data rate (e.g., 20 Gbps or more) for eMBB realization, a loss coverage (e.g., 164 dB or less) for mMTC realization, or a U-plane latency (e.g., 0.5 ms or less for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or 1 ms or less for round trip) for URLLC realization.

[0044] The antenna module (197) can transmit or receive signals or power to or from an external device (e.g., an external electronic device). In one embodiment, the antenna module (197) may include an antenna including a radiator formed of a conductor or a conductive pattern formed on a substrate (e.g., a PCB). In one embodiment, the antenna module (197) may include a plurality of antennas (e.g., an array antenna). In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication method used in a communication network, such as the first network (198) or the second network (199), may be selected from the plurality of antennas by, for example, the communication module (190). A signal or power may be transmitted or received between the communication module (190) and an external electronic device through the selected at least one antenna. In some embodiments, in addition to the radiator, another component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) may be additionally formed as a part of the antenna module (197).

[0045] According to various embodiments, the antenna module (197) may form a mmWave antenna module. According to one embodiment, the mmWave antenna module may include a printed circuit board, an RFIC disposed on or adjacent a first side (e.g., a bottom side) of the printed circuit board and capable of supporting a designated high frequency band (e.g., a mmWave band), and a plurality of antennas (e.g., an array antenna) disposed on or adjacent a second side (e.g., a top side or a side side) of the printed circuit board and capable of transmitting or receiving signals in the designated high frequency band.

[0046] At least some of the above components can be interconnected and exchange signals (e.g., commands or data) with each other via a communication method between peripheral devices (e.g., a bus, GPIO (general purpose input and output), SPI (serial peripheral interface), or MIPI (mobile industry processor interface)).

[0047] According to one embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic device (101) and an external electronic device (104) via a server (108) connected to a second network (199). Each of the external electronic devices (102 or 104) may be the same or a different type of device as the electronic device (101). According to one embodiment, all or part of the operations executed in the electronic device (101) may be executed in one or more of the external electronic devices (102, 104, or 108). For example, when the electronic device (101) is to perform a certain function or service automatically or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device (101) may, instead of or in addition to executing the function or service itself, request one or more external electronic devices to perform the function or at least a part of the service. One or more external electronic devices that receive the request may execute at least a portion of the requested function or service, or an additional function or service related to the request, and transmit the result of the execution to the electronic device (101). The electronic device (101) may process the result as is or additionally and provide it as at least a portion of a response to the request. For this purpose, cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used, for example. The electronic device (101) may provide an ultra-low latency service by using distributed computing or mobile edge computing, for example. In another embodiment, the external electronic device (104) may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The server (108) may be an intelligent server utilizing machine learning and / or a neural network. According to one embodiment, the external electronic device (104) or the server (108) may be included in the second network (199).The electronic device (101) can be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart home, smart city, smart car, or healthcare) based on 5G communication technology and IoT-related technology.

[0048] Electronic devices according to the various embodiments disclosed in this document may take various forms. Electronic devices may include, for example, portable communication devices (e.g., smartphones), computer devices, portable multimedia devices, portable medical devices, cameras, wearable devices, or home appliances. Electronic devices according to the embodiments of this document are not limited to the aforementioned devices.

[0049] The various embodiments of this document and the terminology used therein are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutes of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar or related components. The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the items, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this document, each of the phrases "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", and "at least one of A, B, or C" can include any one of the items listed together in the corresponding phrase among those phrases, or all possible combinations thereof. Terms such as "first," "second," or "first" or "second" may be used merely to distinguish one component from another, and do not limit the components in any other respect (e.g., importance or order). When a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to as "coupled" or "connected" to another (e.g., a second component), with or without the terms "functionally" or "communicatively," it means that the component can be connected to the other component directly (e.g., wired), wirelessly, or through a third component.

[0050] The term "module" used in various embodiments of this document may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as logic, logic block, component, or circuit. A module may be an integral component, or a minimum unit or part of such a component that performs one or more functions. For example, according to one embodiment, a module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0051] Various embodiments of the present document may be implemented as software (e.g., a program (140)) including one or more instructions stored in a storage medium (e.g., an internal memory (136) or an external memory (138)) readable by a machine (e.g., an electronic device (101)). For example, a processor (e.g., a processor (120)) of the machine (e.g., an electronic device (101)) may call at least one instruction among the one or more instructions stored from the storage medium and execute it. This enables the machine to operate to perform at least one function according to the at least one called instruction. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, 'non-transitory' simply means that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves), and the term does not distinguish between cases where data is stored semi-permanently or temporarily on the storage medium.

[0052] According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments disclosed in this document may be provided as a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded between sellers and buyers as a product. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a device-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)) or may be provided through an application store (e.g., Play Store). TM ) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smart phones), online distribution (e.g., downloading or uploading). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product may be at least temporarily stored or temporarily created in a machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0053] According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include one or more entities, and some of the entities may be separated and placed in other components. According to various embodiments, one or more components or operations of the aforementioned components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., a module or a program) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components identically or similarly to those performed by the corresponding component among the plurality of components prior to the integration. According to various embodiments, the operations performed by a module, program, or other component may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

[0054] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a meeting situation according to one embodiment.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 2, a server (204) for providing a remote conference service and user terminals A, B, and C of users who are to attend the conference are illustrated. Users can be distinguished by user terminals A (201), B (202), and C (203) owned by each user.

[0056] According to the scenario illustrated in Figure 2, users can receive a meeting notification via their user terminals before the meeting begins. The notification may be a notification sent from the server (204) to the user terminals to inform users of the meeting schedule before the meeting begins.

[0057] User A entered the conference room, which is the meeting location, offline, and User B also entered the conference room offline. However, User C participated in the meeting via online access. In this situation, User C cannot know whether Users A and B actually attended the meeting at the meeting location. Furthermore, the server (204) providing the meeting service cannot know the status of users participating in the meeting offline.

[0058] In situations like this, if information about offline attendees' status is needed for the purpose of the meeting, the problem arises of having to manually obtain this information offline. This information could include the number of offline attendees in the meeting space and the attendance status of each user.

[0059] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and apparatus for generating and using information about all users attending a conference by generating status information about offline participants in a conference environment with mixed offline and online participants.

[0060] Figure 3 is a diagram showing a meeting situation according to one embodiment.

[0061] Referring to Figure 3, the conference control device (310) provided at the conference location and the attendance status of each user who is to attend the conference are shown.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 3, an attendance area set based on a conference control device (310) is displayed, and it is confirmed that users A, C, and F are located within the attendance area, while user D is located outside the attendance area. In addition, user B is shown to be attending the conference in an online connection, and user E is shown to be in an offline state.

[0063] For users A, C, D, and F who are physically located near the conference venue, users A, C, and F can be determined to be present at the conference (on-site) because they are located within the attendance area, and user D can be determined to not be present at the conference (off-site) because he is located outside the attendance area. This determination can be performed by the user terminal or conference control device owned by each user.

[0064] Information regarding user attendance at a meeting, generated by the conference control device (310) or user terminal, can be compiled and used to generate other information related to the meeting. Furthermore, this information can be used to grant voting rights to each user when making decisions through the meeting.

[0065] Figure 4 illustrates an information transmission and reception process between a conference control device and user terminals according to one embodiment.

[0066] FIG. 4 illustrates an operation performed by a conference control device (410) or a user terminal (401, 402, 403) to provide the telepresence conference service described in FIG. 3.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 4, a user (or a meeting attendee) can receive a notification message before the start of a meeting through a user terminal (401, 402, 403).

[0068] When user A enters the conference room and is located within the attendance area (see attendance area of ​​FIG. 3), user A's user terminal A (401) can exchange information for establishing a connection with the conference control device (410). That is, in operation S1, user terminal A (401) and the conference control device (410) can transmit and receive information regarding connection establishment. In addition, the corresponding setting information can be signaled to user terminal A (401) or the conference control device (410) via upper layer signaling and used for establishing a connection.

[0069] Additionally, in operation S1, user terminal A (401) and conference control device (410) can transmit and receive configuration information via Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) or Bluetooth advertising messages. The configuration information may include identifier information of an application for providing conference services and parameter information for UWB (Ultra-wide band)-based connections. In addition, the configuration information may further include reference information for determining whether user terminal A is within the attendance area.

[0070] And, in operation S2, user terminal A (401) and conference control device (410) can exchange measurement information such as ToF (time of Flight) and AoA (Angle of Arrival) values ​​based on UWB communication. And, user terminal A (401) and conference control device (410) can generate information indicating whether user terminal A is within the attendance area of ​​the conference venue based on the measurement information.

[0071] For User A, since he is within the attendance area of ​​the meeting venue, User A is considered to have attended the meeting. (The same applies to User B as to User A.)

[0072] Meanwhile, in the case of User C, he / she has entered the conference room but is not located within the attendance area (see attendance area of ​​FIG. 3). Alternatively, User C may be located outside the conference room. User terminal C (403) of User C can exchange information for establishing a connection with the conference control device (410). That is, User terminal C (403) and the conference control device (410) can transmit and receive information regarding the connection establishment. In addition, the corresponding setting information can be signaled to User terminal C (403) or the conference control device (410) via upper layer signaling and used to establish a connection.

[0073] Additionally, user terminal C (403) and conference control device (410) can transmit and receive configuration information via Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) or Bluetooth advertising messages. The configuration information may include identifier information for an application providing conference services and parameter information for UWB (Ultra-wide band)-based connections. Furthermore, the configuration information may further include reference information for determining whether user terminal C is within the attendance area.

[0074] In addition, user terminal C (403) and conference control device (410) can exchange measurement information such as ToF (time of Flight) and AoA (Angle of Arrival) values ​​based on UWB communication. In addition, user terminal C (403) and conference control device (410) can generate information indicating whether user terminal C is within the attendance area of ​​the conference venue based on the measurement information.

[0075] Since User C is not within the attendance area, User C is considered not to have attended the meeting.

[0076] The conference control device (410) can receive information indicating whether users will attend a conference from user terminals, or generate information indicating whether users will attend a conference. Furthermore, the conference control device (410) can transmit information indicating whether users will attend a conference to the server (420). The server (420) can provide a telepresence conference service based on the information indicating whether users will attend a conference.

[0077] Figure 5 illustrates an information transmission and reception process between a conference control device (510) and a user terminal (501) according to one embodiment.

[0078] The conference control device (510) and user terminal (501) illustrated in FIG. 5 may correspond to the conference control device and user terminal described in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively.

[0079] Referring to FIG. 5, the conference control device (510) and the user terminal (501) can transmit and receive information based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Advertisement or Bluetooth Out-of-Band (OOB) method. At this time, the transmitted and received information can include UWB configuration information (or UWB parameters), an application identifier (APP ID) indicating a telepresence service, reference information for determining whether a user is present, and information indicating whether presence reports are supported.

[0080] UWB configuration information (or UWB parameters) may include configuration information for the conference control device (510) and the user terminal (501) to perform UWB-based communication. For example, it may include information on a ranging method, information on a communication mode, information indicating the role of the device, information indicating the type of device, and configuration information regarding result reporting.

[0081] The reference information for determining whether a user attends a meeting may include minimum and maximum values ​​of ToF (Time of Flight), Azimuth range information of AoA (Angle of Arrival), and Elevation range information of AoA.

[0082] ToF represents the time of flight of radio waves, and the arrival time of radio waves can be multiplied by the speed of light to represent distance information. Accordingly, the minimum and maximum values ​​of ToF can represent the minimum and maximum distances from the conference control device (510).

[0083] AoA Azimuth indicates the azimuth angle at which the antenna receives radio waves, and may indicate azimuth angle information based on the conference control device (510).

[0084] AoA Elevation indicates the elevation angle at which the antenna receives radio waves, and may indicate elevation angle information based on the conference control device (510).

[0085] A three-dimensional space area based on the conference control device (510) can be defined based on at least one of the minimum and maximum values ​​of ToF, AoA Azimuth range information, and AoA Elevation range information. That is, an attendance area that serves as a criterion for determining whether a user attends a conference can be defined.

[0086] In one embodiment, the attendance area may be defined based on distance information, azimuth information, or elevation information relative to the conference control device (510).

[0087] Figure 6 shows setting information according to one embodiment.

[0088] Referring to FIG. 6, configuration information for a UWB-based connection exchanged between a user terminal and a conference control device is illustrated. FIG. 6 may be a detailed illustration of the configuration information described in FIG. 5.

[0089] UWBRole represents information indicating the role and type of a device. UWBRole can define the role and type of a conference control device or user terminal during UWB communication.

[0090] The device type information may indicate a controller or controllers.

[0091] A controller represents a device that defines and controls ranging features by sending control messages.

[0092] A Controlee may represent a device that utilizes ranging features set via a control message from a controller.

[0093] The device's role information can indicate initiator or responder.

[0094] An initiator may represent a device that initiates positioning by sending a ranging initiation message (RIM).

[0095] A responder may represent a device that responds to a ranging initiation message (RIM) from an initiator.

[0096] Ranging Method is information indicating the positioning method.

[0097] SSTWR stands for Single-Sided Two-Way Ranging method.

[0098] SSTWR measures the first round-trip time, which takes place from the time an initiator device transmits a message to a responder device until the initiator device receives a response from the responder device. The measured time may include the time required for the responder device to respond and the radio time incurred during the transmission and reception of the message. Therefore, the radio time of flight (ToF) between the initiator device and the responder device can be calculated by subtracting the time required for the responder device to respond from the first round-trip time and multiplying by 1 / 2. The calculated radio time of flight can be converted into distance information between the initiator device and the responder device by multiplying by the speed of light.

[0099] DSTWR stands for Double-Sided Two-Way Ranging method.

[0100] DSTWR is a method that can calculate the distance between an initiator device and a responder device by measuring the first round trip time for a request transmitted from an initiator device to a responder device and its response, and by measuring the second round trip time for a response transmitted from the responder device to the initiator device and its corresponding message reception.

[0101] The time of flight (ToF) between the initiator device and the responder device can be calculated based on the first round trip time, the second round trip time, the time it takes for the responder device to respond, and the time it takes for the initiator device to respond.

[0102] RFRAMEconfiguration can display the configuration information of the Ranging Frame.

[0103] RFRAMEconfiguration can indicate SP0, SP1, or SP3.

[0104] SP0 may represent STS (Scrambled timestamp sequence) Packet configuration 0, SP1 may represent STS Packet configuration 1, and SP3 may represent STS Packet configuration 3. The content regarding STS Packet configuration may follow the content disclosed by the IEEE standard document.

[0105] RFRAME stands for Ranging Frame and can represent a frame used for positioning. RFRAME can contain multiple UWB messages in its payload.

[0106] The App identifier represents the identifier of the application. The application identifier may represent a telepresence service.

[0107] A presence report can indicate whether attendance reporting is supported. When performing an attendance report, the respondent device (e.g., a user terminal) or the initiator device (e.g., a conference control device) can send and receive messages required to generate user presence information or generate information indicating the user's conference attendance.

[0108] Figure 7 illustrates an information transmission and reception process between a conference control device and a user terminal according to one embodiment.

[0109] The conference control device (710), user terminals (701, 702), and server (720) illustrated in FIG. 7 may correspond to the conference control device, user terminals, and server described in FIGS. 3 to 5, respectively.

[0110] Operation 7101 represents an operation of exchanging UWB configuration information (or UWB parameters) between a conference control device (710) and user terminals (701, 702). Operation 7101 may be performed based on a Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) connection method or a Bluetooth advertisement message method. Alternatively, operation 7101 may be performed by upper layer signaling. Operation 7101 may correspond to operation S1 of FIG. 4 or the operation described in FIG. 5. The information exchanged between the conference control device (710) and user terminals (701, 702) by operation 7101 may include the parameters described in FIG. 6.

[0111] Actions 7102 and 7103 represent actions of setting UWB (Ultra-wide band) to ON to perform UWB-based communication in the conference control device (710) and user terminal 1 (701), respectively.

[0112] Operation 7104 represents an operation in which a conference control device (710) transmits a control message (or, control message) to user terminal 1 (701). Similarly, it may also represent an operation in which user terminal 1 (701) receives a control message from the conference control device (710). The control message may be a UWB message. The control message consists of a header and a payload, and the header or payload of the control message may include various parameters. (See FIG. 9)

[0113] The operation 7105 represents an operation in which the conference control device (710) transmits a ranging initiation message (RIM) to the user terminal 1 (701). Similarly, the operation may represent an operation in which the user terminal 1 (701) receives a ranging initiation message from the conference control device (710). The ranging initiation message may represent a signal (or request) that the conference control device (710) (or initiator) transmits to the user terminal 1 (701) (or responder) to calculate location information (distance or angle information) between the conference control device (710) and the user terminal 1 (701).

[0114] The operation 7106 represents an operation in which the conference control device (710) receives a ranging response message (RRM) from the user terminal 1 (701). Similarly, the operation may represent an operation in which the user terminal 1 (701) transmits a ranging response message to the conference control device (710). The ranging response message may represent a response signal to a signal (or request) transmitted by the conference control device (710) (or the initiator) to the user terminal 1 (701) (or the responder) to calculate location information (distance or angle information) between the conference control device (710) and the user terminal 1 (701).

[0115] Operation 7107 represents an operation in which the conference control device (710) transmits a Ranging Final Message (RFM) to user terminal 1 (701). Similarly, it may also represent an operation in which user terminal 1 (701) receives a Ranging Final Message from the conference control device (710). Operation 7107 may be omitted depending on the positioning method. For example, operation 7107 may be performed only when the positioning method is the DSTWR method.

[0116] Operation 7108 represents an operation in which the conference control device (710) transmits a measurement report message (MRM) to user terminal 1 (701). Similarly, it may represent an operation in which user terminal 1 (701) receives a measurement report message from the conference control device (710). The measurement report message may include information necessary to calculate location information (distance or angle information) between the conference control device (710) and user terminal 1 (701). For example, the measurement report message may include a round-trip time of a message measured by the conference control device (710) or an AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth or elevation value.

[0117] Action 7109 is an action of generating information indicating whether a user is present or not based on information included in a measurement report message and / or information measured at user terminal 1 (e.g., response time of user terminal 1), at user terminal 1 (701).

[0118] In operation 7109, user terminal 1 (701) can generate distance information between the conference control device (710) and user terminal 1, and obtain location information of user terminal 1 with respect to the conference control device (710) based on information included in the measurement report message and / or information measured at user terminal 1. Accordingly, based on the location information, information indicating whether the user of user terminal 1 is located within the attendance area of ​​the conference venue can be generated. User terminal 1 (701) can generate information indicating whether the user attends the conference by comparing the distance information and the AoA azimuth value and AoA elevation value included in the measurement report message with reference information (see FIG. 5) for determining whether the user attends the conference.

[0119] Operation 7110 represents an operation in which the conference control device (710) receives a ranging result report message (RRRM) from user terminal 1 (701). Similarly, it may represent an operation in which user terminal 1 (701) transmits a ranging result report message to the conference control device (710). The ranging result report message may include information indicating whether the user of user terminal 1 is attending the conference.

[0120] Operation 7111 represents an operation in which the conference control device (710) transmits the user's attendance result information to the server (720). Similarly, the server (720) may also represent an operation in which the user's attendance result information is received from the conference control device (710). The user's attendance result information may include attendance result information for multiple users. The server (720) may provide a telepresence conference service with various functions based on the received user's attendance result information.

[0121] The operations performed between the conference control device (710) and user terminal 1 (701) in FIG. 7 can be equally applied to the conference control device (710) and user terminal 2 (702).

[0122] Fig. 8 illustrates an information transmission and reception process between a conference control device and a user terminal according to one embodiment. Unlike the embodiment of Fig. 7, the embodiment of Fig. 8 allows the conference control device (810) to generate information indicating whether a user is attending a conference.

[0123] The conference control device (810), user terminals (801, 802), and server (820) illustrated in FIG. 8 may correspond to the conference control device, user terminal, and server described in FIGS. 3 to 5 and FIG. 7, respectively.

[0124] Operation 8101 represents an operation of exchanging UWB configuration information (or UWB parameters) between a conference control device (810) and user terminals (801, 802). Operation 8101 may be performed based on a Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) connection method or a Bluetooth advertisement message method. Alternatively, operation 8101 may be performed by upper layer signaling. Operation 8101 may correspond to operation S1 of FIG. 4 or the operation described in FIG. 5. Information exchanged between the conference control device (810) and user terminals (801, 802) by operation 8101 may include parameters described in FIG. 6.

[0125] Actions 8102 and 8103 represent actions of setting UWB (Ultra-wide band) to ON to perform UWB-based communication in the conference control device (810) and user terminal 1 (801), respectively.

[0126] Operation 8104 represents an operation in which a conference control device (810) transmits a control message (or, control message) to user terminal 1 (801). Similarly, it may also represent an operation in which user terminal 1 (801) receives a control message from the conference control device (810). The control message may be a UWB message. The control message consists of a header and a payload, and the header or payload of the control message may include various parameters. (See FIG. 9)

[0127] The 8105 operation represents an operation in which the conference control device (810) transmits a ranging initiation message (RIM) to the user terminal 1 (801). Similarly, the operation may represent an operation in which the user terminal 1 (801) receives a ranging initiation message from the conference control device (810). The ranging initiation message may represent a signal (or request) that the conference control device (810) (or the initiator) transmits to the user terminal 1 (801) (or the responder) to calculate location information (distance or angle information) between the conference control device (810) and the user terminal 1 (801).

[0128] The 8106 operation represents an operation in which the conference control device (810) receives a ranging response message (RRM) from the user terminal 1 (801). Similarly, the user terminal 1 (801) may also represent an operation in which the user terminal 1 (801) transmits a ranging response message to the conference control device (810). The ranging response message may represent a response signal to a signal (or request) transmitted by the conference control device (810) (or the initiator) to the user terminal 1 (801) (or the responder) to calculate location information (distance or angle information) between the conference control device (810) and the user terminal 1 (801).

[0129] Operation 8107 represents an operation in which the conference control device (810) transmits a final ranging message (RFM) to user terminal 1 (801). Similarly, it may also represent an operation in which user terminal 1 (801) receives a final ranging message from the conference control device (810). Operation 8107 may be omitted depending on the positioning method. For example, operation 8107 may be performed only when the positioning method is the double-sided two-way ranging (DSTWR) method.

[0130] The operation 8108 represents an operation in which the conference control device (810) receives a measurement report message (MRM) from the user terminal 1 (801). Similarly, the operation in which the user terminal 1 (801) receives a measurement report message from the conference control device (810) may represent an operation in which the user terminal 1 (801) receives a measurement report message. The measurement report message may include information necessary to calculate location information (distance or angle information) between the conference control device (810) and the user terminal 1 (801). For example, the measurement report message may include a response time for a message measured by the user terminal 1 (801) or an AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth or elevation value.

[0131] The 8109 operation is an operation of generating information indicating whether a user is present or not based on information included in a measurement report message and / or information measured by the conference control device (810) (e.g., message round-trip time, etc.).

[0132] In operation 8109, the conference control device (810) can generate distance information between the conference control device (810) and the user terminal 1, and can obtain location information of the user terminal 1 with respect to the conference control device (810) based on information included in the measurement report message and / or information measured by the conference control device (810). Accordingly, based on the location information, information indicating whether the user of the user terminal 1 is located within the attendance area of ​​the conference venue can be generated. The conference control device (810) can generate information indicating whether the user attends the conference by comparing the distance information and the AoA azimuth value and the AoA elevation value included in the measurement report message with reference information (see FIG. 5) for determining whether the user attends the conference.

[0133] Operation 8110 represents an operation in which the conference control device (810) transmits the user's attendance result information to the server (820). Similarly, the server (820) may also represent an operation in which the conference control device (810) receives the user's attendance result information from the conference control device (810). The user's attendance result information may include attendance result information for multiple users. The server (820) may provide a telepresence conference service with various functions based on the received user's attendance result information.

[0134] The operations performed between the conference control device (810) and user terminal 1 (801) in FIG. 8 can be equally applied to the conference control device (810) and user terminal 2 (802).

[0135] Figure 9 illustrates information included in a control message according to one embodiment.

[0136] Referring to Figure 9, a control message may be composed of a header and a payload. The header of the control message includes content information, and the content information may include the following parameters.

[0137] The value of the Vendor OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier) ​​can be 0x5A18FF. If the value of the Vendor OUI is not 0x5A18FF, the device may ignore the message. In other words, this field can indicate whether the message is valid.

[0138] Padding can represent known padding for integrity verification.

[0139] Session ID can represent the identifier of a UWB session.

[0140] STS Index can indicate the STS identifier of the current ranging slot.

[0141] The payload of the control message contains content information, and the content information of the payload can include the following parameters.

[0142] The UWB message ID is an identifier that indicates that the message is a control message. That is, the type of message can be identified based on the UWB message ID value.

[0143] A message control can indicate configuration information for a message. A message control can include a Ranging Device Management List (RDML) length field.

[0144] Stride Length can indicate the number of blocks skipped before the next ranging is performed.

[0145] The RDML length field can indicate the number of elements within an RDML field. The value of the RDML length field can be equal to the number of RDML elements.

[0146] RDML elements can be:

[0147] Ranging Device Management List (RDML)

[0148] Ranging Role can indicate whether the device is an initiator or a responder.

[0149] Ranging Slot Index can indicate the identifier of the slot assigned to the positioning.

[0150] Address can indicate the address information of the device performing positioning.

[0151] FIG. 10 illustrates information included in a measurement report message according to one embodiment.

[0152] Referring to FIG. 10, a measurement report message may consist of a header and a payload.

[0153] The payload of the measurement report message includes content information, and the content information of the payload may include the following parameters.

[0154] The value of the Vendor OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier) ​​can be 0x5A18FF. If the value of the Vendor OUI is not 0x5A18FF, the device may ignore the message. In other words, this field can indicate whether the message is valid.

[0155] The UWB message ID is an identifier that indicates that the message is a measurement report message. That is, the type of message can be identified based on the UWB message ID value.

[0156] The Message control can indicate configuration information for the message. The Message control can include the Hoping mode, Round index present, and / or Reply time list length fields.

[0157] Hoping mode can indicate whether a ranging round following a hopping sequence is used for the next ranging.

[0158] Round index present can indicate the presence of a Round Index field. If a measurement report is sent by a controller device, the Round index present value can be set to 1.

[0159] Reply time list length indicates the number of elements in the Reply time list field.

[0160] The round index may indicate the range round index to be used in the next range block. The round index field may be valid when a measurement report message is transmitted by the controller device.

[0161] The first round-trip time can represent the difference between the time when the initiator sends the ranging initiation message and the time when the responder receives the ranging response message. If the responder sends the measurement report message, this field can also represent the difference between the time when the responder sends the ranging response message and the time when the responder receives the ranging final message from the initiator.

[0162] The Reply time list may contain Reply time and Address fields.

[0163] The Reply Time field can indicate the responder's response time. The responder's reply time can indicate the time elapsed between the time the responder received the message from the initiator and the time the responder sent the response message.

[0164] The Address field may indicate the address of the respondent. Here, the respondent may indicate the respondent associated with the Reply time field mentioned above.

[0165] FIG. 11 illustrates information included in a ranging result report message according to one embodiment.

[0166] Referring to FIG. 11, the positioning result report message can be composed of a header and a payload.

[0167] The payload of the positioning result report message includes content information, and the content information of the payload may include the following parameters.

[0168] The value of the Vendor OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier) ​​can be 0x5A18FF. If the value of the Vendor OUI is not 0x5A18FF, the device may ignore the message. In other words, this field can indicate whether the message is valid.

[0169] The UWB message ID is an identifier that indicates that the message is a ranging result report message. In other words, the type of message can be identified based on the UWB message ID value.

[0170] Message control can indicate the configuration information of the message. Message control can include ToF result present, AoA azimuth result present, AoA elevation result present, AoA FOM present, Negative ToF present, and / or Presence present fields.

[0171] ToF result present indicates the presence or absence of a ToF (Time of Flight) value.

[0172] AoA azimuth result present can indicate the presence or absence of AoA azimuth values.

[0173] AoA elevation result present can indicate whether an AoA elevation value exists.

[0174] AoA FOM present can indicate the presence of an AoA azimuth FOM field or an AoA elevation FOM field. AoA FOM can indicate an accuracy or confidence estimate for a measured AoA value (azimuth or elevation).

[0175] Negative ToF present indicates whether the ToF result value is negative.

[0176] Presence present can indicate the presence or absence of a Presence field.

[0177] The ToF result can represent the measured ToF (Time of Flight) value. The ToF result can represent the time it takes for a radio wave to travel between the responder and the initiator, and can be converted into a distance value.

[0178] AoA azimuth result can represent the measured AoA azimuth value.

[0179] The AoA elevation result can represent the measured AoA azimuth value.

[0180] AoA azimuth FOM can indicate the confidence level for AoA azimuth values.

[0181] AoA elevation FOM can indicate the confidence level for the AoA elevation value.

[0182] The presence result can indicate whether a user is present in a meeting. For example, if the initiator is a conference control device and the respondent is a user terminal, the user's presence in the meeting can be determined based on whether the user terminal is located within the conference attendance area.

[0183] A responder (e.g., a user terminal) can generate information (e.g., a presence result) indicating whether the user is present in a meeting based on set reference information (see the description of FIG. 5) and measured AoA azimuth, AoA elevation, or ToF values, and can transmit the generated information to an initiator (e.g., a conference control device) via a ranging result report message.

[0184] Figure 12 shows details of a running result report message according to one embodiment.

[0185] Referring to FIG. 12, the payload IE (Information elements) of the positioning result report message includes a content field, and the size of the content field is 11 bits.

[0186] Content may include Message control (8 bits), ToF result (32 bits), AoA azimuth result (16 bits), AoA elevation result (16 bits), AoA azimuth FOM result (8 bits), AoA elevation FOM result (8 bits), and / or Present result (8 bits).

[0187] Message control may include ToF result present (1 bit), AoA azimuth result present (1 bit), AoA elevation result present (1 bit), AoA FOM present (1 bit), Negative ToF present (1 bit), and / or Presence result present (1 bit). Descriptions of the aforementioned fields are omitted as they are described in Fig. 11.

[0188] The Present result can indicate whether the user terminal is located within the attendance area of ​​the conference venue. For example, a value of 1 indicates that the user terminal is located within the attendance area, while a value of 0 indicates that the user terminal is located outside the attendance area. If the user terminal is located within the attendance area, the user can be determined to be present at the conference, and if the user terminal is located outside the attendance area, the user can be determined to not be present at the conference.

[0189] Figure 13 shows UWB setting information according to one embodiment.

[0190] Referring to FIG. 13, the UWB configuration information shows an example of configuration information for a controller device acting as an initiator.

[0191] In one embodiment, the controller device acting as the initiator may correspond to a conference control device.

[0192] UWB configuration information may include Ranging_round_usage, Multi_node_mode, device_role, device_type, Number of controlees, ranging_round_control, and / or result_report_config.

[0193] Ranging_round_usage can indicate a ranging method. For example, ranging methods can include one-way ranging, single-sided two-way ranging, and double-sided two-way ranging, and Ranging_round_usage can indicate which ranging method is used.

[0194] Multi_node_mode can indicate the mode of nodes participating in ranging. A value of 0 indicates unicast ranging, a value of 1 indicates one-to-many ranging, and a value of 2 indicates many-to-many ranging.

[0195] Device_role indicates the device's role. For example, a value of 0 indicates that the device is a responder, while a value of 1 indicates that the device is an initiator.

[0196] Device_type indicates the type of device. For example, a value of 0 could indicate that the device is a Controller, while a value of 1 could indicate that the device is a Controller.

[0197] Number of controlees can indicate the number of controllers in one-to-many positioning method.

[0198] Ranging_round_control can be defined for messages transmitted and received for ranging. Ranging_round_control can define the following information in bitmap format.

[0199] For example, if the value of b0 is 1, the initiator schedules a Ranging Result Report Message (RRRM). If the value of b1 is 1, the initiator sends a separate control message. If the value of b7 is 1, the controller schedules a Measurement Report Message (MRM) that is sent from the initiator to the controller. Unlike this example, various information can be set through Ranging_round_control depending on the positioning method.

[0200] Result_report_config can represent information included in a Ranging Result Report Message (RRRM) or a Measurement Report Message (MRM). For ToF reports, AoA azimuth reports, AoA elevation reports, and / or presence reports, whether Enabled or Disabled can be defined in bitmap format.

[0201] For example, the b0 value can indicate whether the ToF report is enabled, the b1 value can indicate whether the AoA azimuth report is enabled, the b2 value can indicate whether the AoA elevation report is enabled, the b3 value can indicate whether the AoA FOM report is enabled, and the b4 value can indicate whether the attendance report is enabled.

[0202] Figure 14 shows UWB setting information according to one embodiment.

[0203] Referring to FIG. 14, the UWB configuration information shows an example of configuration information for a controller device acting as a responder.

[0204] In one embodiment, a controller device acting as a responder can correspond to a terminal of a user participating in a meeting.

[0205] Description of the parameters shown in Fig. 14 is omitted as they are described above in Fig. 13.

[0206] Although not shown in Figure 14, Result_report_config may include information indicating whether attendance reporting is enabled (e.g., value b4 in Figure 13).

[0207] Fig. 15 shows a flowchart of the operation of a conference control device according to one embodiment.

[0208] The operations described in FIG. 15 may represent operations performed in the conference control devices of FIGS. 3 to 5 and FIGS. 7 to 8.

[0209] Operation 1510 represents an operation in which a conference control device receives UWB configuration information. The UWB configuration information may include parameters described in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, or FIG. 13. Operation 1510 may be performed based on a Bluetooth advertisement message or a Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) connection.

[0210] Action 1520 represents an action in which a conference control device transmits a message to a user terminal to confirm the user's attendance. At this time, the message transmitted from the conference control device to the user terminal may include at least one of a control message, a ranging initiation message, a ranging final message, and / or a measurement report message. Descriptions of the messages are omitted as they have been described previously in FIGS. 7 and 8 .

[0211] Operation 1530 represents an operation in which the conference control device receives a message containing measurement information from a user terminal. The conference control device may receive a message in response to the message transmitted in operation 1520. At this time, the message received by the conference control device may include at least one of a ranging response message, a measurement report message, and / or a ranging result report message. Descriptions of the messages are omitted as they have been described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0212] Operation 1540 represents an operation in which a conference control device generates information about a user's presence. The conference control device can generate information about a user's presence based on directly measured data and data received from a user terminal. For example, the conference control device can calculate distance information about a user terminal based on the round-trip time of a message and the response time of the user terminal. Furthermore, the conference control device can calculate direction information about the user terminal from the conference control device based on the AoA azimuth value or the AoA elevation value. Consequently, the conference control device can determine whether the user terminal is within the attendance area of ​​the conference venue based on the distance and direction information and generate information about the user's presence. The user's presence information can correspond to the presence result described in FIG. 11.

[0213] Action 1550 refers to an action in which a conference control device transmits user attendance information to a telepresence server. The conference control device can generate attendance information for multiple users and transmit it to the telepresence server. The telepresence server can use the user attendance information to provide service functions related to remote video conferencing. For example, the telepresence server can calculate the integrated online and offline attendance rate for the meeting and utilize this information for decision-making based on attendee voting.

[0214] Fig. 16 shows a flowchart of the operation of a conference control device according to one embodiment.

[0215] The operations described in FIG. 16 may represent operations performed in the conference control devices of FIGS. 3 to 5 and FIGS. 7 to 8.

[0216] In the embodiment described in Fig. 16, a user terminal generates user attendance information and transmits it to a conference control device.

[0217] Operation 1610 represents an operation in which a conference control device receives UWB configuration information. The UWB configuration information may include parameters described in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, or FIG. 13. Operation 1610 may be performed based on a Bluetooth advertisement message or a Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) connection.

[0218] Action 1620 represents an action in which a conference control device transmits a message to a user terminal to confirm the user's attendance. At this time, the message transmitted by the conference control device to the user terminal may include at least one of a control message, a ranging initiation message, a ranging final message, and / or a measurement report message. Descriptions of the messages are omitted as they have been described previously in FIGS. 7 and 8 .

[0219] In addition, the conference control device may receive a message in response to the transmitted message. At this time, the message received by the conference control device may include at least one of a ranging response message and / or a measurement report message. Descriptions of the messages are omitted as they have been described previously with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0220] Action 1630 represents an action in which the conference control device receives a message from the user terminal containing information about the user's attendance at the conference. The message may be a ranging result report message.

[0221] Prior to operation 1630, the user terminal can generate user presence information based on data measured directly and data received from the conference control device. For example, the user terminal can calculate the distance between the user terminal and the conference control device based on the message round-trip time measured by the conference control device, the message round-trip time measured at the user terminal, the response time of the user terminal, or the response time of the conference control device. In addition, the user terminal can calculate direction information based on the AoA azimuth value or the AoA elevation value. Consequently, the user terminal can determine whether the user terminal is within the attendance area of ​​the conference venue based on the distance information and the direction information, and generate the user presence information. The user presence information can correspond to the presence result described in FIG. 11. The user terminal can transmit a ranging result report message including the user presence information to the conference control device.

[0222] Action 1640 represents an action in which a conference control device transmits user attendance information to a telepresence server. The conference control device can generate attendance information for multiple users and transmit it to the telepresence server. The telepresence server can use the user attendance information to provide service functions related to remote video conferencing. For example, the telepresence server can calculate the integrated online and offline attendance rate for the meeting and utilize this information for decision-making based on attendee voting.

[0223] Figure 17 illustrates components of a device according to one embodiment.

[0224] FIG. 17 illustrates components of a device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The device of FIG. 17 may correspond to the user terminal or conference control device described in FIGS. 3 to 16 . Additionally, the device of FIG. 17 may correspond to the server of FIGS. 4 , 7 , and 8 .

[0225] Referring to FIG. 17, a device (1700) according to one embodiment includes a transceiver (1710), a processor (1730) connected to the transceiver (1710), and a memory (1720) connected to the processor (1730). The device (1700) of FIG. 17 can perform the operations described in FIG. 3 and FIG. 16.

[0226] The device (1700) may include more or fewer components than those described above. Additionally, the transceiver (1710), processor (1730), and memory (1720) may be implemented as a single chip.

[0227] The transceiver (1710) is a general term for a receiver and a transmitter, and can transmit and receive with other devices. The information transmitted and received may include control information, data, and other signaling information. The transceiver (1710) may include an RF transmitter for upconverting and amplifying the frequency of a transmission signal, and an RF receiver for low-noise amplification and downconverting the frequency of a reception signal. However, this is only an example of the transceiver (1710), and the components of the transceiver (1710) are not limited to the RF transmitter and RF receiver. The transceiver (1710) may receive a signal through a wireless channel and output it to the processor (1730), and may transmit a signal output from the processor (1730) through the wireless channel.

[0228] In one embodiment, the transceiver (1710) may include an UWB module. UWB is a wireless communication technology that uses a bandwidth of 500 MHz or more according to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. Due to its wide frequency band characteristics, it can be used to measure precise distances and angles. The IEEE 802.15.4z standard enhances security by introducing a scrambled timestamp sequence (STS) function that prevents external attackers from accessing or manipulating UWB communications at the physical layer, thereby increasing usability.

[0229] The memory (1720) can store programs and data necessary for the operation of the device. In addition, the memory (1720) can store control information or data included in signals acquired from the device. The memory (1720) can be a storage medium such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, or a combination of storage media.

[0230] The processor (1730) can control a series of processes so that the device operates as described above. For example, the transceiver (1810) can receive a data signal containing a message to be transmitted, and the processor (1830) can check the result of receiving the transmitted data signal.

[0231] A method performed by a conference control device according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include an operation of exchanging setting information for confirming whether a user terminal attends a conference, an operation of transmitting a control message for confirming whether the user terminal attends a conference, an operation of transmitting an initiation message for measuring a user's location to the user terminal, an operation of receiving a response message corresponding to the initiation message from the user terminal, an operation of transmitting a measurement report message to the user terminal, and an operation of receiving a result report message indicating whether the user terminal attends a conference.

[0232] The operation of exchanging configuration information to confirm whether the user terminal and the meeting are present may correspond to operation S1 of FIG. 4, operation described in FIG. 5, operation 7101 of FIG. 7, or operation 8101 of FIG. 8. At this time, the configuration information may include parameter information described in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 13, or FIG. 14.

[0233] In one embodiment, the operation of exchanging configuration information to confirm whether the user terminal and the meeting attendee are present may be performed based on a Bluetooth advertisement message or a Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) connection.

[0234] In one embodiment, the configuration information may include an application identifier for the conference service (e.g., App ID), reference information for determining whether to attend a conference (e.g., ToF minimum value, ToF maximum value, AoA azimuth range information, or AoA elevation range information, etc.), or information indicating whether the user terminal supports conference attendance reporting. In addition, the reference information for determining whether to attend a conference may include distance information and angle information related to the conference control device. The distance information related to the conference control device includes a maximum or minimum value of ToF (Time of Flight). Although the ToF value is a term indicating the flight time of a radio wave, it can be converted into distance information by multiplying it by the speed of light, and thus may be referred to as distance information. The angle information may include azimuth range information of AoA (Angle of Arrival) and AoA elevation range information.

[0235] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes UWB (Ultra-wide band) configuration information, and the UWB configuration information may include information indicating whether the role of the device is an initiator or a responder, information indicating whether the type of the device is a controller or a controlee, and information indicating whether the device supports conference attendance reporting. In this case, whether the conference attendance reporting is supported may indicate whether, in the case of a user terminal, a conference control device can generate conference attendance information about the user by transmitting and receiving messages and report the information to the conference control device. In addition, whether the conference attendance reporting is supported may indicate whether, in the case of a conference control device, a conference attendance reporting is supported by transmitting and receiving messages about the user terminal by transmitting and receiving messages to the user terminal to generate conference attendance information about the user.

[0236] In one embodiment, the configuration information may be provided from a server providing the conference service. Additionally, the configuration information may be provided via higher-layer signaling.

[0237] In one embodiment, the result report message may include information indicating a measured Time of Flight (ToF) value, an Angle of Arrival (AoA) azimuth value, an AoA elevation value, or whether the user is attending a meeting.

[0238] In one embodiment, information indicating whether a user attends a meeting may be generated based on at least one of a ToF (Time of Flight) value, an AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, an AoA elevation value, and reference information.

[0239] In one embodiment, the conference control device may further include an operation for transmitting information indicating whether the user is attending the conference to a server providing the conference service.

[0240] In one embodiment, the operation of transmitting a control message to the user terminal to confirm whether the user is present at a meeting may correspond to operation 7104 of FIG. 7 or operation 8104 of FIG. 8. In addition, the operation of transmitting an initiation message to the user terminal to measure the user's location may correspond to operation 7105 of FIG. 7 or operation 8105 of FIG. 8. In addition, the operation of receiving a response message corresponding to the initiation message from the user terminal may correspond to operation 7106 of FIG. 7 or operation 8106 of FIG. 8. In addition, the operation of transmitting a measurement report message to the user terminal may correspond to operation 7108 of FIG. 7. In addition, the operation of receiving a result report message indicating whether the user is present at a meeting from the user terminal may correspond to operation 7110 of FIG. 7.

[0241] A method performed by a conference control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an operation of exchanging setting information for confirming whether a user and a terminal are present at a conference, an operation of transmitting a control message for confirming whether the user is present at a conference to the user terminal, an operation of transmitting an initiation message for measuring the location of the user to the user terminal, an operation of receiving a response message corresponding to the initiation message from the user terminal, an operation of receiving a measurement report message from the user terminal, an operation of generating information indicating whether the user is present at a conference, and an operation of transmitting information indicating whether the user is present at a conference to a server providing a conference service. The conference control device may generate information indicating whether the user is present at a conference based on information received from the user terminal through the measurement report message, and may transmit the information to the server. At this time, the measurement report message may include a ToF value, an AoA azimuth value, an AoA elevation value, or information on the time taken for the user terminal to respond to the initiation message.

[0242] In one embodiment, information indicating whether a user is attending a meeting may be generated based on at least one of a ToF (Time of Flight) value, an AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, and an AoA elevation value measured for the user terminal.

[0243] In one embodiment, the operation of receiving a measurement report message from a user terminal may correspond to operation 8108 of FIG. 8 . Furthermore, the operation of generating information indicating whether the user is attending a meeting may correspond to operation 8109 of FIG. 8 . Furthermore, the operation of transmitting information indicating whether the user is attending a meeting to a server providing a conference service may correspond to operation 8110 of FIG. 8 .

[0244] A method performed by a user terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include an operation of exchanging setting information for confirming whether a user attends a meeting with a conference control device, an operation of receiving a control message for confirming whether a user attends a meeting from the conference control device, an operation of receiving an initiation message for measuring a user's location from the conference control device, an operation of transmitting a response message corresponding to the initiation message to the conference control device, an operation of receiving a measurement report message from the conference control device, an operation of generating information indicating whether a user attends a meeting, and an operation of transmitting a result report message indicating whether a user attends a meeting to the conference control device.

[0245] In one embodiment, the operation of generating information indicating whether the user has attended a meeting may correspond to operation 7109 of FIG. 7.

[0246] A conference method performed by a user terminal according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes an operation of exchanging setting information for confirming whether or not the user attends a conference with a conference control device, an operation of receiving a control message for confirming whether or not the user attends a conference from the conference control device, an operation of receiving an initiation message for measuring a user's location from the conference control device, an operation of transmitting a response message corresponding to the initiation message to the conference control device, and an operation of transmitting a measurement report message to the conference control device, wherein the measurement report message may include information for determining whether or not the user attends a conference. Here, the information for determining whether or not the user attends a conference may include at least one of a ToF (Time of Flight) value, an AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, and / or an AoA elevation value measured with respect to the user terminal.

[0247] Embodiments of the present disclosure can provide useful features for telepresence conference services. For example, by distinguishing between those attending a conference online or offline and those physically present, voting-based decision-making in remote conferences can be facilitated.

[0248] In addition, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, in the process of determining whether or not meeting participants are present, power consumption can be reduced by having the meeting control device and the user terminal exchange setting information through a Bluetooth advertising message or a Bluetooth OOB connection method.

[0249] In addition, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, in the process of determining the attendance of meeting participants, there is an effect of increasing the accuracy and reliability of information on whether a user is present by generating location information of the user terminal through a UWB-based message.

[0250] The effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects that are not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below.

[0251] The methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0252] When implemented in software, a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs (software modules) may be provided. The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium are configured for execution by one or more processors within an electronic device. The one or more programs include instructions that cause the electronic device to execute methods according to embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure.

[0253] These programs (software modules, software) may be stored in a random access memory, a non-volatile memory including a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disc storage device, a compact disc ROM (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc (DVD) or other forms of optical storage, a magnetic cassette, or a memory formed by a combination of some or all of these. In addition, each configuration memory may be included in multiple numbers.

[0254] Additionally, the program may be stored on an attachable storage device that is accessible via a communication network such as the Internet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide LAN (WLAN), or a storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device may be connected to a device performing an embodiment of the present disclosure via an external port. Additionally, a separate storage device on the communication network may be connected to a device performing an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0255] In the specific embodiments of the present disclosure described above, components included in the disclosure are expressed in the singular or plural form, depending on the specific embodiment presented. However, the singular or plural expressions are selected to suit the presented situation for convenience of explanation, and the present disclosure is not limited to singular or plural components. Components expressed in the plural form may be composed of singular elements, or components expressed in the singular form may be composed of plural elements.

[0256] Additionally, in the present disclosure, terms such as “part”, “module”, etc. may refer to a hardware component such as a processor or circuit, and / or a software component executed by a hardware component such as a processor.

[0257] A "component" or "module" may be implemented by a program stored in an addressable storage medium and executed by a processor. For example, a "component" or "module" may be implemented by components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, as well as processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables.

[0258] The specific implementations described in this disclosure are merely exemplary and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. For the sake of brevity, descriptions of conventional electronic components, control systems, software, and other functional aspects of the systems may be omitted.

[0259] Additionally, in the present disclosure, “comprising at least one of a, b, or c” may mean “comprising only a, including only b, including only c, including both a and b, including both b and c, including both a and c, or including all of a, b, and c.”

[0260] While the detailed description of this disclosure has described specific embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the scope of the claims described below, but also by equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method performed by a conference control device, An action to exchange configuration information to confirm user terminal and meeting attendance; An action of transmitting a control message to the above user terminal to confirm whether or not the user has attended a meeting; An action of transmitting an initiation message to the user terminal for measuring the user's location; An action of receiving a response message corresponding to the initiation message from the user terminal; An operation of transmitting a measurement report message to the user terminal; and Including an action of receiving a result report message indicating whether the user has attended a meeting from the user terminal. method.

2. In claim 1, The above setting information is, Including an application identifier for the above conference service, reference information for determining whether to attend a conference, or information indicating whether conference attendance reporting is supported. method.

3. In claim 2, The criteria for determining attendance at the above meeting are: Containing distance information and angle information related to the above conference control device, method.

4. In claim 3, The above distance information includes the maximum or minimum value of ToF (Time of Flight), The above angle information includes AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth range information or AoA elevation range information. method.

5. In claim 1, The above setting information includes UWB (Ultra-wide band) setting information, The above UWB setting information is: Information indicating whether the device's role is initiator or responder; Information indicating whether the device type is a controller or a controlee; Contains information indicating whether the device supports meeting attendance reporting; method.

6. In claim 4, The above result report message is, It includes information indicating whether the user terminal has attended a meeting or not, such as the measured ToF (Time of Flight) value, AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, AoA elevation value, or whether the user has attended a meeting. Information indicating whether the user is attending a meeting is generated based on at least one of the ToF (Time of Flight) value, the AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, the AoA elevation, and the reference information. method.

7. In claim 1, Further comprising an action of transmitting information indicating whether the user is attending a meeting to the server providing the above meeting service, The operation of exchanging setting information to confirm whether the user terminal and the meeting attendee are performed based on a Bluetooth advertisement message or a Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) connection. method.

8. A method performed by a conference control device, An action to exchange setup information to confirm usage and terminal and meeting attendance; An action of transmitting a control message to the above user terminal to confirm whether or not the user has attended a meeting; An action of transmitting an initiation message to the user terminal for measuring the user's location; An action of receiving a response message corresponding to the initiation message from the user terminal; An action of receiving a measurement report message from the user terminal; An action that generates information indicating whether the user has attended a meeting; and Including an action of transmitting information indicating whether the user is attending a meeting to a server providing the above meeting service, Information indicating whether the user is attending a meeting is generated based on at least one of the ToF (Time of Flight) value, the AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, and the AoA elevation value measured for the user terminal. method.

9. A method performed by a user terminal, An action to exchange setup information with a conference control device to determine whether the user is present or absent in a conference; An action of receiving a control message for confirming conference attendance from the above conference control device; An action of receiving an initiation message for measuring the user's location from the above conference control device; An action of transmitting a response message corresponding to the initiation message to the above conference control device; An action of receiving a measurement report message from the above conference control device; An action that generates information indicating whether the user has attended a meeting; and Including an action of transmitting a result report message indicating whether the user has attended the meeting to the above conference control device. method.

10. In claim 9, The above setting information is, Including an application identifier for the above conference service, reference information for determining whether to attend a conference, or information indicating whether conference attendance reporting is supported. method.

11. In claim 10, The criteria for determining attendance at the above meeting are: Including distance information or angle information set based on the above conference control device, method.

12. In claim 11, The above distance information includes the maximum or minimum value of ToF (Time of Flight), The above angle information includes AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth range information and AoA elevation range information. method.

13. In claim 9, The above setting information includes UWB (Ultra-wide band) setting information, The above UWB setting information is: Information indicating whether the device's role is initiator or responder; Information indicating whether the device type is a controller or a controlee; Contains information indicating whether the device supports meeting attendance reporting; The operation of exchanging the above setting information is performed based on a Bluetooth advertising message or a Bluetooth OOB (Out of Band) connection. method.

14. In claim 12, The above result report message is, It includes information indicating whether the user terminal has attended a meeting or not, such as the measured ToF (Time of Flight) value, AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, AoA elevation value, or whether the user has attended a meeting. Information indicating whether the user is attending a meeting is generated based on at least one of the ToF (Time of Flight) value, the AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, the AoA elevation, and the reference information. method.

15. A method performed by a user terminal, An action to exchange setup information with a conference control device to determine whether the user is present or absent in a conference; An action of receiving a control message for confirming conference attendance from the above conference control device; An action of receiving an initiation message for measuring the user's location from the above conference control device; An action of transmitting a response message corresponding to the initiation message to the above conference control device; and comprising an action of transmitting a measurement report message to the above conference control device; The above measurement report message contains information for determining whether the user is attending a meeting. Information for determining whether the user attends a meeting includes at least one of a ToF (Time of Flight) value, an AoA (Angle of Arrival) azimuth value, and an AoA elevation value measured for the user terminal. method.

Images