Electronic hub system for use in a meeting context

Abstract

An electronic hub system for facilitating shared use of at least one technical facilities in a meeting context comprising: • Facility interfacing means to connect to these technical facilities. • Client interfacing means allowing simultaneous connections from client devices. • Interconnection logic, having client devices connected, configured to: o Detect a trigger associated with a client device. o Advertise the availability of some or all technical facilities to the client device. o Obtain respective selections of facilities to be accessed from the client device. o Adapt and provide the selected facilities to the client device according to contextual rules. The technical facilities include one or more of the following : electrical power, network access, human interface devices, sensors, actuators, audiovisual source equipment, and audiovisual output equipment.

Description

[0001] Electronic Hub System For Use In a Meeting Context

[0002] Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention pertains to electronic equipment configured to allow users of a meeting space to share technical facilities provided in said space .

[0004] Background

[0005] It is a common aspect of meeting spaces such as conference rooms that they are used by different people at different points in time . The users may be people belonging to the organization in whose building the meeting room is located, as well as visitors from outside the organization . Some technical facilities present in a meeting room may be available for general use by any attendee , while other technical facilities may be reserved for use by members of the organization, or even specific sets of members of the organization .

[0006] A very common technical facility offered in meeting rooms is access to power outlets for laptop computers and other devices brought in by meeting attendees . Typically, standard AC mains sockets are present in the walls , the floor, or in a dedicated compartment of a conference table . Alternatively or additionally, USB-A ports and / or wireless charging pads may be provided with a view to charging smaller portable electronic devices ( e . g . , smart phones and tablets ) . Access to power is typically only contingent on physical access to the socket or pad .

[0007] A meeting room may be equipped with a WiFi access point or repeater giving access to a first wireless network that serves as a guest network, not protected by a network key or protected by a key that is publicly displayed, and / or to a second network that gives access to some of the organization' s network-attached resources , protected by a secret key or another more advanced form of authentication . Likewise , access to a wired network may be provided by means of network sockets, e.g. RJ-45 sockets for Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, that are patched to a managed Ethernet switch. The switch may give different attached stations access to different networks, for example on the basis of the stations' MAC addresses or based on an authentication process. It may be noted that wired network ports may additionally provide power to the attached stations, e.g. in accordance with IEEE Standard 802.3af.

[0008] Modern meeting rooms may additionally have multimedia equipment such as conference microphones, room cameras, and shared screens or projectors. Access to a shared screen or projector may be shared between meeting attendees by use of a wireless dongle (e.g. the Barco Clickshare® dongle) , connectable to the attendee's own laptop computer, which provides the necessary interface to allow the laptop computer to wirelessly share screen content on the shared screen or projector. In such a case, access to the resource (screen or projector) is granted by providing the required dongles .

[0009] There is a need for an integrated platform to provide regulated access to all technical facilities in a meeting space.

[0010] Summary of the Invention

[0011] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic hub system for facilitating shared use of one or more of technical facilities in a meeting context; the system comprising: facility interfacing means configured to connect to said one or more of technical facilities; client interfacing means configured to allow simultaneous connections from client devices; and interconnection logic, having one or more client devices connected through said client interfacing means, configured to : o detect a trigger associated with one of the client devices ; o advertise availability of one or more of said technical facilities to the client device associated with the trigger; o obtain, from the client device associated with the trigger, respective one or more selections of said technical facilities to be accessed through said electronic hub system; and o adapt and provide , to the client device associated with the trigger, one or more of said technical facilities in said respective obtained selections in accordance with a set of contextual rules ; wherein said technical facilities comprise one or more of electrical power , network access , a human interface device , a sensor , an actuator, audiovisual source equipment , and audiovisual output equipment .

[0012] It is an advantage of the electronic hub system according to the present invention that it provides an integrated approach to the sharing of a wide variety of technical facilities that may be provided to the users of a meeting space .

[0013] The selection of technical facilities to be access by the client devices may happen explicitly, by means of a user interface provided for that purpose , but it may also happen implicitly, by means of signals automatically exchanged between the client device and the electronic hub system once the relevant interface is connected or accessed .

[0014] In an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention, the client interfacing means comprises a USB-C alt mode interface configured to offer one or more of said technical facilities , and the interconnection logic is configured to selectively advertise some or all of said one or more of said technical facilities in function of said contextual rules and / or detected triggers . It is an advantage of this embodiment that it takes advantage of the versatility of the USB-C alt mode interface to offer a wide variety of services over a single connection, while avoiding having to offer every service that may be carried over the USB-C alt mode connection to every client device .

[0015] In an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention, said set of contextual rules comprise a rule permitting or denying access to a given facility on the basis of an identity or a group membership of a user of the client device in question .

[0016] It is an advantage of this embodiment that access to critical resources may be reserved to specific users , based on an identification or authentication step .

[0017] In a particular embodiment , the system collects data that is representative of an identity of a client device , said identity reflecting unique properties of a specific client device or of a user associated with said specific client device , or said identity representing a group identity, the group identity being specified by means of similarity of at least one property of said client device or of said user associated with said client device .

[0018] It is an advantage of this particular embodiment , that it allows for access policies that are group-based, rather than individualbased, thus facilitating the management of permissions in organizations with large numbers of members .

[0019] In a more particular embodiment , wherein said identity is collected via the connectivity characteristics of said client device connecting to said electronic hub system.

[0020] It is an advantage of this particular embodiment that the physical device used by a particular user serves as a hard access token to one or more resources that are associated with that device , without requiring further authentication steps by the user themselves .

[0021] In a more particular embodiment , said identity is collected via a software on said client device connecting to said electronic hub system .

[0022] It is an advantage of this particular embodiment that software installed on the physical device used by a particular user serves as a soft access token to one or more resources that are associated with said physical device , without requiring further authentication steps by the user themselves .

[0023] In a more particular embodiment , said identity is collected via analysis of data being communicated between said electronic hub system and said client device connecting to said electronic hub system .

[0024] This more particular embodiment provides an extra level of security to the soft access token model , because it does not solely rely on static information, which might be copied or spoofed .

[0025] In an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention, said set of contextual rules comprise a rule permitting or denying access to a given facility on the basis of a physical location of the client device in question .

[0026] In a particular embodiment , the system collects data that is representative of said physical location on the basis of one or more of microphone signals , camera images , the interface used by the client device , and predetermined rules .

[0027] It is an advantage of this embodiment that the system can take into account the different roles that an agent may have in a meeting, which may be linked to different location in the meeting space . In an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention, said set of contextual rules comprise a rule adapting access to a given facility on the basis of a state of a meeting space and its environment .

[0028] This embodiment allows for flexible and dynamic access management , which may take into account a wide variety of contextual elements , such as time ( e . g . , time of day, day of the week ) , meeting space occupancy ( some resources can only be offered to a certain maximum number of resource consumers ) , resource availability ( some resources may rely on equipment that may be out of order ) , etc .

[0029] In an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention, said set of contextual rules comprise a rule adapting access to a given facility on the basis of usage metrics of said technical facilities . In a particular embodiment , said usage metrics comprise an indication whether a resource is in use by at least one of said client devices . In a more particular embodiment , said indication is obtained by a software that is being executed on one of said client devices connecting to said electronic hub system.

[0030] It is an advantage of these embodiments that they avoid conflicting use of the same resource by multiple client devices .

[0031] In an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention, said interconnection logic is further adapted to transform a resource signal in accordance with requirements associated with one or more of said client devices connecting to said electronic hub system .

[0032] It is an advantage of this embodiment that resources that may be unusable by some client devices in their raw form, can still be offered to those same client devices in a form in which they can be used . For that purpose , the electronic hub system transforms a received or locally generated resource signal ( e . g . , a power signal , a video signal , an audio signal , a control signal , or a configuration signal ) into a form that can be accepted and / or acted upon by the destination client device .

[0033] In a particular embodiment , said transforming of said resource signal comprises adapting one or more of a bit rate , a compression scheme , a resolution, a color encoding , and a frame rate of a video stream .

[0034] This particular embodiment allows for optimal rendering of available video streams on client devices having a variety of video display requirements .

[0035] In a particular embodiment , the transforming of said resource signal comprises creating one or more personalized video streams from a single wide-angle camera stream .

[0036] It is an advantage of this particular embodiment that multiple users in the meeting space can use the feed from a single room camera to obtain cropped video images that looks as though they were each taken using a personal camera, which they can in turn transmit to remote attendees in a video conferencing context .

[0037] In a particular embodiment , said transforming of said resource signal comprises adapting an audio signal by extracting audio signals originating from respective users of a subset of said client devices connecting to said electronic hub system.

[0038] It is an advantage of this particular embodiment that multiple users in the meeting space can use the feed from a single room microphone to obtain extracted audio feeds that sound as though they were each taken using a personal microphone , which they can in turn transmit to remote attendees in a telephone or video conferencing context . In a particular embodiment , said transforming of said resource signal comprises adapting a wattage or a voltage of a power signal for the respective client device .

[0039] In an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention, said interconnection logic is adapted to configure an exposure of at least one of said technical facilities towards at least one of said client devices connecting to said electronic hub system in a preconfigured or dynamic manner .

[0040] It is an advantage of this embodiment that access to certain technical facilities may be controlled at a stage that precedes formal authentication, by changing whether these technical facilities are exposed to ( i . e . , made detectable by) individual client devices .

[0041] In an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention, said interconnection logic is adapted to optimize power delivery across said client devices connecting to said electronic hub system, the optimization strategy including a predefined maximum total power delivery target across said client devices .

[0042] It is an advantage of this embodiment that a maximal number of client devices may be provided with power, without ris king overrunning the system' s total power budget .

[0043] In a particular embodiment , said optimization strategy further weights the power delivery of the individually connected client devices based on the state-of-charge of said individually connected client devices .

[0044] It is an advantage of this particular embodiment that priority may be given to devices that are most in need of power , such that an unwanted shutdown of any client devices due to lack of power can be avoided . In an embodiment , the electronic hub system according to the present invention is further adapted to configure of at least one of said technical facilities .

[0045] It is an advantage of this embodiment that the technical facilities of the meeting space are not only shared in the state in which they are , but may also be reconfigured so as to make them better suited for the use requested by the connected client devices . Such reconfiguration may for example involve the rerouting of data streams between equipment associated with the technical facilities , client devices using said technical facilities to create personalized data , and client devices meant to receive said personalized data; whereby such re-routing can improve efficiency and reduce latency .

[0046] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0047] These and other technical features and advantages of embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which :

[0048] Figure 1 schematically represents an electronic hub system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 2 is a flow chart of steps performed by the interconnection logic in an electronic hub system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 3 depicts a high-level functional overview of an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the present invention;

[0051] Figure 4 illustrates an example of dynamic exposure of certain technical facilities , in particular a display resource ;

[0052] Figure 5 illustrates three deployment scenarios of the electronic hub system according to the present invention in a non-limiting manner;

[0053] Figure 6 illustrates a scenario where a technical facility, for example a display resource , is accessed through a donglebased client interfacing means as described in Figure 3 (b , c ) ; Figure 7 illustrates a use case where the technical facility to be accessed is electrical power;

[0054] Figure 8 illustrates two embodiments of the concept of the invention; and

[0055] Figure 9 illustrates two embodiments of the concept of the invention .

[0056] Description of Embodiments

[0057] The present disclosure generally pertains to an electronic hub system for facilitating shared use of a plurality of technical facilities in a meeting context . The electronic hub system may be implemented as a single , integrated, electronic apparatus ; e . g . a device having all its main components arranged in a single housing with a dedicated power supply . Alternatively, the electronic hub system may comprise several separate elements ( e . g . , in separate , independently powered housings ) , which interact with each other by means of appropriate interfaces .

[0058] With reference to Figures 1 and 2 , the system 100 comprises facility interfacing means 110 configured to connect to the plurality of technical facilities 115. These technical facilities 115 or "resources" are ingested by the hub system 100 , in order to be made available , in a selective and managed manner, to users of the conference room.

[0059] The system 100 further comprises client interfacing means 120 configured to allow a plurality of simultaneous connections from client devices 125 . The client devices 125 represent users or, more generally, "actors" that interact with the system 100 by consuming resources egested by the system and / or by offering the resources under their own control the system for sharing with other client devices 125 .

[0060] The system 100 further comprises interconnection logic 130 configured to : o advertise 210 the availability of some or all of said technical facilities 115 to client devices 125 connected through said client interfacing means 120; o obtain 220, from said client devices 125 connected through said client interfacing means 120, respective selections of technical facilities 115 to be accessed through said electronic hub system 100; and o adapt and provide 230, to each of said client devices 125 connected through said client interfacing means 120, some or all of said technical facilities 125 in said respective obtained selections in accordance with a set of contextual rules.

[0061] The functions described hereinabove as pertaining to the interconnection logic 130 may be implemented in dedicated hardware (e.g., ASIC) , configurable hardware (e.g., FPGA) , programmable components (e.g. , a DSP or general purpose processor with appropriate software) , or any combination thereof. The same component (s) may also include other functions.

[0062] The technical meeting facilities 125, or resources, exchanged by means of this electronic hub system may comprise one or more of electrical power, network access, a human interface device, a sensor, an actuator, audiovisual source equipment, and audiovisual output equipment. Network access may include access to a wired local area network (e.g. according to IEEE Std 802.3, commonly known as "Ethernet") , a wireless local area network (e.g. according to IEEE Std 802.11, also known as "WiFi") , a personal area network (e.g. Bluetooth) , a mobile network (e.g. GSM, GPRS, EDGE, LTE, 4G, 5G, and the like) ; these networks may in turn give access to larger networks such as a corporate intranet or the Internet .

[0063] Hereinafter, the term "resource" will be used interchangeably with "technical facility", the term "electronic hub system" will be used interchangeably with "resource adaptation system", and the term "actor" will be used interchangeably with "client device" or, as the case may be , a user of such a client device . Without loss of generality, the different functions of the interconnection logic will be assigned to functional units labeled "input module" , "access module" , "context collection module" , and "adaptation module" .

[0064] Thus , the hub system 100 described herein can be described as adapting resources 115 to at least one requesting actor 125 , the system 100 enabling and adapting the use of said resources in a dynamic manner .

[0065] Figure 3 depicts a high-level functional overview of an embodiment of the electronic hub system according to the invention . To the right , the one or multiple resource are shown that are mediated by said electronic hub system . Said resources are ingested into said electronic hub system by means of an input module 301 . To the left , the one or multiple actors are shown that are coupled to said electronic hub system via an access module 302 . The resource adaptation process is managed by the context collection module 303 and the adaptation module 304 that are shown in the middle of the figure . These modules expose and / or transform said resources to said actors in a dynamic and context adaptive manner .

[0066] Technical Facilities

[0067] The system may contain an input module 301 that ingests the technical facilities , or resources , that should be accessible by said system. Such resources may include physical sensing devices such as , for example , cameras , microphones , touch sensors and environmental sensors . Such resources may include physical actuation devices such as , for example , audio speakers , displays , proj ectors , wearable devices , haptic actuators , or environmental controls . Such resources may include resources that are external to said meeting space , as ingest or egest signals , such as , for example , electrical power and wired or wireless networking . Such resources may further include virtual resources that are sent to or received from a processing step, for example a virtualized display or a virtualized camera device . Said processing step may be transforming a respective signal received from or sent to a respective physical device . Said virtualized device may use one or more physical or virtual devices . Said virtual or physical devices may be part of the meeting space , outside of the meeting space or brought into the meeting space by a user of a client device or someone else .

[0068] Such resources may include higher-level resources that group lower-level resources . For example , a speakerphone resource may group a microphone resource and a speaker resource together . For example , an all-in-one video bar resource may group a camera , a microphone , a speaker and / or a display resource together .

[0069] Such resources may include resources that are available by or on devices that are related to a user using said system . For example , a WiFi resource on a client device may be mediated or virtualized (being integrated into a virtual resource ) by the electronic hub system . For example , a camera, a microphone or a speaker on said actor device may be mediated or virtualized by the electronic hub system .

[0070] Output : connected client devices

[0071] The system may contain an access module 302 that is configured to allow coupling of one or multiple client devices , or actors , to said system. The access module 302 may comprise a physical device that contains a client interfacing means . The client interfacing means may include one or more wired interface instances , such as for example via USB, HDMI , DisplayPort , UTP, power connector or any other means of connecting devices in a wired manner . The client interfacing means may include wireless interface instances , such as for example via WiFi , Bluetooth, cellular, infra-red or any other means of connecting devices in a wireless manner . The interfacing may rely on a manual action by the user of the client device . Additionally or alternatively, the interfacing may be fully automatic . Such automatic interfacing may for example be based on detection, for example an actor entering a certain area . Said automatic interfacing may for example be based on context or estimation of intent , for example when it is estimated that a user of a client device may intend to use one or more resources that are available through the electronic hub system.

[0072] A given client device may be connected to the electronic hub system by means of different interface instances . A given interface instance type may be connected to multiple client devices associated with one or multiple actors . A coupled client device may provide a resource that is ingested in the electronic hub system.

[0073] Client Devices

[0074] Users of the electronic hub system may use client devices , either brought into the space or part of the space , to interact with the electronic hub system.

[0075] Context

[0076] The context collection module 303 collects data that is relevant towards adapting said resources towards an actor or towards a group of actors . The context collection module 303 may collect data that is representative of the identity of the one or multiple actors , said identity reflecting the unique properties of a specific actor or said identity representing a group identity, the group identity being specified by means of similarity of at least one property of said actor . Said identity may be collected via the connectivity characteristics of said one or multiple client devices coupling to the electronic hub system. Said identity may be collected via a software on the client device associated with the user , coupled to the electronic hub system . Said identity may be collected via analysis of the data being communicated between said one or multiple actors and said electronic hub system . Said identity may be collected via any other means of retrieving identity of the actor as an individual or as the identity of the group to which the actor belongs .

[0077] The context collection module 303 may collect data that is reflective of the state of the meeting space and / or its environment . The context collection module 303 may collect data that is the result of an analysis step that analyses the data that is sent to or received from the one or multiple actors that are coupled to said electronic hub system. Said analysis step may determine whether a resource is in use by at least one of the actors coupled to said electronic hub system . Said analysis step may determine whether a resource is in use by a software that is being executed on the client device of a user, coupled to the electronic hub system.

[0078] The context collection module 303 may collect data that is reflective of the state of the at least one client device or of their user ( s ) . The context collection module may collect data that is reflective of the state of the electronic hub system.

[0079] The context collection module 303 may collect data that is reflective of a link between an actor and the environment . This link may include the physical location of the actor in a meeting room, a shared or open office space , a hybrid working space , or the like . For example , an actor' s place in a meeting room may be indicative of their role in the meeting ( e . g . , as a presenter , a team member, a member of the audience , etc . ) and this context may be relevant to the desired behavior of the electronic hub system towards the actor . Open or hybrid spaces may be configured to adapt to their context ; this context consisting out of the context of the person / device , the space , and the person / device within the space . Adaptation module

[0080] The adaptation module 304 may include a resource signal transformation module , said transformation module being configurable to adapt said transformation to said one or multiple coupled client devices . Said resource signal may represent image data and said resource signal transformation module may adapt said image data to the coupled client device or group of client devices . Said resource signal may represent audio data and said resource signal transformation module may adapt said audio data to reflect audio that is related to a subset of the actors in the meeting space . Said resource signal may represent a power signal wherein said resource signal transformation module adapts the power wattage of said power signal for the respective client device in the meeting space . Said resource signal may represent a network signal where said resource signal transformation module adapts said network signal properties ( rights , quality of service , ...) for the respective client device in the meeting space .

[0081] The adaptation module 304 may include a configurable resource exposure module that configures exposure of at least one of said ingested resources towards at least one coupled client device in a preconfigured or dynamic manner . Said configuration of exposure may restrict a coupled client device from using a resource . For example , said configuration of exposure may restrict a coupled client device from using a display exposed through the electronic hub system . Said configuration of exposure may change how a resource is exposed to a coupled client device . For example , the set of available resolutions of a meeting space camera may be changed through said configuration of exposure . Said configuration of exposure may permit access of a coupled client device to a resource . Said configurable resource exposure module may include a selection step where the exposure of said ingested resource is restricted to a subset of said one or multiple coupled client devices , wherein said subset is the result of said selection step . The adaptation module 304 and its transf ormation / exposure submodules may be configurable , changing the adaptation characteristics during execution . Said configuration may be changed by means of pre-determined rules , context adaptive rules , user input , the state of a part of the electronic hub system, the state of a module not part of the electronic hub system, an artificial intelligence system or any other means of changing the configuration of the adaptation module statically or dynamically .

[0082] There is an important distinction between exposure and usage of a resource . When exposing a resource to an actor , the actor ( client device or its user ) is aware of the resource and how it can be used . Usage on the other hand is about consuming the resource , for example receiving video data from a camera , receiving audio from a microphone , sending audio to a speaker , sending content to a display, connecting to a network, charging a device and so on . The electronic hub system may impose restrictions and transformations on either exposure or usage aspects .

[0083] Exposing multiple resources over the same client interface may cause issues . For example , an actor that is using said client interface may do so to access a sub-set of said exposed resources instead of all of them . When exposing all said resources over said client interface however , the system may behave in a way that is not expected or intended by said actor . Traditionally, when an actor uses an interface that exposes a single resource ( including higher-level resources that functionally group related lower-level resources ) - for example when connecting an all-in-one camera / audio device to a laptop via a USB cable - the actor has an expectation of what will happen because said actor had conveyed an explicit intent to access said resource by executing the action of coupling via said interface . In other words , there is an implied link between the intent of said actor and the consequence of coupling via said interface . When grouping resources together over the same interface , this implicit notion of linking said coupling action ( and resulting consequences ) to said actor intent is faulty . For example , an actor may have the intent to access a particular resource when coupling using said interface , said interface exposing a group of resources with said particular resource included in said group . The exposure of the resources in said group that are not said particular resource may have unexpected and unwanted effects . The electronic hub system can mitigate said unexpected and unwanted effects by controlling exposure and usage of said resources .

[0084] In some cases , exposure and usage are automatically linked and the actor or resource adaptation system doesn' t have impact on this process . When connecting a display to a device for instance via USB-C DP alt mode , said device will typically recognize said display as an external display and said device will automatically activate - i . e . , use - said display . In a single-resource coupling scenario , for instance when directly coupling a device to a display via USB-C DP alt mode , this is the expected behavior . In a multi-resource coupling scenarios however, where multiple resources are exposed via the same interface instance , such automatic usage is often not advised . For example , when an interface instance ( e . g . USB-C cable ) would be available in a meeting space for accessing power, internet , and meeting room devices including a display, it is not advisable to directly use said display when coupling an actor device via said interface instance to said resources as this would directly share content from said actor device to other people in the meeting space while said actor might only be coupling to charge the device or have access to internet . This automatic exposure and usage may result in privacy concerns and a generally bad user experience .

[0085] The electronic hub system can solve these issues by controlling exposure of resources in an adaptive manner . For example , when at least one actor accesses a real or virtual display resource via a USB-C DP alt mode interface instance , the electronic hub system may restrict the exposure of USB-C DP alt mode on one or multiple physical interfaces . Restricting exposure of said USB-C DP alt mode may comprise physically alterations to the USB-C lanes related to said DP alt mode . Restricting exposure of said USB-C alt mode may comprise an electronic alteration of said USB-C alt mode signal . Restricting exposure of said USB-C alt mode may comprise a configuration change . Restricting exposure of said USB- C alt mode may be executed by a software process .

[0086] Using the electronic hub system, one can make available multiple interface instances to said system ( e . g . multiple cables ) . All coupled devices using said interface instances may then make use of the resources that are exposed . As such, the electronic hub system may transform a single-user resource into a multi-user resource , allowing said resource to be more effectively used . In case of one or multiple real- or virtual displays for example , said resource signal transformation module or a module external to the electronic hub system may transform said multiple source signals so they can be displayed on said one or multiple displays . Said transformation may involve restrictions , for example limiting the number of sources that can be displayed at a given time . Said transformation may impose exclusive access to a resource . In case a resource may only be used by a limited set of coupled actors at a time , the electronic hub system may configure the exposure of said resource on a per-actor basis . Referring to the example where a display resource is used via USB-C DP alt mode , the electronic hub system may impose a restriction on the usage and / or exposure of said display to a limited set of actors .

[0087] One may, for example , prefer to only allow one user at a time to use said virtual or real display resource . To facilitate said preferred behavior , the electronic hub system may, for example , disable exposure of said resource on all other interface instances except for the interface instance that relates to said usage of resource . When said interface instance uses USB-C DP alt mode for example , the choice may be made for the system to not expose said USB-C DP alt mode by default , but instead rely on a trigger to enable said USB-C DP alt mode on a particular interface instance . Said trigger may be the signal generated by pressing a button . Said trigger may be a signal detected by a sensor . Said trigger may be a signal generated by a physical or virtual user interface . Said trigger may be the result of a monitoring process that monitors for changes in state . Said state may be the state of a physical obj ect . Said state may be the state of a virtual obj ect , said virtual obj ect for example being an application running on a computing device or for example being a data representation in a memory . Said trigger may be the result of a monitoring process that monitors aspects of data traffic over a means for data communication . Said trigger may be the result of an explicit action by a user . Said trigger may be the result of an implicit action by a user . Said trigger may be the result of a signal from another system .

[0088] By using the electronic hub system, one can take a potentially simple resource and use it in a multi-user and adaptive manner . In some cases , the exposure of said resources and the usage of said resources may change during operation . For example , one may expose resources to multiple users at some point but , when a certain resource is effectively being used, restrict the usage and / or exposure of said resource to a different set of users or transform the usage and / or exposure of said resource .

[0089] The system may alternatively expose and allow usage of said USB-C DP alt mode on all interface instances , until a certain property is detected that will restrict said usage to a limited set of coupled actors . For example , said display may be exposed and used by multiple coupled actors by default but , when it is detected that a certain signal is passed along said interface instance , said exposure may be limited to a sub-set of said multiple coupled actors , for example limited to one . This may for example happen when one type of resource usage ( e . g . usage of a display for showing a certain type of content ) is preferred over other uses of said resource ; for example when a preferred application is using said display for one of the coupled actors , it may not be preferred to share said display with other users and instead exclusive access is granted . The detected signal that triggers said behavior may be the result of an analysis , for example of the image data , or may be the result of analysis of the traffic - image data or other data - over each interface instance . Said detected signal may be the result of an application that is running on the actor device ( s ) . One may, for example , detect that an application on said actor device ( s ) is using said display resource and the electronic hub system may then decide to limit access to said display resource to only said actor device where said application was detected to be using said display resource . One may, for example , detect that an actor is sharing content on said display resource and ensure that said content can be clearly seen by limiting access to said display resource from other actors .

[0090] Note that a display may be a virtual display or a multi-display device and there may be a computational component between said means for coupling and said display, said computational component may be external to the electronic hub system .

[0091] The electronic hub system may select a subset of actors that may use a certain resource . Said selection may be based on user triggers , user behavior, application state , data signals , context , conditions and any other criteria that may be used to create said selection . In order to enf orce / encourage said selection and allow or disallow usage of said resource , the exposure of said resource towards one or more actors may be toggled on or off . For example , one may enable or disable USB-C DP alt mode on the associated interface instance linked to said actor when said resource is , for example , a (virtual ) display . For example , one may enable or disable a USB endpoint for use through the associated interface instance linked to said actor when said resource is , for example , a (virtual ) video or a (virtual ) audio device or a (virtual ) network device . For example , one may enable or disable charging capabilities through signaling for use through the associated interface instance linked to said actor when said resource is , for example , power .

[0092] As mentioned, the electronic hub system may select a subset of actors that may use a certain resource . Said selection that represents a subset of actors that may use a certain resource may alternatively be enf orced / encouraged by enabling or disabling the usage of said resource by one or more actors . While said resource is exposed to said actors , its usage may be enabled or disabled in order to enf orce / encourage said selection . For example , an exposed (virtual ) camera resource may be dissuaded from usage by the actor by not having it by default selected in a camera selection user interface . For example , an explicit action is needed by the user to start sharing information to a (virtual ) display resource . For example , one is required to activate said (virtual ) display resource before using it . For example , a dummy image is shown in a (virtual ) camera resource when its usage enf orced / encouraged to be disabled .

[0093] Said selection that represents a subset of actors that may use a certain resource may alternatively be enf orced / encouraged by allowing regular use from the actor point-of-view however reducing the impact of said usage towards the rest of the internal or external system. For example , one may allow all actors to be exposed and use a (virtual ) display resource , however the electronic hub system or an external system may only send a subset or transformed version of said actor (virtual ) display signals to said (virtual ) display . For example , when using a (virtual ) display resource , user interactions may be reduced or made impossible in order to reduce its impact on the overall experience . For example , one may allow all actors to be exposed and use a (virtual ) network resource , however the electronic hub system or an external system may block certain uses or throttle certain aspects of said network resource for a certain actor ( e . g . prevent intranet access ) . For example , a (virtual ) speaker resource may be accessible by many actors , however the electronic hub system ensures that the audio is only played back once , even when said audio signal is made available , in a transformed form ( e . g . at various levels of delay) by multiple actors at the same time . For example , this allows all actors to use the same communication tool and output the audio from that tool to said (virtual ) speaker resource without having a bad experience of multiplexing all said slightly different (e.g. delayed) audio signals into one stream.

[0094] When coupling to the electronic hub system, an actor may have access (either through exposure or usage) to a resource from the electronic hub system by default. Alternatively, an actor may be restricted from accessing (either through exposure or usage) said resource by default instead. In yet another alternative, a process may be to determine whether said actor should have access to said resource. For example, one may estimate that a user may want to share content, resulting in access to a (virtual) display resource. Enabling or disabling access to a resource may be done before an actor couples to the electronic hub system, during the time an actor is coupled to the electronic hub system or after an actor is decoupled from a resource adaptation system.

[0095] A trigger may be used in order to indicate the intent to start using or stop using or throttle a certain resource. Said trigger may be, for example, a physical or virtual button, a sensor, a user interface component, a (part of a) signal, a part of an API, a state, a state change, a communicated data, a change in communicated data, an explicit or implicit user action (e.g. trigger indirectly via another action) , a result of a processing step. Said trigger may for example be linked to an actor or its interface to the electronic hub system. For example, there may be a button or a sensor on the physical interface used by the client device; for example integrated in the USB-C connector or mounted on a cable or device that embodies said interface instance. For example, there may be a button or a sensor on a device not directly linked to said interface instance; one may for example have a separate button / sensor device or integrate said button / sensor in another device. Said trigger may have an additional mechanism to prevent unauthorized access by said actor. For example, facial recognition or credentials may be required to access a certain (parts of) resource. Said trigger may for example be linked to a device that is shared among actors . For example , said trigger may be a (virtual ) button or a sensor on a device that is accessible by multiple actors . In some cases , said trigger that is accessible by multiple actors may signal intent for all actors that are coupled to the electronic hub system . In some cases , said trigger that is accessible by multiple actors may signal intent to a subset of actors that are coupled to the electronic hub system . In some cases , said trigger that is accessible by multiple actors may signal intent to for a single actor that is coupled to the electronic hub system. In the cases where the intent is signaled for a subset or a single actor , said trigger needs to be translated into a trigger that signals intent to said subset or single actor . Said trigger translation may for example be based on predetermined or adaptive rules , context detection, estimation of intent or other data that allows translation of a multi-user trigger to a trigger that reflects said actor subset or single actor . For example , when a user presses a button or a sensor on a ( shared) device , one may assume it was the user who last coupled to the electronic hub system that pressed said button or activated said sensor . When one is required to signal a trigger before sharing content to a display resource for example , it may be an acceptable assumption that an actor who last coupled to the electronic hub system has signaled said trigger . One may add other refinements and restrictions to said logic to reduce false estimations for intent . For example , one may add a temporal constraint that invalidates said 'pressing button signals intent of last actor who coupled' when said pressing of a button happens too early or too late after coupling to the electronic hub system. Another example relates to model-based intent , where the user learns the intent model . For example , one may interpret intent for each of the coupled actors in a sequential manner; so , one may signal intent by pressing multiple times until the intended actor is reached . Said model may have additional cues that can help the actors to understand the model state of said intent model . For example , said additional cues may include a per-interf ace visual indicator that indicates the current or next intent when said button or sensor is pressed . Another example relates to using additional data that allows for relating said button press or sensor activation to an interface instance to the electronic hub system or to said actor itself . For example , one may have data on the spatial location of said actor or of said actor device that uses said interface instance relative to said button or said sensor . If said button or said sensor may capture spatial data as well , for example orientation from where the press / activation is done , one may relate said spatial data of said button or sensor actuation to said relative spatial data and identify the actor who actuated said button or sensor . For example , one may detect the orientation of said press on said button or sensor , and relate said orientation to said actor via said relative spatial data . Another example relates to intent estimation where said intent to signal a trigger is estimated by means of a estimation technique . Said estimation may be based on detections , context , other triggers , behavioral models and other models , prior information, rules , artificial intelligence , state information on the device of said actor, state information on other device , data signals being exchanged . For example , when a user is setting up a conferencing tool and said user is coupled to the electronic hub system, one may detect this and use it as an increase in chance that the user may intent to trigger a share to a display resource . So when said actor actuates said button / sensor , one may take this into account to predict that said actor signals said intent via said actuation . As with all other means of signaling a trigger, a confirmation may be required in some cases to ensure that the user intent reflects the action that would be executed by the electronic hub system. For example , one may be required to actuate said button or sensor once more after it has been signaled by the electronic hub system what will happen, for example by displaying a message on a display .

[0096] A trigger may be used in order to indicate the intent to start using or stop using or throttle a certain resource . Said trigger may signaled indicative of a change in state . For example , a context change may signal said trigger . For example , a state change on a device may signal said trigger . For example , a data signal or data signal change may signal said trigger . For example , a heat sensor in a device that provides power as a resource through the electronic hub system may signal that temperature allows for more power to be used by the actors of the electronic hub system or, vice versa, that the temperature indicates there should be less power that is provided as a resource . For example , a camera or audio capturing device in the meeting space may be enabled or disabled for ( a subset of ) coupled actors when it is detected that certain data should not be accessible or be shared, for example due to security reasons . For example , intranet access may only be available through a network resource for those actors who are adequately authorized whereas a throttled back ( or alternative ) network access may be available to those who are not authorized . For example , power delivery may be enabled or increased when the battery state of a coupled actor device is low or power delivery may be weighted across coupled actor devices based on said state of charge of each respective coupled actor device .

[0097] A trigger may be used in order to indicate the intent to start using or stop using or throttle a certain resource . Said trigger may be signaled indicative of an estimation of intent . For example , a trigger may be signaled when it is detected that an actor is sitting at a certain location or that an actor is exhibiting behavior for which it is estimated that one or more of the resources that are made available through the electronic hub system may have use for said actor . It is appreciated that estimation of intent can span a broad range of potential solutions for different types of resource and that these examples are merely exemplary and not limiting in any way .

[0098] Alternatively to said binary selection where an actor may or may not use a resource , a throttling process may be used wherein said throttling process configures the means of exposing / using said resource to / by said actor . This way, an actor is not either allowed or disallowed to use a resource , but said actor may be allowed to use a modified version of said resource and one can scale the resource usage in a continuous manner . For example , said exposure / usage may be configured in order to alter the exposed / used properties of said resource . For example , one may expose / use a subset of the capabilities of a resource or one may expose / use a transformation of the capabilities of said resource . For example , one may expose / use an altered temporal resolution or spatial resolution of a resource . For example , one may configure requirements or restrictions for the exposure / usage of said resource by said actor .

[0099] Said throttling process may be used to scale said resource to the conditions and requirements at hand . For example , one may determine that the single use of a (virtual ) display resource is free however that a second use of a display resource may only happen when said content has enough priority . Or , for example , one may determine that a (virtual ) display resource may only be used for content that has been determined to be of sufficient priority or is provided by a certain application . Or, for example , one may determine that a (virtual ) display resource has multiple areas with different rules or priorities and that said areas may only be used according to certain rules . Said rules may be communicated through the resource exposure , they may be communicated through resource usage , they may be enf orced / encouraged possibly without actor knowledge or consent . For example , a large display area may be exposed / used for content that is deemed more important while a smaller display area within the same (virtual ) display resource may be exposed / used for content that is deemed less important .

[0100] Said throttling process may, for example , determine that a camera resource may only expose / use information related to said actor, or said actor context . For example , one may determine that a camera resource may only be exposed / used when said camera data is deemed relevant . Said relevance may be related to the spatial location of said actor , the means of coupling used by said actor , the context of said actor or any other means for determining relevance , linked to the actor or otherwise . For example , one may expose a camera only to one or more actors that are in a certain area, typically an area that is covered by said camera . For example , said camera may be exposed to many people in said area but said camera data is filtered or transformed on a per-actor or group-of-actors basis in order for the data to be relevant to each of said actors . For example , one may determine that a camera resource is exposed / used with alternative spatial and temporal sampling rates depending on the conditions and requirements at hand, said alternative spatial and temporal sampling rates may be different for respective actors who are exposed / using said resource .

[0101] Said throttling process may, for example , determine that a (virtual ) microphone resource may only signal the voice of the actor to said coupled actor . Said throttling process may, for example , alter the networking capabilities that may be used by a respective actor or may limit access to certain services . Said throttling process may, for example , reduce power that an actor may use from a power resource . In general , said throttling process may change exposure , usage and transformations of a resource on a per-actor ( or group of actors ) and per-resource ( or group of resources ) basis . It is appreciated that many combinations of throttling resource usage is possible and that these examples are not restrictive .

[0102] When limiting or throttling a resource to a set of actors , said set of actors may be determined in various ways . One may have a maximum of actors which may be pre-configured or which may be adaptive to the conditions at hand . One may use a metric that prioritizes said actors in a non-uniform manner . Said maximum may depend on said metric as a certain capacity may be available and said maximum depends on the individual metrics of said actors . For example , one may have the choice to allow access to a resource to maximally 1 actor when allowing full access , but one may be able to allow more actors to have access with a throttled back resource instead . Said choice may be made at design time , however said choice may also be adapted during system operation . Limiting a resource to a subset of actors or determining the resource throttling configuration parameters may have various rules that control said behavior. For example, one may block new users from using a resource that has limited availability. Alternatively, one may give preference to new users for using said resource. It is appreciated that such rules are plentiful and previous examples are not limiting.

[0103] Use case: dynamic alt-dp mode

[0104] Figure 4 illustrates an example said dynamic exposure, in this case for accessing an at least one display resource. For example, three devices (4011, 4012, 4013) are being coupled to the electronic hub system, where an exposure configurator configures which of the devices (4011, 4012, 4013) is exposed to said resource 402. All devices (4011, 4012, 4013) may be exposed, no devices may be exposed, or any combination in between. An optional resource signal transformation may be included to further leverage said display devices, for example to ensure multiple sources can be displayed via spatial or temporal multiplexing. Said resource signal transformation may be part of a secondary system or part of said display system. The exposure configurator may use actions, context, or analysis results to determine the configuration of said exposure. For example, the resource (s) 402 may initially be exposed to the coupled devices (4011, 4012, 4013) . When it is detected that one of those coupled device (4011, 4012, 4013) uses said resource 402 in a certain manner however, said exposure configurator may reconfigure said exposure to limit exposure of said resource to a subset of said coupled devices. Alternatively, said resource (s) 402 may initially not be exposed to the coupled devices (4011, 4012, 4013) . When it is detected that at least one coupled device (4011, 4012, 4013) is to use said resource (s) 402, the exposure configurator may reconfigure said exposure to activate exposure of said resource 402 to said coupled device (4011, 4012, 4013) . Said detection may be implicit, for example one may expose said resource 402 to a newly coupled device when said resource is not in use for more than a predetermined maximum. Said exposure configurator may prioritize coupled actors based on certain criteria, for example prioritizing the last X actors who signaled their intend to use said resource (s) . Said signaling may be using a physical action (e.g. pressing a button) , a virtual action (e.g. clicking a button, tapping the screen) , an implicit action (e.g. coupling to the electronic hub system) , a contextual change (e.g. reference is made in the conversation to an actors content) or any other signal that may be used to impose exposure changes .

[0105] Figure 5 illustrates three deployment scenarios in a non-limiting manner. In figure 5 (a) , at least one actor device (5011, 5012) (two are shown) is coupled to the electronic hub system 500 with a cable and a display resource (which might be virtual and consist out of multiple real displays) is made available through the electronic hub system. Said coupled actor devices (5011, 5012) may use said display resource 502 when said display resource 502 is exposed to said respective coupled device (5011, 5012) . The electronic hub system may enable / disable / throttle exposure of said display resource in a dynamic manner. For example, said display resource may be exposed by means of USB-C DP alt mode. Said means of exposure may be enabled / disabled in a dynamic manner as described before. For example, said interface instance (USB-C cable) may have a button or sensor to trigger enabling / disabling said USB-C DP alt mode on said interface instance, for example integrated in the connector that is connected to said actor device. Alternatively, said interface instance may not have a button or sensor and said trigger may happen through a user trigger on a different device (possibly shared as mentioned before) , or may happen through a means without the need for an explicit user trigger (e.g. upon coupling, upon detection of a certain condition, ...) . Yet another alternative includes a physical switch that opens or closes the physical paths - lanes - related to the USB-C DP alt mode, physically enabling or disabling said exposure through a physical switch. Said physical switch may be integrated in the interface instance, for example near or on the connector that is used to couple said interface instance to said actor device. Said physical switch may be integrated in another device, for example a device that brings together the different interface instances. These aspects are the same when said display resource is exposed by other means to said actor device, for example HDMI, DisplayPort, DisplayLink, USB, DVI, VGA, SDI, Thunderbolt or any other means that allows for exposing said display resource to said actor device.

[0106] Figure 5 (b) shows a variant that uses a dongle 514 that is coupled to said client device (5111, 5112) and said dongle 514 is used to couple to said electronic hub system 510. Said dongle 514 may have a button or sensor to trigger an action on said dongle 514, or as described earlier and in figure 5 (a) , said there may be an explicit or implicit trigger elsewhere. No trigger may be available and said resource may then be directly accessible by said actor device. Said dongle 514 may expose said display resource 512 by means of USB-C DP alt mode and said dongle 514 may have a configurable exposure of said display resource 512, for example by means of enabling or disabling USB-C DP alt mode. By doing so, the electronic hub system may change exposure of said display resource 512 to said actor device via said dongle 514 in an adaptive manner. Said configurable exposure may be driven by a trigger, for example a button or a sensor on said dongle 514 or via other implicit or explicit means as described before.

[0107] Figure 5 (c) shows yet another variant where different interface instances are combined. This is to be understood as a non-limiting example and many more different combinations of interface instances may be combined. The exemplary embodiment shows actor devices (5211, 5212, 5213) being wired or wirelessly coupled to the electronic hub system 520. Wireless connection may be implemented using a dongle 524 coupled to the actor device 5213. Said coupled actor devices (5211, 5212, 5213) may use said display resource 522 when said display resource 522 is exposed to said respective coupled device(5211, 5212, 5213) . Figure 6 illustrates a scenario where a resource , for example a display resource , is accessed through the dongle-based interface instance as described in Figure 5 (b, c ) whereby said dongle is connected to an actor device , enabling said actor to access said resource . In this scenario , said resource is not exposed by default to said actor device 601 upon coupling . Instead, said resource is only exposed to said actor device when a trigger is given, for example said actor pressing a button or actuating a sensor on said dongle 604 . When said dongle-based interface instance also exposes other resources than said exemplary display resource , this scenario enables an activation step where , for example , the user can control when said display resource functionality is required . As such, if said display resource is used for sharing information for example , using this scenario said information is not shared directly when plugging in said dongle but only after a trigger has been given . This can improve privacy and security concerns and enables a system that is more predictable to the users .

[0108] Figure 6 ( a ) illustrates the coupling of said dongle 604 to said actor device 601 . When coupled, shown in figure 6 (b ) , a resource , for example a display resource that is exposed via USB-C DP alt mode via said dongle , said resource is not by default exposed to said actor device 601 via said dongle 604 . So a user who plugs in said dongle 604 does not directly get a secondary screen in the case of USB-C DP alt mode as would be normally the case . Instead, a trigger is required to expose said display resource via USB-C DP alt mode . This is shown in figure 6 ( c ) where , in this case , the user presses a button on said dongle 604 or actuates a sensor on said dongle 604 which acts as a trigger towards enabling exposure of said display resource to said actor device . After said press / actuation, a USB-C DP alt mode is activated for example and, for example , a secondary display is visible on the actor device that can, for example , be used to share content .

[0109] Although the trigger that causes the resource to be exposed was exemplified hereinabove by a user interface action, in particular a button that can be pressed by the user , it may more generally be any kind of trigger that can be relayed to or inferred by the software controlling the exposure of the resource . The software may take into account contextual elements and elements pertaining to the state of the system as a whole , or specific components thereof , such as the availability or unavailability of alternative mechanisms to share the resource in question . In one example , in a system that provides more than one way to share an external display, the alt-mode exposure is activated by the software only when it is detected that the alternative ( non-alt-mode ) sharing mechanism ( s ) is ( are ) not available , such that the alt-mode is presented as a back-up . The unavailability may be due to temporary technical problems , but also to system policy reasons or preprogrammed user preferences .

[0110] Note that the actual activation of said exposure may also happen by means of software , for example on said actor device . For example , one may use a driver that exposes a virtual resource which may be used to expose and use a resource from the electronic hub system . For example , one may have a virtual display via a driver on said actor device and a trigger may activate or deactivate said virtual display accordingly . Furthermore note that this example has primarily used a display resource that is accessed via USB-C DP alt mode , however said concepts and ideas of said example are not limited to said resource or said interface instances in any way .

[0111] Use case : adaptive charging

[0112] A resource may be transformed to adapt said resource towards a connected client device . These transformations may be used to optimize usage of said resource over multiple coupled actors . As illustrated in Figure 7 , said resource may be electricity that is consumed by said coupled actors . The amount of electricity that can be used may be limited . For example , there may be a limitation due to the size of the device and the electrical transformer that can be integrated in said device . In such a case , one may uniformly limit the amount of electrical power that may be delivered to each coupled device. For example, if a maximum of 200 Watt may be delivered across 4 coupled actors (7011, 7012, 7013, 7014) , one may limit the individual delivery of electrical power to each of the actors (7011, 7012, 7013, 7014) to 50 Watt. This is however not optimal. One device may have more need or urgency for electrical power than another device due to their respective state-of-charge, the anticipated electrical power usage and / or anticipated usage time. The electronic hub system 700 may optimize the use of said electrical power resource 705 by, for example, collecting the state-of-charge of each of the coupled devices (7011, 7012, 7013, 7014) and offering a weighting electrical power delivery inversely proportional to said state-of-charge. This way, devices (7011, 7012, 7013, 7014) that require electrical power the most, with the least state-of-charge, will receive more electrical power in order to maintain optimal performance. Said signaling of state-of-charge may be at the low-level coupling protocol / interf ace , for example USB or via a higher-level protocol / interf ace , for example by signaling from a software that is running on said coupled devices or any other means for signaling .

[0113] Use case: network resource

[0114] A resource may be configured depending on several factors, one of said factors may be the identity of the coupled actor (s) or the identity the group said coupled actor (s) belong to. For example, a resource may be a network resource that facilitates network access to said coupled actor. For example, said network access may enable a visitor to have access to a network without requiring network security credentials to be exchanged or configured. Instead, the electronic hub system may identify said coupled actor to belong to a certain group of users, for example the visitors, and configure said network resource to only expose access to network resources that are permitted to be accessible by said visitors. When an employee would couple to the electronic hub system to use said network resource however, the electronic hub system may identify said coupled user as an employee and thus expose a differently configured network resource ( for example granting access to ( a subset of ) the internal network resources ) as compared to said visitor . Said network resource configuration may comprise configuring specific resource parameters or said network resource configuration may comprise a selection of (pre-configured) configuration sets . For example , there may be a configuration set aimed at a certain user or a certain group of users , and when said user or said group of users couples to the electronic hub system, the most appropriate configuration set is selected . Rules may be applied to select a set from multiple applicable configuration sets or configuration sets may be aggregated to construct a set that is most applicable to said coupled user .

[0115] Said resource that is configured by the electronic hub system may be a resource that is provided by said coupled device , or by a device that is coupled to said coupled device . Said resource that is provided by said coupled device or by a device that is coupled to said device may be configured by the electronic hub system . For example , said device may have a network device integrated in or coupled to it ( for example , via USB ) , and the electronic hub system may configure said network device when said user couples said device to the electronic hub system . For example , when coupling said device to the electronic hub system, the electronic hub system may determine the identity of said coupled device and / or said user linked to said coupled device and / or a group to which said coupled device belongs to and / or a group to which said user linked to said coupled device belongs to . Said identity may be linked to a means of configuration that will configure said network device . For example , a visitor in a company may couple to the electronic hub system which will identify said visitor , for example , as an external visitor and will configure , for example , the wireless network interface on the coupled device of said visitor to connect to a wireless network that is suitable to said visitor ( for example , a wireless network on which only external internet access is available ) . As noted before , said identification may be done by profiling the client interface , running an application and / or driver on said coupled device , behavior profiling , explicit detection ( for example through audio or video identification) and so on . Said configuration may further involve other aspects of said coupled device , for example configuration of a firewall , configuration of an anti-malware software and so on . Said configuration may involve installing and / or configuring a virtual network device driver on said coupled device . By using the electronic hub system, users may make use of network resources in an automated manner , relying on the electronic hub system to configure said network resources based on their identity, the context , the conditions and any other criteria at hand .

[0116] Use case : multi-stream room camera

[0117] A camera device for a meeting space is typically seen as a one- size-f its-all appliance . As such, when equipping a meeting space with one or multiple cameras , the video data that is made available by these cameras is consumed as-is . In addition, such devices are typically designed to be used by a single user at a time . In more flexible meeting scenarios however , these assumptions do not hold . Multiple users may need to interact with said camera device and said users may have different requirements of said usage . By means of this resource adaptation system, a single camera may be consumed by multiple users and said consumption may include a transformation step that adapts said video data to the specific requirements of the user and / or the context . For example , an overview camera may be ingested as a resource in the electronic hub system. Said overview camera may show several of the coupled actors in said video data . Instead of sending the whole overview video to said coupled actors , one may personalize said video data by applying a cropping operation on said video data on a per-actor level and send a cropped version of said video that is applicable for each respective coupled actor .

[0118] Alternatively, said overview camera may show multiple areas where multiple independent video conference meetings are being held . In that case , each of the coupled actors may get the video of a different area of the meeting space to convey the correct environment towards the remote video conference participants . Said overview camera may be a 360 degree camera that is positioned in an flexible meeting space and each respective physical interface o instance of the client interface may be linked to a respective area within said 360 degree camera image . A single device may effectively be used to cater to many different meeting scenarios and may be used to facilitate multiple video conferencing meetings at the same time .

[0119] Said personalization may require identification of an actor or a group of actors in order to understand what transformed video needs to be sent to which actor via which means of coupling . Said identification may use a software on the device linked to said actor and said identification data may be communicated with the electronic hub system. Using said identification data, the resource signal transformation module may transform said camera video data according to the specifics of said identification data , for example to crop to said identified actor .

[0120] Figure 8 illustrates two embodiments of this concept . In Figure 8 ( a ) , multiple people are present in a meeting space and at least one camera 801 is available . In one variant , remote participants are also included via a communication system that is shown at the bottom of the figure . In another variant , there are no remote participants and said communication system may be used for transcription, summarization, etc . Both devices are sending data to the communication system. By means of the electronic hub system 800 , the same camera can be used by multiple devices and can be sent into the respective communication tool . In addition, each respective signal that is sent to the communication tool has been transformed . The signal to the left of Figure 8 ( a ) for instance only shows the person Pl to the left , while the signal to the right of Figure 8 ( a ) shows the other two people P2 , P3 in said meeting space . In Figure 8 (b ) , multiple people are present in a meeting space and a camera 802 is available that can capture these people . In this embodiment however , the people are not in the same communication session . Instead, they are in two separate sessions . The two people Pl , P2 to the left are in a session and the two people P3 , P4 to the right are in a different session . In one variant , remote participants are also included in the one or multiple communication sessions . In another variant , there are no remote participants and the communication system may be used for transcription, summarization, etc . By using the electronic hub system, both groups of people can use the same resource ( s ) at the same time , but adapted to their particular situation . As shown, the image data that is sent to call 1 only shows the two people to the left for instance , while the image data that is sent to call 2 only shows the two people to the right . This can be very useful in flexible meeting spaces where the resources that are deployed in a space that serves multiple purposes . Based on the conditions and its usage , the resources can be seen as virtual resources and can be dynamically exposed and transformed as the conditions demand it .

[0121] Use case : transparent audio

[0122] As with camera devices , audio devices are also typically seen as devices that can only be used by one user at a time . The data that flows into or out of these devices is typically not adapted to the user . By means of the electronic hub system, such single-purpose single-user devices can be transformed into adaptive multi-user devices that create a personalized and contextualized experience instead of the typical one-size-f its-all that is offered out-of- the-box . A microphone or microphone array for instance may be used in a much more dynamic manner by using this system as multiple actors may be connected to said microphone . The resource signal transformation module may filter the microphone signal on a per- person basis . Said filter may for example limit the signal to only pass through the signal data of the respective actor who is talking, or only pass through the signal of a respective group of actors who are talking . For example , when all actors who are coupled to the electronic hub system are in the same communication session, the resource adaptation module may only send the audio data of a person talking to a single actor who is coupled to the electronic hub system; said single actor changing according to the person talking or the changing context . Alternatively, in a space where multiple communication sessions are ongoing, a single microphone may be exposed to these multiple communication sessions by having at least one actor per communication session coupled to the electronic hub system and filtering the respective audio data that is not applicable to the respective communication session at hand .

[0123] Figure 9 illustrates two embodiments of this concept . In Figure 9 ( a ) , three people Al , A2 , A3 are in a meeting space and are having a conversation . In one variant , remote participants are also included via a communication system that is showed at the bottom of the figure . In another variant , there are no remote participants and said communication system may be used for transcription, summarization, etc . In this example , the electronic hub system 900 will take in the single signal from a room microphone 901 and split it according to the person Al , A2 , A3 who is speaking . In one variant , the electronic hub system 900 creates a signal for each of the persons Al , A2 , A3 in the meeting space . In another variant , also shown in Figure 9 (b ) , the electronic hub system 900 creates signals for groups of people Al , A2 , A3 , A4 , who may for example be in different communication sessions . Using this system, one can use resources in a more effective and dynamic manner that adapts to the conditions at hand .

[0124] Use case : optimization of resource streams based on coupled devices

[0125] The electronic hub system may provide a means for optimizing transmission and delivery of resource data and / or streams related to said resource . For example , the signal coming from a microphone that is onboarded to the electronic hub system may be delivered to one or more devices that are coupled to the electronic hub system . Said coupled device ( s ) that make use of said microphone resource may be coupled to said resource in an indirect manner . For example , said microphone signal may flow, by default , from the device that provides said microphone signal , via a central device that manages said resource adaptation to a coupled device that makes use of said microphone resource and associated microphone signal . The electronic hub system may optimize said flow by reconfiguring the routing of said data stream for example , directly between the device that provides said microphone signal and the coupled device that consumes said microphone signal if the means for communication permits to do so . Said reconfiguration of resource data streams may for example optimize towards a single user of said resource or optimize towards a group of users . Furthermore , said optimization may take into account the resource type or data contents at a given time and / or include other rules , constraints and / or conditions in order to optimize towards an optimization goal that adheres to the situation at hand . For example , for an audio stream associated with a microphone resource or towards a speaker resource , the latency may be of primary importance , especially for real-time communication and interaction scenarios . In this case , such optimization may include the selection of the hops ( type and / or amount ) that are used to communicate said resource data from the resource to the one or more resource users . Said optimization may include the use of a graph that models , for each of the nodes and each of the links between said nodes , what the impact is on said optimization factor , for example latency . Said graph may be provided to the electronic hub system, for example as a set of rules or predetermined data . Said graph may also be learned and adapted according to the conditions at hand . For example , a microphone that is embedded in a peripheral device that is used for wireless sharing and / or conferencing may be onboarded to the electronic hub system when coupling said peripheral device to a user device , for example a laptop . One or multiple of such microphones may be available to the electronic hub system, and a virtual microphone device may be exposed by the electronic hub system that hides these individual microphone devices from the end user and instead exposes a virtual microphone resource that automatically selects and / or generates the most appropriate microphone signal from this set of available microphone devices based on the conditions at hand, preferences and / or other criteria . The resource signal of said virtual microphone may be optimized to the conditions at hand . The data flows of the individual microphones and the generation / selection of said virtual microphone signal may be optimized to , for example , reduce latency to the minimum . It is appreciated that said optimizations are not limited to audio signals , but may be applied to any signal related to the electronic hub system. It is furthermore appreciated that said latency optimization criteria is an example and should not be considered limiting as many types of optimization may be used depending on context , type of resource , preferences , and implementation specifics .

[0126] Concluding Remarks

[0127] While the invention has been illustrated hereinabove with reference to specific embodiments and use cases , this was done to clarify and not to limit the invention, the scope of which is defined by the enclosed claims .

Claims

Claims1. An electronic hub system (100) for facilitating shared use of one or more of technical facilities in a meeting context; the system comprising: facility interfacing means (110) configured to connect to said one or more of technical facilities (115) ; client interfacing means (120) configured to allow simultaneous connections from client devices (125) ; and interconnection logic (130) , having one or more client devices connected through said client interfacing means, configured to: o detect a trigger associated with one of the client devices ; o advertise (210) availability of one or more of said technical facilities to the client device associated with the trigger; o obtain (220) , from the client device associated with the trigger, respective one or more selections of said technical facilities to be accessed through said electronic hub system; and o adapt and provide (230) , to the client device associated with the trigger, one or more of said technical facilities in said respective obtained selections in accordance with a set of contextual rules ; wherein said technical facilities comprise one or more of electrical power, network access, a human interface device, a sensor, an actuator, audiovisual source equipment, and audiovisual output equipment .

2. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 1, wherein said client interfacing means (120) comprises a USB-C alt mode interface configured to offer one or more of said technical facilities, and wherein said interconnection logic (130) is configured to selectively advertise (120) some or all of said oneor more of said technical facilities in function of said contextual rules and / or detected triggers.

3. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said set of contextual rules comprise a rule permitting or denying access to a given facility (115) on the basis of an identity or a group membership of a user of the client device (125) in question.

4. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 3, wherein the system collects data that is representative of an identity of a client device (125) , said identity reflecting unique properties of a specific client device (125) or of a user associated with said specific client device (125) , or said identity representing a group identity, the group identity being specified by means of similarity of at least one property of said client device (125) or of said user associated with said client device (125) .

5. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 4, wherein said identity is collected via the connectivity characteristics of said client device (125) connecting to said electronic hub system (100) .

6. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 4, wherein said identity is collected via a software on said client device (125) connecting to said electronic hub system (100) .

7. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 4, wherein said identity is collected via analysis of data being communicated between said electronic hub system (100) and said client device (125) connecting to said electronic hub system (100) .

8. The electronic hub system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said set of contextual rules comprise a rule permitting or denying access to a given facility on the basis of a physical location of the client device (125) in question.

9. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 8, wherein the system collects data that is representative of said physical location on the basis of one or more of microphone signals, camera images, the interface used by the client device, and predetermined rules .

10. The electronic hub system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said set of contextual rules comprise a rule adapting access to a given facility on the basis of a state of a meeting space and its environment .

11. The electronic hub system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said set of contextual rules comprise a rule adapting access to a given facility on the basis of usage metrics of said technical facilities .

12. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 11, wherein said usage metrics comprise an indication whether a resource is in use by at least one of said client devices (125) .

13. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 12, wherein said indication is obtained by a software that is being executed on one of said client devices (125) connecting to said electronic hub system (100) .

14. The electronic hub system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said interconnection logic (130) is further adapted to transform a resource signal in accordance with requirements associated with one or more of said client devices (125) connecting to said electronic hub system (100) .

15. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 14, wherein said transforming of said resource signal comprises adapting one or more of a bit rate, a compression scheme, a resolution, a color encoding, and a frame rate of a video stream.

16. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 14, wherein said transforming of said resource signal comprises creating one or more personalized video streams from a single wide-angle camera stream.

17. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 14, wherein said transforming of said resource signal comprises adapting an audio signal by extracting audio signals originating from respective users of a subset of said client devices (125) connecting to said electronic hub system (100) .

18. The electronic hub system (100) according to any one of claims 14-17, wherein said transforming of said resource signal comprises adapting a wattage or a voltage of a power signal for the respective client device (125) .

19. The electronic hub system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said interconnection logic (130) is adapted to configure an exposure of at least one of said technical facilities (115) towards at least one of said client devices (125) connecting to said electronic hub system (100) in a preconfigured or dynamic manner.

20. The electronic hub system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said interconnection logic (130) is adapted to optimize power delivery across said client devices (125) connecting to said electronic hub system (100) , the optimization strategy including a predefined maximum total power delivery target across said client devices (125) .

21. The electronic hub system (100) according to claim 20, wherein said optimization strategy further weights the power delivery of the individually connected client devices (125) based on the state-of-charge of said individually connected client devices (125) .

22. The electronic hub system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, further adapted to configure of at least one of said technical facilities (115) .

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