Electronic Conference Feedback via Remote Media Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electronic conferencing systems face challenges in providing accurate and meaningful feedback on the quality of media streams, leading to difficulties in determining whether remote participants can understand or receive audio and video communications, which disrupts the flow of conversations and requires time-consuming negotiation to establish functional communication channels.
Innovation Solution
A system that automatically determines the quality of local media channels at remote sites using content analysis techniques, providing real-time feedback through visual and audio cues, and optionally switching to alternative channels when issues are detected, ensuring continuous communication without interrupting the meeting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional feedback systems are used in electronic conferencing, then participants can communicate, but the feedback on media stream quality is inaccurate and meaningless, making it difficult to determine whether remote participants can understand audio and video communications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the remote participant's client device analyzes the received media stream quality and sends feedback information back to the local participant. This closed-loop feedback system enables the local participant to understand whether their audio and video streams are being received clearly, directly addressing the measurement precision problem by providing actionable quality indicators rather than meaningless conventional feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual negotiation and troubleshooting of communication channels with an automated content analysis system. The system automatically analyzes media stream characteristics, detects quality issues, and provides feedback without requiring participants to manually verify communication quality, thereby substituting the mechanical process of manual checking with an automated analytical system that delivers precise quality measurements.
2Reliability
If manual troubleshooting of communication channels is performed, then communication issues can be identified, but the process is time-consuming and disrupts the flow of conversations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of media stream quality continuously in the background during the conference, rather than waiting for problems to occur and then troubleshooting manually. The system proactively monitors stream characteristics and prepares quality assessments before participants need to verify communication, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual troubleshooting while maintaining reliable communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service troubleshooting by automatically detecting communication quality issues and providing feedback to participants without requiring manual intervention. The automated content analysis and feedback mechanism allows the system to service itself by identifying and reporting problems, freeing participants from time-consuming manual troubleshooting while ensuring communication reliability.
3Reliability
If multiple communication channels are established to ensure continuous communication, then redundancy is provided, but the device complexity and difficulty of managing multiple channels increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the single primary communication channel multi-functional by enabling it to simultaneously carry media streams in both directions and convey quality feedback information. Rather than requiring separate dedicated channels for audio, video, and feedback, the system allows one channel to perform multiple functions, reducing the total number of channels needed while maintaining reliable continuous communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by having the receiving end analyze and provide feedback about stream quality rather than having the transmitting end manually verify reception. This reversal eliminates the need for multiple separate feedback channels, as the quality assessment travels back through the existing communication infrastructure, reducing channel complexity while ensuring reliable communication.
4Measurement precision
If real-time analysis of media streams is performed to provide quality feedback, then accurate feedback is obtained, but the processing requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex real-time media stream analysis function from the local participant's device and relocates it to the remote participant's client device. By performing the content analysis at the receiving end rather than the transmitting end, the system obtains accurate quality feedback while reducing the processing burden on the local device, effectively extracting the heavy computational task from the primary system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the remote participant's client device as an intermediary that performs the complex media stream analysis. Rather than requiring the local participant's device to have sophisticated analysis capabilities, the system uses the remote device as an intermediary processor that analyzes the received stream and provides quality feedback, distributing the processing complexity across the network rather than concentrating it in one device.
Data Source
AI summary
The various embodiments described herein include methods and systems for providing electronic feedback. In one aspect, software includes instructions which when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to: (1) enable a user of the computing system to participate in an electronic conference with one or more remote participants, the electronic conference including an outgoing communications stream for the user; (2) receive feedback from a remote client device used by a particular participant of the one or more remote participants to participate in the electronic conference, the feedback corresponding to a quality of the user's outgoing communications stream at the second client device; and (3) adjust one or more attributes of the electronic conference based on the received feedback.