Embedded Reference Object for Visual Collaboration System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current remote work software tools, such as videoconferencing and screen sharing, are cumbersome and fail to enable seamless collaboration among multiple users and seamless data sharing between different software packages.
Innovation Solution
A visual collaboration software with a main digital canvas and multiple tools that allows creation and sharing of visual information, including text and drawings, by synchronizing data with project management software through embedded object references and inter-process communication, enabling bidirectional updates across platforms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If videoconferencing and screen sharing tools are used for remote work, then communication between users is enabled, but the tools become cumbersome and difficult to use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate software tools (videoconferencing, screen sharing, project management, document editing) into a single integrated visual collaboration platform. The whiteboard serves as a central hub that can embed references to external software, allowing users to access multiple functionalities through one interface rather than switching between separate applications, thereby reducing operational complexity while maintaining comprehensive collaboration capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The visual collaboration platform is designed with universal functionality that can accommodate various collaboration needs within a single system. The whiteboard can display and interact with multiple types of content (drawings, text, embedded software references, charts) and support different collaboration modes (real-time editing, commenting, embedding external tools), making it a multi-functional replacement for multiple specialized tools
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate software packages are used for different tasks, then specialized functionality is available, but seamless data sharing between software packages is not enabled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces embedded references as an intermediary mechanism that connects the visual collaboration whiteboard with external software packages. These embedded references act as mediators that enable bidirectional data synchronization between the whiteboard and external applications (such as project management tools, document editors, or spreadsheets), allowing information to flow seamlessly between different software environments without manual copying or re-entry
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where external software interfaces or data representations are embedded within the whiteboard canvas. The whiteboard can contain nested elements including embedded software references, which themselves can contain further nested content, creating a hierarchical structure that allows multiple levels of software integration within a single visual workspace, enabling comprehensive data sharing while maintaining specialized functionality
3Productivity
If manual data entry and copying are used between tools, then data can be transferred, but time is lost and errors may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The embedded reference system implements automatic feedback mechanisms that synchronize data between the whiteboard and external software in real-time. When data changes in one location, the system automatically detects the change and updates the corresponding embedded reference, eliminating the need for manual copying and reducing time loss while maintaining data accuracy across all connected applications
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed here is a visual collaboration software including multiple digital canvas and multiple tools enabling collaboration among multiple users by enabling creation and sharing of visual information including text and drawings. The visual collaboration software obtains from a second software, e.g., a project management software, a file or a portion of the file, and displays the file or the portion in one of the multiple digital canvases. In one embodiment, the visual collaboration software can enable the user to interact with the file obtained from the second software and can pass the modifications to the file to the second software. In another embodiment, the visual collaboration software can only display the file or the portion of the file in one of the multiple digital canvases, and an interaction between the user and the file has to be passed to the second software to compute to the effect of the interaction.