Ad Hoc Endpoint Association for Video Conferencing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multimedia conferencing technologies require expensive hardware and complex configuration for multi-head endpoint devices, limiting accessibility and user experience, especially for users with disparate devices and locations.
Innovation Solution
Ad hoc endpoint device association method that combines collocated participant devices to function as a single multi-head endpoint, optimizing video and audio stream distribution based on device proximity, allowing for enhanced user experience without the need for expensive hardware or complex configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multi-head endpoint devices are used to enable virtual eye-contact and improve user experience, then user experience is improved, but hardware cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple standard endpoint devices (computers, tablets, or smartphones) to function collectively as a multi-head endpoint system. The devices are merged through software coordination to share video streams and display content, enabling virtual eye-contact capabilities without requiring each device to be a complex multi-head endpoint. This merging approach allows standard devices to achieve enhanced user experience while avoiding the hardware complexity and cost of dedicated multi-head endpoint equipment.
2Loss of information
If video streams are provided to all participant devices in a multimedia conference, then complete information is transmitted, but network bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality optimization by analyzing the spatial relationships between participant devices and selectively distributing video streams based on location. Devices that are physically close to each other receive fewer video streams since they can observe each other in the shared environment, while devices farther away receive more comprehensive streams. This location-aware stream distribution maintains necessary video information completeness while significantly reducing overall network bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements partial action by providing only the necessary subset of video streams to each participant device rather than all streams. Based on location associations and device proximity, the system determines the minimum required video streams needed for each device, avoiding the excessive transmission of redundant video data while ensuring sufficient visual information is available for effective communication.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for ad hoc endpoint device association for multimedia conferencing may include one or more processors and memory. The one or more processors may prepare to provide sets of video streams corresponding to a multimedia conference to first, second, and third participant devices, where the set of videos streams prepared for each participant device includes video streams associated with the other participant devices. The one or more processors may determine that the first and second participant devices are in a same physical area and may generate, in response to the determining, a location association between the first and second participant devices for the multimedia conference. The one or more processors may exclude the video stream associated with the third participant device from set of video streams prepared for the first participant device based at least in part on the location association between the first and second participant devices.