Telecommunications Endpoint Voice Cue Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Participants in teleconferencing often become distracted and miss important cues during extended calls, wasting time and productivity as they wait for their turn to speak or multitask, leading to inefficient use of their presence.

Innovation Solution

A telecommunications endpoint that monitors a conference call for user-specified phrases and alerts the user when these phrases are spoken, allowing the user to refocus attention by adjusting audio settings and providing context, either locally or remotely through a voice recognition engine.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If participants listen to the entire conference call to know when it is their turn to speak, then they can be sure not to miss their cue, but valuable time and productivity are wasted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereliability of detecting turn-to-speak cueVSAvoidtime spent listening to entire call

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the relevant portions of the conference call that contain cues for the participant to speak. Instead of requiring the participant to listen to the entire call, the system identifies and extracts specific segments where the participant's name is mentioned or where they are being addressed, allowing them to focus only on these critical moments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary analysis of the conference call content to identify potential cues before the participant needs to respond. By pre-processing the audio stream and detecting mentions of the participant's name or relevant keywords in advance, the system can alert the participant just in time, eliminating the need to listen to the entire call from the beginning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If participants partially listen while multitasking on other work items, then they can maintain productivity on multiple tasks, but they often miss their cue to focus on the call and speak when requested

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproductivity from multitaskingVSAvoidreliability of detecting cue to speak

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors the conference call and provides real-time feedback to the participant when their name is mentioned or when they are being addressed. This feedback mechanism allows participants to multitask with confidence, knowing they will be promptly notified when their attention is needed, thus maintaining both productivity and reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces the mechanical process of active listening with an automated detection and alert system. Instead of relying on the participant's manual monitoring of the call, voice recognition technology and automated alert mechanisms detect cues and notify the participant, freeing them to multitask while maintaining reliable cue detection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Reliability

If participants sit through an entire conference call even when their presence is only needed for a portion, then they ensure they are available when needed, but their prolonged wait wastes valuable time

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveavailability when neededVSAvoidprolonged waiting time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of when the participant will be needed by monitoring for their name or relevant keywords in the conference call. This allows the participant to remain disconnected or engaged in other activities until the system detects that their presence is required, at which point they receive an alert and can join the call at the appropriate moment.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system extracts and isolates the specific segments of the conference call where the participant is needed, separating these from the rest of the call content. By identifying and extracting only the relevant portions, the system enables participants to bypass unnecessary waiting time while ensuring they are available when their contribution is required.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS8345849B2Telecommunications endpoint that prompts a user to focus on a monitored call

Publication Date: 2013.01.01 AVAYA INC

AI summary

A telecommunications endpoint and method are disclosed that involve the monitoring of a conference call by the endpoint, on behalf of a call participant who is either at the endpoint or elsewhere, and the prompting of the participant when his/her presence is needed. The monitoring of the call involves determining whether certain phrases that are relevant to and initialized by the participating endpoint user are spoken during the call. Such phrases might comprise the user's name, the name of a relevant project, the name of a relevant work item, and so forth. At a point in the call when one of the phrases has been spoken, the endpoint prompts the user of the event and provides relevant information that enables the user to refocus attention towards the call.