Hybrid Conferencing Architecture for Latency and Sync

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current conferencing services face challenges in conducting hybrid video meetings due to complex audio processing and network latency, preventing seamless transitions between conversations and effective multimedia synchronization across heterogeneous devices.

Innovation Solution

A hybrid video meeting service is implemented, utilizing a combination of cloud and local area network processes to connect devices, with automatic conversation detection and separation, employing audio enhancement algorithms like beam forming and blind source separation, and head-related transfer functions for noise isolation, to ensure high-quality video conferencing across disparate devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If cloud-based conferencing services are used to connect remote participants, then remote participation is enabled, but network latency and audio processing complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveremote participation capabilityVSAvoidnetwork latency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system divides the conferencing service into two segments: cloud-based remote conferencing and local in-room conferencing. The local service processes audio locally to reduce latency, while the remote service handles remote participants through the cloud. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function, reducing overall network latency while maintaining remote participation capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The local service acts as an intermediary between remote participants and local participants. It receives audio from remote participants, processes it locally with minimal latency, and distributes it to local devices. This intermediary approach reduces the network latency experienced by local participants while maintaining the ability to connect with remote participants.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If multiple separate conversations are detected and separated, then conversation clarity is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconversation detection accuracyVSAvoidaudio processing system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The audio processing system automatically detects and separates conversations using machine learning algorithms without requiring manual configuration. The system self-adjusts to identify distinct conversation groups based on audio patterns, device positions, and user behavior, reducing the need for complex manual setup while maintaining high detection accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary audio analysis to detect and separate conversations before distributing audio to devices. By pre-processing the audio streams and identifying conversation groups in advance, the system reduces the computational complexity during real-time distribution while maintaining accurate conversation separation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If heterogeneous devices are supported in the local network, then device compatibility is improved, but synchronization difficulty increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice compatibilityVSAvoidmultimedia synchronization reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The local service is designed to work with multiple types of devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart displays) through a universal interface. It adapts to different device capabilities and provides synchronized audio distribution across all device types, maintaining reliability while supporting heterogeneous devices in the local network.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Loss of energy

If local service processes audio locally, then network bandwidth usage is reduced, but local processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork bandwidth consumptionVSAvoidlocal processing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The local service performs partial audio processing locally (basic audio mixing and distribution) while leaving more complex processing (audio enhancement, noise cancellation) to the remote service or dedicated audio processors. This partial local processing reduces network bandwidth usage while avoiding excessive local processing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS11824906B2Network architecture for hybrid conferencing service

Publication Date: 2023.11.21 SOCERO INC

AI summary

A hybrid multimedia conference service, including a remote service for conferencing, running in the cloud and connecting remote clients, and distributing multimedia to and from the remote clients during a conference, and a local service for conferencing, distributing multimedia to and from local devices during the conference, wherein a local device that hosts the local service may change over time as local devices in a room join and exit the conference, by a current local device host transferring its state to another local device, the local service including a multimedia distributor transmitting and receiving multimedia between the remote service and the local service, and a playback synchronizer switching between captured multimedia streams and synchronizing captured multimedia for transmission to the remote service via said multimedia transmitter.