Index Processing for Aggregating Multiple Information Flows
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current unified communications systems lack efficient methods for indexing and retrieving specific portions of real-time and non-real-time communication streams, limiting the ability to search, visualize, and replay multimedia content effectively.
Innovation Solution
A server aggregates events related to media streams and participant actions, creating index entries that enable cross-flow processing and synchronization of different communication streams, allowing users to search, visualize, and replay voice, video, and text content based on specified search characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If time codes are used within real-time recordings to access particular portions, then temporal correlation of media types is enabled, but the system lacks efficient indexing and retrieval capabilities for specific communication portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments communication streams into discrete indexable units by identifying specific events (speaker changes, topic transitions, key moments) within the continuous media flow. Each event becomes an independent index entry with associated metadata, allowing precise segmentation of the communication content for targeted retrieval without requiring manual time code navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary indexing layer between the raw media streams and user access. This indexing system acts as a mediator that translates user search queries into precise locations within the communication streams, bridging the gap between arbitrary time codes and meaningful communication content through event-based metadata association.
2Stability of the object's composition
If multiple media streams are synchronized using time codes, then synchronized operations on multiple media streams are enabled, but the system cannot efficiently search and retrieve specific events across different information flows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple information flows (audio, video, text, presentation streams) into a unified event-indexed structure. By combining these diverse streams around common event markers and time-based metadata, the system maintains synchronization stability while enabling cross-flow search capabilities through the integrated index that references all media types simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a metadata dimension to the synchronized media streams. Instead of searching within individual time-coded streams, the system creates an additional indexing dimension that spans across all information flows, allowing users to search for events by semantic content, speaker, topic, or other attributes while the underlying time codes maintain synchronization.
3Reliability
If recordings are stored for entire calls or conferences, then complete communication records are preserved, but efficient access to specific portions or events is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by automatically generating event indexes and metadata during or immediately after the communication occurs. This pre-processing creates a structured framework of key events, speakers, and topics before user access is needed, enabling rapid retrieval of specific portions without requiring users to search through entire recorded sessions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts specific events and moments from the complete communication recording and creates separate indexable entries for them. By taking out key events (speaker changes, topic transitions, important statements) and associating them with metadata, the system enables direct access to these extracted portions while the complete recording remains preserved for reliability.
4Speed
If manual time code navigation is used to access communication portions, then temporal access is possible, but the system lacks semantic search capabilities for topics or speakers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the search parameters from arbitrary time codes to meaningful communication attributes. By indexing events with metadata about speakers, topics, sentiment, and content type, the system allows users to search by semantic parameters (who spoke, what topic, when) rather than requiring knowledge of time code positions, thereby maintaining fast access while dramatically increasing search flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is disclosed that enables the monitoring of a diverse set of both real-time and non-real-time communication streams, as well as the aggregation of information related to those streams into a collective dialog. A server of the illustrative embodiment continually performs an aggregation of events that are related to media streams, applications, and presenter and participant actions, into a particular scope of communication. Index entries, which are indicia to events, are created by things that presenters and participants are doing already, such as posting a meeting agenda inviting participants, posting a presentation or document, transitioning from one slide or page to another, participants speaking alternately during a meeting or presentation, and so forth. The server uses the indicia to then perform processing across information flows associated with the communication streams.