Multi-Channel Group Communication via Intermediary Endpoints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication systems struggle to facilitate seamless multi-channel group communications, particularly when participants are using different communication channels with varying features and capabilities, leading to challenges in addressing, media management, and interaction normalization.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilizes intermediary endpoints and a programmatic interface to bridge communications across multiple channels, managing participant and channel states, translating media, and normalizing interactions, enabling participants to engage seamlessly across diverse communication platforms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional single-channel group chat is used, then communication simplicity is maintained, but user accessibility across different communication channels is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediary endpoints as mediators between participants on different communication channels. These endpoints translate and relay messages between channels, enabling cross-channel group communication without requiring direct integration between all channel pairs. The intermediary endpoint acts as a bridge that handles channel-specific protocols and formats, resolving the contradiction by adding controlled complexity only where needed for channel translation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple communication channels are integrated, then feature availability across channels improves, but feature implementation consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing feature implementations to be channel-specific while maintaining a unified group communication experience. Different communication channels can implement features according to their native capabilities and constraints, and the intermediary endpoints adaptively translate these local implementations into consistent group-level features. This resolves the contradiction by permitting feature variation at the channel level while ensuring functional consistency at the group level.
3Adaptability or versatility
If channel-specific addressing schemes are used, then channel compatibility is maintained, but cross-channel communication capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediary endpoint serves as an addressing translator that converts between channel-specific addressing schemes and a unified group addressing model. Each participant is assigned a unique identifier that works across all channels, and the intermediary endpoint handles the translation to channel-specific addresses when routing messages. This resolves the contradiction by abstracting away addressing complexity behind the intermediary layer, allowing cross-channel communication with uniform participant identification.
4Adaptability or versatility
If group chat is limited to single-channel participants, then communication reliability is maintained, but group composition flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediary endpoint ensures communication reliability in multi-channel group chats by implementing message routing, delivery confirmation, and error handling across channels. It maintains message order, handles channel-specific reliability mechanisms, and provides a unified reliability model to group participants. This resolves the contradiction by centralizing reliability management at the intermediary layer, allowing flexible group composition while maintaining consistent communication reliability through the intermediary's coordination.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving an initial communication to trigger a multi-channel group conversation associated with a set of participant endpoints comprising a first subset of participant endpoints on a first communication channel and a second subset of participant endpoints on a second communication channel, selecting a projected intermediary endpoint for each participant endpoint from the first subset that is on the first communication channel, for a first communication of the conversation from a first participant endpoint from the first subset to a second participant endpoint from the first subset, transmitting the first communication directly to the second participant endpoint from the first subset, and for a second communication of the conversation from a first participant endpoint from the second subset to the second participant endpoint from the first subset, transmitting the second communication to the second participant endpoint from the first subset via the selected projected intermediary endpoint.