Private Channel Management in Videoconference Sessions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing videoconference systems lack the ability to enable private communications actions between selected participants during a session, leading to potential distractions and the need for separate sessions to maintain privacy.
Innovation Solution
The system allows for the establishment of a private communications channel between selected user devices within a videoconference session, enabling participants to engage in private audio and video communications without affecting other participants in the main session.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single shared communications channel is used for all participants in a videoconference session, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but participant privacy is compromised and distractions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communications channel by creating separate private channels between specific participant pairs while maintaining the shared public channel. This allows participants to engage in private conversations without affecting other participants, thus preserving privacy while maintaining ease of operation of the overall system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing different communication qualities to different participant pairs. Selected participants receive private communication channels with enhanced privacy, while other participants continue using the shared channel. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction by applying privacy measures only where needed.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If private communications channels are established between selected participants, then participant privacy is improved and distractions are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary that manages the establishment and coordination of private communication channels. The server handles the complexity of channel management, authentication, and routing, thereby reducing the burden on individual user devices while still enabling private communications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the communication system multi-functional by enabling it to operate in both public shared channel mode and private channel mode. The same infrastructure supports both conference-wide communications and individual private conversations, reducing the need for separate dedicated systems and thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If separate sessions are created for private communications, then participant privacy is improved, but loss of time occurs due to session setup and teardown
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing the capability for private communications within the existing session framework. The system prepares the infrastructure for private channels in advance, allowing participants to quickly initiate private conversations without the time-consuming process of creating entirely separate sessions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements nesting by placing private communication channels within the structure of the main conference session. The private channels are nested as sub-components of the overall session, allowing them to be created and destroyed quickly without the overhead of full session setup and teardown, thus reducing time loss while maintaining privacy.
Data Source
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AI summary
This specification describes an apparatus, method and computer program for communicating with a plurality of remote devices in a conference session, outputting, on a display, a user interface comprising a plurality of display portions respectively associated with the plurality of remote devices, and receiving user selection of one or more of the remote devices. Based on the received user selection, the apparatus may cause display of a display portion associated with the one or more selected remote devices on a linked user device which is linked to the apparatus, and enable one or more communications actions for use with the one or more selected remote devices.