Server-Mediated Spatial Routing for Co-located Videoconferencing Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current videoconferencing systems face challenges in efficiently routing and rendering media streams between co-located devices, particularly in maintaining spatial relationships and synchronizing audio and video streams across multiple participants.
Innovation Solution
The system determines spatial relationships between sending and receiving devices, selects appropriate destinations for encoded media streams based on these relationships, and synchronizes streams using a server that processes and directs media streams from co-located sending devices to corresponding receiving devices, ensuring accurate rendering and spatial continuity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple encoded media streams are transmitted between co-located devices in traditional videoconferencing systems, then communication between participants is enabled, but spatial relationships and synchronization between audio and video streams are difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
A server acts as an intermediary to receive encoded media streams from sending devices, determine spatial relationships, select appropriate receiving devices based on those relationships, and route streams accordingly. This centralized mediation simplifies the overall system complexity while improving spatial relationship accuracy and synchronization between audio and video streams.
Solution Approach 2:
The system determines spatial relationships by analyzing parameters such as device locations, camera orientations, and microphone arrays. By changing and optimizing these parameters, the system accurately maps sending devices to corresponding receiving devices, maintaining spatial continuity and improving stream routing reliability.
2Productivity
If encoded media streams are routed to multiple receiving devices, then comprehensive coverage is achieved, but synchronization and echo issues arise
Solution Approach 1:
The server mediates stream routing by intelligently selecting which receiving devices should receive which streams based on spatial relationships. This prevents unnecessary stream distribution that causes echo and noise, while still ensuring comprehensive coverage for all participants. The selective routing improves communication efficiency by reducing redundant transmissions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different receiving devices receive different media streams based on their specific spatial relationships with sending devices. This localized stream assignment ensures each device receives only the streams relevant to its position, improving communication efficiency while preventing echo and noise from unnecessary streams.
3Measurement precision
If spatial relationships are determined and used for stream selection, then accurate rendering and spatial continuity are achieved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server performs the complex task of determining spatial relationships and selecting appropriate receiving devices based on those relationships. By centralizing this processing, the patent achieves accurate spatial relationship determination and precise stream routing while managing processing complexity in a centralized location rather than distributing it across multiple devices.
4Reliability
If traditional videoconferencing systems transmit audio and video streams, then communication is enabled, but spatial continuity and synchronization are difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as a central coordinator that receives streams from sending devices, determines spatial relationships, and routes streams to appropriate receiving devices. This centralized approach maintains spatial continuity and synchronization between audio and video streams while managing system complexity in one location, improving overall reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses spatial parameters such as device locations, orientations, and environmental characteristics to determine optimal stream routing. By dynamically adjusting routing decisions based on these parameters, the system maintains accurate spatial continuity and synchronization while managing complexity through parameter-based decision making.
Data Source
AI summary
In one method for communicating, a server can receive a first encoded media stream from a first sending device and a second encoded media stream from a second sending device from a plurality of co-located sending devices. The server can determine spatial relationships between the plurality of co-located sending devices and a plurality of co-located receiving devices. The server can select a first receiving device as a destination for the first encoded media stream and a second receiving device as a destination for the second encoded media stream based on the sending and receiving spatial relationships. The server can send the first encoded media stream to the first receiving device and the second encoded media stream to the second receiving device to be decoded and rendered. The spatial relationships can be based on physical locations for the plurality of co-located sending and receiving devices.