Topic Index Generation for Conversational Events

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conversational events, such as video conferences and telemedicine sessions, lack effective methods for real-time indexing and retrieval of important topics, making it difficult to efficiently navigate and summarize content.

Innovation Solution

A method using natural language processing (NLP) to extract topics from conversational events, generating a topic index that associates topics with content segments, allowing for real-time indexing, automatic identification of important portions, and user-driven content generation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If natural language processing is used to extract and index topics from conversational events in real-time, then the ability to navigate and retrieve content is improved, but the computational complexity and processing time increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent retrieval efficiencyVSAvoidNLP processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the conversational event into discrete content segments (e.g., by speaker, time interval, or topic boundary) and processes each segment independently to extract topics. This segmentation allows the NLP system to handle large conversational events in manageable chunks, reducing overall computational complexity while maintaining real-time indexing capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary topic extraction and indexing on content segments as they are generated during the conversational event, rather than processing the entire event after completion. This preliminary action enables real-time content navigation and retrieval without requiring complex post-processing of the complete conversation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of information

If comprehensive topic extraction is performed on all content segments, then content coverage is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetopic coverageVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial topic extraction by focusing on identifying key topics in representative content segments rather than performing exhaustive analysis on every segment. This selective approach maintains adequate topic coverage for navigation purposes while significantly reducing processing time and computational resource requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts and indexes only the most salient topics from content segments, filtering out redundant or less important information. This extraction strategy ensures that the topic index contains sufficient information for effective content navigation without the overhead of processing and storing every possible topic mention.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Measurement precision

If a detailed topic index is generated for every content segment, then navigation precision is improved, but the size and complexity of the index structure increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetopic localization accuracyVSAvoidindex structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates topic indexes with varying levels of detail tailored to specific content segments and their importance. High-priority segments receive more detailed topic indexing with precise localization, while lower-priority segments receive simplified indexing. This local quality approach maintains navigation precision for critical content while reducing overall index complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent organizes the topic index using a hierarchical structure that adds dimensional organization (e.g., grouping topics by content segment, speaker, or time period). This hierarchical dimensioning allows efficient navigation and retrieval without requiring a flat, overly complex index structure, as queries can be resolved at multiple levels of the hierarchy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP3341857B1Generation of a topic index with natural language processing
Publication Date: 2021.05.26 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP3341857B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3341857B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3341857B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~3B

AI summary

Systems and methods are disclosed for generating a topic index for a conversational event and generating a content item based on the topic index. A method includes extracting, by a processing device, a plurality of topics from a first content item corresponding to the conversational event, and generating the topic index for the conversational event. The topic index associates each of the plurality of topics with a content segment from the first content item. The method further includes identifying a subset of one or more topics within the plurality of topics, and generating a second content item including a respective content segment of each of the one or more topics of the subset of topics.