Video Conference UI Dynamic Layout Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video conference platforms face challenges in managing visual items in user interfaces, leading to distractions and inefficiencies due to the display of inactive participants' video streams, which burdens hosts and consumes additional computing resources.
Innovation Solution
A method that identifies events such as low audio volume, high audio volume, audio mute signals, and user selections to determine which visual items should be hidden or rearranged in the user interface, optimizing the display by removing inactive items and rearranging active ones to focus attention on the primary speaker.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If all participant video streams are displayed in the user interface, then complete visibility of all participants is achieved, but user distraction and interface clutter increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts inactive participants from the visible interface by hiding their video streams when they are not actively speaking. This selective removal reduces interface clutter and user distraction while preserving the ability to view inactive participants when needed through a participants panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic visibility management where participant video streams are automatically shown or hidden based on their active speaking state. The system transitions between different display states (all visible, active only, hidden) depending on real-time audio activity detection and user preferences.
2Loss of information
If video streams of inactive participants are continuously displayed, then all participants remain visible, but computing resources are consumed unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes inactive participant video streams from the main interface display to reduce computing resource consumption. By extracting only the necessary visual elements (active speakers) from the interface, the system reduces rendering and processing overhead while maintaining participant connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent temporarily discards (hides) video streams of inactive participants from the main display to conserve computing resources, but recovers them by making them available in the participants panel or upon user request, ensuring no permanent loss of participant information.
3Loss of information
If the user interface displays multiple visual items, then all participants are visible, but focus on the primary speaker is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the primary speaker's video stream from the group of multiple participants and gives it prominent, focused display. By separating the active speaker from inactive participants in the interface layout, the system enhances focus on the primary speaker while maintaining visibility of others through alternative means.
4Ease of operation
If the host manually manages visual items in the interface, then display control is precise, but host burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service automation where the system automatically detects audio activity levels and manages the visibility of participant video streams without requiring host intervention. The host burden is reduced while maintaining precise control through automated speaker detection and interface management.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses feedback from audio volume detection to automatically adjust the display state of participant video streams. The system continuously monitors audio input and uses this feedback to determine which participants should be visible, eliminating the need for manual host management while maintaining appropriate display control.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for determining visual items for presentation in a user interface (UI) of a video conference are provided. A UI is provided for presentation on a first client device of a plurality of client devices of a plurality of participants of the video conference, wherein the UI comprises a plurality of regions to display a plurality of visual items each corresponding to one of a plurality of video streams from the plurality of client devices. One or more events associated with the plurality of participants of the video conference are identified. A first subset of the plurality of visual items that satisfy one or more screen invisibility criteria is determined based on the one or more events. Each visual item of the first subset is caused to be invisible in the UI. At least one of remaining visual items is caused to be rearranged in the UI.