Videoconference Participant Overlays with Shared Position Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video conferencing technologies fail to provide a sense of togetherness and collaboration among participants due to inconsistent placement of users on a common background, often leading to confusion and difficulty in identifying the primary speaker, especially on smaller screens.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that overlays foreground images of participants on a common background using a shared position mapping, ensuring consistent placement and grouping based on importance or social connections, with the ability to dynamically adjust during the conference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If participants are displayed on individual backgrounds in conventional video conferencing, then each participant can be clearly seen, but the sense of togetherness and collaboration is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual participant displays into a single composite background scene where all participants are overlaid together. This combining approach creates a shared virtual space that enhances the sense of togetherness while maintaining participant visibility through strategic positioning and sizing adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating participant positions, sizes, and positions within the common background based on their roles or importance. The primary speaker can be positioned centrally or enlarged, while other participants are arranged around them, creating visual hierarchy that maintains identification clarity within the unified background.
2Ease of operation
If participants are placed on a common background without consistent positioning, then the sense of shared space is improved, but confusion and difficulty in identifying the primary speaker increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements consistent positioning rules that assign specific locations, sizes, and positions to participants based on their roles. The primary speaker is consistently positioned in a prominent location (e.g., center or larger size), while other participants are positioned around them, creating a predictable visual hierarchy that aids identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback through consistent positioning that helps participants understand their relative positions and identify the primary speaker. The positioning information can be communicated to all participants, allowing them to mentally map the shared space and understand who is speaking without visual cues.
3Adaptability or versatility
If participant positions are dynamically adjusted during the conference, then the ability to highlight the primary speaker is improved, but the complexity of position management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system automatically detects the primary speaker and adjusts participant positions accordingly. The position mapping is dynamically updated based on who is speaking, and this information is communicated to all participants, allowing automatic adaptation without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the position mapping dynamic rather than static. Participant positions, sizes, and arrangements can change during the conference based on who is the primary speaker, allowing the system to adapt to different speaking scenarios while maintaining consistent positioning rules for automatic adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of receiving a live videoconference stream from a server is provided. The live videoconference stream comprises a plurality of participants each receiving the live videoconference stream using a client device. The method comprises receiving, by a client device of a first participant of the plurality of participants via the server, a foreground image from the client devices of at least some of the other participants, and outputting for display, by the client device of the first participant, the foreground images from the at least some of the other participants overlaid on a common background image in accordance with a position mapping received from a client device of an organiser of the live videoconference stream via the server. The position mapping is for distribution via the server to the client devices of all of the plurality of participants.