Web Collaboration View Sync for Delayed Pointing Events
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In web collaboration sessions, participants may point to the wrong object on a shared screen due to delays in data transmission, leading to misleading information for other users when the moderator changes the view.
Innovation Solution
A method that creates a marking snapshot of a small area around the pointed location and transmits it along with an actor event to the web collaboration server, allowing for a checking procedure to ensure synchronization by notifying the moderator of potential data mismatches, enabling the moderator to choose whether to revert to the previous view.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the moderator changes the view of the shared screen during a collaboration session, then the new content can be presented to participants, but data transmission delays may cause participants' pointing events to mismatch with the current view
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting view changes before transmitting updated screen data to clients. When a view change is detected, the server opens a time window and proactively notifies clients about potential data mismatches, allowing them to prepare for synchronization corrections before the mismatch actually occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by monitoring whether pointing events arrive within the predetermined time window after a view change. When a mismatch is detected, the system sends alert notifications to both the moderator and participant, triggering a checking procedure that provides feedback about the synchronization status and enables corrective actions.
2Reliability
If the system waits for pointing events after view changes, then accurate synchronization can be verified, but collaboration efficiency decreases due to delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by only performing full synchronization checking when necessary - specifically when pointing events arrive within the predetermined time window after a view change. If no pointing events occur during this window, the system assumes synchronization is maintained and continues normal operation without interruption, thus balancing accuracy verification with collaboration efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares for potential synchronization issues by opening a time window in advance after view changes. This preliminary preparation allows the system to quickly detect and respond to mismatches if they occur, rather than waiting for problems to manifest, thereby maintaining both reliability and efficiency.
3Reliability
If the system sends alert notifications for potential data mismatches, then synchronization errors can be corrected, but additional communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by sending alert notifications only to specific clients involved in the synchronization issue - namely the moderator's client and the participant's client who triggered the mismatch. This targeted approach minimizes unnecessary communication overhead while ensuring that the relevant parties receive the information needed to correct the data consistency issue.
Solution Approach 2:
The alert notification system provides feedback only when actual synchronization problems are detected, rather than continuously monitoring and communicating. This event-driven feedback mechanism reduces data transmission volume by eliminating unnecessary periodic status updates while maintaining data consistency through timely notifications of actual issues.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method of running a virtual real-time collaboration session with at least one first client (2) used by a moderator of the collaboration session and at least one second client (2', 2'', 2''') used by at least one participant of the collaboration session, the first and second clients (2, 2', 2'', 2''') being connected to each other via a web collaboration server (5) over a communication network (4), wherein the method comprises the steps of receiving, at the web collaboration server (5), during the web collaboration session, first data from the first client (2) relating to content of a first view (8) displayed on a screen of a display device (3) of the first client (2) and intended to be shared so as to be displayed on a respective display device (3', 3'', 3''') of the at least one second client (2' 2'', 2'''), transmitting, by the web collaboration server (5), the first data to the at least one second client (2', 2'', 2''') so as to display the first view (8) on the display device (3', 3'', 3''') of the at least one second client (2', 2'', 2'''), receiving, at the web collaboration server (5), an actor event from the first client (2), the actor event comprising an information that, at the first client (2), the content displayed at the display device (3) has changed, in particular, from the first view (8) to a second view (11), wherein the second view (11) is intended to be shared with the at least one participant (2', 2'', 2'''), and upon receipt of the actor event at the web collaboration server (5), opening a time window for a predetermined amount of time, receiving, at the web collaboration server (5), second data from the at least one second client (2', 2'', 2'''), the second data relating to a pointing event, and if the second data is received within the time window, then sending an alert notification to the first client (2) and the at least one second client (2', 2'', 2''') so as to notify the first client (2) and the at least one second client (2', 2'', 2''') that the first and second data received within the time window may not be intended to be correlated, and so as to trigger a checking procedure. Further, the present invention relates to a computer- implemented method of running a virtual real-time collaboration session with at least one first client (2) used by a moderator of the collaboration session and at least one second client (2', 2'', 2''') used by at least one participant of the collaboration session, the first and second clients (2, 2', 2'', 2''') being connected to each other via a web collaboration server (5) over a communication network (4), wherein the method comprises the steps of displaying, at a display device (3) of the first client (2), content of a first view (8), sending first data relating to the content of the first view (8) to the web collaboration server (5) for sharing the first view (8) with the at least one second client (2', 2'', 2'''), determining, at the first client (2), if the content displayed at the display device (3) of the first client (2) has changed, in particular, from the first view (8) to a second view (11), creating, at the first client (2), an actor event, the actor event comprising an information that the content displayed at the display device (3) of the first client (2) has changed, in particular, from the first view (8) to a second view (11), wherein the second view (11) is intended to be shared with the at least one client (2', 2'', 2'''). Further, the present invention relates to a system and computer programs for carrying out the methods.