WO2017040968A1

WO2017040968A1 - Wireless content sharing, center-of-table collaboration, and panoramic telepresence experience (pte) devices

Info

Publication number: WO2017040968A1
Application number: PCT/US2016/050158
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ronald Nazir HAJJ
Original assignee: Silexpro Llc
Priority date: 2015-09-04
Filing date: 2016-09-02
Publication date: 2017-03-09

Abstract

Devices are disclosed which provide panoramic telepresence experience (PTE), wireless content sharing, and center-of-table collaboration. Exemplary devices are unitary and portable, providing both video display and recording capabilities for teleconference meetings in which eye contact can be maintained among all participants at multiple locations and when sharing content. Exemplary devices are furthermore universally compatible with a variety of soft clients popular for video conferencing.

Description

WIRELESS CONTENT SHARING, CENTER- OF-T ABLE COLLABORATION, AND PANORAMIC TELEPRESENCE EXPERIENCE (PTE) DEVICES

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/214,282 filed September 4, 2015, the complete contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to wireless content sharing systems and teleconferencing devices and tools and, more particularly, to standalone video conferencing devices providing a panoramic telepresence experience.

BACKGROUND

Group video conferencing systems are very popular in the business world today. They allow professional collaboration for dispersed groups around the globe mainly using the public Internet. The most well-known version of these systems are hardware codecs from known providers like Cisco^®, Polycom^®, Avaya^® and others. A more recent trend is for soft codecs in an industry shift mainly driven by companies like Microsoft^®. A flagship soft codec offering by Microsoft^® is the company's Skype for Business^® offering. Soft codecs are historically installed on generic-use PCs, tablets, and smart phones and are mainly intended for personal use. Soft codecs targeting business use are a more recent development. For instance, Skype for Business^® is a comparatively much newer business use offering based on the comparatively much older and well-established personal use soft codec, Skype^®. Because many soft codecs are designed for personal use, they can present limitations to relatively large group usage, such as between two teams of business partners seeking to teleconference from separate offices.

Besides Microsoft^®, other companies like Polycom^®, Smart^®, and Crestron^®, have also more recently released solutions to convert personal soft codecs into group collaboration systems for professionals. Smart^® and Crestron^® created what is called "Microsoft Lync room system" converting the Microsoft Lync soft codec into a group collaboration tool for use in a business meeting room. Polycom^®, from its end as a hardware supplier, created the CX series^® consisting of special 360 degrees camera systems adapted to Microsoft Lync^®.

Existing systems carry many limitations. For example, Smart^® and Crestron^® "Microsoft Lync room systems" are very bulky systems using a very traditional way of doing video conferencing, meaning they use a single or dual large screen(s) with a camera sitting on the top center of the screen(s) and connected to a PC running the Microsoft Lync^® software. During actual use of the system, people in the room are expected to turn their heads and look into the large screen in order to view meeting attendees at another site. This practice has existed since the birth of video conferencing more than two decades back. Despite Smart^® releasing useful white boarding functionalities (Smart's core competency) and Crestron^® releasing useful control features (Creston's core competency), the application of their solutions have notable drawbacks. The actual implementations of these companies' solutions are characterized by:

• Bulky and non-portable systems

· Single view angle of the room, all people are seen from the same angle

• Lack of intuitive bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and content sharing

• Adapted only for Microsoft Lync (not universal)

Polycom^® CX^® introduced the concept of 360 degree coverage. However, Polycom^® only provides a camera array system for achieving 360 degrees of video capture but otherwise still relies on a central large screen in the room for displaying the video feed(s) from the other end(s) of the networked teleconference meeting. Frequently, the central large screen is a separate product not necessarily provided by Polycom^®. In the CX model, the camera sits in the middle of the table and participants are obliged to look onto a large screen typically mounted or set against a wall of the conference room. The result during a video conference is that the attendees' profiles are captured by the camera, and all eye contact is lost because the camera. No eye contact is inherent to most if not all systems which arrange the teleconference camera in one location and the teleconference screen in another place. The collective drawbacks of Polycom^® CX^® systems include:

• Only the camera is portable (a necessary separate large screen is not portable)

· No eye contact because the camera is in one place and the screen is in another place

• Lack of intuitive BYOD and content sharing • Adapted only for Microsoft Lync (not universal)

SUMMARY According to an aspect of some exemplary embodiments of the invention, cameras and screens are arranged together in the center of a meeting table, positively disrupting the traditional model of keeping a large screen on or at a wall that must be shared by all meeting attendees in the room. By placing the whole system (camera(s) and display(s)) in the center of the meeting table, the display(s) are naturally seen by all participants sitting around the table and permit participants to maintain excellent eye contact with other participants in the same location as well as in remote locations via the camera(s) during all of a meeting. The provision of cameras and displays together at a central location with respect to the meeting attendees is referred to herein as a center-of-table (CoT) feature.

Excellent eye contact is maintained during video calls as well as during presentations. Because a camera-display pair is arranged on the same side of an exemplary device and face in the same direction, anyone looking at the display during a video call naturally looks into the camera. During presentations, presentation content is displayed on the screens that are located in the middle of the table. Attendees around the table facing a presentation screen are also facing one another, with the result that all attendees are still naturally looking in the direction of one another as well as at the presentation content.

Exemplary systems are equipped with high-definition (HD) cameras on top of each screen. When a user is looking at a display, it gives the appearance that he is looking at the camera. This provides the experience of eye contact for users at the other end of a teleconference meeting. Existing panoramic systems have the cameras in the middle of the table and the screens hanging on one of the walls. If someone is looking at the screens, the camera will capture his profile, so eye contact is completely lost.

According to another aspect, panoramic video coverage of a conference room is achieved by means of embedded cameras which face in a plurality of different directions from a center position. Adjacent or overlapping fields of view of the cameras effectively achieve a panoramic view of the conference rooms and the meeting's attendees. Exemplary devices are not limited to just a single viewing angle. The room and participants can be seen from different angles. Different exemplary user interfaces (UIs) allow user selection between multiple layouts. For instance, a feature is disclosed whereby a user is permitted to select display settings that either show just one camera view (e.g., one side of the table) or show some or all of the camera feeds (e.g., all of the sides of the table together, appearing on a screen simultaneously).

According to another aspect of some exemplary embodiments, teleconferencing devices are configured with powerful clientless connect- your-own-device (CYOD) hardware and software allowing seamless content sharing from any device such as a separate laptop, tablet, or smartphone. CYOD is bring-your-own-device (BYOD) adapted to video conferencing. A CYOD feature allows external devices with various operating systems such as iOS or Windows 8.1 (or higher) or Android to connect to the system and mirror its screen to share any kind of content on a panoramic telepresence experience (PTE) device. From the PTE device, the user can share any content from any external device he has wirelessly, seamlessly, and clientlessly using CYOD. A user can send content from any laptop (PC or Mac^®) either using a HDMI output and connect it to the optional HDMI input available on the PTE device, or mirror its screen wirelessly and clientlessly using WiDi/Micracast technology, for example. A user can also share content from an iPad 2 or later, iPhone 4s or later, or Mac OX using Airplay technology by just connecting over WiFi. Connection is possible from any smartphone running Android 4.1 or later by clicking on mirror screen/all share cast using Miracast Protocol, for example. Shared content can be shared locally on the PTE display(s), or to the another end of a teleconference meeting during a video call.

According to yet another aspect, disclosed systems are universal, natively working with virtually any professional-use or personal-use soft client including but not limited to: Microsoft Lync^®, Skype^® for Business, Skype^®, Polycom RPD^®, Cisco Jabber^®, Avaya Scopia^®,Viber^®, Polycom Real Presence desktop^®, and others.

According to another aspect of exemplary embodiments, teleconferencing systems and devices are disclosed which are compact and 100% portable, allowing the devices to be placed in any meeting room at any time. In many cases, setting up the device simply involves placing the device on a tabletop and connecting it to a power source such as an outlet. Many existing video conferencing system come as codecs that connect to the screens in a room. A user can transport the codec to a different room but cannot transport all necessary video conferencing equipment to another room. If the destination room doesn't have screens, for example, the codec will not be sufficient to conduct any video session. In contrast, exemplary systems disclosed herein provide codec, screens, and cameras all together stylishly embedded in one compact system that can be transported to any room, plugged in, and put to immediate use.

According to still another aspect of some systems, a studio-like illumination feature is provided for illuminating both the left and right sides of a user's face, resulting in higher quality video capture of the user's during the video call. This solves a frequent teleconferencing problem of back light blinding a camera.

In some embodiments, one or more processors offer features such as annotating functionality and white boarding in connection with the displays. The rich annotation features allow annotation over any content, even real-time video. In addition, a recording option provided by the one or more processors allows the recording of a video conferencing session.

According to another aspect of some exemplary embodiments, innovative and multifunction systems are disclosed which are housed in compact, stylish, and elegant designs of size, shape, and weight permitting placement in center-of-table (CoT) positions in any meeting or conference room. Such systems may include, for example, one or more of the following aspects: a. universal compatibility with competing software solutions for video conferencing b. 2, 3 4, or more embedded cameras and 2, 3, 4 or more integral displays (e.g., screens) c. capacity for combining the images of the 2, 3, 4, or more camera views in a single view feed, providing a panoramic coverage of the room

d. annotation features allowing annotation over any content, even over real-time video e. recording features allowing the recording of video conferencing and presentation sessions

f. clientless and wireless presentation content sharing using CYOD and mirroring the screen of virtually any external electronic device

g. powerful all-in-one computing

h. connection capabilities to external devices such as a keyboard and mouse

i. first class audio components for unparalleled audio experience According to another aspect of exemplary embodiments, video conferencing and content sharing systems/devices are disclosed which have unique physical shapes to maximize utility for all participants in a conference room. Overall physical shapes include triangular prism and rectangular prism (e.g., cube). No existing video conferencing system has these advantageous shapes. These elegant and stylish shapes provide rich viewing features via multiple displays when used in the center of the table as well as panoramic video capture coverage via multiple cameras.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a representative standalone video conferencing device; Figure 2A is a block diagram of a representative dual display video conferencing device; Figure 2B is a depiction of the device of Figure 2A arranged at the center of a desk and simultaneously being used by two users;

Figure 2C is a side view of the device of Figure 2A;

Figure 2D is a front view of the device in Figure 2A;

Figure 2E is a top view of the device in Figure 2A;

Figure 2F is a bottom view of the device in Figure 2A;

Figure 3A is a block diagram of a representative three display video conferencing device; Figure 3B is a perspective view of a representative physical embodiment of the device in

Figure 3 A;

Figure 3C is a depiction of the device of Figure 3B arranged in a center-of-table position and simultaneously used by multiple users positioned around the table;

Figure 4A is a block diagram of a representative four display video conferencing device; Figure 4B is a perspective view of a representative physical embodiment of the device in

Figure 4 A;

Figure 4C is a depiction of two devices according to Figure 4B arranged in center-of- table positions and simultaneously used by several users positioned around the table;

Figure 5 is a view of a display of a PTE device showing an exemplary user interface and connected peripherals like a wireless keyboard and mouse; and Figures 6A-6H show example display views based on alternative combinations of camera feeds from a PTE device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, "attendee(s)", "participant(s)", and "user(s)" may be used

interchangeably to refer to any individual or entity in attendance to a teleconference meeting.

As used herein, "teleconference" refers to a meeting of at least two different groups of people or entities, where the at least two groups are connected and in communication with one another over a network. The term "teleconference" is substantially equivalent to

"videoconference" when one or more video feeds are passed between or among the at least two groups. Each respective group connected in a teleconference meeting over a network is referred to as being at a different "end" of the teleconference meeting or call.

It should be appreciated that while many embodiments herein involve a so-called "panoramic telepresence experience" (PTE) device, this name should not be construed as limiting or requiring the device to exclusively provide teleconferencing functionalities. While most embodiments are especially well suited for teleconferencing, many are also very well suited for sharing content (e.g., presentation slides, graphs, images, papers, or other visual or audiovisual content) within a meeting of a single group, that is to say a group of individuals who are all present in the same location such as the same conference room. Therefore, a connection to another group over a network is not inherently required of all so-called "PTE devices" discussed herein.

In general a teleconference will involve audio content and visual content being exchanged, with each separate group sharing audio and visual content with every other group. However, it should be appreciated that some embodiments may include options whereby audio and/or visual content is not shared or transmitted reciprocally. That is to say, it is possible for a first group to send a second group audio and/or visual content while the second group sends to the first group just audio content (and no video content), just video content (and no audio content), or neither audio nor visual content.

At a minimum a single teleconference group consists of at least one or two people or entities at a common location (e.g., in a conference room together; less than 20 feet from one another with clear line of sight; less than 10 feet from one another with clear line of sight). While a teleconference may be conducted with just two groups, as is often the case is modern business, a teleconference may involve more than just two groups. For instance, three, four, five, or six groups may simultaneously teleconference with one another from, respectively, three, four, five or six separate locations. Any teleconference meeting attendee that is in another group or another location may be referred to as a "remote" attendee. The respective group or location of such attendee may also be referred to as a "remote group" or "remote location", respectively.

Teleconference group locations are in most situations physical locations. However, circumstances may exist where at least one group has a non-physical location. For example, an artificially intelligent entity may not have a physical form beyond, say, an avatar that can be displayed on a monitor or screen. While exemplary embodiments disclosed herein largely concern the problems of physical teleconference spaces, a virtual entity such as an AI entity may be an attendee of a teleconference conducted with devices or methods of this disclosure.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular Figure 1, a panoramic telepresence experience (PTE) device 100 is illustrated in block diagram format. The PTE device 100 may be referred to more generically as a video conferencing device 100, as may all PTE devices discussed herein. The PTE device 100 is an innovative multi-function system in which all necessary functionalities associated with meeting content sharing and especially teleconferencing (e.g., video capture, video display, etc.) are provided by the device 100, the associated hardware being housed in a compact, stylish, and elegant unitary body 101. The unitary body 101 may comprise multiple elements which interlock with one another to provide a substantially rigid single body of constant shape and proportions for the PTE device. The body may be made of, for example, metal (e.g., aluminum, stainless steel), plastic, or some combination of these and/or other standard materials. The color of the body 101 may be customized or a stock color such as black or white.

The unitary body 101 is portable, meaning it is of shape, size, and weight which permit an ordinary and healthy adult human to lift and carry the device without assistance from other people or from lift-assisting device. Incorporated into and/or on the unitary body 101 is a plurality of displays 102. At least from the perspective of a general end-consumer, the displays 102 are integral with the body 101. This means the display 102 are not typically removable from the body 101, for example. Note that this statement regards end-users such as business professionals purchasing the PTE device 100 for company use. Service technicians may disassemble, remove, and/or replace any component of a PTE device 100 as may be required under circumstances of component damage, for example.

An exemplary PTE device 100 is configured to be a universal video conferencing station with two or more cameras 103 (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or more cameras) and two or more displays 102 (e.g., 2, 3, 4 , or more displays). The universal quality derives from the device's compatibility with virtually any soft client, including known commercial soft clients such as Skype^®, Skype for Business^®, Polycom^®, RPD^®, Cisco Jabber^®, etc. With the exception of a connection to a power source, the PTE device 100 is preferably a wireless and clientless presentation systems with connect- your-own-device (CYOD) functionality and an ability to mirror the screen from any electronic device such a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, supporting one of the following standard protocols: Airplay, Miracast and WiDi, regardless of the external electronic device's operating system (e.g., iOS, Android, Windows, etc.). With mirroring functionality, the PTE device 100 does not require the mirrored device to install any new software client. Connection is made with, for example, WiFi which is supplied with a network card or transceiver 106. If desired, a wired connection can still be made via, for example, a universal serial bus (USB) or HDMI connection.

In short, the PTE device 100 permits videoconferencing where any user carrying an iPad, iPhone, MacPC, Windows (e.g., Windows 8.1 or higher) PC, Windows smartphone, Windows tablet, Android smartphone, Android tablet, or other electronic mobile device supporting one of the following standard protocols: Airplay, Miracast and WiDi, is provided an ability to connect to the device 100 and mirror the external device's screen on any one or more of the displays 102 of the PTE device 100. If desired, just one or some (less than all) of the displays 102 of a PTE device 100 can be used as a presentation screen while one or more remaining displays 102 are used for displaying the video feed from meeting attendees at another end of the teleconference. One or more of a main display, a rear display, and a side display is suitable for use a presentation screen.

Integrally installed with the body 101, the displays 102 are oriented such that each display 102 faces in a different radial direction with respect to a center (e.g., a center vertical axis) of the unitary body 101. In some exemplary embodiments, the orientations of the displays 102 form a radially symmetric pattern. A PTE device 100 also includes a plurality of cameras

103 arranged on different sides of the body 101 to capture video of all meeting room participants regardless of a participant's position around the PTE device 100. The plurality of cameras 103 which are also integral with the body 101 each face in a radial direction substantially

corresponding with the radial direction of a respective display 102. In other words, an exemplary PTE device 100 includes n displays 102 and n cameras 103, where each display 102 is paired with a separate camera 103. The variable n is an integer of 2 or greater. Particular embodiments discussed herein have n pairs of display/camera, where n = 2, n = 3, and n = 4. Further alternative embodiments may have additional pairs of displays and cameras, such as 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or more pairs of displays and screens. In some embodiments, each camera's optical axis is substantially parallel with a respective display's primary viewing axis. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of video cameras is positioned in a same plane as the respective display and immediately adjacent and above the respective display. While equal numbers of displays and cameras is exemplary, some embodiments may not have equal numbers of cameras and displays.

The arrangement of display/camera pairs in different radial directions, such as to form a radially symmetric pattern, allows users to view content (via displays 102) from substantially any position around the PTE device 100. It additionally allows the PTE device 100 to capture video nearly 360 degrees around the body 101 via the cameras 103. Particularly in the case of embodiments with three or more displays/cameras (i.e., n = 3 or greater), it is desirable that each camera has a field of view which approaches, reaches, or overlaps the field of the view of an adjacent camera on either side. By approaches, it is meant that that 30 degrees or less, more preferably 20 degrees or less, most preferably 10 degrees or less, exists between the edges of two adjacent fields of view as measured from a common center point or axis of the body 101. A fully "panoramic" video capture means adjacent cameras have fields of view which meet or overlap. A "near-panoramic" video capture means adjacent cameras have fields of view which approach one another.

Panoramic or near-panoramic coverage for both video display and video capture is a more natural conferencing approach, since people tend to gather around a table. According to exemplary embodiments of the invention, instead of putting teleconference display screens on a selected side wall and requiring all the participants to look to that specific side, the displays 102 are provided in a PTE device 100 of size, weight, and portability permitting it to be placed in the middle of a conference table where meeting attendees are naturally gathered. As a result, the display screens for shared content and video feeds of remote attendees will always be in front of attendees when they communicate. There is no need for attendees to look at a specific side direction away from the conference table to see shared content or video feeds of remote attendees.

In many embodiments, it is preferable to have displays 102 as large as possible while maintaining the portability of the PTE device 100 and not limiting the ability for users to see over the top of the PTE device 100 to see other meeting attendees on other sides of the same device but using different displays 102 thereof. In general, conventional portable computer screen sizes (e.g., standard sizes for a laptop) are appropriate. Two specific example screen sizes are 17 inches and 18.5 inches, although other sizes are of course also possible. In many embodiments, all displays 102 are LED widescreens with HD resolution, high brightness, high contrast (e.g., 1000: 1), and fast response time. In many embodiments, all cameras 103 are equipped for full HD video capture with a resolution up to 1920 x 1080 pixels, for example. In some exemplary embodiments, each camera 103 is configured with a wide field of view, automatic low-light correction, and auto focus. Screens and cameras which are the subject of future research and development may be incorporated into embodiments of the invention.

In general, one of the displays 102 is designated or designatable as a main display 102'. In some embodiments, the main display 102' is configured with unique aspects which are not included with the remaining displays 102. For instance, in some exemplary embodiments, a multi-touch (e.g., 10 finger) surface (e.g., capacitive touch surface) is integrated with the main display 102' to provide multi-touch functionality. If desired, more than one up to all of the display 102 of a single PTE device 100 may be configured with such a touchscreen interface 107. This corresponds with higher cost, however. The touchscreen interface 107 of the main display 102' (and, optionally, the other displays 102) improves a user's tactile experience with the teleconference and offers a multitude of interactivity possibilities. The exemplary

configuration of a 10-finger capacitive touch surface provides an experience similar to leading tablet devices on the market with high accuracy and response rate. A minimal gap exists between the multi-touch surface of the touchscreen interface 107 and the light-emitting elements of the display 102/102'. The sensors associated with the touchscreen interface 107 do not affect the lighting conditions of the display 102/102'. In exemplary embodiments, the touchscreen interface 107 detects exposed finger and gloved finger contact alike. In some cases, the touchscreen interface 107 is configured to reject palm and arm contact. A PTE device 100 further includes at least one speakerphone 108 located, for example, on a top center of the unitary body 101. In some embodiments, multiple speakerphones 108 are provided on various sides of the body 101 to project sound in different directions. Ports may also optionally be provided for connection of external headphones, earphones, or speakerphones. In addition, at least one speakerphone 108 has an embedded omnidirectional microphone 109. This is particularly well suited for embodiments having just a single omnidirectional speakerphone on at the top of body 101. Multiple microphones 109 may be included in some embodiments and may be separate from the speakers 108 or embedded in the speakers 108. Professional microphones 109 capture wide, clear, and realistic sound with superior HD voice quality and high fidelity speech.

In further reference to Figure 1, an exemplary PTE device 100 further includes one or more processors 104 which are connected to the plurality of displays 102 and the plurality of cameras 103. The one or more processors 104 are configured to permit standalone functionality for video conferencing with one or more separate video conferencing devices over a network.

In some exemplary embodiments, the one or more processors 104 together with supporting hardware (generally represented as block 105) have performance characteristics similar or better than standalone portable computers such as laptops running Windows, Linux, or Apple (iOS) based operating-systems. For example, according to a prototype embodiment, a processor 104 was embodied as an Intel® i7 (5^th generation) core, 2.6 GHz, up to 3.2GHz clock rate. In the prototype embodiment, supporting hardware 105 included 8GB DDR3 memory, a SSD hard disk, Giga LAN network card, and a dual band WiFi and Bluetooth adapter serving as transceiver 106 in the block diagram. The one or more processors 104 and the supporting hardware (generally represented as block 105 in Figure 1) such as volatile memory (RAM), nonvolatile memory (SSD, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.), graphics card, and network card may be upgradable after initial manufacture of the PTE device 100. It is desirable that upgrades, if made, be conducted by an experienced computer professional or technician as is the case with most computers used by business professionals. The one or more processors 104 may be upgradable to new generations and higher clock rates when available and desired. A commercially available operating system such as Windows 8.1 pro or Windows 10 is suitable as a base operating system for an exemplary PTE device 100. Proprietary software is installed or installable to improve teleconference features of the device as discussed in greater detail below. The exemplary PTE device 100 in Figure 1 includes several expansion features which improve the versatility of the teleconferencing device 100. For instance, an HDMI splitter 111 is shown for separating outputs to each of the displays 102 as well as to an (optional) HDMI output port 112. The HDMI output port 112 permits hookup to an external projector to project the image of any of the displays 102 on a wall or projector screen. Another display device such as another screen or a large television may similarly be connected to the HDMI output port 112. In Figure 1, the cameras 103 are connected to the one or more processors 104 via a shared USB hub 119. An optional HDMI input port 113 is also available on some embodiment for the ability to share content from an HDMI source locally or to another end of the teleconference. Figure 1 further includes two HDMI capture devices 114. Other input and/or output ports are also included in some embodiments. For instance, a LAN in port 115 and USB (e.g., USB 3.0) ports are appropriate for connecting additional USB devices or portable memory devices (e.g., memory sticks). I/O ports permit wired connections to peripheral devices such as a keyboard or mouse. In addition, one or more transceivers 106 may be included for wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth, NFC, etc.) with external devices such as mobile electronic devices as well as peripherals like keyboards, mice, printers, and fax machines. A common power source, including a power input 116, a cooling fan 117, and a power regulator 118, is also generally include for converting power from a wall outlet to appropriate levels for components of the PTE device 100.

Figures 2A, 3A and 4A are block diagrams generally corresponding with the block diagram of Figure 1. However, an important distinction is the number (n) of displays 102 and cameras 103 included in each exemplary PTE device.

Figure 2A shows a PTE device 200 in which there are two display/camera pairs (n = 2). These are described herein as a front display/camera and rear display/camera. This configuration is particularly well suited for a meeting with just two attendees at a single location. The PTE device 200 is especially well suited for placement on desk where each attendee is able to sit on an opposite side of the desk. In a prototype two-screen embodiment, each display 102 is 18.5 inches and face in opposite directions (e.g., forward and rearward). The front screen serves as a main display 102' which is preferably configured to include a touchscreen interface 107. The device 200 is configured so that the rear display is able to mirror the content of the main display 102'. The rear display can be enabled (e.g., turned on) or disabled (e.g., turned off or video- muted) selectively depending on a user' s needs. The PTE device 200 therefore permits private use with activation of just the main display 102' or shared use with two or more meeting participants, with content being shared between the two screens.

Figure 3A shows a PTE device 300 in which there are three pairs of displays and cameras (n = 3). In a prototype three-screen embodiment, each display 102 is 17 inches and faces in different radial direction, with adjacent displays having primary viewing axes separate by 120 degrees (azimuth angle). The third display and its relationship with the main display 102' is consistent with the description in the preceding paragraph respecting the "rear" display of the two-screen embodiment. Likewise, the main displays 102' of the two-screen and three-screen prototypes are essentially identical in functionality.

Figure 4A shows a PTE device 400 in which there are four pairs of displays and cameras

(n = 4). In a prototype four- screen embodiment, each display 102 is 17 inches and faces in a different radial direction, with adjacent displays having primary viewing axes separated by substantially 90 degrees (azimuth angle). The third and fourth displays and their relationships with the main display 102' are consistent with the description respecting the "rear" display of the two-screen embodiment described above. Likewise, the main displays 102' of the two-screen and four-screen prototypes are essentially identical in functionality.

Figure 2B shows a top plan view of a PTE device 200 positioned on a table or desk 210. As already discussed in connection with Figure 2A, dual screen embodiments such as a PTE device 200 depicted in Figure 2A are especially well suited for use on top of desks. The combination of a front screen and a rear screen which face in substantially opposite directions permits the device to be simultaneously used by both a primary desk user 215 sitting behind the desk and a second user 215' sitting in front of the desk (i.e., on the opposite side of the desk 210). A dual screen PTE device 200 is ideal for small meetings involving a teleconference call. A dual screen PTE device 200 is also useful for presentations delivered independently of a

teleconference call. A user on either side of the PTE device 200 may share content with the user on the opposite side of the device 200, with both users 215 and 215' having access to his or her own screen yet with mirrored content on the two separate displays.

Figures 2C-2F show alternative views of the PTE device 200 already introduced in connection with Figures 2A and 2B. Figure 2C is a side elevational view. Figure 2D is a front or rear elevational view. Figure 2E is a top plan view. Figure 2F is a bottom plan view. Figure 2C illustrates the unique "2-sided" pyramided or triangular shape of an exemplary dual screen PTE device 200. The triangular side profile provides each screen's primary viewing axis at a small positive angle with respect to horizontal. An exemplary angle is 30 degrees. The upward angle of the primary viewing axis of each screen accommodates placement of the PTE device 200 at a position that is lower to the table or desk 210 as compared with the distance of the users' eyes above the desk 210. A speaker 108 is positioned on either end of the body 101 of the PTE device 200. In a prototype embodiment, the speakers 108 are two powerful 10W + 10W speakers providing high definition stereo sound with full duplex audio. Figure 2D shows a front elevational view of the PTE device 200. This view is identical for the rear elevational view. The PTE device 200 includes light sources 202 which counteract traditional video conferencing problems associated with backlight by offering studio-like illumination. The light sources 202 may be, for example, light emitting diode (LED) strips emitting a warm white light. The provision of a light source to either side of the display 102 results in illumination of a user's face from both a left side and a right side. This improves the clarity and color of faces captured by the PTE device camera 103. By comparison, existing video conferencing devices without light sources for illuminating a user's face frequently suffer from back light blinding the camera, especially if the user is positioned in front of a window, a well-lit doorway, or a bright light fixture. The effect of back light is that the camera 103 captures a shadowy face with features that are difficult to make out. A user interface button or control is included for activating or deactivating the light sources 202. Both Figures 2C and 2D include exemplary dimensions given in millimeters unless specified otherwise. The example total height of the system is 296 mm. In many embodiments, it is desirable for the maximum height of the PTE device to be 30 cm or less. This has multiple advantages. First, a relatively small height improves portability. Second, a relatively small height ensures that meeting participants can clearly see over the device and make eye contact with users on other sides of the PTE device. That is to say, the PTE device is sized such that when arranged on a tabletop between users, the device does not obstruct a path of direct eye contact between meeting participants (i.e., simultaneous users of the PTE device). The tabletop height of desks and tables is typically in the range of 70 to 80 cm. Other tabletop heights exist, such as heights in the range of 80 cm to 110 cm, for use cases where people stand instead of sit. Tables intended for use with high chairs or bar stools may be even higher. Figure 3B shows a perspective view of a three (i.e., triple) display PTE device 300, and Figure 3C shows a top plan view a triple display PTE device 300. The body of the PTE device 300 is a triangular prism with a display on each side face. As illustrated in Figure 3C, when placed in the center of a table 310, the PTE device 300 provides a panoramic or near-panoramic view of the room using three cameras each with near 120 degrees field of view each. Larger fields of view, such as up to 130 degrees or 140 degrees or higher, may be used in alternative embodiments. Triple display embodiments are ideal solutions for small to medium meetings and conference rooms. A single triple display PTE device 300 is sufficient to serve as a unitary tool for small to medium size meeting collaboration. It serves as a universal standalone video conferencing station that leverages a selected soft client for efficient group collaboration. It also provides a clientless wireless presentation system for day-to-day presentations, where content can be supplied to the PTE device 300 from any external device or computer-readable storage medium.

Figure 3C further illustrates the advantageous effects of the "center of the table" concept embodied in an exemplary PTE device like device 300. In conventional meetings both personal and professional, the participants tend to gather around a center point and in such a way that all participants can make eye contact with one another. In professional settings, meetings are frequently conducted around a table, and the center of the table is the physical center of the group about which the participants organize themselves naturally. The center is the central point where people can look with less effort and with best eye contact with the rest of the participants. In conventional setups, however, sharing content presents a challenge, regardless of whether the content is printed on paper, drawn on a whiteboard, displayed on a monitor, or projected onto a projector screen. To ensure the content, especially words and labels, are correctly oriented and clear to all participants, the content is frequently displayed at or on a wall to a side or at an end of the conference table. One of the walls of the room is selected for installing a screen and thereafter serves as the central focal point where all meeting participants direct their attention. A problem with this setup is that looking off to a side of the room inherently draws attention away from the natural center point of human discussion— the physical center of the participants, which usually corresponds with the center of the table. An exemplary PTE device 300, as illustrated in Figure 3C, permits content sharing in the center of the table 310, that is to say at the natural center of discussion for the group of participants. As illustrated with broken lines in Figure 3C, participant 315' has clear lines of sight to the other participants around the table 310 as well as to any portion of the closest display 102 of the PTE device 300. Exemplary embodiments of the invention permit any single attendee of a meeting to simultaneously have within his or her field of view every other attendee including both local and teleconferenced attendees as well as shared content. Teleconferenced attendees and shared content are both displayed or at least displayable on the PTE device 300. The provision of multiple displays oriented in different radial directions ensures that all participants 315/315' in the same group (i.e., at the same location, in this example at table 310) have a viewing opportunity of all participants regardless of position around the table 310.

The preceding paragraph has a focus on the orientation of participants within the same group (e.g., in the example of Figure 3C, the three persons 315/315' depicted). However, the center-of-table concept extends to the user experience for participants in other groups at the other end or ends of a teleconference meeting. Because the system's cameras are also integrated with the PTE body and preferably arranged just above each display, a user 315 looking at the display substantially appears to be looking directly at the camera immediately above the display. The result is a captured video feed in which the attendees of a first group appear to be "gazing out" from the displays used by attendees of a second group at another location.

Figure 4B shows a perspective view of a four display PTE device 400, and Figure 4C shows a top plan view of two four-screen PTE devices 400/400' being used in conjunction with one another in a single meeting. Each PTE device 400/400' includes four screens and four cameras each covering at least 90 degrees field of field, ensuring a total of approximately 360 degrees for the entire device. Four-screen PTE devices are particularly well suited for medium conference rooms and provide excellent panoramic (e.g., -360 degree) video coverage of the room and to the room. Figure 4C illustrates the capability to connect multiple PTE devices (regardless of their n value) together via a wired or wireless connection to provide additional displays and cameras in a meeting to accommodate larger groups of participants.

Figure 4C also highlights connect- your-own-device (CYOD) functionality common to many exemplary embodiments. In such embodiments, the one or more processors of the PTE device are configured with connect-your-own-device (CYOD) functionality to allow, for example, screen mirroring with external devices using one or more of displays from the plurality of displays of the PTE device. Exemplary PTE devices support native content sharing from virtually any device supporting Airplay , Miracast , or another wireless communication protocol. Figure 4C shows for illustrative purposes a wired connection (e.g., via an HDMI cable) between a laptop 416 and the PTE device 400 as well as a wireless connection between a tablet 417 and PTE device 400'. The PTE devices 400/400' are configured such that a user does not need to install any client software on his external electronic device (e.g., laptop 416 or tablet 417) to share content with the PTE devices. This contrasts with many existing wireless presentation systems which frequently require a user to install a client either through a USB key or through a webpage. Moreover, traditional wireless presentation systems do not have integrally installed screens and therefore must ultimately display shared content on a projector screen along a wall or else on a large television screen at the end of the room. In contrast, exemplary PTE devices disclosed herein provide a plurality of integral displays which together provide panoramic or near-panoramic viewing experience from the center of the table. The content shared with a PTE device from an external electronic device can be displayed on some or all of the displays of the PTE device. In addition or alternatively, the content from the external electronic device can be transmitted by the PTE device over a network to the other end(s) of a teleconference meeting.

Figure 5 shows a display of an exemplary PTE device 500 in which some exemplary user interface controls are actively being displayed. The one or more processors of a PTE device 500, together with instructions stored on memory of the PTE device 500, are configured to show on the plurality of displays a drawer style graphical user interface (GUI) 501 with graphical control functions. As already discussed, the physical means for inputting commands to the PTE device include one or more of a touch interface coupled with the screen, an external mouse 502, and an external keyboard 503. In some embodiments, the PTE device 500 is configured to receive voice commands using a microphone of the system. In some embodiments, the PTE device 500 may also or alternatively be configured to interpret gesticulations or other visual cues from a user captured with one of the cameras. In this case the gesticulations or other visual cues correspond with particular commands (e.g., activating/deactivating one or more displays, opening a hidden menu, selecting a menu option, etc.).

Figure 5 shows in particular menu drawers or trays 501 which ordinarily are hidden to sides of the display. Hidden menu drawers or trays allow all the utilities and shortcuts to important apps to be hidden in drawers which are opened from the left and right sides of the screen. The drawers are closed and hidden by default, with the exception of, for example, a semi- transparent handle of the drawer visible for opening and closing the drawer. When a feature is needed the drawer is manually opened by a user touching the handle, thereby selecting and activating the drawer menus. Within the menus utilities and shortcuts are listed, preferably with graphical icons to provide a more intuitive user experience. The hidden menu handles (when the drawers are closed) and menus (when the drawers are opened) are displayed on top of all other applications and content that is being actively displayed on the display. This ensures these main menus are always accessible.

In some exemplary embodiments, each of the plurality of displays (together with the hardware and software controlling the displays) is configured with one or more of white boarding and annotating functionalities. A smart annotation feature is a utility selectable from a menu 501 (Figure 5). The smart annotation feature allows easy and seamless annotation over any application running on the PTE device 500. Moreover, the annotation is permitted with real-time video, enabling users to mark-up a video feed or content, with the mark-up shared in real time (i.e., substantially real time) with other users. The annotation utility may include, for example, options like pen selection, marker selection, color selection, and eraser, among other markup options.

Another menu accessible utility is smart recording of desktop sessions. In some embodiments, the one or more processors of the PTE device are configured to allow work session recordings on a local storage medium for later viewing. This feature allows the recording of the screen content and activity (i.e., what is displayed at any given time, both camera feeds and markup) as well as the accompanying audio. The recordings save to local memory on the PTE device and can be viewed at a later time.

Figures 6A-6H show exemplary video feed layouts for teleconferencing with a PTE device with multiple attendees are in the teleconference. An exemplary PTE device, with its multiscreen and multi-camera design, provides unique video conferencing tools like the capability of combining the images of multiple cameras (e.g., a front facing camera view and a rear facing camera view) in a single view feed per teleconference call. In some embodiments, the single view feed is configured by the one or more processors to appear as if a feed from a single USB device despite being a combination of multiple camera feeds. The ability to combine multiple camera capture feeds into a single view feed is performed by the one or more processors 104. The one or more processors are configured to allow multiple source video.

The feature of smart panoramic layouts allows creation of different layouts of camera feeds and sending the resulting feed to a video conference soft client of choice. For many systems, the available layouts include one or more of the following:

• a first (e.g., front or main) camera video, such as depicted in Figure 6A

• a second (e.g., rear or side) camera video, such as depicted in Figure 6E

• any other camera video up to an n^th camera video, where n is the number of cameras of the PTE device

• a combination of some or all of the first up to the n^th camera video in any of a variety of patterns, such as a side-by- side or panoramic pattern (Figures 6D and 6H), triangular pattern (Figure 6B), diamond pattern (Figure 6F), or square or quad pattern (Figure 6G).

• mirrored desktop video

• mirrored desktop video combined with any of the individual or combined camera

videos/views listed above

• deactivated or disabled screen, such as powered off or displaying a neutral deactivation icon (Figure 6C)

In some embodiments, a graphical user interface (GUI) is provided for display on external devices such as a smartphone or tablet. The external device GUI allows selection of a particular camera feed from a connected PTE device by visually pressing on the required side. Any of the view options listed above may also be selected from the GUI. The PTE device, in particular its one or more processors, is configured to receive a video layout request from the external device and return a single video feed to the Video conferencing soft client based on a requested camera feed or a combination of multiple camera feeds from the plurality of cameras. In other words, the selected camera feeds are combined by the PTE device and sent to the Video conferencing soft client as a single video feed.

It should be appreciated that features and elements described herein in connection to a specific exemplary, sample, or prototype embodiment or device herein may incorporated with other embodiments. Furthermore, when one or more processors are described as being configured to provide a certain functionality, this should be understood as involving one or more computer readable instructions or programs stored on a computer-readable storage medium (such as generally represented in block 105 in Figure 1) which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the processors to perform or provide the described functionality.

While exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed herein, one skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A video conferencing device, comprising

a unitary body that is portable;

a plurality of displays integral with the unitary body, wherein each display is oriented to face in a different radial direction with respect to a center of the unitary body;

a plurality of video cameras integral with the unitary body, wherein each camera faces in a radial direction corresponding with a respective display; and

one or more processors connected to the plurality of displays and the plurality of video cameras, wherein the one or more processors are configured to permit standalone functionality for video conferencing with one or more separate video conferencing devices over a network.

2. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of displays is three or more.

3. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the orientations of the plurality of displays form a radially symmetric pattern.

4. The video conferencing device of claim 1, further comprising a speakerphone located on a top center of the unitary body.

5. The video conferencing device of claim 1, further comprising at least one speakerphone, wherein the at least one speakerphone comprises an embedded omnidirectional microphone.

6. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein a maximum height of the video conferencing device is less than 30 cm.

7. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of displays is configured with multi-touch functionality.

8. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of displays is configured with one or more of white boarding and annotating functionalities.

9. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of video cameras is positioned in a same plane as the respective display and immediately adjacent and above the respective display.

10. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured with connect- your-own-device functionality to allow screen mirroring with external devices using one or more of displays from the plurality of displays.

11. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to allow multiple source video.

12. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to show on the plurality of displays a drawer style graphical user interface (GUI) with graphical control functions.

13. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of displays are configured to allow disabling some or all of the plurality of displays with the exception of a main display.

14. The video conferencing device of claim 1, further comprising one or more light sources for illuminating a face of a user from both a left and right side while the user views one of the plurality of displays.

15. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to allow work session recordings on a local storage medium for later viewing.

16. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive a video layout request from an external device and return a single video feed to the external device based on a requested camera feed or a combination of multiple camera feeds from the plurality of cameras.

17. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of displays consists of three displays and the body is configured as a triangular prism with one display on each side of the triangular prism.

18. The video conferencing device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of displays consists of four displays and the body is configured as a rectangular prism with one display on each side of the rectangular prism.