Abstract:
Management and display of virtual breakout rooms in a video teleconference by making the virtual experience to more closely align the beneficial capabilities of non-virtual breakout rooms is disclosed. Beneficial aspects include summoning all members of a breakout rooms by video, text, or audio signal and a process of assigning participants to a break out room by drag and drop from a roster, randomizing the assignments, and limiting rooms to a particular number of participants to as to cause participants to scramble for a position in a breakout room. Also disclosed is a system for designating a private breakout room and for delivering content to the breakout room.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    This Application claims priority to Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/784,444 filed Mar. 14, 2013, titled “Automated Video Conference Breakout Rooms,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    A breakout session is where a smaller group of meeting attendees separate from a main group to discuss specific subjects or aspects of a broader or tangentially themed main meeting. Such breakout sessions are common in business meetings and educational settings and are often organized or controlled by a chairperson, presenter, or instructor. These sessions are also generally of a relatively shorter duration than the main meeting and may require a method of calling breakout participants back to the main meeting to resume or conclude the main meeting. When all the participants are physically in the same location such as a main conference room, a breakout session is easily achieved by moving participants to a quiet corner of the room, or by moving participants to another nearby location. In this situation, the presenter or instructor can call the participants back into the room at will. 
         [0003]    To assign participants to breakout sessions, the presenter or instructor can also divide participants into groups and assign those groups to different breakout rooms to facilitate breakout session discussions. To accomplish this in a physical conference room, the instructor often divides the room by seating arrangements (e.g., chair rows) or by physical room sections. For example, the instructor may divide the room into two groups by splitting the groups by an imaginary line dividing the room into two halves. 
         [0004]    Breakout rooms can also be used to create a diverse participant makeup. In other words, instructors may want to “mix up” participants to break up cliques of participants who are sitting next to people who they are familiar with. Often this is accomplished by “counting off” by assigning each participant a consecutive number counting up from “one” until the desired number of breakout sessions is reached and then beginning again from “one.” However, this method does not necessarily produce sufficiently random results. To make the selections more random, for example, an instructor may pull numbers out of a hat. However, for a large number of participants, this is time consuming and cumbersome. 
         [0005]    It is often desirous to limit the length of a breakout session. To accomplish this, a presenter or instructor may tell the participants to return after a predetermined amount of time. Additionally, the presenter or instructor may signal the end of a breakout session by going to each breakout area and call the participants back into the room. This technique is not always effective or efficient as there can be groups or individuals who lag in rejoining the main conference room. 
         [0006]    Presenters or instructors also often want to distribute supplementary materials “on the fly” during a breakout session. Such materials are sometimes distributed in this manner to force a group to react to a spontaneous stimulus. Sometimes, the materials themselves are not available prior to a breakout session. Distribution of these materials is generally done by physically delivering the materials to each breakout room and giving brief supplemental information or instruction associated with the supplemental materials. 
         [0007]    To create an effective videoconferencing environment, it is usually desirable for a videoconferencing system to emulate what participants would experience during a regular, face-to-face meeting with other participants. This includes having the ability to organize and execute breakout sessions with a particular subset of the participants. Prior art techniques for enabling virtual breakout rooms make it possible for participants to engage in sub-conferences within a video teleconference. Such techniques are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,679,640 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,679,638, which present systems and methods for conducting a sub-conference from a main videoconference. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    An improved method of managing videoconference breakout rooms is disclosed. The present disclosure relates, at least, to assigning participants to breakout rooms, summoning participants back to a main videoconference from a breakout session, and providing a display for each breakout session. 
         [0009]    A chairperson of a main videoconference may need to assign some or all of the participants of the videoconference to a breakout room to discuss matters relating to the main videoconference. The chairperson can assign participants to breakout rooms in various ways including generating a roster of participants and/or generating a number of breakout rooms based upon characteristics of the participants. Assignments may also be made randomly to provide participant diversity to the breakout rooms. The chairperson can also make those assignments in advance of initiating the breakout session. That is, breakout room designations and assignments can be made a priori and prior to the breakout session. Additionally, the advance assignments may be made during the formation of the main video conference. Assigning participants ahead of time will allow the chairperson to send all breakout room participants to (or recall breakout room participants from) the breakout rooms simultaneously. Also disclosed are methods for limiting the number of participants in a breakout room. 
         [0010]    In situations where returning from a breakout room by individual participants is desired, participants may be sent a video, audio, or textual indicator from the chairperson indicating that it is time to return to the main videoconference. A method of summoning breakout room participants back by use of a timer is also disclosed. The timer can be displayed in the breakout session and/or the main videoconference as a visual indicator of the amount of time left in the breakout session. Participant&#39;s return from the breakout session can also be set to happen contemporaneously (i.e., at the same time) and automatically when the timer expires. 
         [0011]    Additionally, when participants wish to have a private breakout session from the main videoconference. Participants in a private breakout room may select a user interface control button to indicate that their breakout session is private. The private session control can automatically prevent other participants from watching, listening to, or joining the breakout session. An annunciator can be shown on the participant&#39;s and the chairperson&#39;s display to show that a particular breakout session has become a private session. 
         [0012]    The chairperson may also wish to send unique content such as graphs, video, documents, and/or images to breakout rooms for consideration of breakout room participants. Chairpersons may provide content to different break-out sessions, by uploading the content to each breakout room in advance of the breakout room&#39;s commencement. The chairperson may choose to send the content by selecting a button on the Chairperson&#39;s Interface. The content can also be displayed during the breakout session at times pre-determined by the chairperson. 
         [0013]    The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potential embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure, and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the embodiments with the accompanying drawings and appended claims. 
         [0014]    Furthermore, although specific exemplary embodiments are described in detail to illustrate the inventive concepts to a person skilled in the art, such embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. Accordingly, the figures and written description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concepts in any manner. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates a high-level block diagram of a videoconferencing system. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary relationship between a main video session and a breakout session. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary implementation of videoconference rooms using an existing calling mechanism. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary main videoconference display for a chairperson of a videoconference conference. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary display for a participant of a breakout room in a videoconference. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  illustrates a display where a chairperson may assign one or more participants to a breakout room. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]      FIG. 1  schematically illustrates a high-level diagram of a videoconferencing system  100  having a plurality of endpoints  180   a - 180   n,  multimedia connections  120   a - n , a network  190 , and a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU)  150 . Multimedia connections  120   a - n  convey information between endpoints  180   a - n  and the network  190 , and the multimedia connection  125  conveys information between the network  130  and the MCU  150 . The information communicated between the endpoints  180   a - n  and the MCU  150  may include control signals, indicators, audio information, video information, and other data. 
         [0022]    Alternative embodiments of the system  100  may include other components and/or may not include all of the components shown in  FIG. 1 . For example, in one embodiment, the MCU  150  can be a virtual MCU. In some embodiments in which network  190  includes a plurality of MCUs  150 , a virtual MCU may be used for controlling the plurality of MCUs. More information on a virtual MCU can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,174,365. In some embodiments of system  100 , one of the MCUs can perform the functionality of the virtual MCU and may control the rest of the MCUs. Additionally, data associated with the conference need not be stored in the MCU, but may be stored in a network cloud using cloud computing or cloud-based storage. 
         [0023]    The described videoconference breakout rooms may be realized in many ways. The videoconference and breakout rooms may be implemented in the form of software used by the MCU  150 . Additionally, hardware or firmware may be added to the MCU  150  or software or hardware distributed among the MCU  150  and the videoconference terminals  180 . The above description of methods and systems are to be interpreted as including apparatuses for carrying out the methods and methods of using the apparatuses. 
         [0024]    Although shown here with three endpoints for simplicity, it is understood that a videoconference may have many endpoints and multimedia connections as indicated by ellipses in  FIG. 1 . Each endpoint  180   a - 180   n  may include one or more participants (not shown). Additionally, some components of the videoconferencing system  100  are well known in the art and are only briefly described herein. 
         [0025]    Network  190  may represent a single network or a combination of two or more networks. The network  190  may be any type of network, including a packet switched network, a circuit switched network, and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network, the Internet, or an intranet. The multimedia communication over the network may be based on any communication protocol including H.120, H.3 24 , H.3 23 , SIP, etc. The information communicated between the endpoints  180  and the MCU  150  may include signaling and control, audio information or video images. The endpoints may provide speech, video, signaling, or control data, or may provide a combination of data types. 
         [0026]    Endpoints  180   a - 180   n  may be network elements that are able to generate or terminate a multimedia connection. Any combination of endpoints  180   a - 180   n  can participate in any given videoconference controlled by the MCU  150 . The endpoints  180   a - 180   c  may provide or receive audio, video, or other data, or any combination thereof. Accordingly, each endpoint  180   a - n  may have a speaker, a user control device, a microphone, a camera, a display screen, a multimedia line  120 , or any combination of these components. Examples of endpoints  180  include a regular telephone, an IP Phone, a cellular phone (with or without a camera), a personal computer, PDA, computing tablet, and may comprise a multimedia endpoint like a Polycom® RealPresence® group series device, etc. The following description assumes that the main meeting is held on an MCU or bridge via video. Although implementation through videoconference (e.g., multimedia conference) is primarily discussed for simplicity, the disclosed techniques may be similarly applied to audio conferencing and other conferencing which may comprise communication between endpoints having a combination of content comprising video, audio, text, graphics, still images, animation, and interactivity, etc . . . Thus, as used herein, videoconference may, for example, include endpoints which have audio and visual capabilities. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  shows the relationship between the virtual breakout rooms  210   a  and  210   b  and the main session  200 . All participants  213 ,  215 , and  218  are initially participants  215  of the main videoconference session  200 . As needed, breakout rooms, for example,  210   a  and  210   b  can be generated. The breakout rooms may be generated in a number of ways. For example, the breakout rooms can be generated prior to the breakout session by the chairperson or can be generated on-the-fly by participants as needed. Breakout room  210   a  may comprise participants  218 , who were former participants  215 . Likewise, breakout room  210   b  may comprise participants  213 , who were formerly participants  215 . The breakout room can be considered to be part of the main videoconference meeting or call. The implementation of this system can hide the breakout call from the outside world such that the main videoconference meeting is not seen as multiple MCU or bridge instances from the outside world. In addition, any breakout room video numbers can be hidden from the outside world such that meeting participants must first enter the main meeting prior to entering a breakout session. In other words, videoconference participants  213 ,  215 , and  218  can call in to the videoconference using a single designator (e.g., call-in number)  310  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , a main meeting number  310  can be associated with the main videoconference session  200 . All participants  213 ,  215 , and  218  can join the main session  200  by use (e.g., dialing in) of the main meeting number  310 . As separate breakout rooms are needed, breakout rooms  210   a  and  210   b,  for example, can be generated. It should be noted that numerous breakout rooms are contemplated although  FIG. 2  illustrates the use of two breakout rooms for simplicity. Separate videoconference numbers  320   a  and  320   b  may be used for the separate breakout sessions  210   a  and  210   b.  The nature of the videoconference will generally determine the need and size of breakout rooms. 
         [0029]    The separate breakout room numbers  320 - a - 320   n  may be transparent and need not be displayed to the participants  213 ,  215 , or  218 . This can act to simulate a breakout session such as one performed in a live face-to-face meeting. Transparent breakout room numbers  320 - a - 320   n  can also serve as a security feature by preventing would-be outside participants  250  from joining a breakout session without first joining the main videoconference session  200 . Breakout rooms  320 - a - 320   n  are shown as simple extensions of the main calling room  310 . In one embodiment, sequential video numbers may be assigned to each breakout room. The sequential breakout room numbers can be hidden from the outside world such that the main meeting video number  310  is preserved and an outside participant  250 , as discussed previously, is unable to jump into a breakout room directly without first entering the main meeting. 
         [0030]    The main meeting system can be used to manage the breakout room dialing and configuration. This model is based off of the existing multi-way call model with the extension that the main meeting room can automatically dial up a new breakout room video call from a pre-defined list of video numbers. Breakout room numbers  320 - a - 320   n , although shown in  FIG. 3  as having sequential numbers, may use a variety of methods to implement the breakout room. For example, unique video numbers can be used, a dedicated MCU-like audio/video routing can be used, or any other similar mechanism. Thus, a chairperson or administrator can add as many rooms as needed without significant system modification. 
         [0031]    Implementation of this feature can be accomplished via leveraging existing MCU or bridge capabilities. Individual breakout rooms associated with consecutively assigned video numbers may be managed by the system administrator. Thus, entering a breakout room can be accomplished by establishing a separate multi-way call and transferring the participant to the new call. Another method of implementing this system is to provide a mechanism that separates the breakout room participants from the main session and route their audio and/or video to a separate multi-way call instance. 
         [0032]      FIG. 4  illustrates a video and User Interface (UI) display available to a user for selecting a breakout room. A set of breakout rooms  210  and  220  can be available to a video endpoint  180 . Participating endpoints  180  can use a UI  410  or UI  420  to select a breakout room to enter. After selecting one of the breakout rooms  210 , their video call can be transferred to the corresponding breakout room and a breakout conversation can be held. This method can be used as a participant-initiated breakout room or to initiate a “private” breakout room as discussed further below. 
         [0033]    The main virtual meeting room display  450  can have a global messaging system that audio/video or text messages can be sent to one or more of the breakout rooms to call participants back to the main meeting. The chairperson or presenter may have a selection  430  on their UI for sending a message to all breakout room participants  213  and  218 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  illustrates the UI  500  as would be seen by a breakout room participant  213  or  218 . A breakout room display  550  may also include Picture-In-Picture (PIP) video  520  of the main breakout room  200 . The PIP window region can appear if, for example, the presenter were to send an audio/video message. This PIP can be two-way or can be one-way video to preserve the privacy of the breakout room participants. Additionally, audio from the main breakout room may be sent to individual breakout rooms. Such audio may also be one-way to preserve privacy. One-way or two-way audio can also be sent. 
         [0035]    Two-way audio can be sent at an attenuated level such that the breakout room participants  213  and  218  may be readily heard within a breakout room while engaging in a conversation, but audio from the main conference room will be heard when the breakout conversation momentarily subsides. Additionally, the chairperson of the main videoconference may control the volume of the audio coming from the main videoconference  200  such that, for example, an important announcement from the main videoconference session may be distributed to the breakout rooms by interrupting the breakout room conversation. This may be accomplished by sending audio from the main videoconference  200  to the breakout rooms  210   a  and  210   b  at a regular volume while attenuating the audio from the breakout room participants  213  and  218 . In another embodiment, the audio from the main videoconference can be amplified above the level of the participants  213  and  218 . 
         [0036]    A breakout room may also be designated as a “private” breakout room by the breakout room participants. If a breakout room is designated as private, an annunciator (not shown) can be displayed in the breakout room display  550  so that participants may be assured that their conversation is private. Additionally, an indicator may also be manifested on the chairperson&#39;s display  450  indicating that a particular breakout room has been designated as private. This feature may be useful when the main videoconference  200  is a negotiation or arbitration. Participants may wish to have a private “sidebar” to discuss strategy, confidential pricing, or any other confidential or privileged information. The system can automatically lock-out any other participants from joining the breakout room once it is designated as private. Additionally, the MCU may limit video and audio to one-way into the breakout room while it is designated as a private breakout room to ensure the privacy of the conversation. 
         [0037]    A text area associated with a global text message  540  may be used to show a message from the chairperson. For example, the chairperson may use the “notify all” selection  430  as described above, and send a text message  540  to participants of the breakout rooms to notify them that is it time to return to the main session  200 . When not directly or automatically controlled by another return mechanism (e.g., a timer described below), a breakout room UI selection  510  allows breakout room participants  213  and  218  to return themselves to the main videoconference  200 . 
         [0038]    The previously described embodiment uses a text message  540  for notification to breakout room participants  213  and  218  that it is time to return to the main videoconference  200 . Other embodiments utilizing different types of notification systems and return mechanisms are disclosed. 
         [0039]    In educational settings, for example, or other settings where the duration of the breakout session needs to be limited to a set amount of time, a timer can be used to transition all breakout room participants to the main meeting after a set period of time has elapsed. In this embodiment, a countdown timer (not shown) can be set by the chairperson. The timer, for example, can be a software or firmware timer controlled by the MCU  150 . The display of the timer countdown can be shown in each breakout session display, for example, in the same manner as text message  540  is shown. Participants will thus have continuous notice of how much time is left in the breakout session. At the end of a breakout session, a final message may be displayed to ask breakout participants  213  and  218  to return to the main videoconference  200 . 
         [0040]    Alternatively, breakout participants  213  and  218  may be returned automatically to the main videoconference  200  when the timer expires. This is particularly useful in settings where pace of the main videoconference is important. This method may also be used in an examination setting where breakout participants  213  and  218  are students working collaboratively on a timed exam or a portion of a timed exam. There are other practical uses for the automatic return feature. For example, in an educational setting, a breakout room or multiple breakout rooms may be used to isolate an individual student or a group of students from a main video session for purposes of allowing the students who have not taken a previously administered exam to be sequestered from a main classroom session while the main classroom session discusses the exam answers. 
         [0041]    Other notification techniques such as audio summoning indicators are also disclosed. For example, a bell or chime similar to one used in a concert hall or at a theater to recall the audience during intermission may be used to notify breakout participants to rejoin the main videoconference. In such an embodiment, the videoconference chairperson can program the “notify all” selection  430  to send the bell or chime audio. Optionally, the bell or chime may be programmed to be automatically sent when a timer expires. This type of audio recall may be preferred when the videoconference has a mix of both audiovisual and audio-only conference participants. 
         [0042]    Additionally, a voice message may warn participants that the breakout session will be ending soon or that a breakout session time has expired. In one embodiment, the voice message can be played at certain intervals of time remaining in a breakout session countdown timer. In other words, a voice message may notify participants that a certain number of minutes remain until the end of the breakout session when, for example, fifteen and five minutes remain on the countdown timer. 
         [0043]    Also disclosed is assignment of breakout room participants in advance of activating or commencement of the break-out session. As discussed previously, participants may self-assign themselves to a breakout room by selecting from one of a plurality of breakout room choices  410  and  420  as shown in  FIG. 4 . However, there may be situations where self-assignment is not preferred. These methods for room assignment are discussed here further. 
         [0044]      FIG. 6  shows a chairperson control interface display  600  used for generating breakout room assignments. In one embodiment, meeting participants  610 - a - 610   f  can be presented to the chairperson control interface display  600  in a list  605 . The participant list may include characteristics associated with each participant. Characteristics such as physical endpoint location or company represented may be included in the list. The chairperson can also assign participants in advance of beginning specific breakout rooms based on a drop-down characteristic selector  630 . For example, participants from Company A may be assigned to breakout room  620   a  and participants from Company B assigned to breakout room  620   b  by selecting “Company ID” as the characteristic selector  630 . Characteristics may be based on any number of attributes. Such attributes may be specific to the type of videoconference meeting conducted. For example, in a corporate training session, breakout rooms may be assigned by job function (e.g., engineers in one room, salespersons in another, and support staff in yet another room). The number of rooms generated in this case can be automatically determined by the system from the data characteristics. 
         [0045]    The number of breakout rooms may also be limited or chosen by the chairperson. A drop-down selector  640 , for example, may designate the number of breakout rooms to be generated. Another method of assignment may be made by manual designation of participants to the chosen number of breakout rooms. For example, this may be performed by dragging and dropping the participant into the desired breakout room. In one embodiment, dragging and dropping the participant  610  into a breakout room  620  designates participants for a later transfer. 
         [0046]    At a time for a breakout session to begin, the chairperson may inform participants that they should join their breakout discussions. In the case where breakout rooms are assigned in advance, non-selectable breakout rooms may be shown as “grayed out” leaving only pre-assigned breakout rooms available for selection. 
         [0047]    In another embodiment, the chairperson can select an option to send participants to their breakout rooms automatically. In other words, participants need not select a breakout room from a UI, they can be automatically placed in a breakout room by the chairperson. Additionally, the drag and drop function may either serve as a designation for a future breakout session, or the act of dragging and dropping a participant  610  into a breakout room  620  may immediately put participant  610  into the designated breakout room  620 . 
         [0048]    Assignment of participants to breakout rooms may also be made by initiating a “scramble” mode where the chairperson assigns a maximum number of participants per room and rooms that already have the maximum number of participants assigned may display a “room full” message prompting the participant to choose a room that it not yet filled. 
         [0049]    Breakout room assignments may also be made randomly. The chairperson may select an option (not shown) from the chairperson UI to place or designate all of participants  610  into a random room  620 . Additionally, a hybrid method can be used. For example, managers may be placed into breakout rooms at random where each breakout room  620  receives a proportionate number of managers. Other participants may then be allowed to choose a breakout room  620  up to a maximum number of participants for each room. 
         [0050]    A videoconference chairperson may want to distribute supplementary materials “on the fly” during a breakout session. In one embodiment, the chairperson may designate content to be displayed in all breakout rooms simultaneously. The chairperson may also wish to distribute different materials to different breakout rooms. This may be accomplished by uploading or designating material to be assigned to particular breakout rooms in a manner similar to the assignment of participants to breakout rooms. In other words, a set of documents, pictures, video, audio or other material may be designated to a specific breakout room in advance of the commencement of the breakout session. Revealing the content to the breakout room participants may be accomplished by selecting a UI button (not shown) that reveals pre-assigned content to all of the breakout rooms at the same time. Such content may be displayed directly on to the breakout room display  450 , or may be made selectable as a UI button or web link. In situations where it is desired for breakout room participants to be in control of when they view the content, a UI can become available to the breakout room participant once the chairperson designates that content to be delivered to that breakout room. Such content may be made available for download by the participants or may be download protected. 
         [0051]    One situation where this will be useful is where content is sent to a “room captain” to discuss the content with other members who cannot see the content. Similarly, the chairperson may designate the content to be specific to an individual in a breakout room. This is useful for exam situations where the breakout room participants are exam takers and the content to be delivered is the exam. The timer discussed above may also be used to begin when the content is revealed and the content automatically removed when the timer expires. 
         [0052]    The content can also be displayed during the breakout session at times pre-determined by the chairperson. For example, in a situation where each breakout room is corroborating on a project that is scored or evaluated, the chairperson may wish to display each breakout room&#39;s progress in fifteen-minute intervals. In this situation, the chairperson can designate a filename and location through her UI that is uploaded and transmitted to the appropriate breakout room at the interval chosen by the chairperson on her UI. Such files may be updated manually or may be updated automatically by, for example, a program used to collect data from the breakout rooms and perform the evaluation. 
         [0053]    In the description and claims of the present application, each of the verbs, “comprise” “include” and “have”, and conjugates thereof, are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are not necessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements or parts of the subject or subjects of the verb. 
         [0054]    The described embodiments comprise different features, not all of which are required in all embodiments of the invention. Some embodiments of the present invention utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features. Different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons skilled in the art.