Patent Publication Number: US-2007106724-A1

Title: Enhanced IP conferencing service

Description:
BACKGROUND  
      It is common for business to be conducted remotely through electronic communications. It is more efficient and cost effective to conduct meetings through conferencing technologies rather than undergo time-consuming and costly travel. Teleconferencing permits anyone to participate in meetings and conferences regardless of their geographic location.  
      Traditional audio conferencing approaches have a limited ability to combine with data applications. Web conferencing, in certain applications, is available, but may be inefficient and require an improved interface. As one example, users typically have to manually enter the Conference Bridge and password to join a conference.  
      Further, large conferences with many participants can be disorganized because of the number of participants. Time can be wasted by participants being required to announce their presence in the conference. Likewise, time is wasted when each speaker must identify themselves so that others know who is speaking. Most multimedia conferencing technologies today lack intelligence for automatically identifying active speakers at a given time. Attendees of the existing multi-media conferencing services would have to manually “grab” the microphone such as clicking a button on the conference&#39;s web page in order to notify the other attendees of his/her talking now.  
      Also, it can also be difficult to join a conference or meeting mid-stream and be up to speed on what has transpired. Transcribing of conferences is known. However, certain existing text caption techniques for multi-media conference services dump output text in the same format regardless of the form factor of a client device from which an attendee signs into the conference. This may require the attendee to scroll many screens in order to reach a desired page.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The components and the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of various embodiments.  
       FIG. 1  is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a system according to one embodiment;  
       FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment;  
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment;  
       FIG. 5  illustrates an embodiment of a display;  
       FIG. 6  illustrates a second embodiment of a display; and  
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram illustrating a system according to a second embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      By way of introduction, the embodiments described below include a method to enhance IP-based conferencing based on analyzing the IP signaling and media protocols coordinated with speech analysis techniques, to significantly improve end user experience for conference calls. In one embodiment, the conferencing technique described below is in the context of a network Voice Over IP (“VoIP”) context.  
      In a first aspect, a method is provided for IP conferencing. The method includes: connecting to a VoIP (“Voice over IP”) conference call over a network; initiating an application display; receiving identification information of the participants in the conference call over the network, wherein the application display is operable to display the identification information of the participants; and receiving tracking information over the network when the participants in the conference call are speaking and displaying the tracking information on the application display, wherein the tracking information comprises at least one of a transcript of the conference call, a portion of the transcript, keywords from the transcript, and a combination thereof.  
      In a second aspect, a conferencing system is provided including an IP-based network; a telecommunications device coupled to the IP-based network and operable to connect with a conference call; and a display coupled to the device, wherein the display is operative to identify participants in the conference call, monitors the participants who are speaking, and maintains a condensed speech transcription of the conference call.  
      In a third aspect, a computer readable storage medium includes instructions executable by a programmed processor for connecting to a conference call. The instructions include: connecting to a network; joining the conference call over the network; receiving speaking information from the network on participants of the conference call; and displaying a condensed transcription based on the participants that speak in the conference call.  
      In a fourth aspect, a method for internet protocol (“IP”) conferencing is disclosed. The method includes: hosting a conference call; determining identification information of participants in the conference call; providing identification information to the participants; tracking when the participants in the conference call are speaking; and recording and providing at least one of a transcript of the conference call, a portion of the transcript, keywords from the transcript, or a combination thereof; to the participants based on an input from the participants.  
      In a fifth aspect, a method for internet protocol (“IP”) conferencing is disclosed. The method includes: connecting to a conference call; initiating an application display; displaying identification information of participants in the conference call; and displaying a speaking meter operative to display the identification information of the participants in the conference call and displaying an indication of the speaking time of each of the participants.  
      Other systems, methods, features and advantages will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of this disclosure, and be protected by the following claims and be defined by the following claims. The present disclosure is defined by the following claims, and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on those claims. Further aspects and advantages are discussed below in conjunction with the embodiments.  
       FIG. 1  is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment. As an overview, a conference call is scheduled in block  102 , users connect to the conference call in block  104 , all participants are identified in block  106 , and an application display is initiated for the participants in block  108 . As the conference call is taking place, the speakers are tracked in block  110  and each user has a display in block  112  showing the participants in block  114 , the speakers in block  116 , a transcript in block  118 , or keywords in block  120  from the conference.  
      First, a conference call or meeting is scheduled in block  102 . Notification of the scheduling of the call can be transmitted electronically to all potential participants of the call. In one embodiment, the scheduling takes place in a calendaring application such as Microsoft Outlook. Alternatively, any graphical user interface (“GUI”) with scheduling abilities or a web page configured with the scheduling capabilities may be used for the scheduling or the joining of a conference as a calendaring application. In one embodiment, the calendaring application can receive electronic notice of a scheduled conference call. A plug-in to the calendaring application then automatically associates the conference bridge password information with the incoming conference call meeting notice. The conference call may be an audio conference, or alternatively, may be configured for a video conference. A user can open up the conference call notice or the calendaring application automatically presents the user with a “join” button. Clicking the “join” button connects the user to the conference call.  
      The user can manually connect, or a calendaring application can automatically connect to the conference call in block  104 . Joining the call directly from a calendaring application requires no explicit log-in. When the conference server is in the same trust domain as the user&#39;s desktop application/device, the implicit log-in uses the corporate Single Sign On implementation. When the conference server is in a different domain, the join request is routed through a corporate proxy server that is able to assert the user&#39;s identity. This user&#39;s identity may be referred to as identification information. This may involve direct passing of the user&#39;s security credentials as a part of the request (encapsulated as HTTP/SOAP headers, for example), or involve a SAML (Security Assertions Markup Language) request/response. The log-in is thus directly federated to the conference service when invoking the conference call.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , which is a block diagram illustrating a system  200  according to one embodiment. The system shows multiple users connecting to a conference call over a network  201 .  
      A first user connects to a conference call with a telecommunications device  206 . System  200  shows a first and second user. Likewise, the second telecommunications device  210  is connected to the conference call through the network  201 . Any number of users, participants, or telecommunications devices can be connected to the conference call through network  201 .  
      Both telecommunication devices  206 ,  210  are connected to an IP-based network  201 . The telecommunications devices  206 ,  210 , a media server  204 , and an application server  202  are connected to the network  201 . A telecommunications device  206  or  210  may be telephone, such as a cellular phone, a land-line phone, or any phone operable to connect to an IP-based network  201 . Alternatively, the telecommunications device  206  or  210  may be a computer, or a personal digital assistant (“PDA”). The telecommunications device  206  or  210  connects to the network  201  and is operable to engage a used in conference call through either the receipt or transmission of data. That data may be audio, video, or text that is received by the telecommunications device  206  or  210 .  
      The first user&#39;s telecommunications device  206  is coupled with display  208 . Likewise, the second user with telecommunications device  210  also has a display  212 . In one embodiment, each user or telecommunications device has a display  208  or  212 , which includes information about the conference call, the participants, the speakers, and the topics or transcript of the conference call. The displays  208  or  212  depend on the type of telecommunications device  206  or  210 . A computer has a standard LCD monitor or other visual display. Likewise, PDA&#39;s and cellular phones also come with built-in displays that are operative to display information from a conference call.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , which is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment. An enhanced Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”) client is launched in block  302  when a user connects to the conference call with a telecommunications device  206 ,  210 . In an alternative embodiment, rather than a SIP client, an enhanced calendaring client could also be launched in block  302 . The SIP client  207 ,  211  sends a HyperText Transport Protocol (“HTTP”) post to an application server  202  in block  304  with the conference bridge information relayed to a conference-bridge media server  204  in block  306  as Extensible Markup Language (“XML”) data. This post also contains the SIP address of the user. The application server  202  authenticates the user in block  308 , and sends a message to the media server in block  310  to add a conference participant. The application server  202  sends a SIP INVITE, and the media server  204  is patched through a standard SIP third-party call set up as in block  310 . In an alternative embodiment, the media server  204  sends the user a SIP INVITE in block  310 . Additional events from the media server carry the conference status as in block  314 . The conference status information may include participants, speakers, or speaker changes. The body of the events may be carried as XML data. Alternate event mechanisms may be used instead of SIP INFO. The alternate event mechanisms could be a simple TCP event channel, XML/TCP event interface, Java RMI event channel or SIP INFO with XML data.  
      A user joins the conference call as discussed above, which provides a convenient mechanism for identifying all the participants  106  who join the conference. The log-in is directly federated to the conference service using Security Assertion Markup Language (“SAML”) assertions when invoking the conference call. SAML is a standard for transferring authentication and authorization data between domains.  
      Accordingly, an analysis of the Real-time Transport Protocol (“RTP”) origin streams can be used to identify participants. The RTP origin stream through which a user joins the conference call uniquely identifies participants. Implicit speaker recognition through an analysis of RTP stream origination supports multiple people speaking simultaneously. The RTP stream origination may also be referred to as identification information. RTP is a standard format for transferring data packets, typically either video or audio. RTP helps for consistent packet transfer over an IP network, and is frequently used in VoIP applications.  
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment. It is representative of the server end. The server may be either the application server  202  or the media server  204 . The server hosts a conference call in block  402 . Acting as a host, the server allows participants to joining the conference call over the network. The participants log-in to the conference call and the server receives the log-in information in block  404 . Participants are identified based on the log-in information in block  406 . The identification will be discussed below. The server can provide, transmit, or communicate the identification information to the participants in block  408 . The server can also track the participants that speak in the conference call in block  410 . The tracking information or speaking information may then be provided, transmitted, or communicated to the participants in block  412 . The speaking information is displayed by the participants as in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an IP-based network  201  can use IP addresses from the users as identification. Each participant is associated with a unique IP address, which therefore identifies which participants have joined the conference call, and further which participants are speaking or have spoken during the conference call.  
      Upon joining a conference call, users have an application display in block  108 , such as in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 . On a computer, the application display could be either a web page or GUI. Likewise, for a mobile phone, the display can be implemented as either a web page or a GUI or other software display program. The application display contains features that make the conference call more efficient and organized for all participants. The described and illustrated application display is an exemplary embodiment.  
      Both  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  illustrate embodiments of the application display. Specifically, display  500  is a smaller display that would be appropriate for smaller telecommunications devices such as mobile phones or PDA&#39;s. Display  500  is suitable for a larger device such as computer with a larger display.  
      One of the features on the application display may be a speaking meter as in block  110 , identifying who is speaking and who has spoken along with statistics on the amount and content of the discussion from each speaker. Speaking meters  502 ,  504 ,  506  are shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 .  
      For each participant, the media server creates a voice-activated “speaking meter” or display in block  112 . The display in block  112  may display at least of subset of participants in block  114  in the conference call and may display at least a subset of speakers in block  116 .  
      During the conference, when a participant speaks, his/her speech will activate their corresponding speaking meter. If more than one participant speaks simultaneously, their corresponding speaking meters will be activated at the same time. Activation can be done a number of ways. A current speaker&#39;s meter may blink, or may be a certain color such as green. Alternatively, the speaking meters may have different shading to indicate the amount or frequency they have spoken. In one embodiment, each bar of the speaking meters  502 - 506  represents a finite period of time or time interval, such as 10 minutes, and the shading represents the amount a participant has spoken. A light color bar could indicate little or no speaking, whereas a dark colored bar indicates a lot of speaking during that period. In this example, the John Do  502  spoke consistently throughout the conference call, however, J Smith  506  spoke the most in the most recent time period. Mary K  504  may have her meter blinking which shows she is the current speaker. Colors of the bars could be used to represent other details such as when a user joined the conference call, the frequency of speech, who is the conference host or in charge of the conference call, or the colors could represent the subject, which a participant has spoken about. Alternatively, the time interval of the meeting may be represented by another identifier other than a bar.  
      When a telecommunication device  206  or  210  joins the conference, the System  200  establishes a unique voice path to a listener, a software module, running on the SIP-based media server  204 . Because this listener is dedicated to each voice path for each device  206  or  201 , it only monitors the voice activity on that voice path and therefore knows precisely when the user starts speaking and when to stop. As soon as the listener is detecting the beginning of a speech utterance spoken by the user, it requests an automatic speech recognition (ASR) port served by the ASR server residing on the application server  202 . The listener then forwards the speech utterance in real time through a stream-audio path to the ASR port, an instance of the ASR server running on the application server  202 . The ASR port recognizes the utterances spoken on a word-by-word basis, generating a text-based transcription for the System  200  to use.  
      When the System  200  receives one or more text-based transcriptions from each ASR port, it passes the full-text transcription to a Text Compression software module residing on the application server  202 . This Text Compression software compresses a full-text transcription from a speech segment belonging to a given end-user into multiple versions, each with a different compression ratio. For example, a full-text transcription may be  120  words per minute (typical speaking rate for an American English speaking adult). At a next level, the transcription may be reduced to 60 words per minute, and etc. The Text Compression software keeps a key word library based on the word relevance in context of the meeting agenda. Therefore, at each level of text compression, the Text Compression software always keeps those words in the full-text transcription that are most relevant to the meeting agenda or most frequently spoken by most of the speakers.  
      The System  200  keeps this multi-tier transcription body all the times during the conference. Whenever a telecommunication device  206  or  210  joins the conference, the System  200  knows the device display characteristics based on the device profile during the registration and authentication process. Therefore, for a device with a smaller display  500 , the System  200  will request a more condensed version of the transcription for a given speaker and then send the data to the end-user device  206  or  210 . For a device with a larger display  600 , the System  200  will request a version of the full-text transcription with a number of transcribed words per minute that is most appropriate to an end-user device  206  or  210 .  
      In an alternate embodiment, the application display includes a multi-face speaking meter next to each participant&#39;s name. This multi-face meter may have two parts: one containing a numerical number representing hours and minutes like “1H:25M”, and the second part showing a multi-shade bar meter, similar to what was discussed above. The numerical number may represent the amount of time a participant has been present in a conference call or the amount o time that participant has spoken. The chart may be lit with a brightness level reflecting who has spoken during the last N minutes. For example, if a participant has spoken 10 minutes at the early part of the conference, but over the next 50 minutes does not say anything, his/her bar meter may be dimmed or completely grayed-out.  
      The application server  202  sorts the readings of the speaking meters based on a set of rules configurable by the conference host. For example, the meter readings can be ranked by the overall speaking time for all the attendees during the meeting. Also, the meter readings can be ranked by a recency factor, that is, based on the last N attendees who spoke during the last M minutes. The organization of the speaking meters can be displayed and arranged in a number of ways to convey the relevant information.  
      The application server  202  can periodically refresh the conference participant page so that the names will be presented in a certain sequence. For example, the participant who spoke the longest time during the conference up to that point will be displayed on the top of the page. This will be particular useful when a participant signed into the conference participant page from a small-screen device. Thus, even for a large conference with 50 or more attendees, any attendee from any client device can see who is speaking at the current time (displayed on the very top) or who has done most of speaking during the conference (the primary speakers). The media server  204  sends the readings of all speaking meters to the application server according to a configurable refresh rate.  
      Exemplary application displays are shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 . The display  500  is shown with an abbreviated transcript box  508 , which is ideal for a small-screen device such as a mobile phone or PDA. The display  600  has a more complete transcript box  608 , which can display at least a subset of the transcript from the conference call.  
      The display  600  shows a transcript box  608 , which may display the complete history in terms of speech by the participation from the beginning to the end of the meeting. The list may be presented in different views, for example, by who has spoken the most or by who has spoken most recently.  
      Speech activity can be tracked using both automatic speech recognition (ASR) and content relevancy ranking. Any speech activity may be referred to as speaking information or tracking information. The near real-time or real-time text caption for recognized speech allows all conference participants to track the up-to-the-minute history of a conference call. This feature allows late attendees to catch-up to the discussion in a non-intrusive manner.  
      The application server  202  maintains multiple templates of “text caption density” or “condensed speech transcription” for the conference attendee page depending upon a sign-on profile associated with each telecommunications device with which a participant signs into the conference call. For example, if a participant joins the conference from a common desktop environment in a personal computer, the entire text caption from the speech recognition of the spoken utterance by each speaker may be displayed next to that speaker&#39;s meter. Alternatively, the transcript of the conference call may be organized based on topics of conversation. Transcript box  608  may show the entire transcript of the conference call.  
      If a participant joins the conference with a small-screen device, the text caption density or condensed speech transcription for the recognized speech can be filtered so that only certain key phrases in the recognized speech are displayed like “. . . voice over IP, multimedia, etc. . . . ” The display  500  displays a transcript box  408  showing only the keywords from the conference. This is especially useful for the participants signing on with a small-screen device to keep up with the overall context of the discussion, or if he/she signs on during the middle of an ongoing conference.  
      The key phrases are determined by searching each word or phrase recognized against the subject line or conference agenda published by the conference host. The most relevant words or phrases of the text caption from recognized speech by a given speaker will be retained for the display to be seen by the other participants.  
      The “text caption density” or “condensed speech transcription” with key phrases is ideal for organizing information and for displaying a limited amount of information regarding a conference call. The automatic keyword generation (from lengthy text caption of recognized speech) proposed by this system, makes it possible to optimize the keyword ratio display based on screen size of a client device. For example, for a small hand-held device with 8-line screen, the caption set may be compressed to display only 10 words per minute of speech recognized. For a PDA or palm-top with 25-line display screen, the word ratio may be increased to 30 words per minute. Alternatively, for a 17″ wide-screen laptop computer, the entire transcription of speech recognized may be displayed for all or a subset of speakers. The user may enter input or request certain information, such as a keyword to be displayed or portions of the transcript.  
      An implementation of one embodiment is through software creating an application display such as a GUI or conference web page. The software can be stored on computer readable storage media. Computer readable storage media include various types of volatile and nonvolatile storage media. The functions, acts or tasks illustrated in the figures or described herein are executed in response to one or more sets of instructions stored in or on computer readable storage media. The functions, acts or tasks are independent of the particular type of instructions set, storage media, processor or processing strategy and may be performed by software, hardware, integrated circuits, filmware, micro code and the like, operating alone or in combination. Likewise, processing strategies may include multiprocessing, multitasking, parallel processing and the like. In one embodiment, the instructions are stored on a removable media device for reading by local or remote systems. In other embodiments, the instructions are stored in a remote location for transfer through a computer network or over telephone lines. In yet other embodiments, the instructions are stored within a given computer, CPU, GPU or system.  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , an illustrative embodiment of a general computer system is shown and is designated  700 . The computer system  700  can include a set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computer system  700  to perform any one or more of the methods or computer based functions disclosed herein. The computer system  700  may operate as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.  
      In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in the capacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-client user network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system  700  can also be implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner, a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particular embodiment, the computer system  700  can be implemented using electronic devices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, while a single computer system  700  is illustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions.  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the computer system  700  may include a processor  702 , e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. Moreover, the computer system  700  can include a main memory  704  and a static memory  706  that can communicate with each other via a bus  708 . As shown, the computer system  700  may further include a video display unit  710 , such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT). Additionally, the computer system  700  may include an input device  712 , such as a keyboard, and a cursor control device  714 , such as a mouse. The computer system  700  can also include a disk drive unit  716 , a signal generation device  718 , such as a speaker or remote control, and a network interface device  720 .  
      In a particular embodiment, as depicted in  FIG. 7 , the disk drive unit  716  may include a computer-readable medium  722  in which one or more sets of instructions  724 , e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, the instructions  724  may embody one or more of the methods or logic as described herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions  724  may reside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory  704 , the static memory  706 , and/or within the processor  702  during execution by the computer system  700 . The main memory  704  and the processor  702  also may include computer-readable media.  
      In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodiments described herein may implement functions using two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware, and hardware implementations.  
      In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the methods described herein may be implemented by software programs executable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limited embodiment, implementations can include distributed processing, component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods or functionality as described herein.  
      The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium that includes instructions  724  or receives and executes instructions  724  responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to a network  726  can communicate voice, video or data over the network  726 . Further, the instructions  724  may be transmitted or received over the network  726  via the network interface device  720 .  
      While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by a processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosed herein.  
      In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatile read-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be a random access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capture carrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmission medium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives may be considered a distribution medium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more of a computer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.  
      Although the present specification describes components and functions that may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference to particular standards and protocols, the specification is not limited to such standards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed herein are considered equivalents thereof.  
      The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of the various embodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.  
      One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangement designed to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the description.  
      The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed to less than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimed subject matter.  
      The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.  
      To clarify the use in the pending claims and to hereby provide notice to the public, the phrases “at least one of &lt;A&gt;, &lt;B&gt;, . . . and &lt;N&gt;” or “at least one of &lt;A&gt;, &lt;B&gt;, . . . &lt;N&gt;, or combinations thereof” are defined by the Applicant in the broadest sense, superseding any other implied definitions herebefore or hereinafter unless expressly asserted by the Applicant to the contrary, to mean one or more elements selected from the group comprising A, B, . . . and N, that is to say, any combination of one or more of the elements A, B, . . . or N including any one element alone or in combination with one or more of the other elements which may also include, in combination, additional elements not listed.  
      It is increasingly common for business to be transacted remotely. Accordingly, meetings can be held through conference calls. The efficiency of the business and the meeting is dependent on the conferencing technology. An efficient mechanism to engage in a conference call is disclosed. The participants engaged in the conference call have access to a variety of relevant information regarding the other participants, speakers, amount and substance from each speaker&#39;s comments and transcripts or keywords of the conference.