Patents by Inventor Keith Ponting

Keith Ponting has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20220006976
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and computer-readable media for detecting disturbances in a media stream from a participant on a communication. In a particular embodiment, a method provides receiving biometric information indicating a motion of the participant and determining that the motion indicates a visual disturbance in a video component of the first media stream. The method further provides identifying the visual disturbance in the video component of the first media stream and removing the visual disturbance from the video component of the first media stream.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 15, 2021
    Publication date: January 6, 2022
    Inventors: John F. Buford, Mehmet C. Balasaygun, Keith Ponting, Wendy Holmes
  • Patent number: 11140359
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and computer-readable media for detecting disturbances in a media stream from a participant on a communication. In a particular embodiment, a method provides receiving biometric information indicating a motion of the participant and determining that the motion indicates a visual disturbance in a video component of the first media stream. The method further provides identifying the visual disturbance in the video component of the first media stream and removing the visual disturbance from the video component of the first media stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: AVAYA INC.
    Inventors: John F. Buford, Mehmet C. Balasaygun, Keith Ponting, Wendy Holmes
  • Patent number: 10469802
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and computer readable media for detecting disturbances in a media stream from a participant on a communication. In a particular embodiment, a method provides identifying disturbance criteria defining a plurality of audible disturbances, a plurality of visual disturbances, and a plurality of communication disturbances. The method further provides identifying one or more audible disturbances from an audio component of the media stream based on predefined disturbance criteria and identifying one or more visual disturbances from a video component of the media stream based on the disturbance criteria. Additionally, the method provides correlating the audible disturbances with the visual disturbances to determine one or more combined disturbances for the participant based on the disturbance criteria, wherein each of the combined disturbances comprises at least one of the audible disturbances and at least one of the visual disturbances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: John F. Buford, Mehmet C. Balasaygun, Keith Ponting, Wendy Holmes
  • Patent number: 10354654
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and computer readable media for analyzing a conversation between a plurality of participants. In a particular embodiment, a method provides determining a first speaker from the plurality of participants and determining a second speaker from the plurality of participants. The method further provides determining a first plurality of turns comprising portions of the conversation when the first speaker is speaking and determining a second plurality of turns comprising portions of the conversation when the second speaker is speaking The method also provides determining per-turn statistics for turns of the first and second pluralities of turns and identifying phases of the conversation based on the per-turn statistics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Ponting, Rein Sikveland, David Zeitlyn
  • Publication number: 20190199968
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and computer-readable media for detecting disturbances in a media stream from a participant on a communication. In a particular embodiment, a method provides receiving biometric information indicating a motion of the participant and determining that the motion indicates a visual disturbance in a video component of the first media stream. The method further provides identifying the visual disturbance in the video component of the first media stream and removing the visual disturbance from the video component of the first media stream.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2019
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Inventors: John F. Buford, Mehmet C. Balasaygun, Keith Ponting, Wendy Holmes
  • Patent number: 10229676
    Abstract: Methods and systems for identifying specified phrases within audio streams are provided. More particularly, a phrase is specified. An audio stream is them monitored for the phrase. In response to determining that the audio stream contains the phrase, verification from a user that the phrase was in fact included in the audio stream is requested. If such verification is received, the portion of the audio stream including the phrase is recorded. The recorded phrase can then be applied to identify future instances of the phrase in monitored audio streams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2019
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: Shmuel Shaffer, Keith Ponting, Valentine C. Matula
  • Patent number: 10141011
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and computer readable media for analyzing a conversation between a plurality of participants. In a particular embodiment, a method provides determining a first speaker from the plurality of participants and determining a second speaker from the plurality of participants. The method further provides determining a first plurality of turns comprising portions of the conversation when the first speaker is speaking and determining a second plurality of turns comprising portions of the conversation when the second speaker is speaking. The method further provides determining a characterization for quality of the conversation based on gaps between turns of the first plurality of turns and turns of the second plurality of turns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: Rein Sikveland, David Zeitlyn, Keith Ponting
  • Patent number: 9602666
    Abstract: An event associated with a communication session between a first party and a second party is detected. The event is related to the communication session. For example, the event may be a phrase spoken in the communication session or a presentation of a call progression screen to a contact center agent. At this point, the communication session is analyzed for a period of non-communication that meets a defined threshold during a monitoring period associated with the event. If a period of non-communication is detected that is longer than the threshold during the monitoring period, the period of non-communication is flagged. The flagged period of non-communication can then be used to evaluate how a contact center agent is performing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Ponting, Wendy J Holmes, David Skiba
  • Patent number: 9595264
    Abstract: To detect events in an audio stream, frames of an audio signal (e.g., frames generated by a codec for a voice call or music stream) are received. Based on information in the frames, an index is used to look up an entry in a table associated with the codec. Each entry in the table indicates a likelihood that a frame matches a sound model element. The likelihood is used in the search for a sound bite, word, and/or phrase in the audio signal. The process of dynamic programming is used to find the combined likelihood for a match of the word, phrase, and/or sound bite to a region of the audio stream. Upon detection of the word, phrase, and/or sound bite in the audio stream, an event is generated, such as, notifying a person or logging the event in a database.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: John Jacob, Keith Ponting, Wendy J. Holmes
  • Publication number: 20170048492
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and computer readable media for detecting disturbances in a media stream from a participant on a communication. In a particular embodiment, a method provides identifying disturbance criteria defining a plurality of audible disturbances, a plurality of visual disturbances, and a plurality of communication disturbances. The method further provides identifying one or more audible disturbances from an audio component of the media stream based on predefined disturbance criteria and identifying one or more visual disturbances from a video component of the media stream based on the disturbance criteria. Additionally, the method provides correlating the audible disturbances with the visual disturbances to determine one or more combined disturbances for the participant based on the disturbance criteria, wherein each of the combined disturbances comprises at least one of the audible disturbances and at least one of the visual disturbances.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2015
    Publication date: February 16, 2017
    Inventors: John F. Buford, Mehmet C. Balasaygun, Keith Ponting, Wendy Holmes
  • Publication number: 20170004178
    Abstract: Conferences comprise a number of listening, viewing, and/or speaking participants. A conference participant may ask a question or make a statement that can be answered or verified against an authoritative source. A reference validity checker is provided to receive the conference content, recorded or in real-time, determine that a question or statement was made that can be answered or verified, query a knowledgebase, and present indicia of the response. The indicia may be an indicator (e.g., true/false, verified, etc.) and/or a link to a source, such as a particular entry in a knowledgebase. The knowledgebase may be selected from internal sources or external sources depending on factors, such as the type of question/statement or topic associated therewith. The indicia may annotate a transcript or recording of the conference so that a subsequent review may have the ability to locate the source of the answer/response as desired.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Publication date: January 5, 2017
    Inventors: Keith Ponting, Wendy J. Holmes, David Skiba, Ajita John
  • Patent number: 9491293
    Abstract: Agents of a contact center often encounter conversational delays when speaking with a customer. These delays may be introduced by transmission delays, which include the distance between the agent and the customer, and processing delays, such as those introduced by systems and processes within a contact center. By providing an agent with information based on the amount of the delay, the agent can be prompted to overtalk the customer by a target amount. As a result, the customer may experience a more natural conversation with the agent. Furthermore, if a customer prefers more or less of a delay, such as based on their cultural norms, the delay may be modified to account for those cultural norms and better accommodate the conversational preferences of a diverse customer base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: Valentine C. Matula, Keith Ponting
  • Publication number: 20160301803
    Abstract: An event associated with a communication session between a first party and a second party is detected. The event is related to the communication session. For example, the event may be a phrase spoken in the communication session or a presentation of a call progression screen to a contact center agent. At this point, the communication session is analyzed for a period of non-communication that meets a defined threshold during a monitoring period associated with the event. If a period of non-communication is detected that is longer than the threshold during the monitoring period, the period of non-communication is flagged. The flagged period of non-communication can then be used to evaluate how a contact center agent is performing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2015
    Publication date: October 13, 2016
    Inventors: Keith Ponting, Wendy J. Holmes, David Skiba
  • Patent number: 9456075
    Abstract: In order to detect a specific codec sequence being used, a signal that is based on a codec sequence is analyzed. The signal is analyzed to determine if there is a pattern in the signal. A pattern of a codec sequence can be a unique pattern of frames, frequencies and/or frequency ranges that are generated based on a specific codec sequence. The pattern is compared to one or more previously stored patterns of codec sequences to see if there is a match. If there is a match, an event is generated. For example, if a known codec sequence that has a poor signal quality is determined to be in use for a voice call, the parties may be notified that the call is likely to be a low quality voice call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Ponting, David Skiba, Valentine C. Matula
  • Publication number: 20160140223
    Abstract: System and method to search audio data, including: receiving audio data representing speech; receiving a search query related to the audio data; compiling, by use of a processor, the search query into a hierarchy of scored speech recognition sub-searches; searching, by use of a processor, the audio data for speech identified by one or more of the sub-searches to produce hits; and combining, by use of a processor, the hits by use of at least one combination function to provide a composite search score of the audio data. The combination function may include an at-least-M-of-N function that produces a high score when at least M of N function inputs exceed a predetermined threshold value. The composite search score employ a soft time window such as a spline function.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2016
    Publication date: May 19, 2016
    Inventor: Keith Ponting
  • Publication number: 20160112567
    Abstract: Agents of a contact center often encounter conversational delays when speaking with a customer. These delays may be introduced by transmission delays, which include the distance between the agent and the customer, and processing delays, such as those introduced by systems and processes within a contact center. By providing an agent with information based on the amount of the delay, the agent can be prompted to overtalk the customer by a target amount. As a result, the customer may experience a more natural conversation with the agent. Furthermore, if a customer prefers more or less of a delay, such as based on their cultural norms, the delay may be modified to account for those cultural norms and better accommodate the conversational preferences of a diverse customer base.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 30, 2015
    Publication date: April 21, 2016
    Inventors: Valentine C. Matula, Keith Ponting
  • Publication number: 20160105543
    Abstract: In order to detect a specific codec sequence being used, a signal that is based on a codec sequence is analyzed. The signal is analyzed to determine if there is a pattern in the signal. A pattern of a codec sequence can be a unique pattern of frames, frequencies and/or frequency ranges that are generated based on a specific codec sequence. The pattern is compared to one or more previously stored patterns of codec sequences to see if there is a match. If there is a match, an event is generated. For example, if a known codec sequence that has a poor signal quality is determined to be in use for a voice call, the parties may be notified that the call is likely to be a low quality voice call.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2014
    Publication date: April 14, 2016
    Inventors: Keith Ponting, David Skiba, Valentine C. Matula
  • Publication number: 20160098999
    Abstract: To detect events in an audio stream, frames of an audio signal (e.g., frames generated by a codec for a voice call or music stream) are received. Based on information in the frames, an index is used to look up an entry in a table associated with the codec. Each entry in the table indicates a likelihood that a frame matches a sound model element. The likelihood is used in the search for a sound bite, word, and/or phrase in the audio signal. The process of dynamic programming is used to find the combined likelihood for a match of the word, phrase, and/or sound bite to a region of the audio stream. Upon detection of the word, phrase, and/or sound bite in the audio stream, an event is generated, such as, notifying a person or logging the event in a database.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2014
    Publication date: April 7, 2016
    Inventors: John Jacob, Keith Ponting, Wendy J. Holmes
  • Patent number: 9258421
    Abstract: Agents of a contact center often encounter conversational delays when speaking with a customer. These delays may be introduced by transmission delays, which include the distance between the agent and the customer, and processing delays, such as those introduced by systems and processes within a contact center. By providing an agent with information based on the amount of the delay, the agent can be prompted to overtalk the customer by a target amount. As a result, the customer may experience a more natural conversation with the agent. Furthermore, if a customer prefers more or less of a delay, such as based on their cultural norms, the delay may be modified to account for those cultural norms and better accommodate the conversational preferences of a diverse customer base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: Avaya Inc.
    Inventors: Valentine C. Matula, Keith Ponting
  • Publication number: 20150364130
    Abstract: Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and computer readable media for analyzing a conversation between a plurality of participants. In a particular embodiment, a method provides determining a first speaker from the plurality of participants and determining a second speaker from the plurality of participants. The method further provides determining a first plurality of turns comprising portions of the conversation when the first speaker is speaking and determining a second plurality of turns comprising portions of the conversation when the second speaker is speaking The method also provides determining per-turn statistics for turns of the first and second pluralities of turns and identifying phases of the conversation based on the per-turn statistics.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2014
    Publication date: December 17, 2015
    Inventors: Keith Ponting, Rein Sikveland, David Zeitlyn