Abstract: Estimation of available bandwidth on a network uses packet pairs and spatially filtering. Packet pairs are transmitted over the network. The dispersion of the packet pairs is used to generate samples of the available bandwidth, which are then classified into bins to generate a histogram. The bins can have uniform bin widths, and the histogram data can be aged so that older samples are given less weight in the estimation. The histogram data is then spatially filtered. Kernel density algorithms can be used to spatially filter the histogram data. The network available bandwidth is estimated using the spatially filtered histogram data. Alternatively, the spatially filtered histogram data can be temporally filtered before the available bandwidth is estimated.

Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting people or speakers in an automated fashion are disclosed. A pool of features including more than one type of input (like audio input and video input) may be identified and used with a learning algorithm to generate a classifier that identifies people or speakers. The resulting classifier may be evaluated to detect people or speakers.

Abstract: Correlative multi-label image annotation may entail annotating an image by indicating respective labels for respective concepts. In an example embodiment, a classifier is to annotate an image by implementing a labeling function that maps an input feature space and a label space to a combination feature vector. The combination feature vector models both features of individual ones of the concepts and correlations among the concepts.

Abstract: Indications of which participant is providing information during a multi-party conference. Each participant has equipment to display information being transferred during the conference. A sourcing signaler residing in the participant equipment provides a signal that indicates the identity of its participant when this participant is providing information to the conference. The source indicators of the other participant equipment receive the signal and cause a UI to indicate that the participant identified by the received signal is providing information (e.g. the UI can causes the identifier to change appearance). An audio discriminator is used to distinguish between an acoustic signal that was generated by a person speaking from that generated in a band-limited manner. The audio discriminator analyzes the spectrum of detected audio signals and generates several parameters from the spectrum and from past determinations to determine the source of an audio signal on a frame-by-frame basis.

Abstract: Disclosed are a unique DPC (detect point click) based game system and method. The DPC based game system involves generating one or a plurality of DPC images, presenting them to a game participant, and collecting the participant's clicks (that identify which object in the DPC image the participant believes to be the correct DPC object), and determining whether the participant's clicks represent the correct object. DPC images can be created in part by selecting a base image, altering some portion of the base image to create at least one confusion image, mapping these images to a geometric model, and applying one or more distortion filters to at least one of the base or confusing image to obscure the DPC object from clear view. Locating the DPC object nearly hidden in the DPC image can advance the participant in the DPC based game or other game including DPC images as a part thereof.

Abstract: A spatial-color Gaussian mixture model (SCGMM) image segmentation technique for segmenting images. The SCGMM image segmentation technique specifies foreground objects in the first frame of an image sequence, either manually or automatically. From the initial segmentation, the SCGMM segmentation system learns two spatial-color Gaussian mixture models (SCGMM) for the foreground and background objects. These models are built into a first-order Markov random field (MRF) energy function. The minimization of the energy function leads to a binary segmentation of the images in the image sequence, which can be solved efficiently using a conventional graph cut procedure.

Abstract: A method for orchestrating various applications is described herein. A request to store a context information regarding a document may be received. An application in which the document is modified may be determined. The context information may be requested from the application. The context information may be stored. A request to recall the context information may be received. The context information may be displayed on a computer screen.

Abstract: An omni-directional camera (a 360 degree camera) is proposed with an integrated microphone array. The primary application for such a camera is videoconferencing and meeting recording, and the device is designed to be placed on a meeting room table. The microphone array is in a planar configuration, and the microphones are located as close to the desktop as possible to eliminate sound reflections from the table. The camera is connected to the microphone array base with a thin cylindrical rod, which is acoustically invisible to the microphone array for the frequency range [50-4000] Hz. This provides a direct path from the person talking to all of the microphones in the array, and can therefore be used for sound source localization (determining the location of the talker) and beam-forming (improving the sound quality of the talker by filtering only sound from a particular direction). The camera array is elevated from the table to provide a near frontal viewpoint of the meeting participants.

Abstract: Background blurring is an effective way to both preserve privacy and keep communication effective during video conferencing. The present image background blurring technique is a light weight real-time technique to perform background blurring using a fast background modeling procedure combined with an object (e.g., face) detector/tracker. A soft decision is made at each pixel whether it belongs to the foreground or the background based on multiple vision features. The classification results are mapped to a per-pixel blurring radius image to blur the background. In another embodiment, the image background blurring technique blurs the background of the image without using the object detector.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for indicating workspace awareness using one or more of a write shadow, a read shadow, and/or a shadowbar providing an indication of operations performed at associated locations by various users accessing a same document. A write shadow may be used to indicate a position in a document being modified by a user. A read shadow may be used to indicate a position being viewed by a user. A shadowbar may be used to indicate areas of overlap among users with a shading and coloring indicative of a degree of overlap.

Abstract: A system and process for muting the audio transmission from a location of a participant engaged in a multi-party, computer network-based teleconference when that participant is working on a keyboard, is presented. The audio is muted as it is assumed the participant is doing something other than actively participation in the meeting when typing on the keyboard. If left un-muted the sound of typing would distract the other participant in the teleconference.

Abstract: A system and method for automatically determining if a remote client is a human or a computer. A set of HIP design guidelines which are important to ensure the security and usability of a HIP system are described. Furthermore, one embodiment of this new HIP system and method is based on human face and facial feature detection. Because human face is the most familiar object to all human users the embodiment of the invention employing a face is possibly the most universal HIP system so far.

Abstract: Kernelized spatial-contextual image classification is disclosed. One embodiment comprises generating a first spatial-contextual model to represent a first image, the first spatial-contextual model having a plurality of interconnected nodes arranged in a first pattern of connections with each node connected to at least one other node, generating a second spatial-contextual model to represent a second image using the first pattern of connections, and estimating the distance between corresponding nodes in the first spatial-contextual model and the second spatial-contextual model based on a relationship with adjacent connected nodes to determine a distance between the first image and the second image.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed that facilitate real-time information exchange in a multimedia conferencing environment. Data Client(s) facilitate data collaboration between users and are maintained separately from audio/video (AV) Clients that provide real-time communication functionality. Data Clients can be remotely located with respect to one another and with respect to a server. A remote user Stand-in Device can be provided that comprises a display to present a remote user to local users, a digital automatic pan/tilt/zoom camera to capture imagery in, for example, a conference room and provide real-time information to an AV Client in a remote office, and a microphone array that can similarly provide real-time audio information from the conference room to an AV Client in the remote office. The invention further facilitates file transfer and presentation broadcast between Data Clients in a single location or in a plurality of disparate locations.

Abstract: The concurrent multiple instance learning technique described encodes the inter-dependency between instances (e.g. regions in an image) in order to predict a label for a future instance, and, if desired the label for an image determined from the label of these instances. The technique, in one embodiment, uses a concurrent tensor to model the semantic linkage between instances in a set of images. Based on the concurrent tensor, rank-1 supersymmetric non-negative tensor factorization (SNTF) can be applied to estimate the probability of each instance being relevant to a target category. In one embodiment, the technique formulates the label prediction processes in a regularization framework, which avoids overfitting, and significantly improves a learning machine's generalization capability, similar to that in SVMs. The technique, in one embodiment, uses Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) to extend predicted labels to the whole feature space based on the generalized representer theorem.

Abstract: Audio/video programming content is made available to a receiver from a content provider, and meta data is made available to the receiver from a meta data provider. The meta data corresponds to the programming content, and identifies, for each of multiple portions of the programming content, an indicator of a likelihood that the portion is an exciting portion of the content. In one implementation, the meta data includes probabilities that segments of a baseball program are exciting, and is generated by analyzing the audio data of the baseball program for both excited speech and baseball hits. The meta data can then be used to generate a summary for the baseball program.

Abstract: An improved image retrieval process based on relevance feedback uses a hierarchical (per-feature) approach in comparing images. Multiple query vectors are generated for an initial image by extracting multiple low-level features from the initial image. When determining how closely a particular image in an image collection matches the initial image, a distance is calculated between the query vectors and corresponding low-level feature vectors extracted from the particular image. Once these individual distances are calculated, they are combined to generate an overall distance that represents how closely the two images match. According to other aspects, relevancy feedback received regarding previously retrieved images is used during the query vector generation and the distance determination to influence which images are subsequently retrieved.

Abstract: A method of digitally adding the appearance of makeup to a videoconferencing participant. The system and method for applying digital make-up operates in a loop processing sequential video frames. For each input frame, there are typically three general steps: 1) Locating the face and eye and mouth regions; 2) Applying digital make-up to the face, preferably with the exception of the eye and open mouth areas; and 3) Blending the make-up region with the rest of the face. In one embodiment of the invention, the background in the frame containing a video conferencing participant can also be modified so that other video conferencing participants cannot clearly see the background behind the participant in the image frame. In one such embodiment of the invention, the video conferencing participant tries to make his or her own image look comical or altered. In another embodiment of the invention, a particular remote participant tries to make another participant look funny to the other participants.

Abstract: A computer network-based distributed presentation system and process is presented that controls the display of one or more video streams output by multiple video cameras located across multiple presentation sites on display screens located at each presentation site. The distributed presentation system and process provides the ability for a user at a site to customize the screen configuration (i.e., what video streams are display at any one time and in what format) for that site via a two-layer display director module. In the design layer of the module, a user interface is provided for a user to specify display priorities dictating what video streams are to be displayed on the screen over time. These display priorities are then provided to the execution layer of the module which translates them into probabilistic timed automata and uses the automata to control what is displayed on the display screen.

Abstract: An automated system and method for broadcasting meetings over a computer network. The meeting is filmed using an omni-directional camera system and capable of being presented to a viewer both live and on-demand. The system of the present invention includes an automated camera management system for controlling the camera system and an analysis module determining the location of meeting participants in the meeting environments. The method of the present invention includes using the system of the present invention to broadcast an event to a viewer over a computer network. In particular, the method includes filming the event using an omni-directional camera system. Next, the method determines the location of each event participant in the event environment. Finally, a viewer is provided with a user interface for viewing the broadcast event. This user interface allows a viewer to choose which event participant that the viewer would like to view.