Patent Application
20150127746
The technology disclosed herein relates generally to the field of communication systems, and in particular to activating of remote access within such communication systems.
Operators of communication systems invest considerable amount of time, money and effort in providing and developing various value-added services in a continuous strive and desire to increase the user experience of their customers. Telepresence, also known as virtual presence, was introduced some years ago in the form of video communication and has evolved since then, for example by the introduction of various types of shared material and advanced handling thereof.
The shared material often comprises a digital object, e.g. a file, residing in a technical system, e.g. a server. The shared material is accessible by the participants of a video communication session in accordance with the capabilities of the technical system. The collaboration of the shared material between the participants is thus typically defined by the technical nature of the system that is used for the sharing. This often limits the ease of use e.g. in that the participants have to remember procedures and actions for navigating in menus and file-sharing systems.
The use of mid-air gestures is another value-added feature that has emerged. Such mid-air gesture may e.g. comprise turning over pages of an electronic book by a gesture without touching the screen on which the book is being read, and also finds applications within video communication.
Within the field of wireless communication, a related example comprises filming an object with a mobile phone camera and receiving, from the wireless communication system, information about this particular object. In order to implement such feature e.g. physical object recognition and mobile media extraction may be utilized. A concrete example comprises a mobile phone user that is filming an object using the mobile phone camera, and receives information about the object as an augmented reality layer on top of the camera feed.
The ease of use is an important aspect in video communication and in the collaboration between the participants thereof, e.g. in that the participants should easily grasp how to use it and be able to conveniently include shared material.
With the ever increasing technological development and the interconnectability of various devices, a need can be predicted for solutions that offer easy access to services, applications, systems, Internet-enabled objects and yet further types of features.
An object of the invention is to address the above described need.
The object is according to a first aspect achieved by a method for activating remote access, the method performed in a collaboration node of a communication system. The communication system comprises a first node and a second node having an established communication link them between. The method comprises: receiving, from the first node, object identification information comprising information identifying an object; obtaining, from a communication context node, context information of the established communication link; analyzing the obtained context information and the received object identification information to determine a relation between the context information and the object identification information; activating, for the second node, remote access related to the object based on the determined relation between the context information and the object identification information.
The method provides a new form of collaboration between users, utilizing the increasing number of connected and interconnected devices and objects to provide a new type of interaction them between. Various aspects of the invention allow users to utilize a physical context in an intuitive and realistic way. The amount of actions required by users is reduced and the users do not need to remember complex handling procedures, such as searching through menus of device interfaces.
The object is according to a second aspect achieved by a collaboration node of a communication system for activating remote access. The communication system comprises a first node and a second node having an established communication link them between. The collaboration node comprises: an input device adapted to receive, from the first node, object identification information comprising information identifying an object; a processing unit adapted to: obtain, from a communication context node, context information of the established communication link; analyze the obtained context information and the received object identification information to determine a relation between the context information and the object identification information, and activate, for the second node, remote access related to the object based on the determined relation between the context information and the object identification information.
The object is according to a third aspect achieved by a computer program for a collaboration node of a communication system. The communication system comprises a first node and a second node having an established communication link them between. The computer program comprises computer program code, which, when run on the collaboration node causes the collaboration node to perform the steps of: receiving, from the first node, object identification information comprising information identifying an object; obtaining, from a communication context node, context information of the established communication link; analyzing the obtained context information and the received object identification information to determine a relation between the context information and the object identification information; activating, for the second node, remote access related to the object based on the determined relation between the context information and the object identification information.
The object is according to a fourth aspect achieved by a computer program product comprising a computer program as above, and a computer readable means on which the computer program is stored.
The object is according to a fifth aspect achieved by a method performed in a first node of a communication system for enabling activation remote access. The communication system further comprises a second node, the first node and the second node having an established communication link them between. The method comprises: detecting a triggering event for activation of providing the second node with remote access to an object; forwarding a description of the object to a collaboration node of the communication system.
The object is according to a sixth aspect achieved by a first node of a communication system for enabling activation of remote access. The communication system further comprises a second node, the first node and the second node having an established communication link them between. The first node is adapted to: detect a triggering event for activation of providing the second node with remote access to an object; and forward a description of the object to a collaboration node of the communication system.
Further features and advantages of the invention will become clear upon reading the following description and the accompanying drawings.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description with unnecessary detail. Same reference numerals refer to same or similar elements throughout the description.
Briefly, the invention provides a way to use physical objects as enablers of remote collaboration, in particular remote access, relating to different kinds of “shared material”. Based on the context of an ongoing communication session, e.g. a video communication, a meaning is assigned to a physical object (shared material), and the very same physical object can enable different types of collaboration, by providing different types of remote access, in different communication sessions in dependence on the context.
For example, a user may hold up the physical object in front of a computer screen provided with a camera or use a mobile device to capture the physical object. Characteristics of the physical objects are analyzed in relation to the context of the ongoing communication. Based on the result of the analysis, another user can be given remote access to information, services, systems and applications associated with the physical object. It is noted that the remote access(es) that is/are provided may differ for the very same object 4 depending on the communication context. For example, only a certain type of access to object 4 may be provided for a specific situation, and additional or other types of access may be provided for another situation, all in dependence on the communication context.
An aspect of the invention is the use of physical objects as entry points to services and information. The invention takes advantage of existing technology such as physical object recognition, for example, image and gesture recognition algorithms, Near Field Communication (NFC), Quick Response (QR9 codes, sensors within the objects, or a combination thereof. The invention further takes advantage of a variety of existing software for shared and remote access in order to retrieve information, troubleshoot systems, update services, and so on. Furthermore, use may be made of existing, anticipated and/or future relations between users, organizations, systems, services, and objects that, for example, could be represented as the Social Web of Things.
The invention may for example be implemented for a scenario wherein a user with an ongoing video communication uses a screen with a camera, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, or a video-call-enabled TV. The communication software may also be bundled with object/gesture recognition software and, as mentioned above, the user is already interconnected to physical objects and their information structures.
The communication system 1 comprises a first node 2 and a second node 3, which nodes have an established communication link 5 them between, e.g. an ongoing video communication call. The first node may be a first user device used by a first user and the second node 3 may be a second user device used by a second user. The first and second nodes 2, 3 may be exemplified by a respective computer comprising or being connected to a camera. Various other examples will be given later in the description.
The first user (refer also to User A of
The communication system 1 further comprises a communication context node 8, e.g. a server, which is adapted to describe the communication link 5 by means of meta data. A communication context exists for the communication link. The parties involved in the communication may have some kind of relation and history, and the communication context may thus be activated immediately upon start of the communication on the communication link and modified in dependence on, e.g., topics covered in the communication and/or activities performed during the communication.
The communication system 1 further comprises a collaboration node 6 having a controlling function, which will be described in detail later. For example, the collaboration node 6 may be configured to control the providing of the second node 3 with remote access to e.g. the object 4.
The communication system 1 further comprises one or more databases associated with the object 4 and its capabilities, relations, and potential use.
The object 4 may have associated therewith one or more entities. The communication system 1 may thus comprise an associated entity 9. The associated entity 9 may comprise another object, an application, a service associated with the object 4 etc.
The second node 3 may be provided with remote access to the database 7, to the object 4 and/or to the associated entity 9. Such remote access is illustrated in the figure by arrows from the second node 3 denoted “remote access”.
Referring to the encircled number 1: The communication context of the established communication link 5 is continuously described by a meta channel analyzing the properties of the communication. This analysis is performed in the communication context node 8. Some examples of parameters used to classify the communication comprise topics being covered in the conversation (e.g. keywords), participants, physical locations, communication history, information from objects, etc.
Referring to the encircled number 2: User A wants to trigger a certain remote access that in some way is associated with object A, and therefore shows object A to user B by letting the first node 2 identify the object, e.g. by bringing it into a camera viewfinder (mobile phone or fixed camera).
Referring to the encircled number 3: A description of object A (and possibly the gesture together with which it was shown) is forwarded to the collaboration node 6, or a component therein.
Referring to the encircled number 4: The collaboration node 6 uses the information about the communication context, received from the communication context node 8, to try to interpret the intent user A has with showing object A. That is, the collaboration node 6 is arranged to analyze the communication context information and based thereon to try and find or deduce a purpose of user A showing object A.
Referring to the encircled number 5: The collaboration node 6 accesses the database 7 comprising information about object A in order to understand the capabilities of this object, for example, users associated with object A, services connected to object A, history of use of object A, current status of object A, and so on.
Referring to the encircled number 6: Once having figured out the meaning of showing object A, the collaboration node 6 triggers, e.g., relevant on-demand software for enabling shared or remote access of information, service, or systems associated with object A. It is noted that the triggering of remote access for the second node may be implemented in other ways.
Referring to the encircled number 7: User B is granted access to the relevant information associated with object A. In order to grant this access some kind of security measure is preferably used, for example, login authentication of the owner of the mobile phone or physical proximity to the object being shown on video.
Referring to the encircled number 8: The relevant information, services, systems, and applications associated with object A (and sometimes its connected objects) can now be utilized in the on-demand software.
Referring to the encircled number 9: User B uses the on-demand software to remotely access entities associated with or connected to object A, for example, to retrieve information, upgrade software, troubleshoot, etc.
In particular, at arrows 1a, 1b context information about the participants (User A and User B in the example) is collected in the communication context node 8. At arrow 2, User A shows an object, which is recognized by the first node 2. At arrow 3, information about the object is forwarded to the collaboration node 6. At arrow 4a, the collaboration node 6 requests, from the communication context node 8, information about the ongoing communication between User A and User B. At arrow 4b, the collaboration node 6 receives this requested information, e.g. in the form of metadata. At arrow 5a, the collaboration node 6 makes an object query to an object database about the object, and at arrow 5b the collaboration node 6 receives this information, e.g. in the form of metadata. At arrow 6, the collaboration node 6 triggers e.g. a service for example by sending relevant on-demand software to the second node 3. The triggering of, e.g., a service is based on analysis of metadata of the context node 8 and on data of the object database 7. At arrow 7, the User B is provided access rights to specified information or the like. At arrow 8, User B, now having access rights, inquires information about object A from the object database, and at arrow 9 the User A receives this information. User B can utilize the on-demand software for remotely access e.g. the object A or objects associated or connected therewith.
The method 20 comprises receiving 21, from the first node 2, object identification information comprising information identifying an object 4.
The method 20 further comprises obtaining 22, from a communication context node 8, context information of the established communication link 5.
The method 20 further comprises analyzing 23 the obtained context information and the received object identification information to determine a relation between the context information and the object identification information.
The method 20 further comprises activating 24, for the second node 3, remote access related to the object 4 based on the determined relation between the context information and the object identification information.
In an effort to put the above method 20 in a more concrete form, a particular example is used in the following, linking the steps of the method to an example comprising a car owner and car mechanic as first and second users using the first node 2 and the second node 3, respectively (refer also to
Thus, the first node 2 may comprise a first user device used by the car owner, e.g. a computer comprising or being connected to a camera. The second node 3 may be a second user device used by the car mechanic, for example also a computer comprising or being connected to a camera. The established communication link 5 may then be a video communication link.
Continuing the above example, and as an example of the receiving 21, from the first node 2, of object identification information, the computer of the car owner may receive, by means of the camera or in some other manner, information about an object 4. The camera may capture an image of the object 4, and image recognition programs may be used for identifying the object 4. Another way for the first node 2 to identify object identification information for transmission to the collaboration node 6, is to receive an electronic identification signal identifying the object 4, e.g. over a Bluetooth connection between the first node 2 and the object 4. Still another example comprises receiving data relating to a quick response code identifying the object 4, e.g. International Article Number (EAN) code. That is, the object 4 may be provided with an EAN code, and the computer may be provided with a scanner, whereby the computer may identify the object 4. It is noted that there are various additional ways for the first node 2 to obtain object identification information about the object 4, and transmit it to the collaboration node 6.
Still using the particular example, the obtaining 22 of, from a communication context node 8, context information of the established communication link 5, can be accomplished by the collaboration node 6 requesting metadata relating to the video communication link 5 from the communication context node 8.
The analyzing 23 of the obtained context information and the received object identification information to determine a relation between the context information and the object identification information may be accomplished by retrieving associated object information relating to the identified object 4 and searching for predetermined matches between the associated object information and the context information. A relation between the context information and the object identification information may thereby be determined. For example, if the identified object 4 is a car key, the collaboration node 6 may be configured to retrieve associated information such as information about the car to which the car key is associated, and/or information about the car owner (i.e. the first user, who may be holding up his car key for identification by the first computer). The collaboration node 6 may then be configured to search for matches between the associated object information and the context information. For example, if the context information comprises metadata relating to the video communication link 5, the metadata e.g. comprising an identified word then the identified word may be matched against the associated information. Particularly, the metadata may be the identified word “car”, which is matched against the associated object information “car model”.
The activating 24, for the second node 3, of remote access related to the object 4 based on the determined relation between the context information and the object identification information may then comprise that, when the collaboration node 6 has found the above exemplified match, it provides the car mechanic with access to the car associated with the identified object 4 (the car key). The access may be in any form, e.g. actual remote access to the car (computer system thereof), the car comprising a computer and communication means. The access may comprise access to a data base comprising information about the car and/or car key.
In an embodiment, the method 20 comprises retrieving 25, from a database 7, associated object information using the object identification information, and wherein the activating 24 for the second node 3, remote access is based on the determined relation between the context information and the object identification information and on the associated object information.
In an embodiment, the receiving 21 of object identification information comprises receiving an image of the object 4, or receiving an electronic identification signal identifying the object 4 or receiving data relating to a quick response code identifying the object 4.
In an embodiment, the obtaining 22 of context information comprises requesting and receiving metadata relating to the communication link 5. The metadata may comprise one or more of: identified words of voice signals of the communication link 5, information about the first node 2, information about the second node 3, information relating to a user of the first node 2, information relating to a user of the second node 3, information on physical location of the first node 2 and/or the second node 3. It is noted that the metadata may comprise a wide variety and type of data and a few more examples comprise physical actions and collaboration activities e.g. complementing voice information and keywords, and communication history for the nodes (used by users possibly having a communication history).
“Metadata” is sometimes explained as “data about data” or “data about data contents”. Metadata may be defined as data providing information about one or more aspects of the data, such as means of creation of the data, purpose of the data or time and date of creation. In the context of the present invention, “metadata” is used for exemplifying the communication context information and may thus be seen as relating to the communication link 5, e.g. is descriptive of or for the communication link 5. Depending on characteristics of the object 4 and available metadata, only certain type(s) of functionality/access/information relevant for the particular context is/are activated.
In an embodiment, the analyzing 23 of the context information and the object identification information comprises: retrieving associated object information relating to the identified object 4, and searching for predetermined matches between the associated object information and the context information, thereby determining a relation between the context information and the object identification information.
Based on a specific communication context, e.g., the metadata, remote access may be activated only to relevant information and/or functions.
In a variation of the above embodiment, the searching of predetermined matches comprises matching metadata and/or history data of the associated object information and metadata and/or history data of the context information to predetermined combinations of metadata of the associated object information and/or history data of the associated object information and/or metadata of the context information and/or history data of the context information, and determining a relation to exist between the context information and the object identification information upon a threshold number of matches being reached.
In an embodiment, the activating 25 of the remote access related to the object 4 comprises providing remote access to the object 4 or providing remote access to a further object 9 associated with the object 4 or providing remote access to a database 7 comprising information about the object 4 or providing remote access to a database 7 comprising information about a further object 9 associated with the object 4. The remote access may also be any combination of the above examples, e.g. comprising providing remote access to the object (e.g. car key) and remote access to a further object 9 (car) associated with the object 4. It is noted here the remote access to a further object “associated with” may be a rather specific relation. That is, the object and the further object are often connected to each other in clear and tight manner, e.g. car key and car.
In particular, the collaboration node 6 comprises an input device 10 adapted to receive, from the first node 2, object identification information comprising information identifying an object 4. The object 4 may be identified (by the first node 2) in various ways, for example by means of a camera capturing images of the object 4, or a scanner enabling the reception of e.g. an EAN code of the object 4, or a Bluetooth enabled transceiver (or another short-range communication, e.g. infrared communication) receiving object identification data in a Bluetooth communication between the first node 2 and the object 4. The input device 10 is configured to receive object identification information in any form, as transmitted by the first node 2.
The collaboration node 6 may alternatively or additionally comprise an interface device 12. The interface device 12 may be used for communication with other nodes, such as the communication context node 8, the database 7, and the first node 2. The interface device 12 may thus be an interface device chosen in dependence on the communication type between the nodes. The interface device 12 may be used to receive the object identification information comprising information identifying an object 4.
The collaboration node 6 comprises a processing unit 11 adapted to: obtain, from a communication context node 8, context information of the established communication link 5; analyze the obtained context information and the received object identification information to determine a relation between the context information and the object identification information, and activate, for the second node 3, remote access related to the object 4 based on the determined relation between the context information and the object identification information.
It is noted that although the processing unit 11 is illustrated as a single unit, it may not only be a single processing unit, but could comprise two or more processing units. The processing unit 11 may for example comprise general purpose microprocessors, instruction set processors and/or related chips sets and/or special purpose microprocessors, such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits). The processing unit 11 may also comprise board memory for caching purposes.
The processing unit 11 is operatively connected to the input device 10 and the interface device 12.
In an embodiment, the collaboration node 6 (and in particular the processing unit 11 thereof) is arranged to: retrieve, from a database 7, associated object information using the object identification information; to activate 24 for the second node 3, remote access based on the determined relation between the context information and the object identification information and on the associated object information.
Still with reference to
The computer program 13 may be carried by a computer program product 14 in the collaboration node 6, the computer program product 14 being connected to the processing unit 11. The computer program product 14 comprises a computer readable medium on which the computer program 13 is stored. For example, the computer program product 14 may be a flash memory, a RAM (Random-access memory), ROM (Read-Only memory) or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The computer program product 14 may for example be an optical disc, such as a CD (compact disc) or a DVD (digital versatile disc) or a Blu-Ray disc.
The invention also encompasses such computer program product 14 comprising a computer program 13 as described, and a computer readable means on which the computer program 13 is stored.
The method 40 is performed in the first node 2 of the communication system 1 as described. That is, the communication system 1 further comprises a second node 3, and the first node 2 and the second node 3 have an established communication link 5 them between. The method 40 comprises detecting 41 a triggering event for activation of providing the second node 3 with remote access to an object 4.
The method 40 comprises forwarding 42 a description of the object 4 to a collaboration node 6 of the communication system 1.
In an embodiment, the detecting 41 of the triggering event comprises: recognizing the object 4 by receiving an image of the object 4, or receiving data relating to a quick response code identifying the object 4 or receiving Bluetooth signaling comprising data identifying the object 4.
The first node 2 comprises a processing unit 32. It is noted that although the processing unit 11 is illustrated as a single unit, it may not only be a single processing unit, but could comprise two or more processing units. The processing unit 11 may for example comprise general purpose microprocessors, instruction set processors and/or related chips sets and/or special purpose microprocessors, such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits). The processing unit 11 may also comprise board memory for caching purposes.
The first node 2, and in particular the processing unit 32 thereof, is adapted to detect a triggering event for activation of providing the second node 3 with remote access to an object 4, and forward a description of the object 4 to a collaboration node 6 of the communication system 1.
In an embodiment, the communication link 5 is a video communication link, and the first node 2 further comprises an image capturing device 33 operatively connected to a communication device 30, 31; 34 enabling the video communication link 5.
The described methods and devices may be implemented in many different ways. That is, the use of physical objects as enablers of remote access in e.g. a video communication may be implemented in various ways, and two scenarios for remote support are described in the following with reference to
It is noted that the “remote access” should be interpreted as including various types of remote access. In the description several examples have been given, e.g. remote access the object (that comprises some type of communication means enabling the remote access), remote access to information (e.g. remote access to a data base comprising information about the object), remote access to services, remote access to systems and remote access to applications associated with the physical object. Still further examples of types of remote access comprise remote access to information, e.g. visually presented information. For example, the holding up of an object, may also trigger a presentation of certain information that is relevant for the particular context.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE2011/051542 | 12/20/2011 | WO | 00 | 6/18/2014 |
