Motion-Based Frame Rate Adjustment For In-Person Conference Participants

What is this patent about?

’790 is related to the field of video conferencing, specifically addressing the problem of inconsistent video quality due to varying degrees of motion among conference participants. Traditional conferencing systems often capture video streams at a uniform frame rate, which can lead to choppy video for participants who move frequently, while simultaneously wasting resources on participants who remain relatively still. This patent seeks to optimize video quality and resource utilization by dynamically adjusting frame rates based on individual participant activity.

The underlying idea behind ’790 is to analyze an initial video stream to identify regions of interest corresponding to individual conference participants. The system then determines appropriate frame rates for each region based on factors such as motion detected within that region. By capturing or adjusting video streams for each participant at a tailored frame rate, the system aims to improve the overall viewing experience while minimizing the computational and network overhead.

The claims of ’790 focus on a method, a non-transitory computer readable medium, and an apparatus that identify regions of interest within an initial video stream, instruct a video capture device to capture video streams for these regions at an initial frame rate, determine individual frame rates for each region based on participant-specific information, and then adjust the frame rates of the captured video streams accordingly. This dynamic adjustment ensures that each participant's video is rendered at an optimized frame rate.

In practice, the system would first use object detection algorithms to identify and isolate individual participants within a conference room. It would then analyze the video stream for each participant, measuring motion based on pixel changes between frames. Participants exhibiting high levels of activity would be assigned higher frame rates, while those with minimal movement would receive lower frame rates. The system then adjusts the frame rates of the video streams to match these determined values, ensuring a smoother viewing experience for remote participants.

This approach differentiates itself from prior solutions by implementing adaptive frame rate control at the individual participant level. Instead of applying a uniform frame rate to the entire conference room, ’790 tailors the frame rate to each participant's activity. This allows for a more efficient use of network bandwidth and processing power, as resources are allocated where they are most needed. The system can also incorporate other factors, such as participant priority or conversational context, to further refine the frame rate determination process, leading to a more engaging and optimized conference experience.