2681 results about "Whiteboard" patented technology

A system and methods for implementing education online by providing institutions with the means for allowing the creation of courses to be taken by students online, the courses including assignments, announcements, course materials, chat and whiteboard facilities, and the like, all of which are available to the students over a network such as the Internet. Various levels of functionality are provided through a three-tiered licensing program that suits the needs of the institution offering the program. In addition, an open platform system is provided such that anyone with access to the Internet can create, manage, and offer a course to anyone else with access to the Internet without the need for an affiliation with an institution, thus enabling the virtual classroom to extend worldwide.

A system and method for teleconferencing and recording of meetings. The system uses a variety of capture devices (a novel 360° camera, a whiteboard camera, a presenter view camera, a remote view camera, and a microphone array) to provide a rich experience for people who want to participate in a meeting from a distance. The system is also combined with speaker clustering, spatial indexing, and time compression to provide a rich experience for people who miss a meeting and want to watch it afterward.

An interactive multimedia interface and display for providing a wide variety of multimedia content and services to a plurality of users utilizing various platforms. Users or a group of users can participate in interactive multimedia sessions and communicate by text messaging, audio, or video signals in real time. Numerous interactive tools such as application sharing, synchronized internet browsing allowing users to browse the network together, file distribution and sharing, voting and polling, session recording, shared whiteboard, and chat room are provided. Advertising and purchasing information windows allow products to be advertised and purchased. The layout, size, and interactive tools offered can be flexible adapted to requirements.

An object position and orientation detection system and in particular one which is capable of describing observed movement in 3 dimensions. In one example, a spherical patterned marker with concentric rings is imaged using one or more digital cameras, and the resulting images are processed to determine the position and orientation of an object to which the patterned marker is attached. The method of optical tracking employed by the system allows motion to be determined in six degrees of freedom. In conjunction with a suitable display, such as a projector, an interactive white board or similar application can be realised.

A hand-held printer system is designed for printing a stored image onto a surface or other media. In particular, various embodiments are adapted for hand-held printing onto the surface of a whiteboard. In embodiments, the printer system comprises a marking mechanism including at least one print head, a global position sensing system that senses a position of the at least one print head, and a control mechanism that actuates the at least one print head based on the sensed position. In other embodiments, the system comprises a local position sensing system that senses a position of the at least one print head relative to a drawing surface.

A system, method, and processor readable medium containing code embodied therein are provided that enable system users to view one or more system user's status and to establish communications with the one or more system users using a user indicator in an electronic document (e.g., electronic mail message, hypertext markup language document). The user indicator may be a system user's login identification presented as a hypertext link to one or more communication options. The system may include an identification module for identifying the one or more system users. The identification module may identify a system user's login identification (e.g., the system user's name, employee number) and provide the system user's status using the user indicator. A status module, responsive to the identification module, provides the status of the system users. The status module may provide a visual indication of a system user's status using, for example, color coding, formatting, symbols, etc. A communication module for establishing a communication link with the one or more system users using the user indicator may also be provided. The communication module may be used to establish a variety of communications with one or more of the system users. For example, a user may chat, telephone, transmit an electronic mail message, share one or more application programs (e.g., whiteboard presentations), fax, or page one or more of the system users by selecting (e.g., by using a conventional computer mouse or keyboard) the communication desired using user indicator.

A Micro Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) which is based on MEMS accelerometers and gyro sensors is developed for real-time recognition of human hand motions, especially as used in the context of writing on a surface. Motion is recorded by a motion / acceleration sensor, which may be a combination of a rate rate gyro and an accelerometer, and possibly in combination with a video camera set to detect markers located on a board, with the camera utilizable to detect lines and markers and to determine the proximity of the white board. The immediate advantage is the facilitation of a digital interface with both PC and mobile computing devices and perhaps to enable wireless sensing.

A device, system, and computer-readable medium for an interactive whiteboard including an interface which receives a first control signal from a touch-sensitive display surface and a second control signal from a codec, the first control signal identifying a position on the touch-sensitive display surface, and the second control signal identifying a codec setting of the codec; and a processor which calculates, based on the first control signal and the second control signal, a corresponding position on a display screen of a computing device to the position on the touch-sensitive display surface, and which sends the corresponding position to the computing device.

A method of improving communication in a SIP-enabled communication network which involve a variety of communication devices. By the method, a call, either entirely or just a selected medium stream of the call, may be switched, easily and seamlessly to a different channel for different media, either on the same device or on a separate device connected to the network, either during call-setup or after a call session has been established. The call may also initiate a application sharing session so that caller, callee and those participated in the call (in conference mode) may see the content of the same document or whiteboard on a screen while keeping voice communication over the phone.

A chat user interface for threaded text chat systems. The user interface can include a canvas view in which multiple portions of a threaded text tree for a chat session can be rendered separately and concurrently. The user interface further can include a chat participant view, a chat input view and an outline view of an ongoing chat session. Notably, selections of a threaded text tree rendered in the canvas view can be configured for zooming so that certain parts of the threaded text tree can be viewed more readily than other parts of the threaded text tree. Moreover, as new text entries are provided to any branch of the threaded text tree, visual indicators can be activated in the canvas view to alert an end user to the location of the new text entries. Finally, the canvas view can accommodate both imported external objects, such as graphics or links to Web pages, and also a white board region into which notations can be applied by an end user during the course of a chat session.

A media production control system with built-in newsgathering and fact-checking tools, able to receive news feeds in multiple formats from many sources, and featuring geographic portability and low cost. The system allows a producer to select and queue individual feeds for broadcast or limited distribution, using either the system's software or an externally coupled device. Shared communications tools comprise a web browser, an instant-messaging package, a chat room, a headlines display, and a virtual whiteboard.

The purpose of the present invention is to offer distance-learning courses to students around the world by using the Internet. The courses offered will contain audio and / or video feeds showing the teachers teaching in a classroom setting, transmit the notes being made by teachers on a regular computer using a pen mouse or a tablet PC or on an electronic whiteboard as they teach, and also conduct quizzes for students. The students will be able to use the system interactively, including submitting responses to the quizzes and assignments, as well as accessing previously “broadcast” lectures of the courses.

A system and method for teleconferencing and recording of meetings. The system uses a variety of capture devices (a novel 360° camera, a whiteboard camera, a presenter view camera, a remote view camera, and a microphone array) to provide a rich experience for people who want to participate in a meeting from a distance. The system is also combined with speaker clustering, spatial indexing, and time compression to provide a rich experience for people who miss a meeting and want to watch it afterward.

Collaborative work on an interactive system is facilitated by accurately capturing and displaying information on an interactive system, wherein multiple users may work together for supplying and receiving information on a common writing surface. A whiteboard device is provided to project an image on desk surface. The present invention enables each user to have at least two display areas to work on.

Systems and methods are disclosed for a distributed computing infrastructure on a computer network comprising a plurality of computers. The distributed computing infrastructure (DCI) provides a software platform for creating, running, and managing distributed applications. DCI may include XML-capable software applications on a peer-to-peer network. DCI may include small, network-unaware applications called peerlets. DCI may include a system and method for creating complex distributed applications using pre-complied binaries. DCI may include a capability for multiple, independent collaborative sessions for distributed collaborative applications (e.g., chat, instant messaging, shared whiteboard, etc.). DCI may include systems and methods for reducing interactions between users and applications to archivable form and then playing back the interactions. DCI may include a system and method for automatic software retrieval on a peer-to-peer network.

A computer program based method is described for creating models using gestures. On an input device, such as an electronic whiteboard, a user draws a gesture which is recognized by a computer program and interpreted relative to a predetermined meta-model. Based on the interpretation, an algorithm is assigned to the gesture drawn by the user. The executed algorithm may, for example, consist in creating a new model element, modifying an existing model element, or deleting an existing model element.

A communications tool that combines a software application and various communication systems that parallel natural styles of knowledge sharing and problem solving. It merges with normal patterns of relationship to create a seamless and transparent extension of community. By using computer, Internet, telephone, e-mail, and other communications technologies, the present invention brings these communities of practice to a new level of immediacy and relevance—one not encumbered by time or place. The invention is issue-centered versus document-centered, incorporates a leader-controlled structure, which is distributive and transparent, and enables stratification of items to allow multiple and simultaneous uses of the invention (e.g. dynamic FAQ, electronic whiteboard, expert center, committee review tool, etc.). Leaders control through inherited parameters. The present invention more effectively captures and leverages “tacit” knowledge (that which exists in the minds of participants and has not been written down), by connecting communities and adapting to their forms of interrelationships.

New language constantly emerges from complex, collaborative human-human interactions like meetings—such as when a presenter handwrites a new term on a whiteboard while saying it redundantly. The system and method described includes devices for receiving various types of human communication activities (e.g., speech, writing and gestures) presented in a multimodally redundant manner, includes processors and recognizers for segmenting or parsing, and then recognizing selected sub-word units such as phonemes and syllables, and then includes alignment, refinement, and integration modules to find or at least an approximate match to the one or more terms that were presented in the multimodally redundant manner. Once the system has performed a successful integration, one or more terms may be newly enrolled into a database of the system, which permits the system to continuously learn and provide an association for proper names, abbreviations, acronyms, symbols, and other forms of communicated language.

Systems and methods for facilitating use of non-electronic whiteboards and other large displays. Images of whiteboard are input to a computer device to provide automatic detection of a collaborative portion of content on the board created during a collaborative session and distribution to relevant collaborators alone while personal content of board is not distributed. Modification history of writings are preserved and displayed as change histograms to assist a user locate content that may have been erased. User finds the content by inspecting regions of board that correspond to user's memory of approximate location and time of modifying the content and are shown on the histogram as having been modified. Persistent reminder notes that clutter board space are detected and stored based on their location on the board and duration of persisting on the board so that they may be erased.

In one aspect, described herein is a method for creating an interactive expandable multimedia tutorial. The method includes receiving a plurality of tutorial elements, generating a first user interface including a plurality of regions that correspond to each of the plurality of tutorial elements, presenting the first user interface on a display device, receiving a request to access the one or more additional tutorial elements, accessing the one or more additional tutorial elements, generating a second user interface comprising one or more regions that correspond to each of the accessed one or more additional tutorial elements, and presenting the second user interface on the display device, wherein the second user interface is displayed simultaneously with the first user interface, and wherein at least a portion of the first user interface remains visible to the user to enable navigation between the second user interface and the first user interface.

A computer-based system for idea capture, organization and management is shown. The system presents a creation template for capturing ideas and building digital content onto electronic notes. The e-notes may be migrated over on to an electronic board in an organization template. In the latter case, e-notes may be grouped, repositioned, deleted, or copied. Multiple users can access the e-board, and it can be saved or sent as a converted image file or PDF. The e-board has multiple layers, allowing for marking directly on the e-board. Various other features and aspects of the system designed to facilitate group collaboration and team development are disclosed.

Disclosed is a method and tool for collaborating in a video conference using a non-electronically enhance whiteboard and without the use of electronically enhanced writing and / or pointing tools. An embodiment may set up a front camera to capture an overall video stream that is split into at least two video feeds, a whiteboard feed and presenter feeds. The front camera may be set up to have a depth of field and focus to capture the whiteboard and presenter as well as specific video capture settings for each feed to optimize the whiteboard or the presenter. An embodiment may capture the two feeds according to the appropriate settings and deliver the two feeds to other video conference member devices. Embodiments may add additional cameras to permit additional optimization such as eliminating whiteboard occluded areas and / or automatically selecting a presenter from a plurality of people who are in the video capture frame.

A system and methods for implementing education online by providing institutions with the means for allowing the creation of courses to be taken by students online, the courses including assignments, announcements, course materials, chat and whiteboard facilities, and the like, all of which are available to the students over a network such as the Internet. Various levels of functionality are provided through a three-tiered licensing program that suits the needs of the institution offering the program. In addition, an open platform system is provided such that anyone with access to the Internet can create, manage, and offer a course to anyone else with access to the Internet without the need for an affiliation with an institution, thus enabling the virtual classroom to extend worldwide.

A method permitting collaboration between a plurality of users of incompatible hardware and / or operating system, includes steps for selectively generating predetermined objects, text objects, active hyperlink objects, active track objects, and freehand drawing objects, which are displayable at user-selected locations on the White Board screen of one of the users, transmitting all generated ones of the predetermined, the active hyperlink, the text, the active track, and the freehand drawing objects for selective distributions to each of the other users, accumulating the predetermined, the active hyperlink, the text, the active track, and the freehand drawing objects, and filtering the predetermined, the active hyperlink, the text, the active track, and the freehand drawing objects to thereby permit selective transmission of the predetermined, the active hyperlink, the text, the active track, and the freehand drawing objects to respective ones the other users.

A universal input device for use with a surface, such as a whiteboard, is provided. The universal input device can be used to control various computing devices as well as capture handwritten electronic ink and have the electronic ink be associated with new or stored documents. The universal input device can be coupled to a whiteboard marker for use with a conventional whiteboard. The universal input device can track the movement of the whiteboard marker on the whiteboard for transmission to a host PC applying those movements to a document and / or other application. The universal input device can identify the width of the marker's tip as well as the marker color. A digital eraser tracks the movement of a conventional whiteboard eraser across the surface of the whiteboard. An encoded medium can be placed over a conventional whiteboard for tracking of the movements.

A system, method, and processor readable medium containing processor readable program code embodied therein are provided that enable network users to view one or more network user's status and to establish communications with the one or more network users using a user indicator in an electronic document (e.g., electronic mail message, hypertext markup language document). The user indicator may be a network user's login identification presented as a hypertext link to one or more communication options. The system may include an identification module for identifying the one or more network users. The identification module may identify a network user's login identification (e.g., the network user's name, employee number) and provide the network user's status using the user indicator. A status module, responsive to the identification module, provides the status of the network users. The status module may provide a visual indication of a network user's status using, for example, color coding, formatting, symbols, etc. A communication module for establishing a communication link with the one or more network users using the user indicator may also be provided. The communication module may be used to establish a variety of communications with one or more of the network users. For example, a user may chat, telephone, transmit an electronic mail message, share one or more application programs, whiteboard presentations, facsimile, or page to one or more of the network users by selecting the user indicator using a conventional computer mouse or keyboard.

An electronic whiteboard system, including a touch panel; a display device that displays information related to writing data by the touch panel; and a control device that is connected to the display device and the touch panel and includes an external or built-in storage device storing the writing data, the control device including a pass code setting processing unit that inputs and sets a storage pass code on created writing data through the touch panel, a writing data storage processing unit that stores the writing data by the touch panel in the storage device in association with the storage pass code provided from the pass code setting processing unit, a pass code input processing unit that inputs a restoration pass code which is the same as the storage pass code through the touch panel, a writing data acquisition processing unit that acquires writing data corresponding to the restoration pass code provided from the pass code input processing unit from the storage device when the writing data is present in the storage device, and a whiteboard rendering processing unit that renders the writing data acquired by the writing data acquisition processing unit on the display device.

A digital camera has a CPU and an image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus acquires a contour from an image acquired by shooting a whiteboard as a shooting target by using a Roberts filter. The image processing apparatus detects straight lines to be candidates which form the image of the whiteboard from the acquired contour, and acquires the rectangular shape of the whiteboard. The image processing apparatus acquires projection parameters indicating the relationship between the image of the whiteboard and the real whiteboard from vertex positions of the quadrangle, and performs projection transformation of the image of the whiteboard.

A videoconferencing system includes a touch screen display device and a videoconferencing unit. The display device displays video data for the videoconference and generates touch data based on user selections relative to the touch screen. The videoconferencing unit is operatively coupled to the touch screen device by a video connection and a data interface connection, for example. The unit establishes and conducts a videoconference with one or more endpoints via a network. The unit sends video data to the display device and receives touch data from the device. The received touch data is used to control operation of the videoconferencing system. The received touch data can be used to initiate a videoconference call, change an operating parameter, change orientation of a camera, initiate a picture-in-picture display, access a menu, access memory, change a source of video data, initiate a whiteboard display, and access a screen of a connected device.