System and method for synthesizing and preserving consistent relative neighborhood position in multi-perspective multi-point tele-immersive environments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9826196-B2
Application number	US-201615180414-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2016
Priority date	Aug 30, 2013
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

An e-learning system has a local classroom with an instructor station and a microphone and a local student station with a microphone, a plurality of remote classrooms with an instructor display and a student station with a microphone, and planar displays and video cameras in each of the classrooms, the remote and local classrooms connected over a network, with a server monitoring feeds and enforcing exclusive states, with sets of video displays, each set dedicated to a remote classroom, arrayed along a line orthogonal to a line between the instructor station and the local student station, with one display in each set facing toward the instructor station, and one display in each set facing toward the local student station.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An e-learning system comprising:
a local classroom comprising a local student station, including a local student microphone, and an instructor station, including an instructor microphone, such that local students at the local student station and an instructor at the instructor station face each other directly along a first viewing line;
a plurality of remote classrooms of a specific number, each having a student station, a remote student microphone, and an instructor display, including an instructor audio speaker, such that remote students are enabled to view the instructor display;
a plurality of video cameras in the local and remote classrooms, individual ones of the video cameras positioned and focused to capture video of the instructor, the local students and the remote students;
a plurality of video displays in the local classroom, of a number equal to twice the specific number of remote classrooms, with the video displays arranged in sets of two video displays, back-to-back, with the two video displays of each set dedicated to a same video feed from an individual one of the remote classrooms, the sets positioned between the instructor station and the local student station along a line substantially perpendicular to the first viewing line, with sets placed to each side of the first viewing line, one video display of each set facing the instructor station and one video display of each set facing the local student station, enabling the instructor and the students to view the same remote students at substantially the same angle;
first connection apparatus at the local classroom connecting electronic elements of the local classroom to a network;
second connection apparatus duplicated at each of the remote classrooms connecting electronic elements of each of the remote classrooms to the network; and
a server having a processor executing software from a non-transitory physical medium, the server connected through the network to the first and second connection apparatus, the server executing the software coordinating video and audio transmission between the classrooms.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the system operates in exclusive states, and in a first exclusive state the instructor lectures to both the local students and the remote students.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein in a second exclusive state the instructor engages exclusively with one or more students in a specific one of the remote classrooms.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein in a third exclusive state the instructor interacts exclusively with one or more of the local students.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein in a fourth exclusive state one of the local students and one of the first remote students interact with one another.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the network is the Internet network.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising a first planar electronic whiteboard and at least one first planar electronic presentation board behind and to one side of the instructor station, each facing toward the local student station.

8. The system of claim 7 further comprising a second planar electronic whiteboard and at least one second planar electronic presentation board behind the instructor display in individual ones of the plurality of remote classrooms.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a dedicated server in the local and in individual ones of the plurality of remote classrooms, each dedicated server having a processor executing software from a non-transitory physical medium, the dedicated servers connected by the connection apparatus in the classroom in which it is disposed, the dedicated servers performing at least a portion of the monitoring and switching of video and audio feeds to planar displays and speakers in the classrooms.

10. The system of claim 2 wherein states are determined and switched by the system, executing the software, recognizing gestures made by the instructor.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the system recognizes the instructor pointing in a specific direction as a gesture to switch states.

Assignees

• Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Inventors

• Rangan P Venkat
• Hariharan Balaji
• Narayanankutty Ramkumar
• Gopalakrishnan Uma

Classifications

• G09B5/067

  Combinations of audio and projected visual presentation, e.g. film, slides · CPC title

• G09B5/14

  with provision for individual teacher-student communication · CPC title

• H04N7/142

  Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display · CPC title

• G09B5/10

  all student stations being capable of presenting the same information simultaneously (G09B5/14 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06K9/00355

  Physics · mapped topic