U.S. patent application number 14/657918 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-15 for meeting join for meeting device.
The applicant listed for this patent is Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC. Invention is credited to Chaim Fried, Anton W. Krantz.
Application Number | 20160269409 14/657918 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55587390 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160269409 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fried; Chaim ; et
al. |
September 15, 2016 |
Meeting Join for Meeting Device
Abstract
Various embodiments enable an application on a first device to
log into an online meeting in association with a trusted entity,
such as a trusted user. Once trust is established between the
trusted entity and the meeting domain, such as an enterprise
domain, permissions can be assigned to a meeting device, by virtue
of the trust relationship with the trusted entity, to enable the
meeting device to join the meeting as a participant, thus allowing
the meeting device to bypass an initial join process such as a
meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of the assigned permissions,
the meeting device may take control of the meeting and control the
experience for others in the meeting as a meeting organizer or some
other permission-centric role.
Inventors: |
Fried; Chaim; (Brooklyn,
NY) ; Krantz; Anton W.; (Kirkland, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC |
Redmond |
WA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55587390 |
Appl. No.: |
14/657918 |
Filed: |
March 13, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20130101;
G06Q 10/1095 20130101; H04L 63/107 20130101; H04L 63/08 20130101;
H04L 63/10 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/06 20060101
H04L029/06; G06Q 10/10 20060101 G06Q010/10 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: establishing a trust
relationship between a trusted entity and a meeting service;
establishing local trust between a computing device and a meeting
device; causing the meeting device to be admitted to a meeting
based on the trust relationship between the trusted entity and the
meeting service, and the local trust between the computing device
and the meeting device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the trusted entity comprises a
trusted user and the trust relationship is established by virtue of
user credentials of the trusted user.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing local trust is
performed by establishing that the computing device is proximate
the meeting device in a manner consistent with conducting an online
meeting.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the meeting device has no
security credentials with respect to a meeting domain in which the
meeting takes place.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing local trust
comprises, at least in part, transmitting a PIN associated with the
meeting device to the meeting service.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing local trust
comprises receiving entry of a PIN associated with the meeting
device and transmitting the PIN to the meeting service.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing local trust is
performed, at least in part, automatically by way of wireless
communication between the computing device and the meeting
device.
8. A computer-implemented method comprising: establishing, by a
first device, a trust relationship with a meeting service;
establishing, by the first device, a control relationship with a
meeting device; and communicating admission information to the
meeting service effective to enable the meeting service to admit
the meeting device to an online meeting, admission to the online
meeting being based on both the trust relationship and the control
relationship.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein said
establishing a trust relationship is performed by conveying
credential information to enable a user to log into an online
meeting.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein
establishing the control relationship comprises receiving
information from the meeting device and conveying this information
to the meeting service.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein
establishing the control relationship comprises providing
information to the meeting device effective to enable the meeting
device to provide information to the meeting service.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein
establishing the control relationship comprises receiving a PIN
from the meeting device and conveying the PIN to the meeting
service.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein
establishing the control relationship comprises establishing the
control relationship based on location proximity between the first
device and the meeting device.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein said
communicating admission information is effective to cause the
meeting device to be admitted to the online meeting with elevated
permissions
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein said
communicating admission information is effective to cause the
meeting device to be admitted to the online meeting by bypassing a
pre-meeting admissions staging area.
16. A device comprising: one or more processors; one or more
computer readable media; computer-readable instructions embodied on
the one or more computer readable media and executable by the one
or more processors to implement a meeting service configured to
perform operations comprising: establishing a trust relationship
with a first device; receiving admission information from the first
device, the admission information being associated with an
untrusted meeting device; and based on the trust relationship and
the admission information, admitting the meeting device to an
online meeting.
17. The device of claim 16, wherein establishing the trust
relationship comprises receiving information associated with a
trusted entity and using the information to provide admission to
the online meeting.
18. The device of claim 16, wherein said admitting comprises
admitting the meeting device with elevated permissions that are the
same as a trusted entity associated with the first device.
19. The device of claim 16, wherein said admitting comprises
enabling the meeting device to bypass a pre-meeting admissions
staging area.
20. The device of claim 16, wherein said admitting comprises
admitting the meeting device with permissions associated with a
meeting organizer or presenter.
21. A system comprising: one or more processors; one or more
computer-readable storage media storing an application which, when
executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more
processors to perform operations comprising: establishing a trust
relationship with a meeting service; establishing a control
relationship with a meeting device; and communicating admission
information to the meeting service effective to enable the meeting
service to admit the meeting device to an online meeting, admission
to the online meeting being based on both the trust relationship
and the control relationship.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein said establishing a trust
relationship is performed by conveying credential information to
enable a user to log into an online meeting.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein establishing the control
relationship comprises receiving information from the meeting
device and conveying this information to the meeting service.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein establishing the control
relationship comprises providing information to the meeting device
effective to enable the meeting device to provide information to
the meeting service.
25. The system of claim 21, wherein establishing the control
relationship comprises receiving a PIN from the meeting device and
conveying the PIN to the meeting service.
26. The system of claim 21, wherein establishing the control
relationship comprises establishing the control relationship based
on location proximity between the first device and the meeting
device.
27. The system of claim 21, wherein said communicating admission
information is effective to cause the meeting device to be admitted
to the online meeting with elevated permissions.
28. The system of claim 21, wherein said communicating admission
information is effective to cause the meeting device to be admitted
to the online meeting by bypassing a pre-meeting admissions staging
area.
29. A meeting device comprising: one or more processors; one or
more computer-readable storage media storing an application which,
when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more
processors to perform operations comprising: enabling a control
relationship to be established with a first device, the control
relationship enabling, at least in part, a meeting to be conducted
using the meeting device; and receiving, from a meeting service,
admission to the meeting in a manner that enables a user of the
first device to use the meeting device to participate in the
meeting.
30. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein said enabling is
performed by providing information to the first device for
provision to a meeting service in order to enable the control
relationship to be established.
31. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein said enabling is
performed by receiving information from the first device and
providing the received information to a meeting service in order to
enable the control relationship to be established.
32. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein receiving admission to
the meeting is effective to provide the meeting device with
elevated permissions.
33. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein receiving admission to
the meeting is effective to provide the meeting device with
elevated permissions that are the same as an authenticated user of
the first device.
34. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein receiving admission to
the meeting is effective to admit the meeting device as a meeting
organizer or presenter.
35. The meeting device of claim 29, wherein receiving admission to
the meeting is effective to enable the meeting device to bypass a
pre-meeting admissions staging area.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Online meetings have become increasingly more popular in the
last several years. Online meetings enable people at different
locations to meet and collaborate in a high-quality meeting
experience. As technology associated with online meetings evolves,
challenges continue to be posed to continue to improve the manner
in which online meetings can be conducted and the user experience.
For example, challenges continue to be posed to enable meeting
rooms and meeting devices to easily join online meetings.
SUMMARY
[0002] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of
concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in
the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of
the claimed subject matter.
[0003] Various embodiments enable an application on a first device
to log into an online meeting in association with a trusted entity,
such as a trusted user. Once trust is established between the
trusted entity and the meeting domain, such as an enterprise
domain, permissions can be assigned to a meeting device, by virtue
of the trust relationship with the trusted entity, to enable the
meeting device to join the meeting as a participant, thus allowing
the meeting device to bypass an initial join process such as a
meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of the assigned permissions,
the meeting device may take control of the meeting and control the
experience for others in the meeting as a meeting organizer or some
other permission-centric role.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] The detailed description is described with reference to the
accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a
reference number identifies the figure in which the reference
number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in
different instances in the description and the figures may indicate
similar or identical items.
[0005] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example meeting device in
accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0006] FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example environment in
accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0007] FIG. 3 is an example system in accordance with one or more
embodiments.
[0008] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in
accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0009] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in
accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0010] FIG. 6 illustrates an example meeting device that can be
utilized to implement various embodiments described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] Overview
[0012] Various embodiments enable an application on a first device
to log into an online meeting in association with a trusted entity,
such as a trusted user. Once trust is established between the
trusted entity and the meeting domain, such as an enterprise
domain, permissions can be assigned to a meeting device, by virtue
of the trust relationship with the trusted entity, to enable the
meeting device to join the meeting as a participant, thus allowing
the meeting device to bypass an initial join process such as a
meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of the assigned permissions,
the meeting device may take control of the meeting and control the
experience for others in the meeting as a meeting organizer or some
other permission-centric role.
[0013] In this way, online meeting flexibility is improved by
virtue of the fact that totally unauthenticated meeting devices can
assume an identity for a specific meeting and be trusted by virtue
of the trust relationship that is established. Alternately, a
meeting device need not necessarily assume an identity. Rather, the
meeting device can be granted permissions associated with a
particular user who initiated the meeting join. The permissions can
be assigned to the particular meeting session for the connection of
the meeting device or to the device of the user who is joining the
meeting. When the meeting concludes, the meeting device can return
to an unauthenticated state. This can greatly increase the security
associated with conference room or other meeting-based computing
systems. Moreover, the user's experience is enhanced by providing
the user with different online meeting options which are not
necessarily constrained to meeting in traditional meeting rooms,
such as corporate meeting rooms and the like.
[0014] In the following discussion, an example environment is first
described that is operable to employ the techniques described
herein. The techniques may be employed in the example environment,
as well as in other environments.
[0015] Example Environment
[0016] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment 100 in an
example implementation that is operable to employ the techniques as
described herein. The illustrated environment 100 includes a
computing device 102 that serves as a meeting device that may be
configured in a variety of ways. In this example, meeting device
102 represents a computing device that is utilized to plan and/or
conduct a meeting. The meeting device 102 can typically reside in a
meeting room or conference room in which many different types of
meetings can take place. Alternately or additionally, the meeting
device can reside in a public place such as a hotel, airport, and
the like.
[0017] The meeting device 102 may be configured as a traditional
computer (e.g., a desktop personal computer, laptop computer, and
so on), a mobile station, a wireless phone, a netbook, a handheld
device, and so forth as further described in relation to FIG. 2.
Thus, the meeting device 102 may range from full resource devices
with substantial memory and processor resources (e.g., personal
computers) to a low-resource device with limited memory and/or
processing resources. The meeting device 102 also includes software
that causes the meeting device 102 to perform one or more
operations as described below. In at least some embodiments, the
meeting device 102 is a large form factor device that provides a
canvas for idea collaboration.
[0018] Meeting device 102 can include, by way of example and not
limitation, a number of different components including a gesture
module 104, a web platform 106, meeting software 107, and meeting
hardware 108.
[0019] The gesture and module 104 is operational to provide gesture
functionality. The gesture module 104 can be implemented in
connection with any suitable type of hardware, software, firmware
or combination thereof. In at least some embodiments, the gesture
module 104 is implemented in software that resides on some type of
computer-readable storage medium examples of which are provided
below.
[0020] Gesture module 104 is representative of functionality that
recognizes gestures that can be performed by one or more fingers,
and causes operations to be performed that correspond to the
gestures. The gestures may be recognized by module 104 in a variety
of different ways. For example, the gesture module 104 may be
configured to recognize a touch input, such as a finger of a user's
hand as proximal to display device 110 of the meeting device 102
using touchscreen functionality.
[0021] It is to be appreciated and understood that a variety of
different types of gestures may be recognized by the gesture module
104 including, by way of example and not limitation, gestures that
are recognized from a single type of input (e.g., touch gestures
such as the previously described drag-and-drop gesture) as well as
gestures involving multiple types of inputs. For example, module
104 can be utilized to recognize single-finger gestures and bezel
gestures, multiple-finger/same-hand gestures and bezel gestures,
and/or multiple-finger/different-hand gestures and bezel
gestures.
[0022] For example, the meeting device 102 may be configured to
detect and differentiate between a touch input (e.g., provided by
one or more fingers of the user's hand) and a stylus or pen input
(e.g., provided by a stylus 116). The differentiation may be
performed in a variety of ways, such as by detecting an amount of
the display device 110 that is contacted by the finger of the
user's hand versus an amount of the display device 110 that is
contacted by the stylus 116.
[0023] Thus, the gesture module 104 may support a variety of
different gesture techniques through recognition and leverage of a
division between stylus and touch inputs, as well as different
types of touch inputs.
[0024] The web platform 106 is a platform that works in connection
with content of the web, e.g. public content. A web platform 106
can include and make use of many different types of technologies
such as, by way of example and not limitation, URLs, HTTP, REST,
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, DOM, and the like. The web platform 106 can
also work with a variety of data formats such as XML, JSON, and the
like. Web platform 106 can include various web browsers, web
applications (i.e. "web apps"), and the like. When executed, the
web platform 106 allows the computing device to retrieve web
content such as electronic documents in the form of webpages (or
other forms of electronic documents, such as a document file, XML
file, PDF file, XLS file, etc.) from a Web server and display them
on the display device 110. It should be noted that meeting device
102 could be any computing device that is capable of displaying Web
pages/documents and connect to the Internet.
[0025] Meeting software 107 is representative of software that
enables meetings to be conducted using various features which can
include, by way of example and not limitation, instant messaging,
Voice over IP, video conferencing, and the like. The meeting
software can also include such things as a cloud-based whiteboard
tool that enables meeting participants to write upon the display
device 110.
[0026] Meeting hardware 108 is representative of hardware that
enables meetings to be conducted as described above and below. The
hardware can include, by way of example and not limitation,
built-in sensors to help the meeting device wakeup when a person is
in close proximity and track a person's movement so that one or
more cameras (e.g., 1080p cameras on each side of the meeting
device) can follow the person. In addition, the meeting hardware
108 can work in concert with the meeting software 107 to provide
meeting starts using a single touch. The hardware and software of
the meeting device can also allow participants to share content
wirelessly, thus making meetings engaging and productive. The
meeting hardware 108 can also include a built-in microphone
array.
[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates an example system 200 showing the
components of FIG. 1, e.g., meeting software 107 and meeting
hardware 108, as being implemented in an environment where multiple
devices are interconnected through a central computing device. The
meeting software 107 and meeting hardware 108 can enable the
meeting device to participate in a meeting using various
technologies including, by way of example and not limitation,
instant messaging, Voice over IP, video conferencing, whiteboard
functionality, content sharing and the like.
[0028] The central computing device may be local to the multiple
devices or may be located remotely from the multiple devices. In
one embodiment, the central computing device is a "cloud" server
farm, which comprises one or more server computers that are
connected to the multiple devices through a network or the Internet
or other means.
[0029] In one embodiment, this interconnection architecture enables
functionality to be delivered across multiple devices to provide a
common and seamless experience to the user of the multiple devices.
Each of the multiple devices may have different physical
requirements and capabilities, and the central computing device
uses a platform to enable the delivery of an experience to the
device that is both tailored to the device and yet common to all
devices. In one embodiment, a "class" of target device is created
and experiences are tailored to the generic class of devices. A
class of device may be defined by physical features or usage or
other common characteristics of the devices. For example, as
previously described the meeting device 102 may be configured in a
variety of different ways, such as for mobile 202, computer 204,
and television 206 uses. Each of these configurations has a
generally corresponding screen size and thus the meeting device 102
may be configured as one of these device classes in this example
system 200. For instance, the meeting device 102 may assume the
mobile 202 class of device which includes mobile telephones, music
players, game devices, and so on. The meeting device 102 may also
assume a computer 204 class of device that includes personal
computers, laptop computers, netbooks, tablets, large form factor
devices, and so on. The television 206 configuration includes
configurations of device that involve display in a casual
environment, e.g., televisions, set-top boxes, game consoles, and
so on. Thus, the techniques described herein may be supported by
these various configurations of the meeting device 102 and are not
limited to the specific examples described in the following
sections.
[0030] As described above, meeting device 102 includes meeting
software 107 that operates as described above and below.
[0031] Cloud 208 is illustrated as including a platform 210 for web
services 212. The platform 210 abstracts underlying functionality
of hardware (e.g., servers) and software resources of the cloud 208
and thus may act as a "cloud operating system." For example, the
platform 210 may abstract resources to connect the meeting device
102 with other computing devices. The platform 210 may also serve
to abstract scaling of resources to provide a corresponding level
of scale to encountered demand for the web services 212 that are
implemented via the platform 210. Web services 212 can include a
meeting service that is configured to enable multiple different
individuals to participate in an online meeting.
[0032] Thus, the cloud 208 is included as a part of the strategy
that pertains to software and hardware resources that are made
available to the meeting device 102 via the Internet or other
networks. For example, aspects of the meeting software 107 may be
implemented in part on the meeting device 102 as well as in a
distributed fashion via platform 210 that supports web services
212.
[0033] In addition, system 200 can include one or more remote
computing devices 214 associated with remote participants who can
participate in a meeting organized and conducted through meeting
device 102 or a different meeting device. Each of the remote
computing devices 214 can execute a meeting client that enables
communication with meeting software 107.
[0034] Generally, any of the functions described herein can be
implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic
circuitry), manual processing, or a combination of these
implementations. The terms "module," "functionality," and "logic"
as used herein generally represent software, firmware, hardware, or
a combination thereof In the case of a software implementation, the
module, functionality, or logic represents program code that
performs specified tasks when executed on or by a processor (e.g.,
CPU or CPUs). The program code can be stored in one or more
computer readable memory devices. The features of the gesture
techniques described below are platform-independent, meaning that
the techniques may be implemented on a variety of commercial
computing platforms having a variety of processors.
[0035] For example, the computing device may also include an entity
(e.g., software) that causes hardware or virtual machines of the
computing device to perform operations, e.g., processors,
functional blocks, and so on. For example, the computing device may
include a computer-readable medium that may be configured to
maintain instructions that cause the computing device, and more
particularly the operating system and associated hardware of the
computing device to perform operations. Thus, the instructions
function to configure the operating system and associated hardware
to perform the operations and in this way result in transformation
of the operating system and associated hardware to perform
functions. The instructions may be provided by the
computer-readable medium to the computing device through a variety
of different configurations.
[0036] One such configuration of a computer-readable medium is a
signal bearing medium and thus is configured to transmit the
instructions (e.g., as a carrier wave) to the computing device,
such as via a network. The computer-readable medium may also be
configured as a computer-readable storage medium and thus is not a
signal bearing medium. Examples of a computer-readable storage
medium include a random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory
(ROM), an optical disc, flash memory, hard disk memory, and other
memory devices that may use magnetic, optical, and other techniques
to store instructions and other data.
[0037] In the discussion that follows, a section entitled "Meeting
Join for Meeting Device" describes how meeting devices can be
joined to a meeting by a trusted entity in accordance with one or
more embodiments. Next, a section entitled "Example Methods"
describes example methods in accordance with one or more
embodiments. Last, a section entitled "Example Meeting Device"
describes aspects of an example device that can be utilized to
implement one or more embodiments.
[0038] Having considered an example operating environment, consider
now a discussion of how a meeting device can be joined to a meeting
in accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0039] Meeting Join for Meeting Device
[0040] Various embodiments enable an application on a first device
to log into an online meeting in association with a trusted entity,
such as a trusted user. Once trust is established between the
trusted entity and the meeting domain, such as an enterprise
domain, permissions can be assigned to a meeting device, by virtue
of the trust relationship with the trusted entity, to enable the
meeting device to join the meeting as a participant, thus allowing
the meeting device to bypass an initial join process such as a
meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of the assigned permissions,
the meeting device may take control of the meeting and control the
experience for others in the meeting as a meeting organizer or some
other permission-centric role.
[0041] FIG. 3 illustrates a system in accordance with one or more
embodiments generally at 300. In this particular example, system
300 includes a first device 302, a computing device 102 that serves
as a meeting device as described above and below, and a meeting
service 304. The first device 302 and the meeting device can
communicate with the meeting service 304 by way of any
suitably-configured network including, by way of example and not
limitation, the Internet which is represented by cloud 308.
[0042] The first device 302 can comprise any suitable type of
device such as, by way of example and not limitation, a portable
device such as a tablet computer, cell phone, smart phone, laptop,
and the like. In the illustrated and described embodiment, the
first device 302 is associated with a trusted entity. A trusted
entity can include, by way of example and not limitation, a trusted
user having credentials, a trusted application, a trusted software
entity, and the like.
[0043] The computing device 102 i.e., the meeting device, is
typically an unauthenticated device that has no security
credentials with respect to a meeting domain in which a meeting is
to take place. That is, by itself, computing device 102 has no way
to join a particular meeting that it is about to be able to join
with the help of first device 302. Accordingly, computing device
102 can be considered as untrusted.
[0044] The process about to be described can be thought of as
including a two-part process. First, a control relationship is
established between first device 302 and computing device 102.
Second, once the control relationship is established, and based on
the trusted entity associated with the first device 302, computing
device 102 can be admitted to a meeting.
[0045] Establishing a Control Relationship
[0046] In at least some embodiments, prior to establishing a
control relationship between first device 302 and computing device
102, a trust relationship is established between first device 302
and meeting service 304. The trust relationship can be established
in any suitable way. For example, a trusted entity associated with
the first device can establish the trust relationship with the
meeting service. For example, a trusted user can login to a
particular meeting that is to be conducted by meeting service 304
and, by presenting appropriate credentials, be authenticated to the
meeting domain. Other ways of establishing trust can be utilized
without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject
matter.
[0047] The control relationship that is to be established between
first device 302 and computing device 102 is, in at least some
embodiments, based on locational proximity of the devices. That is,
first device 302 wishes to control computing device 102 such that
the computing device 102 can be admitted, in a trusted manner, to
the meeting that is to be conducted by meeting service 304.
Computing device 102, on the other hand, serves the role of an
un-trusted, unauthenticated computing device that is to be admitted
to the meeting by virtue of an "endorsement", so to speak, from
first device 302.
[0048] To establish the control relationship, first device 302 will
establish that it is, in fact, in locational proximity to computing
device 102 in a manner that is consistent with conducting an online
meeting. This control relationship can be established in any
suitable way.
[0049] For example, in at least some embodiments the control
relationship can be established through a process that includes at
least some manual steps. Specifically, computing device 102 may
display a device name and a PIN. When a user associated with first
device 302 comes into proximity with computing device 102, the user
can enter the device name and PIN into a suitably-configured user
interface presented by online meeting software. The device name and
PIN can then be transmitted to the meeting service 304. Using a
look up or some other technique, the meeting service checks for the
computing device 102, verifies that the PIN is correct, and passes
the PIN back to the meeting device. This establishes a local trust
between the first device 302 and the computing device 102. The
local trust is the foundation upon which the control relationship
between first device 302 and computing device 102 is built. The
control relationship allows connectivity and communication between
first device 302 and computing device 102. For example, the control
relationship can allow for the first device 302 to actually control
the computing device 102 as by muting, an muting, changing volume,
disconnecting, or any other basic meeting service function that can
be provided by computing device 102.
[0050] The control relationship can also be established in other
ways. For example, the control relationship can be established
using wireless communication, e.g., Bluetooth communication,
between first device 302 and computing device 102. By way of
wireless communication, information can be exchanged between the
devices, in a manner similar to that described above, to
automatically enable first device 302 to establish local trust with
the computing device 102. Additionally, near field communication
(NFC) or QR scanning can be utilized to automatically establish
local trust between the devices. Such can include, by way of
example and not limitation, "bump-to-connect" functionality.
[0051] Alternately, the control relationship can be established in
a peer-to-peer manner. For example, computing device 102 can obtain
a token from, for example, first device 302. The computing device
102 can then present the token to the meeting service 304 in order
to join the meeting. The token for this particular meeting may have
been previously acquired by the first device 302 from the meeting
service 304.
[0052] Now that trust has been established between the trusted
entity associated with first device 302 and the meeting service
304, and local trust has been established between the first device
302 and the computing device 102, the process to admit the
computing device 102 to the meeting can take place.
[0053] Admitting Meeting Device
[0054] Admitting the computing device 102 to the meeting can take
place in any suitable way. For example, in at least some
embodiments, the computing device 102 can have a so-called
"friendly" name such as "Oaks" that is populated onto a user
interface of first device 302. The "Oaks" name can map to a
globally unique identity associated with computing device 102. When
the user of first device selects a particular meeting to join, as
by touch selecting a "join" option, a communication is transmitted
to the meeting service, who is knowledgeable of the pairing between
first device 302 and computing device 102. The meeting service 304
can, responsive to receiving the communication, use the globally
unique identity to admit the computing device 102 to the meeting.
Admission to the meeting can include establishing any suitable
communication protocols between the meeting service and the meeting
device.
[0055] When the computing device 102 is admitted to the meeting, it
can be admitted with elevated permissions that are the same as the
authenticated user of first device 302. That is, not only can the
computing device 102 be admitted to the meeting, but it can be
promoted in its role so that it is more than simply an anonymous
meeting attendee. For example, the computing device 102 can be
admitted to the meeting as a meeting organizer or meeting
presenter. Accordingly, by virtue of the trust endorsement from
first device 302, computing device 102 can be afforded at least two
benefits. First, computing device 102 can bypass a pre-meeting
admissions staging area that is normally reserved for anonymous
users. Some meeting software refers to this staging area as a
"lobby." Second, the computing device 102 can automatically be
assigned rights and privileges other than those associated with
passive, anonymous meeting attendees. This means that the user of
first device 302 can quickly and efficiently begin a meeting and
participate using the full resources of the computing device
102.
[0056] Having described how a meeting device can be joined to a
meeting in accordance with one or more embodiments, consider now
example methods in accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0057] Example Methods
[0058] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in
accordance with one or more embodiments. The method can be
implemented in connection with any suitable hardware, software,
firmware, or combination thereof. In at least some embodiments, the
method can be implemented, at least in part, by a software
application executing on a client-side device such as a portable
device.
[0059] Step 400 establishes a trust relationship between a trusted
entity and a meeting service. Any suitable method can be utilized
to establish the trust relationship. In at least some embodiments,
the trusted entity is a trusted user and the trust relationship is
established by virtue of the user's credentials. Step 402
establishes local trust between a computing device and a meeting
device. This step can be performed in any suitable way. For
example, a user's computing device can establish that it is local
and proximate the meeting device in a manner consistent with
conducting an online meeting. Examples of how this can be done are
provided above. Step 404 causes the meeting device to be admitted
to a meeting based on the trust relationship between the trusted
entity and the meeting service. Examples of how this can be done
are provided above.
[0060] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that describes steps in a method in
accordance with one or more embodiments. The method can be
implemented in connection with any suitable hardware, software,
firmware, or combination thereof. In at least some embodiments, the
method can be implemented by different entities. These entities
include a first device, a meeting device, and a meeting service.
Steps that are performed by each of these entities appears under an
appropriate heading--either "First Device", "Meeting Device", or
"Meeting Service".
[0061] Step 500 establishes a trust relationship with a meeting
service. This step can be performed in any suitable way, examples
of which are provided above. For example, this step can be
performed by conveying information, such as credential information,
from the first device to the meeting service. This credential
information can be used, for example, to enable a user or device to
log into a particular online meeting.
[0062] Step 502 establishes, at the meeting service, a trust
relationship with the first device. The step can be performed in
any suitable way, examples of which are provided above. For
example, this step can be performed by the meeting service
receiving information conveyed from the first device, and using the
conveyed information to authenticate the user or device and
admitting the user or device into the online meeting.
[0063] Step 504 establishes a control relationship with the meeting
device. The step can be performed in any suitable way examples of
which are provided above. For example, the first device can receive
information, e.g., a PIN, associated with the meeting device, and
provide this information to the meeting service in order to enable
the control relationship to be established. Alternately or
additionally, the first device can provide information, e.g., a
token, to the meeting device which, in turn, can be provided to the
meeting service in order to enable the control relationship to be
established.
[0064] Step 506 enables a control relationship to be established
with the first device. This step can be performed in any suitable
way. For example, this step can be performed by providing
information, e.g., a PIN, from the meeting device to the first
device to enable the first device to establish the control
relationship. Alternately, this step can be performed by receiving
information, e.g., a token, from the first device and providing
this information to the meeting service in order to enable the
control relationship to be established.
[0065] Step 508 communicates, by the first device, admission
information to the meeting service. This step can be performed by
communicating information associated with the meeting device to the
meeting service. This information can include, by way of example
and not limitation, the globally unique identity associated with
the meeting device.
[0066] Step 510 receives, at the meeting service, admission
information from the first device. Responsive to receiving the
admission information, step 512 admits the meeting device to the
meeting. The step can be performed in any suitable way including,
by way of example and not limitation, automatically admitting the
meeting device with elevated permissions, such as those associated
with a trusted user of the first device or permissions that are
elevated above those of a passive, anonymous meeting attendee.
[0067] Step 514 receives, by the meeting device, admission to the
meeting. This permits the user of the first device to utilize all
the resources of the meeting device to conduct the meeting. This
can include serving in the role of presenter or meeting organizer
with all rights and privileges associated therewith.
[0068] Having described example methods in accordance with one or
more embodiments, consider now an example meeting device in
accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0069] Example Meeting Device
[0070] FIG. 6 illustrates various components of an example meeting
device 600 that can be implemented as any type of computing device
as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 to implement
embodiments of the techniques described herein. Aspects of device
600 can be utilized to implement a computing device that executes a
meeting service as described herein.
[0071] Device 600 includes communication devices 602 that enable
wired and/or wireless communication of device data 604 (e.g.,
received data, data that is being received, data scheduled for
broadcast, data packets of the data, etc.). The device data 604 or
other device content can include configuration settings of the
device, media content stored on the device, and/or information
associated with a user of the device. Media content stored on
device 600 can include any type of audio, video, and/or image data.
Device 600 includes one or more data inputs 606 via which any type
of data, media content, and/or inputs can be received, such as
user-selectable inputs, messages, music, television media content,
recorded video content, and any other type of audio, video, and/or
image data received from any content and/or data source.
[0072] Device 600 also includes communication interfaces 608 that
can be implemented as any one or more of a serial and/or parallel
interface, a wireless interface, any type of network interface, a
modem, and as any other type of communication interface. The
communication interfaces 608 provide a connection and/or
communication links between device 600 and a communication network
by which other electronic, computing, and communication devices
communicate data with device 600, such as in the context of the
meeting.
[0073] Device 600 includes one or more processors 610 (e.g., any of
microprocessors, controllers, and the like) which process various
computer-executable instructions to control the operation of device
600 and to implement embodiments of the techniques described
herein. Alternatively or in addition, device 600 can be implemented
with any one or combination of hardware, firmware, or fixed logic
circuitry that is implemented in connection with processing and
control circuits which are generally identified at 612. Although
not shown, device 600 can include a system bus or data transfer
system that couples the various components within the device. A
system bus can include any one or combination of different bus
structures, such as a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral
bus, a universal serial bus, and/or a processor or local bus that
utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures.
[0074] Device 600 also includes computer-readable media 614, such
as one or more memory components, examples of which include random
access memory (RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., any one or more of
a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.), and a
disk storage device. A disk storage device may be implemented as
any type of magnetic or optical storage device, such as a hard disk
drive, a recordable and/or rewriteable compact disc (CD), any type
of a digital versatile disc (DVD), and the like. Device 600 can
also include a mass storage media device 616.
[0075] Computer-readable media 614 provides data storage mechanisms
to store the device data 604, as well as various device
applications 618 and any other types of information and/or data
related to operational aspects of device 600. For example, an
operating system 620 can be maintained as a computer application
with the computer-readable media 614 and executed on processors
610. The device applications 618 can include a device manager
(e.g., a control application, software application, signal
processing and control module, code that is native to a particular
device, a hardware abstraction layer for a particular device,
etc.). The device applications 618 also include any system
components or modules to implement embodiments of the techniques
described herein. In this example, the device applications 618
include an interface application 622 and a gesture capture driver
624 that are shown as software modules and/or computer
applications. The gesture capture driver 624 is representative of
software that is used to provide an interface with a device
configured to capture a gesture, such as a touchscreen, track pad,
camera, and so on. Alternatively or in addition, the interface
application 622 and the gesture capture driver 624 can be
implemented as hardware, software, firmware, or any combination
thereof. Additionally, computer readable media 614 can include a
web platform 625 and meeting software 627 that functions as
described above.
[0076] Device 600 also includes an audio and/or video input-output
system 626 that provides audio data to an audio system 628 and/or
provides video data to a display system 630. The audio system 628
and/or the display system 630 can include any devices that process,
display, and/or otherwise render audio, video, and image data.
Video signals and audio signals can be communicated from device 600
to an audio device and/or to a display device via an RF (radio
frequency) link, S-video link, composite video link, component
video link, DVI (digital video interface), analog audio connection,
or other similar communication link. In an embodiment, the audio
system 628 and/or the display system 630 are implemented as
external components to device 600. Alternatively, the audio system
628 and/or the display system 630 are implemented as integrated
components of example device 600.
[0077] Example Implementations
[0078] Example implementations described herein include, but are
not limited to, one or any combination of one or more of the
following example:
[0079] A computer-implemented method comprising: establishing a
trust relationship between a trusted entity and a meeting service;
establishing local trust between a computing device and a meeting
device; causing the meeting device to be admitted to the meeting
based on the trust relationship between the trusted entity and the
meeting service, and the local trust between the computing device
and the meeting device.
[0080] A method as described above, wherein the trusted entity
comprises a trusted user and the trust relationship is established
by virtue of user credentials of the trusted user.
[0081] A method as described above, wherein establishing local
trust is performed by establishing that the computing device is
proximate the meeting device in a manner consistent with conducting
an online meeting.
[0082] A method as described above, wherein the meeting device has
no security credentials with respect to a meeting domain in which
the meeting takes place.
[0083] A method as described above, wherein establishing local
trust comprises, at least in part, transmitting a PIN associated
with the meeting device to the meeting service.
[0084] A method as described above, wherein establishing local
trust comprises receiving entry of a PIN associated with the
meeting device and transmitting the PIN to the meeting service.
[0085] A method as described above, wherein establishing local
trust is performed, at least in part, automatically by way of
wireless communication between the computing device and the meeting
device.
[0086] A computer-implemented method comprising: establishing, by a
first device, a trust relationship with the meeting service;
establishing, by the first device, a control relationship with a
meeting device; communicating admission information to the meeting
service effective to enable the meeting service to admit the
meeting device to an online meeting, admission to the online
meeting being based on both the trust relationship and the control
relationship.
[0087] A method as described above, wherein said establishing a
trust relationship is performed by conveying credential information
to enable a user to log into an online meeting.
[0088] A method as described above, wherein establishing the
control relationship comprises receiving information from the
meeting device and conveying this information to the meeting
service.
[0089] A method as described above, wherein establishing the
control relationship comprises providing information to the meeting
device effective to enable the meeting device to provide
information to the meeting service.
[0090] A method as described above, wherein establishing the
control relationship comprises receiving a PIN from the meeting
device and conveying the PIN to the meeting service.
[0091] A method as described above, wherein establishing the
control relationship comprises establishing the control
relationship based on location proximity between the first device
and the meeting device.
[0092] A method as described above, wherein said communicating
admission information is effective to cause the meeting device to
be admitted to the online meeting with elevated permissions.
[0093] A method as described above, wherein said communicating
admission information is effective to cause the meeting device to
be admitted to the online meeting by bypassing a pre-meeting
admissions staging area.
[0094] A device comprising: one or more processors; one or more
computer readable media; computer-readable instructions embodied on
the one or more computer readable media and executable by the one
or more processors to implement a meeting service configured to
perform operations comprising: establishing a trust relationship
with a first device; receiving admission information from the first
device, the admission information being associated with an
untrusted meeting device; and based on the trust relationship and
the admission information, admitting the meeting device to the
meeting.
[0095] A device as described above, wherein establishing the trust
relationship comprises receiving information associated with a
trusted entity and using the information to provide admission to an
online meeting.
[0096] A device as described above, wherein said admitting
comprises admitting the meeting device with elevated permissions
that are the same as a trusted entity associated with the first
device.
[0097] A device as described above, wherein said admitting
comprises enabling the meeting device to bypass a pre-meeting
admissions staging area.
[0098] A device as described above, wherein said admitting
comprises admitting the meeting device with permissions associated
with a meeting organizer or presenter.
[0099] A system comprising: one or more processors; one or more
computer-readable storage media storing an application which, when
executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more
processors to perform operations comprising: establishing a trust
relationship with a meeting service; establishing a control
relationship with a meeting device; and communicating admission
information to the meeting service effective to enable the meeting
service to admit the meeting device to an online meeting, admission
to the online meeting being based on both the trust relationship
and the control relationship.
[0100] A system as described above, wherein said establishing a
trust relationship is performed by conveying credential information
to enable a user to log into an online meeting.
[0101] A system as described above, wherein establishing the
control relationship comprises receiving information from the
meeting device and conveying this information to the meeting
service.
[0102] A system as described above, wherein establishing the
control relationship comprises providing information to the meeting
device effective to enable the meeting device to provide
information to the meeting service.
[0103] A system as described above, wherein establishing the
control relationship comprises receiving a PIN from the meeting
device and conveying the PIN to the meeting service.
[0104] A system as described above, wherein establishing the
control relationship comprises establishing the control
relationship based on location proximity between the first device
and the meeting device.
[0105] A system as described above, wherein said communicating
admission information is effective to cause the meeting device to
be admitted to the online meeting with elevated permissions.
[0106] A system as described above, wherein said communicating
admission information is effective to cause the meeting device to
be admitted to the online meeting by bypassing a pre-meeting
admissions staging area.
[0107] A meeting device comprising: one or more processors; one or
more computer-readable storage media storing an application which,
when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more
processors to perform operations comprising: enabling a control
relationship to be established with a first device, the control
relationship enabling, at least in part, a meeting to be conducted
using the meeting device; and receiving, from a meeting service,
admission to the meeting in a manner that enables a user of the
first device to use the meeting device to participate in the
meeting.
[0108] A meeting device as described above, wherein said enabling
is performed by providing information to the first device for
provision to a meeting service in order to enable the control
relationship to be established.
[0109] A meeting device as described above, wherein said enabling
is performed by receiving information from the first device and
providing the received information to a meeting service in order to
enable the control relationship to be established.
[0110] A meeting device as described above, wherein receiving
admission to the meeting is effective to provide the meeting device
with elevated permissions.
[0111] A meeting device as described above, wherein receiving
admission to the meeting is effective to provide the meeting device
with elevated permissions that are the same as an authenticated
user of the first device.
[0112] A meeting device as described above, wherein receiving
admission to the meeting is effective to admit the meeting device
as a meeting organizer or presenter.
[0113] A meeting device as described above, wherein receiving
admission to the meeting is effective to enable the meeting device
to bypass a pre-meeting admissions stag
[0114] Conclusion
[0115] Various embodiments enable an application on a first device
to log into an online meeting in association with a trusted entity,
such as a trusted user. Once trust is established between the
trusted entity and the meeting domain, such as an enterprise
domain, permissions can be assigned to a meeting device, by virtue
of the trust relationship with the trusted entity, to enable the
meeting device to join the meeting as a participant, thus allowing
the meeting device to bypass an initial join process such as a
meeting lobby and the like. By virtue of the assigned permissions,
the meeting device may take control of the meeting and control the
experience for others in the meeting as a meeting organizer or some
other permission-centric role.
[0116] Although the embodiments have been described in language
specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is
to be understood that the embodiments defined in the appended
claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts
described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as
example forms of implementing the claimed embodiments.
* * * * *