Arkansas Patent of the Month – May 2023

All Turtles Corporation, a globally distributed product studio, is at the forefront of addressing the challenges of video conferencing by developing a system to recognize and mitigate unacceptable and unhealthy behavior by participants during virtual meetings. 

With the proliferation of video conferencing, the need for cultural and social acceptability of each participant’s behavior has become paramount. However, despite the availability of hardware and software capabilities for capturing and tracking participant behavior, there is little practical research and assistance in detecting and mitigating unacceptable behavior by video meeting participants. 

The system developed by All Turtles involves detecting unacceptable behavior by applying machine learning to participant data and comparing against a predetermined list of bad habits. The data is captured from various devices including the participant’s webcam, microphone,  mobile device, laptop, smartwatch, and wearable sensors. The data about the participant may include visual data, sound data, motion, proximity, and chemical sensor data, as well as heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure. An initial training phase is used to obtain a general recognition capability for each item on the predetermined list of bad habits. 

All Turtles’ solution considers a range of bad habits or inappropriate behavior, including  nail-biting, yelling, making unacceptable gestures, yawning, and more. The system determines recognition accuracy for the unacceptable behavior and provides a response that varies according to the recognition accuracy. The response may include providing feedback to the participant, such as a message that the behavior is unacceptable or a warning that their microphone or camera will be turned off if the behavior persists.

The system is not only designed to address unacceptable behavior but also unhealthy behavior, such as touching one’s face, which poses a risk of spreading viruses and germs during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of this system, companies and individuals can ensure that their virtual meetings are professional, efficient, and healthy. 

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