System and method to acquire audio data packets for recording and analysis

Abstract

A signal monitoring apparatus and method involving devices for monitoring signals representing communications traffic, devices for identifying at least one predetermined parameter by analyzing the context of the at least one monitoring signal, a device for recording the occurrence of the identified parameter, a device for identifying the traffic stream associated with the identified parameter, a device for analyzing the recorded data relating to the occurrence, and a device, responsive to the analysis of the recorded data, for controlling the handling of communications traffic within the apparatus.

1. A signal monitoring system for monitoring and analyzing communications passing through a monitoring point, the system comprising:
 a digital voice recorder ( 18 ) for monitoring two-way conversation traffic streams passing through the monitoring point, said digital voice recorder having connections ( 20 ) for being operatively attached to the monitoring point;    a digital processor ( 30 ) connected to said digital voice recorder for identifying at least one predetermined parameter by analyzing the voice communication content of at least one monitored signal taken from the traffic streams;    a recorder ( 38 ) attached to said digital processor for recording occurrences of the predetermined parameter;    a traffic stream identifier ( 36 ) for identifying the traffic stream associated with the predetermined parameter;    a data analyzer ( 36 ) connected to said digital processor for analyzing the recorded data relating to the occurrences; and    a communication traffic controller ( 34 ) operatively connected to said data analyzer and, operating responsive to the analysis of the recorded data, for controlling the handling of communications traffic within said monitoring system.    
     
     
       2. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one predetermined parameter includes a frequency of keywords identified in the voice communication content of the at least one monitored signal. 
     
     
       3. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said digital processor further identifies episodes of anger or shouting by analyzing amplitude envelope. 
     
     
       4. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one predetermined parameter is a prosody of the voice communication content of the at least one monitored signal. 
     
     
       5. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said connections for being operatively attached to the telephony exchange switch are attached via high impedance taps ( 20 ) to telephone signal lines ( 24 ,  26 ) attached to said telephony exchange switch. 
     
     
       6. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said communication traffic controller serves to identify at least one section of traffic relative to another so as to identify a source of the predetermined parameter. 
     
     
       7. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said communication traffic controller serves to influence further monitoring actions within the apparatus. 
     
     
       8. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the analyzed contents of the at least one monitored signal comprise the interaction between at least two signals representing an at least two-way conversation. 
     
     
       9. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the recorder operates in real time to provide a real-time indication of the occurrence. 
     
     
       10. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said digital voice recorder comprises an analog/digital convertor ( 18 ) for converting analog voice into a digital signal. 
     
     
       11. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said digital processor as a Digital Signal Processor ( 30 ) arranged to operate in accordance with an analyzing algorithm. 
     
     
       12. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the digital processor is arranged to operate in real time. 
     
     
       13. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a replay station ( 32 ) connected to said digital processor and arranged such that the voice communication content of the at least one monitored signal can be recorded and monitored by said digital processor for identifying the at least one parameter at some later time. 
     
     
       14. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one predetermined parameter comprises plural predetermined parameters and wherein said recorder records the occurrence of the plural predetermined parameters in each of the two directions of traffic separately. 
     
     
       15. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said traffic stream identifier comprises a means for receiving an identifier tagged onto the traffic so as to identify its source. 
     
     
       16. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said digital voice recorder for monitoring the traffic streams is operative responsive to an output from said traffic stream identifier identifying the source of the conversation in which the predetermined parameter has been identified, or a threshold occurrence of the predetermined parameter has been exceeded. 
     
     
       17. The monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein said digital voice recorder, said digital processor, said recorder, said traffic stream identifier, and said data analyzer reside on an add-in card to a telecommunications system. 
     
     
       18. A method for recording audio data packets, comprising:
   monitoring audio data packets received at a switch associated with a call center, the audio data packets being transmitted over a compputer network and comprising packet headers and packet bodies;        examining data within the audio data packets by using a processor that is communicatively connected to the switch to identify at least one speaker - independent predetermined parameter associated with two - way voice communication; and        storing at least a portion of the audio data packets in a storage device communicatively connected to the prpcessor in accordance with the at least one speaker - independent predetermined parameter.      
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the processor analyzes the packet headers. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 18 , wherein examining includes determining telephone interactions to which the audio data packets belong.  
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 18 , wherein examining includes sorting the audio data packets in accordance with a timestamp.  
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising identifying, by the processor, the voice communication content included in the packet bodies of the audio data packets.  
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 22 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying a frequency of keywords identified in the audio data packets received over the computer network.  
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 22 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying episodes of anger or shouting based upon an amplitude envelope associated with the audio data packets.  
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 22 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying a prosody associated with the voice communication content of the audio data packets.  
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 22 , wherein storing in the storage device is based upon identification of voice communication content that includes the at least one speaker- independent predetermined parameter.    
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 22 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes examining incoming and outgoing traffic streams to identify whether a talk- over condition exists with respect to the audio data packets.    
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 22 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying whether one or more of a predetermined group of words exists with respect to the audio data packets.  
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 22 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying stress in voice content associated with the audio data packets.  
     
     
       30. The method of  claim 29 , wherein stress is identified by determining changes in volume, speed and tone of voice content associated with the audio data packets.  
     
     
       31. The method of  claim 22 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying a delay between audio data packet transmissions in opposite directions.  
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the examining includes analyzing the packet bodies by the processor.  
     
     
       33. A system operable to acquire audio data packets for recording and analysis, comprising:
   an audio data recorder operable to acquire data packets associated with a voice interaction transmitted over a computer network to a call center, the audio data packets comprising packet headers and a packet bodies;        an analysis module operable to analyze the data packets by identifying at least one speaker - independent predetermined parameter associated with two - way voice communication; and        a storage module operable to store at least a portion of the audio data packets in accordance with the at least one speaker - independent predetermined parameter.      
     
     
       34. The system of  claim 33 , wherein the analysis module is operable to extract data from the packet header, and to analyze the packet body.  
     
     
       35. The system of  claim 33 , wherein the audio data recorder is further operable to determine telephone interactions to which the data packets belong.  
     
     
       36. The system of  claim 33 , wherein the audio data packets are sorted in accordance with a timestamp.  
     
     
       37. The system of  claim 33 , wherein analysis of the packet bodies comprises identifying voice communication content included in the packet bodies of the audio data packets. 
     
     
       38. The system of  claim 37 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying a frequency of keywords identified in the audio data packets received over the computer network.  
     
     
       39. The system of  claim 37 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying episodes of anger or shouting based upon an amplitude envelope associated with the audio data packets.  
     
     
       40. The system of  claim 37 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying a prosody associated with the voice communication content of the audio data packets.  
     
     
       41. The system of  claim 37 , wherein the storage module stores the portion of the audio data packets based upon identification of voice communication content that includes the at least one speaker- independent predetermined parameter.    
     
     
       42. The system of  claim 37 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes examining incoming and outgoing traffic streams to identify whether a talk- over condition exists with respect to the audio data packets.    
     
     
       43. The system of  claim 37 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying whether one or more of a predetermined group of words exists with respect to the audio data packets.  
     
     
       44. The system of  claim 37 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying stress voice content associated with the audio data packets.  
     
     
       45. The system of  claim 37 , wherein stress is identified by determining changes in volume, speed and tone of voice content associated with the audio data packets.  
     
     
       46. The system of  claim 37 , wherein identifying voice communication content includes identifying a delay between data packet transmissions in opposite directions.