Video conferencing apparatus and method for configuring a communication session

A computer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions, which are executed by a processor to perform a method of setting up communication sessions in a telepresence call between at least a first and a second telepresence (TP) system, each TP system having at least one transceiver, wherein information required for setting up the communication sessions is embedded in a control protocol message flow establishing a first communication session between a first transceiver of the first TP system and a first transceiver of the second TP system, the method comprising:

• transmitting a first message from the first transceiver of the first TP system to the first transceiver of the second TP system, the first message defining a TP call;
• transmitting a second message from the first transceiver of the first TP to the first transceiver of the second TP system, the second message defining one of the TPs as a master TP system of the TP call;
• transmitting a third message from the first transceiver of the first TP system to the first transceiver of the second TP system and a fourth message from the first transceiver of the second TP system to the first transceiver of the first TP system wherein the third and the fourth messages respectively include the number of additional transceivers (sockets), addresses of the sockets, and positions of the sockets relative to the first transceiver of the TP from which it is transmitted;
• and
• initializing the telepresence call from the master TP system, including instructing the sockets associated with the master TP system to set up point-to-point communication sessions with corresponding sockets associated with other TP systems, which are not defined as master TP system.

A telepresence (TP) apparatus, comprising:

• a local transceiver;
• a transmitting unit configured to initiate a control protocol message flow establishing a communication session between the local transceiver and a remote transceiver of a remote TP apparatus, including transmitting a first message from the local transceiver to the remote transceiver, the first message defining a TP call;
• and
• a receiving unit configured to receive a second message from the remote transceiver, the second message defining either the TP apparatus or the remote TP apparatus as a master TP apparatus of the TP call,
• the transmitting unit transmitting a third message from the local transceiver to the remote transceiver, and the receiving unit receiving a fourth message from the remote transceiver to the local, wherein
• the third and the fourth message respectively include a number of additional transceivers (sockets) included in the TP apparatus and the remote TP apparatus, addresses of the sockets, and positions of the sockets relative to, respectively, the local transceiver and the remote transceiver, and
• the TP call is initialized from the master TP apparatus by instructing sockets of the master TP apparatus to set up point-to-point communication sessions with corresponding sockets associated with the non-master TP apparatus.