Method and system for tele-conferencing with simultaneous interpretation and automatic floor control

A method for remote interpretation comprising:

• establishing a plurality of teleconference bridges, wherein each bridge of the plurality of teleconference bridges is associated with one of a plurality of languages;
• connecting each participant of a plurality of participants to an appropriate one of the plurality of teleconference bridges based upon a preferred language of the respective participant;
• connecting an interpreter to a first one of the plurality of teleconference bridges and a second one of the plurality of teleconference bridges based upon language capabilities of the interpreter;
• and;
• receiving a plurality of speaking requests from at least one of the plurality of participants;
• and
• iteratively granting a speaking request of a select participant of the plurality of participants, wherein the interpreter simultaneously listens to the select participant through the first one of the plurality of teleconference bridges and speaks an interpretation into the second one of the plurality of teleconference bridges.

A conferencing system supporting simultaneous interpretation in a plurality of languages, comprising:

• a) a plurality of first audio connections, wherein each of the plurality of first audio connections is associated with at least one participant of a plurality of participants;
• b) a second audio connection associated with a first interpreter;
• c) a plurality of teleconference bridges, wherein each of the plurality of first audio connections is associated with at least one of the plurality of teleconference bridges based upon a preferred language of a respective participant of the plurality of participants and wherein the second audio connection is associated with a first bridge and a second bridge of the plurality of teleconference bridges based upon language capabilities of the first interpreter;
• and
• d) a processor in communication with each of the plurality of
• teleconference bridges, the
• processor configured to:
• i) receive a plurality of requests for the floor from a plurality of requesting participants of the plurality of participants;
• and
• ii) iteratively grant the floor to a select participant of the plurality of requesting participants in response to a respective request for the floor, wherein the first interpreter simultaneously listens to a select participant currently granted the floor through the first bridge and speaks an interpretation into the second bridge.