The present invention discloses a centralized, digital, computer-based telephone call management system for authenticating users of a telephone system in an institutional facility. The system includes the capacity to allow an institution to control, record, monitor, and bill and report usage and access to a telephone network. The telephone call management system further includes both accounting and management software for use in controlling, monitoring, billing, recording, and reporting usage and access. Also, it can operate over both a Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) and a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) infrastructure.

Disclosed is a secure telephone call management system for authenticating users of a telephone system in an institutional facility. Authentication of the users is accomplished by using a personal identification number, preferably in conjunction with speaker independent voice recognition and speaker dependent voice identification. When a user first enters the system, the user speaks his or her name which is used as a sample voice print. During each subsequent use of the system, the user is required to speak his or her name. Voice identification software is used to verify that the provided speech matches the sample voice print. The secure system includes accounting software to limit access based on funds in a user's account or other related limitations. Management software implements widespread or local changes to the system and can modify or set any number of user account parameters.

Methods and systems described in this disclosure allow customers to quickly be authenticated. In some embodiments, a device and a user verifier are associated with a user profile. When a call is received from the device, the user may be requested to input the user verifier. After verifying that the device is unique to the user and that the user verifier matches the user verifier associated with the user profile, the user may be authenticated to the call or activity.

The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling a real-time communication between at least two participants on a real-time conversation and collaboration platform by means of a digital assistant unit, wherein clients are connected to a conferencing application via a communications network establishing the communication, the method comprising the steps of identifying, from the at least two participants, a first participant as an active speaker in the conversation by using audio signals received from the first participant via a microphone, activating the digital assistant unit for the first participant, if a predetermined event is detected, wherein the audio signals received from the first participant are analyzed so as to identify voice commands therefrom, wherein an Automatic Speech Recognition engine performs a voice recognition procedure for identifying and transcribing the identified voice commands, and wherein the transcribed voice commands are analyzed and executed.

A method for determining potentially undesirable voices, in embodiments, includes: receiving audio recordings comprising voices associated with undesirable activity, and determining audio components of each of the audio recordings. The method may further comprise generating a multi-dimensional vector of the audio components for each of the plurality of audio recordings, and comparing audio components between the multi-dimensional vectors to determine clusters of multi-dimensional vectors, each cluster comprising two or more of the multi-dimensional vectors of audio components, wherein each cluster corresponds to a blacklisted voice. The method may further comprise receiving an audio recording or audio stream, and determining whether the audio recording or audio stream is associated with a voice associated with undesirable activity based on a comparison to the clusters.

A method for determining potentially undesirable voices, in embodiments, includes: receiving audio recordings comprising voices associated with undesirable activity; and determining audio components of each of the audio recordings. The method may further include generating a multi-dimensional vector of the audio components for each of the plurality of audio recordings, and comparing audio components between the multi-dimensional vectors to determine clusters of multi-dimensional vectors, each cluster comprising two or more of the multi-dimensional vectors of audio components. Each cluster may correspond to a blacklisted voice. The method may further comprise receiving an audio recording or audio stream, and determining whether the audio recording or audio stream is associated with a voice associated with undesirable activity based on a comparison to the clusters.

Video conferencing in a controlled environment facility entails significant security concerns. These concerns are even more prevalent in a system that permits residents of such facilities to communicate via their own personal devices. Therefore, in order to alleviate these concerns and provide a secure system in which a resident is able to make video calls using their personal device, a kiosk unit is provided to which the personal device must be linked for completing a video call. When making the video call, the camera and display on the personal device are disabled, and all video data is captured and displayed by the kiosk unit. The link between the kiosk unit and the personal device facilitates the exchange of the image information for transmission to the outside party, or display to the user. By providing a fixed camera, and disabling the personal device camera, security can be maintained while permitting video calling services.