Open cable application platform set-top box (STB) personal profiles and communications applications
Utilization of stored of personalized information and communication preferences in a profile in a STB in a structured format or via cookies allows at least a combination of feature rich telephony applications, with the personalized data stored in STBs facilitating feature rich communications sessions. Providing advanced multimedia communications applications using personalized data resident in STBs could allow an entity to provide, for example, many previously unavailable services, and therefore provide considerable new business potential. The personal information stored in the STB can convey many exemplary benefits, such as communication preferences, alternate contact modalities, payment preferences, priority preferences, trusted contacts, personal information, as well as multimedia messaging, etc. The integration of the personal information with the intelligent personal agent also enhances the user experience.
1. A set-top box with an operating system layer operable to support cable network interconnectability and to provide an application platform comprising:
one or more profiles, each profile including personal information and personal preferences, one or more of the personal information and personal preferences used in association with a service application or communications application for operation of the service application or the communications application;
a profile interface operable to allow management of the one or more profiles, the management including one or more of creation and editing of the one or more profiles; and
an intelligent agent operable to use information in the one or more profiles to perform automatic or semi-automatic tasks on behalf of a user in association with one or more of the service application or communications application, wherein the intelligent agent utilizes one or more rules for dynamic application behavior and the intelligent agent is operable to perform:
monitoring a transaction between the user on the set-top box and another entity;
receiving an indication from the user to store the transaction between the user and the other entity as a preference for future use;
receiving a telephone number associated with the user to store in the one or more profiles;
receiving a telephone call from the user;
presenting a voice menu to the user to select the stored transaction;
receiving a selection of the stored transaction;
in response to receiving the selection of the stored transaction, initiating the stored transaction;
determining a set-top box for the user based on the telephone number associated with the user;
in response to determining the set-top box for the user based on the telephone number associated with the user, launching a secure fetch of payment information; and
sending payment information as part of the initiated stored transaction.
2. The set-top box of claim 1 , wherein the one or more profiles comprise one or more of personal information, communications preferences, personal preferences, payment information, vendor information, priority information, contextual preferences, one or more sub-profiles, alternate contact modalities and one or more trusted contacts.
3. The set-top box of claim 1 , adapted to receive one or more of television programming, data, voice information, internet communications, VOIP communications, ecommerce communications, communication from attached electronic devices and content.
4. The set-top box of claim 1 , wherein the intelligent agent also utilizes one or more of security information and the rules to perform the automatic or the semi-automatic tasks.
5. The set-top box of claim 1 , wherein the service application includes an intelligent agent operable to initiate a service transaction request that includes information from the one or more profiles, the initiate service transaction request utilizing internet-based protocols to communicate with one or more of a trusted entity, a content/service provider and the other entity.
6. The set-top box of claim 1 , further comprising rules operable to both trigger the tasks and manage the operation of the tasks.
7. The set-top box of claim 1 , further comprising a security module operable to one or more of filter, analyze, restrict access to, restrict dissemination of and control information in the one or more profiles.
8. The set-top box of claim 1 , further comprising one or more sub-profiles, the behavior of which is governed by the one or more profiles.
9. A method of operating a set-top box with an operating system layer operable to support cable network interconnectability and to provide an application platform comprising:
establishing one or more profiles, each profile including personal information and personal preferences, one or more of the personal information and personal preferences used in association with a service application or communications application for operation of the service application or the communications application;
managing of the one or more profiles, the management including one or more of creation and editing of the one or more profiles; and
invoking an intelligent agent and a processor to use information in the one or more profiles to perform an automatic or semi-automatic task on behalf of a user in association with one or more of the service application or communications application, wherein the intelligent agent utilizes one or more rules for dynamic application behavior and the intelligent agent is operable to perform:
monitoring a transaction between the user on the set-top box and another entity;
receiving an indication from the user to store the transaction between the user and the other entity as a preference for future use;
receiving a telephone number associated with the user to store in the one or more profiles;
receiving a telephone call from the user;
presenting a voice menu to the user to select the stored transaction;
receiving a selection of the stored transaction;
in response to receiving the selection of the stored transaction, initiating the stored transaction:
determining a set-top box for the user based on the telephone number associated with the user;
in response to determining the set-top box for the user based on the telephone number associated with the user, launching a secure fetch of payment information; and
sending payment information as part of the initiated stored transaction.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the one or more profiles comprise one or more of personal information, communications preferences, personal preferences, payment information, vendor information, priority information, contextual preferences, one or more sub-profiles, alternate contact modalities and one or more trusted contacts.
11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising receiving one or more of television programming, data, voice information, internet communications, VOIP communications, ecommerce communications, communication from attached electronic devices and content.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the intelligent agent also utilizes one or more of security information and the rules to perform the automatic or the semi-automatic task.
13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the service application includes an intelligent agent operable to initiate a service transaction request that includes information from the one or more profiles, the initiate service transaction request utilizing internet-based protocols to communicate with one or more of a trusted entity, a content/service provider and the other entity.
14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising using rules to both trigger the tasks and manage the operation of the tasks.
15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the intelligent agent is a software agent that assists users, and will act on their behalf, in performing non-repetitive computer-related tasks.
16. The method of claim 9 , one or more of filtering, analyzing, restricting access to, restricting dissemination of and controlling information in the one or more profiles.
17. A system for operating a set-top box with an operating system layer operable to support cable network interconnectability and to provide an application platform comprising:
means for establishing one or more profiles, each profile including personal information and personal preferences, one or more of the personal information and personal preferences used in association with a service application or communications application for operation of the service application or the communications application;
means for managing of the one or more profiles, the management including one or more of creation and editing of the one or more profiles; and
means for invoking an intelligent agent to use information in the one or more profiles to perform an automatic or semi-automatic task on behalf of a user in association with one or more of the service application or communications application, wherein the intelligent agent utilizes one or more rules for dynamic application behavior and the intelligent agent is operable to perform:
means for monitoring a transaction between the user on the set-top box and another entity;
means for receiving an indication from the user to store the transaction between the user and the other entity as a preference for future use;
means for receiving a telephone number associated with the user to store in the one or more profiles;
means for receiving a telephone call from the user;
means for presenting a voice menu to the user to select the stored transaction;
means for receiving a selection of the stored transaction;
in response to receiving the selection of the stored transaction, means for initiating the stored transaction;
means for determining a set-top box for the user based on the telephone number associated with the user;
in response to determining the set-top box for the user based on the telephone number associated with the user, means for launching a secure fetch of payment information; and
means for sending payment information as part of the initiated stored transaction.