Methods and apparatus to adaptively select sensor(s) to gather audience measurement data based on a variable system factor and a quantity of data collectible by the sensors
View Patent ↗Methods and apparatus to adaptively gather audience information data are disclosed. The disclosed methods and apparatus monitor system factor(s) and select one or more sensors from a plurality of sensors positioned to gather audience measurement data based on the monitored factor(s). Thus, the disclosed methods and apparatus adapt to the conditions they face by selecting an amount and/or type of audience measurement data they gather.
1. A method of gathering audience measurement data comprising:
monitoring a variable system factor reflecting a current system condition;
summing an amount of audience measurement data per unit of time that is currently capable of being gathered by a plurality of sensors located to develop the audience measurement data at a local site, the plurality of sensors being located at the same local site;
adaptively selecting, using a processor, at least one sensor from the plurality of sensors based on a comparison involving (a) the variable system factor and (b) the amount of data per unit of time that is currently capable of being gathered by the plurality of sensors to adapt to the current system condition; and
storing the audience measurement data developed by the at least one selected sensor.
2. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising at least one of ignoring or discarding data developed from a sensor in the plurality of sensors at the local site that is not one of the at least one selected sensor.
3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the variable system factor comprises at least one of: (a) available bandwidth of a communication link between the local site and a remote site, (b) available storage capacity at the local site, (c) available storage capacity at the remote site, (d) processing speed associated with a processor at the local site, and (e) processing speed associated with a processor at the remote site.
4. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the amount of data per unit of time comprises a number of bytes of data per unit of time.
5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the plurality of sensors comprise at least one of: (a) an audio code sensor, (b) a video code sensor, (c) an audio signature sensor, (d) a video signature sensor, (e) a software meter sensor, (f) a digital bitstream sensor; (g) an on-screen display sensor; (h) an AMOL decoder; (i) an audio watermarking sensor; and (j) a video watermarking sensor.
6. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising selecting the at least one sensor from the plurality of sensors based on at least one of: (a) a presence of an audio code, (b) a presence of a video code, (c) audible noise at the local site, and (d) a condition of a set top box.
7. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising transmitting the audience measurement data developed by the at least one selected sensor from a local site to a remote site.
8. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising selecting a preference ranking for the sensors in the plurality.
9. A method as defined in claim 8 wherein selecting a preference ranking for the sensors in the plurality comprises selecting the preference ranking based on a fixed system factor.
10. A method as defined in claim 9 wherein the fixed system factor comprises at least one of: (a) a presence of two or more affiliates of a broadcasting company in a market, (b) a local preference for a sensor type, (c) a presence of a set top box having an interactive program guide; (d) a type of communication link; (e) a cost of using a sensor type; (f) a complexity of using a sensor type; (g) a presence of a viewing time shifting device; and (h) a presence of a viewing place shifting device.
11. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising selecting a rule defining a preference ranking for the sensors in the plurality from a set of rules defining a set of preference rankings for the sensors in the plurality.
12. A method as defined in claim 11 wherein selecting a rule defining a preference ranking for the sensors in the plurality from a set of rules comprises selecting the rule based on a fixed system factor.
13. A method as defined in claim 12 wherein the fixed system factor comprises at least one of: (a) a presence of two or more affiliates of a broadcasting company in a market, (b) a local preference for a sensor type, (c) a presence of a set top box having an interactive program guide; (d) a type of communication link; (e) a cost of using a sensor type; (f) a complexity of using a sensor type; (g) a presence of a viewing time shifting device; and (h) a presence of a viewing place shifting device.
14. A non-transitory medium storing machine readable instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:
monitor a variable system factor;
sum an amount of audience measurement data per unit of time that is currently capable of being gathered by a plurality of sensors located to develop the audience measurement data at a local site;
adaptively select at least one sensor from the plurality of sensors based on a comparison involving (a) the variable system factor and (b) the number of bytes of data per unit of time that that is currently capable of being gathered by the plurality of sensors; and
capture the audience measurement data developed by the at least one selected sensor.
15. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the machine to at least one of ignore or discard data developed from a sensor in the plurality of sensors that is not one of the at least one selected sensor.
16. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the variable system factor comprises at least one of: (a) available bandwidth of a communication link between a local site and a remote site, (b) available storage capacity at the local site, (c) available storage capacity at the remote site, (d) processing speed associated with a processor at the local site, and (e) processing speed associated with a processor at the remote site.
17. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the amount of audience measurement data per unit of time that is currently capable of being gathered by the plurality of sensors comprises a number of bytes of audience measurement data that that is currently capable of being collectively gathered from the plurality of sensors.
18. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the plurality of sensors comprise at least one of: (a) an audio code sensor, (b) a video code sensor, (c) an audio signature sensor, (d) a video signature sensor, (e) a software meter sensor, (f) a digital bitstream sensor; (g) an on-screen display sensor; (h) an AMOL decoder; (i) an audio watermarking sensor; and (j) a video watermarking sensor.
19. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein, when executed, the machine readable instructions further cause the machine to select the at least one sensor from the plurality of sensors based on at least one of: (a) a presence of an audio code, (b) a presence of a video code, (c) audible noise at the local site, and (d) a condition of a set top box.
20. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the machine to transmit the audience measurement data developed by the at least one selected sensor from a local site to a remote site.
21. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the machine to store the audience measurement data developed by the at least one selected sensor in a local storage device.
22. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the machine to:
transmit the data developed by the at least one selected sensor; and
store the data developed by the at least one selected sensor in a remote storage device.
23. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the machine to select a preference ranking for the sensors in the plurality.
24. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 23 wherein the machine readable instructions cause the machine to select the preference ranking based on a fixed system factor.
25. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 24 wherein the fixed system factor comprises at least one of: (a) a presence of two or more affiliates of a broadcasting company in a market, (b) a local preference for a sensor type, (c) a presence of a set top box having an interactive program guide; (d) a type of communication link; (e) a cost of using a sensor type; (f) a complexity of using a sensor type; (g) a presence of a viewing time shifting device; and (h) a presence of a viewing place shifting device.
26. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 14 wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the machine to select a rule defining a preference ranking for the sensors in the plurality from a set of rules defining a set of preference rankings for the sensors in the plurality.
27. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 26 wherein the machine readable instructions cause the machine to select the rule based on a fixed system factor.
28. A non-transitory medium as defined in claim 27 wherein the fixed system factor comprises at least one of: (a) a presence of two or more affiliates of a broadcasting company in a market, (b) a local preference for a sensor type, (c) a presence of a set top box having an interactive program guide; (d) a type of communication link; (e) a cost of using a sensor type; (f) a complexity of using a sensor type; (g) a presence of a viewing time shifting device; and (h) a presence of a viewing place shifting device.
29. An apparatus to gather audience measurement data comprising:
a plurality of sensors located at a local site to gather audience measurement data;
a switch coupled to the sensors to selectively connect the sensors to an output in communication with a remote site; and
a sensor selector to select which of the sensors the switch connects to the output based on a comparison involving (a) an amount of audience measurement data per unit of time that is currently capable of being collectively gathered by the plurality of sensors and (b) at least one variable system factor monitored at the remote site, wherein the sensor selector is to route data collected from one or more of the sensors to the remote site based on the comparison.
30. An apparatus as defined in claim 29 wherein the amount of audience measurement data per unit of time that is currently capable of being collectively gathered by the plurality of sensors represents a number of bytes of audience measurement data per unit of time that is currently capable of being collectively gathered by the plurality of sensors.
31. An apparatus as defined in claim 29 wherein the switch has a first state in which a first set of the sensors in the plurality are connected to the output and a second state in which a second set of the sensors in the plurality are connected to the output.
32. An apparatus as defined in claim 29 wherein the variable system factor comprises a currently available bandwidth of a communication link between the local site and the remote site, and wherein the sensor selector further comprises:
a bandwidth sensor to estimate a currently available bandwidth of a communication link between the local site and the remote site; and
a storage monitor to determine, based on the estimate of currently available bandwidth and an expected rate of data growth, if one or more storage devices have capacity to store at least a subset of data output by one or more of the plurality of sensors.
33. An apparatus as defined in claim 29 wherein the variable system factor comprises an available storage capacity at the local site.
34. An apparatus as defined in claim 29 wherein the variable system factor comprises an available storage capacity at the remote site, wherein the sensor selector is to determine an amount of available storage capacity allocated at the remote site for data collected at the local site, and wherein the sensor selector is to calculate an expected rate of data collection to determine whether the allocated storage capacity at the remote site is sufficient for data collected from one or more of the plurality of sensors at the local site.
35. An apparatus as defined in claim 29 further comprising a weighting selector to select a preference ranking for the plurality of sensors based on a fixed system factor.
36. An apparatus as defined in claim 35 wherein the fixed system factor comprises at least one of: (a) a presence of two or more affiliates of a broadcasting company in a market, (b) a local preference for a sensor type, (c) a presence of a set top box having an interactive program guide; (d) a type of communication link; (e) a cost of using a sensor type; (f) a complexity of using a sensor type; (g) a presence of a viewing time shifting device; and (h) a presence of a viewing place shifting device.