Distributed audience measurement systems and methods
View Patent ↗Systems and methods are disclosed for customizing, distributing and processing audio fingerprint data. An example method includes receiving, at a first device, an activation signal and a first audio fingerprint via first wireless communications between the first device and a communications network, the receiving occurring while the first device is not recording audio via a microphone of the first device; based on the activation signal, recording audio using the microphone during a first time period; generating a second audio fingerprint representative of the recorded audio; determining whether the second audio fingerprint matches the first audio fingerprint; and sending an indication of whether the second audio fingerprint matches the first audio fingerprint to an audience measurement entity via second wireless communications between the first device and the communications network.
1. A method to meter media, the method comprising:
waking a portable device from an inactive state in response to an activation signal received at the portable device from a central facility, the activation signal including a first fingerprint and
after waking the portable device from the inactive state:
storing the first fingerprint included with the activation signal in a memory of the portable device;
recording audio with the portable device;
generating, with the portable device, a second fingerprint based on the recorded audio;
comparing, with the portable device, the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate a match score; and
communicating, from the portable device to the central facility, a match determination based on the match score.
2. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the comparing, with the portable device, of the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate the match score further includes determining first characteristics of the first fingerprint and second characteristics of the second fingerprint.
3. The method as defined in claim 2 , wherein the comparing, with the portable device, of the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate the match score further includes generating a measurement of a difference between the first characteristics of the first fingerprint and the second characteristics of the second fingerprint.
4. The method as defined in claim 3 , wherein the generating of the measurement of the difference between the first characteristics of the first fingerprint and the second characteristics of the second fingerprint includes comparing first vector sequences of the first fingerprint to second vector sequences of the second fingerprint.
5. The method as defined in claim 3 , wherein the measurement of the difference is one of a Manhattan distance, a Hamming distance, a Nearest Neighbor classification, or an Exponential Pseudo Norm metric.
6. The method as defined in claim 3 , wherein the comparing, with the portable device, of the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate the match score further includes comparing the measurement of the difference to a threshold.
7. The method as defined in claim 6 , wherein the comparing, with the portable device, of the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate the match score includes determining a positive match score when the measurement of the difference exceeds the threshold, the positive match score indicating that the first fingerprint matches the second fingerprint, and wherein the match determination is an affirmative result based on the positive match score.
8. The method as a defined in claim 6 , wherein the comparing, with the portable device, of the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate the match score includes determining a negative match score when the measurement of the difference is less than the threshold, the negative match score indicating that the first fingerprint is divergent from the second fingerprint, and wherein the match determination is a negative result based on the negative match score.
9. A portable device comprising:
a communication interface to receive an activation signal from a central facility, the activation signal including a first fingerprint, the activation signal further including executable content to wake the portable device from an inactive state;
a microphone to record an audio sample;
a formation module implemented, at least in part, by at least one processor, the formation module to generate a second fingerprint based on the audio sample after the portable device wakes from the inactive state; and
a confirmation module implemented, at least in part, by the at least one processor, the formation module to, after the portable device wakes from the inactive state:
generate a match score based on the first fingerprint and the second fingerprint, and
generate a match determination based on the match score.
10. The portable device of claim 9 , wherein the communication interface is further to communicate the match determination from the portable device to the central facility.
11. The portable device of claim 9 , wherein the portable device further includes a look-up module implemented, at least in part, by the at least one processor, the look-up module to determine first characteristics of the first fingerprint and second characteristics of the second fingerprint.
12. The portable device of claim 11 , wherein the look-up module is further to generate a measurement of a difference between the first characteristics of the first fingerprint and the second characteristics of the second fingerprint.
13. The portable device of claim 12 , wherein to generate the measurement of the difference between the first characteristics of the first fingerprint and the second characteristics of the second fingerprint, the look-up module is further to compare first vector sequences of the first fingerprint to second vector sequences of the second fingerprint.
14. The portable device of claim 12 , wherein the measurement of the difference is one of a Manhattan distance, a Hamming distance, a Nearest Neighbor classification, or an Exponential Pseudo Norm metric.
15. The portable device of claim 12 , wherein to generate the match score based on the first fingerprint and the second fingerprint, the confirmation module is further to compare the measurement of the difference to a threshold.
16. The portable device of claim 15 , wherein to generate the match score based on the first fingerprint and the second fingerprint, the confirmation module is further to determine a positive match score when the measurement of the difference exceeds the threshold, the positive match score indicating that the first fingerprint matches the second fingerprint, and wherein the match determination is an affirmative result based on the match score.
17. The portable device of claim 15 , wherein to generate the match score based on the first fingerprint and the second fingerprint, the confirmation module is further to determine a negative match score when the measurement of the difference is less than the threshold, the negative match score indicating that the first fingerprint is divergent from the second fingerprint, and wherein the match determination is a negative result based on the match score.
18. A tangible machine readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor of a portable device, cause the processor to at least:
wake the portable device from an inactive state in response to an activation signal received at the portable device from a central facility, the activation signal including a first fingerprint and
after the portable device wakes from the inactive state:
store the first fingerprint included with the activation signal in a memory of the portable device;
record audio with the portable device;
generate a second fingerprint based on the recorded audio;
compare the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate a match score; and
communicate, from the portable device to the central facility, a match determination based on the match score.
19. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 18 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to determine first characteristics of the first fingerprint and second characteristics of the second fingerprint to compare the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate the match score.
20. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 19 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to generate a measurement of a difference between the first characteristics of the first fingerprint and the second characteristics of the second fingerprint to compare the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate the match score.
21. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 20 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to compare first vector sequences of the first fingerprint to second vector sequences of the second fingerprint to generate the measurement of the difference between the first characteristics of the first fingerprint and the second characteristics of the second fingerprint.
22. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 20 , wherein the measurement of the difference is one of a Manhattan distance, a Hamming distance, a Nearest Neighbor classification, or an Exponential Pseudo Norm metric.
23. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 20 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to compare the measurement of the difference to a threshold to compare the first fingerprint to the second fingerprint to generate the match score.
24. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to determine a positive match score when the measurement of the difference exceeds the threshold, the positive match score indicating that the first fingerprint matches the second fingerprint, and wherein the match determination is an affirmative result based on the positive match score.
25. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to determine a negative match score when the measurement of the difference is less than the threshold, the negative match score indicating that the first fingerprint is divergent from the second fingerprint, and wherein the match determination is a negative result based on the negative match score.