Systems and methods for modulating advertisement frequencies in streaming signals based on vehicle operation data

• US 10,069,886 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2016
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Lundsgaard, Soren K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Tauqir
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lin, Steve
• Application Number:
  US15/278,849
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

An improved media streaming device and methods are disclosed herein for receiving and modifying a streaming signal to adjust the rate of occurrence of advertisements based on sensor data collected from various sensors associated with a vehicle and a mobile device found within an interior of a vehicle. The improved media streaming device may receive a risk score based on the collected sensor data, and may determine an advertisement tier based on the risk score. Further, the improved media streaming device may select targeted advertisement content based on at least the sensor data, the calculated risk score, the advertisement tier, and other contextual attributes relating to the driver and/or the vehicle. The improved media streaming device may then modify the streaming signal to inject the selected advertisement at the frequency prescribed by the advertisement tier.

Claims

1. An improved media streaming device comprising:

an audio output interface through which signals corresponding to media content and interspersed advertisements are streamed;

at least one processor; and

memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to;

receive, from a streaming content provider system, a streaming signal associated with a default advertisement tier, wherein the streaming signal comprises media content and advertisement content, wherein the default advertisement tier is associated with a baseline advertisement frequency, and wherein the advertisement content occurs in between the media content at a basement frequency;

output, via the audio output interface, the streaming signal;

collect, by a sensor data collection module, sensor data from sensors associated with a vehicle and a mobile device within the vehicle, wherein the sensors comprise an accelerometer, a GPS receiver, and a gyroscope;

receive, from a risk determination module, a risk score calculated based, at least in part, on the sensor data, wherein the risk score is based on a plurality of factors, and wherein the plurality of factors comprise a speed of the vehicle, a rate of acceleration of the vehicle, a road type, a weather, and a time of day;

determine, by an advertisement tier determination module of the device, an first advertisement tier based, at least in part, on the risk score, wherein the first advertisement tier is associated with a first advertisement frequency, wherein the first advertisement frequency is greater than the baseline advertisement frequency, wherein the first advertisement tier is associated with a first predetermined threshold risk score, and wherein the risk score is greater than the first predetermined threshold risk score;

select, by an advertisement selection module of the device, a first advertisement based, at least in part, on the sensor data, the risk score, the advertisement tier, and a plurality of contextual attributes;

modify, by a streaming signal modification module of the device, the streaming signal to inject the first advertisement based on the first advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier, wherein the media content of the streaming signal is substituted by the first advertisement for a first duration associated with the first advertisement;

output, via the audio output interface and by a streaming signal output module of the media streaming device, the streaming signal comprising the first advertisement followed by the media content;

receive, from the risk determination module, an improved risk score based on additional sensor data associated with the vehicle and the mobile device;

responsive to receiving the improved risk score, determine, by the advertisement tier determination module, a second advertisement tier based, at least in part, on the improved risk score, wherein the second advertisement tier is associated with a second advertisement frequency, wherein the second advertisement frequency is less than the first advertisement frequency, wherein the second advertisement tier is associated with a second predetermined threshold risk score, and wherein the improved risk score is less than the first predetermined threshold risk score and greater than the second predetermined threshold risk score;

select, by the advertisement selection module, a second advertisement based, at least in part, on the additional sensor data, the improved risk score, the second advertisement tier, and the plurality of contextual attributes;

modify, by the streaming signal modification module, the streaming signal to inject the second advertisement based on the second advertisement frequency associated with the second advertisement tier, wherein the media content of the streaming signal is substituted by the second advertisement for a second duration associated with the second advertisement; and

output, via the audio output interface and by the streaming signal output module, the streaming signal comprising the second advertisement followed by the media content.

2. The system of claim 1, further including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:

determine, by the streaming signal modification module, a time of a last advertisement in the streaming signal output via the audio output interface;

determine, by the streaming signal modification module, an advertisement start time and an advertisement end time based, at least in part, on the time of the last advertisement and the first advertisement tier;

inject, by the streaming signal modification module, the media content of the streaming signal between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time with the first advertisement;

output, via the audio output interface and by the streaming signal output module, the first advertisement between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time; and

output, via the audio output interface and by the streaming signal output module, the media content of the streaming signal after the advertisement end time.

3. The system of claim 1, further including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:

determine, by the streaming signal modification module, a time of a last advertisement in the streaming signal output via the audio output interface;

determine, by the streaming signal modification module, an advertisement start time and an advertisement end time based, at least in part, on the time of the last advertisement and the first advertisement tier;

inject, by the streaming signal modification module, the media of the streaming signal between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time with the first advertisement;

output, via the audio output interface and by the streaming signal output module, the first advertisement between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time; and

store, by the streaming signal modification module, the media content of the streaming signal beginning at the advertisement start time in a buffer, wherein the duration of the first advertisement is less than a predetermined threshold duration; and

output, via the audio output interface and by the streaming signal output module, the media content of the streaming signal stored in the buffer after the advertisement end time.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the streaming signal is an audio signal.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement tier is associated with the mobile device.

6. The system of claim 5, further including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:

receive, from the streaming content provider system, a second streaming signal associated with the first advertisement tier, wherein the first advertisement tier is different from the default advertisement tier, and wherein the second streaming signal comprises media content and advertisement content; and

modify, by the streaming signal modification module, the second streaming signal to inject the first advertisement based on the first advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier; and

output, via the audio output interface and by the streaming signal output module, the first advertisement; and

output, via the audio output interface and by the streaming signal output module, the media content of the second streaming signal.

7. The system of claim 6, further including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to:

reassociate, by the advertisement tier determination module, the mobile device with the default advertisement tier upon termination of an expiry duration associated with the first advertisement tier.

8. A method comprising:

receiving, by an improved media streaming device in a car and from a streaming content provider system, a streaming signal associated with a default advertisement tier, wherein the streaming signal comprises media content and advertisement content, and wherein the advertisement content occurs in between the media content at a first advertisement frequency;

outputting, via an audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the streaming signal;

increasing a recurrence of advertisements in the streaming signal to a second advertisement frequency by inserting advertisement content at a first predetermined interval between the media content based on sensor data associated with the car, wherein the sensor data indicates unsafe driving behavior, wherein the second advertisement frequency is greater than the first advertisement frequency, and wherein the step is performed by;

collecting, by a sensor data collection module, sensor data from sensors associated with the car and a mobile device within the car, wherein the sensors comprise an accelerometer, a GPS receiver, and a gyroscope;

receiving, from a risk determination module, a risk score calculated based, at least in part, on the sensor data, wherein the risk score is based on a plurality of factors, wherein the plurality of factors comprise a speed of the car, a rate of acceleration of the car;

a road type, a weather, and a time of day;

determining, by an advertisement tier determination module of the improved media streaming device, a first advertisement tier based, at least in part, on the risk score, wherein the first advertisement tier is associated with the second advertisement frequency, wherein the first advertisement tier is associated with a first predetermined threshold risk score, and wherein the risk score is greater than the first predetermined threshold risk score;

selecting, by an advertisement selection module of the improved media streaming device, a first plurality of advertisements based, at least in part, on the sensor data, the risk score, the first advertisement tier, and a plurality of contextual attributes;

modifying, by a streaming signal modification module of the improved media streaming device, the streaming signal to inject the first plurality of advertisements based on the second advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier, wherein the media content of the streaming signal is substituted by at least one of the first plurality of advertisements for a first duration associated with the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the streaming signal;

receiving, from the risk determination module, an improved risk score based on additional sensor data associated with the car and the mobile device;

responsive to receiving the improved risk score, increasing the recurrence of advertisements in the streaming signal to a third advertisement frequency by inserting advertisement content at a second predetermined interval between the media content based on the improved risk score, wherein the third advertisement frequency is less than the second advertisement frequency, and wherein the step is performed by;

determining, by the advertisement tier determination module of the improved media streaming device, a second advertisement tier based, at least in part, on the improved risk score, wherein the second advertisement tier is associated with the third advertisement frequency, wherein the second advertisement tier is associated with a second predetermined threshold risk score, and wherein the improved risk score is less than the first predetermined threshold risk score and greater than the second predetermined threshold risk score;

selecting, by the advertisement selection module, a second plurality of advertisements based, at least in part, on the additional sensor data, the improved risk score, the second advertisement tier, and the plurality of contextual attributes;

modifying, by the streaming signal modification module, the streaming signal to inject the second plurality of advertisements based on the third advertisement frequency associated with the second advertisement tier, wherein the media content of the streaming signal is substituted by at least one of the second plurality of advertisements for a second duration associated with the at least one of the second plurality of advertisements; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the streaming signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein modifying the streaming signal to inject the first plurality of advertisements at the second advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier includes:

determining, by the streaming signal modification module, a time of a last advertisement in the streaming signal output via the audio output interface;

determining, by the streaming signal modification module, an advertisement start time and an advertisement end time based, at least in part, on the time of the last advertisement and the first advertisement tier;

replacing, by the streaming signal modification module, the media content of the streaming signal between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time with the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements;

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the media content of the streaming signal after the advertisement end time.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein modifying the streaming signal to inject the plurality of advertisements at the advertisement frequency associated with the advertisement frequency includes:

determining, by the streaming signal modification module, a time of a last advertisement in the streaming signal output via the audio output interface;

determining, by the streaming signal modification module, an advertisement start time and an advertisement end time based, at least in part, on the time of the last advertisement and the first advertisement tier;

replacing, by the streaming signal modification module, the media content of the streaming signal between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time with the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements;

storing, by the streaming signal modification module, the media content of the streaming signal beginning at the advertisement start time in a buffer, wherein a first duration of the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements is less than a predetermined threshold duration;

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements between the advertisement start time and the advertisements end time; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the media content of the streaming signal stored in the buffer after the advertisement end time.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the streaming signal is an audio signal.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the advertisement tier is associated with the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, from the streaming content provider system, a second streaming signal associated with the first advertisement tier, wherein the first advertisement tier is different from the default advertisement tier, and wherein the second streaming signal comprises media content and advertisement content;

modifying, by the streaming signal modification module, the second streaming signal to inject the first plurality of advertisements based on the second advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier;

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, at least one of the first plurality of advertisements; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the media content of the second streaming signal.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

reassociating, by the advertisement tier determination module, the mobile device with the default advertisement tier upon termination of an expiry duration associated with the first advertisement tier.

15. A computer-assisted method of modulating advertisement frequency in streaming signals comprising:

receiving, by an improved media streaming device in a car and from a streaming content provider system, a streaming signal associated with a default advertisement tier, wherein the streaming signal comprises media content and advertisement content, and wherein the advertisement content occurs in between the media content at a first advertisement frequency;

outputting, via an audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the streaming signal;

increasing a recurrence of advertisements in the streaming signal to a second advertisement frequency by inserting advertisement content at a first predetermined interval between the media content based on sensor data associated with the car, wherein the sensor data indicates unsafe driving behavior, wherein the second advertisement frequency is greater than the first advertisement frequency, and wherein the step is performed by;

collecting, by a sensor data collection module, sensor data from sensors associated with the car and a mobile device within the car, wherein the sensors comprise an accelerometer, a GPS receiver, and a gyroscope;

receiving, from a risk determination module, a risk score calculated based, at least in part, on the sensor data, wherein the risk score is based on a plurality of factors, wherein the plurality of factors comprise a speed of the car, a rate of acceleration of the car;

a road type, a weather, and a time of day;

determining, by an advertisement tier determination module of the improved media streaming device, a first advertisement tier based, at least in part, on the risk score, wherein the first advertisement tier is associated with the second advertisement frequency, wherein the first advertisement tier is associated with a first predetermined threshold risk score, and wherein the risk score is greater than the first predetermined threshold risk score;

selecting, by an advertisement selection module of the improved media streaming device, a first plurality of advertisements based, at least in part, on the sensor data, the risk score, the first advertisement tier, and a plurality of contextual attributes;

modifying, by a streaming signal modification module of the improved media streaming device, the streaming signal to inject the first plurality of advertisements based on the second advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier, wherein the media content of the streaming signal is substituted by at least one of the first plurality of advertisements for a first duration associated with the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the streaming signal;

receiving, from the risk determination module, an improved risk score based on additional sensor data associated with the car and the mobile device;

responsive to receiving the improved risk score, increasing the recurrence of advertisements in the streaming signal to a third advertisement frequency by inserting advertisement content at a second predetermined interval between the media content based on the improved risk score, wherein the third advertisement frequency is less than the second advertisement frequency, and wherein the step is performed by;

determining, by the advertisement tier determination module of the improved media streaming device, a second advertisement tier based, at least in part, on the improved risk score, wherein the second advertisement tier is associated with the third advertisement frequency, wherein the second advertisement tier is associated with a second predetermined threshold risk score, and wherein the improved risk score is less than the first predetermined threshold risk score and greater than the second predetermined threshold risk score;

selecting, by the advertisement selection module, a second plurality of advertisements based, at least in part, on the additional sensor data, the improved risk score, the second advertisement tier, and the plurality of contextual attributes;

modifying, by the streaming signal modification module, the streaming signal to inject the second plurality of advertisements based on the third advertisement frequency associated with the second advertisement tier, wherein the media content of the streaming signal is substituted by at least one of the second plurality of advertisements for a second duration associated with the at least one of the second plurality of advertisements; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the streaming signal.

16. The computer-assisted method of claim 15, wherein modifying the streaming signal to inject the first plurality of advertisements at the second advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier includes:

determining, by the streaming signal modification module, a time of a last advertisement in the streaming signal output via the audio output interface;

determining, by the streaming signal modification module, an advertisement start time and an advertisement end time based, at least in part, on the time of the last advertisement and the first advertisement tier;

replacing, by the streaming signal modification module, the media content of the streaming signal between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time with the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements;

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the media content of the streaming signal after the advertisement end time.

17. The computer-assisted method of claim 15, wherein modifying the streaming signal to inject the first plurality of advertisements at the second advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier includes:

determining, by the streaming signal modification module, a time of a last advertisement in the streaming signal output via the audio output interface;

determining, by the streaming signal modification module, an advertisement start time and an advertisement end time based, at least in part, on the time of the last advertisement and the first advertisement tier;

replacing, by the streaming signal modification module, the media content of the streaming signal between the advertisement start time and the advertisement end time with the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements;

storing, by the streaming signal modification module, the media content of the streaming signal beginning at the advertisement start time in a buffer, wherein the first duration of the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements is less than a predetermined threshold duration;

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the at least one of the first plurality of advertisements between the advertisement start time and the advertisements end time; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the media content of the streaming signal stored in the buffer after the advertisement end time.

18. The computer-assisted method of claim 15, wherein the advertisement tier is associated with the mobile device.

19. The computer-assisted method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, from the streaming content provider system, a second streaming signal associated with the first advertisement tier, wherein the first advertisement tier is different from the default advertisement tier, and wherein the second streaming signal comprises media content and advertisement content;

modifying, by the streaming signal modification module, the second streaming signal to inject the first plurality of advertisements based on the second advertisement frequency associated with the first advertisement tier;

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, at least one of the first plurality of advertisements; and

outputting, via the audio output interface of the improved media streaming device, the media content of the second streaming signal.

20. The computer-assisted method of claim 19, further comprising:

reassociating, by the advertisement tier determination module, the mobile device with the default advertisement tier upon termination of an expiry duration associated with the first advertisement tier.