Controlling content output features to optimize content consumption

• US 10,140,957 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Letourneur, Herve Jacques Clement, Chinn, Kathryn Ann, Yuan, Elaine
• Primary Examiner(s): Sajous, Wesner
• Application Number:
  US15/195,518
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04897 Special input arrangements or commands for improving display capability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/06 Adjustment of display parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/14 Electronic books and readers
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/26 for modifying the character dimensions, e.g. double width, double height
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/30 Control of display attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783

Abstract

A computing device may output content including text content, audio content, and video content according to one or more content output features. The content output features may include font features and page layout features for text content, volume and playback rate for audio content, and playback rate for video content. In some cases, a consumption rate of content by the individual may be determined to identify values of content output features that may increase consumption of content by the individual. The settings for the content output features may be modified to correspond with the values that provide increased consumption of content.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a display device;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more computer-executable instructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receiving input to initiate a procedure to determine values of content output features to increase a reading speed of an individual;

displaying first text content on the display device according to a first set of content output features, the first set of content output features including at least a first font size;

determining a first amount of time elapsed for the individual to read the first text content;

determining a first reading speed for the individual based at least partly on a first number of words included in the first text content and the first amount of time;

displaying second text content on the display device according to a second set of content output features, the second set of content output features including at least a second font size that is different from the first font size;

determining a second amount of time elapsed for the individual to read the second text content;

determining a second reading speed for the individual based at least partly on a second number of words included in the second text content and the second amount of time;

determining that the second reading speed is faster than the first reading speed; and

displaying additional text content on the display device according to the second set of content output features.

2. The computing device as recited in claim 1, wherein the first font size differs from the second font size by a first amount and the operations further comprise:

displaying third text content on the display device according to a third set of content output features, the third set of content output features including at least a third font size that is different from the second font size and the third font size differs from the second font size by a second amount that is less than the first amount;

determining a third amount of time elapsed for the individual to read the third text content;

determining a third reading speed for the individual based at least partly on a third number of words of the third text content and the third amount of time;

determining that the third reading speed is greater than the second reading speed; and

displaying fourth text content on the display device according to the third set of content output features.

3. The computing device as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the first text content includes a number of first sections of an electronic book;

the second text content includes a number of second sections of the electronic book, the number of second sections being greater than the number of first sections; and

the operations further comprise;

displaying the number of first sections during the first amount of time, wherein the first reading speed is based at least partly on the number of first sections being displayed during the first amount of time; and

displaying the number of second sections during the second amount of time, wherein the second reading speed is based at least partly on the number of second sections being displayed during the second amount of time.

4. The computing device as recited in claim 1, further comprising at least one camera, and the operations further comprise:

capturing, by the at least one camera, one or more first images of at least one eye of the individual during the first amount of time;

identifying first portions of the first content viewed by the individual during the first amount of time based at least partly on the one or more first images;

capturing, by the at least one camera, one or more second images of the at least one eye of the individual during the second amount of time; and

identifying second portions of the second content viewed by the individual during the second amount of time based at least partly on the one or more second images.

5. The computing device as recited in claim 4, the operations further comprise:

obtaining, by the at least one camera, one or more additional images of the individual and of an environment including the individual and the computing device;

determining, based at least partly on a first portion of the one or more additional images, an amount of ambient light in the environment;

determining, based at least partly on a second portion of the one or more additional images, that the individual is wearing at least one vision correction device; and

determining that a content output feature is to be modified based at least partly on at least one of the amount of ambient light in the environment or determining that the individual is wearing the at least one vision correction device.

6. A method comprising:

determining, by one or more computing devices including at least one processor and memory, that a first value of a content output feature is to be modified with respect to content displayed by a display device, the content output feature corresponding to at least one visual characteristic of the content;

determining, by the one or more computing devices, that a first amount of a first portion of the content that is included in a first user interface displayed by the display device according to the first value is consumed by an individual over a first period of time;

determining, by the one or more computing devices, a first rate of consumption of the first portion of the content by the individual based at least partly on the first amount of the first portion of the content consumed by the individual and a first duration of the first period of time;

determining, by the one or more computing devices, that a second amount of a second portion of the content that is included in a second user interface displayed by the display device according to a second value of the content output feature is consumed by the individual over a second period of time;

determining, by the one or more computing devices, a second rate of consumption of the second portion of the content by the individual based at least partly on the second amount of the second portion of the content consumed by the individual and a second duration of the second period of time;

determining, by the one or more computing devices, that the second rate of consumption is greater than the first rate of consumption; and

determining, by the one or more computing devices, that additional content is to be displayed by the display device according to the second value of the content output feature.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein determining that the first value of the content output feature is to be modified includes obtaining input to determine values of content output features to increase consumption of the content.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein determining that the first value of the content output feature is to be modified includes determining a change in an amount of the content consumed by the individual.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein determining that the first value of the content output feature is to be modified includes obtaining data from one or more sensors indicating a change in an environment including the individual.

10. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

determining that an additional value of an additional content output feature is to be modified;

determining a condition in an environment that includes the individual; and

identifying a content output profile from among a plurality of content output profiles based at least partly on the content output profile corresponding with the condition in the environment.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

determining that the content output profile includes the additional content output feature;

identifying a different value of the additional content output feature included in the content output profile; and

modifying the additional value of the additional content output feature to correspond with the different value of the content output feature included in the content output profile.

12. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein:

the content includes audio content; and

the method further comprises;

determining that a first value of an additional content output feature is to be modified with respect to the audio content, the additional content output feature corresponding to at least one audio characteristic of the audio content; and

modifying at least one of a volume used to provide the audio content via the computing device or a rate of playback of the audio content according to at least a second value of the additional content output feature.

13. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein:

the content includes video content; and

the method further comprises modifying a rate of playback of the video content according to at least the second value of the content output feature.

14. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein:

the content includes text content; and

the method further comprises modifying at least one of a font size, a font type, a font style, or a layout of the text content, the layout of the text content including margins, line spacing, character spacing, alignment, or combination thereof, according to at least the second value of the content output feature.

15. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein:

the content output feature is related to at least one setting of the display device; and

the method further comprising modifying at least one of brightness of the display device, contrast of the display device, tone of the display device, color of the display device, or hue of the display device according to at least the second value of the content output feature.

16. A computing device comprising:

a display device;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more computer-executable instructions stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

determining one or more first values of one or more content output features that are associated with a first rate of content consumption;

determining one or more second values of the one or more content output features that are associated with a second rate of content consumption that is greater than the first rate of content consumption;

displaying text of an electronic book in a user interface according to a value of a content output feature included in the one or more content output features;

determining that a rate of consumption of the electronic book has changed;

identifying a modified value of the content output feature from the one or more second values of the one or more content output features; and

displaying additional text of the electronic book in an additional user interface according to the modified value of the content output feature.

17. The computing device as recited in claim 16, wherein:

the value of the content output feature includes a first font size and the modified value of the content output feature includes a second font size; and

the operations further comprise;

obtaining input indicating a first threshold font size and a second threshold font size, wherein the first font size and the second font size are larger than the first threshold font size and are smaller than the second threshold font size;

determining a first reading speed of an individual for first text content displayed according to the first font size;

determining a second reading speed of the individual for second text content displayed according to the second font size;

determining a third reading speed of the individual for third text content displayed according to the first threshold font size, wherein the third reading speed is less than the first reading speed and the second reading speed; and

determining a fourth reading speed of the individual for fourth text content displayed according to the second threshold font size, wherein the fourth reading speed is less than the first reading speed and the second reading speed.

18. The computing device as recited in claim 17, the operations further comprise:

producing a Gaussian distribution indicating reading speed of the individual for a plurality of font sizes, the plurality of font sizes including at least the first font size, the second font size, the first threshold font size, and the second threshold font size;

determining a font size corresponding to a maximum of the Gaussian distribution; and

displaying additional text content according to at least the font size corresponding to the maximum of the Gaussian distribution.

19. The computing device as recited in claim 16, the operations further comprise:

obtaining a content output profile from a remote server; and

determining the modified value of the content output feature based at least partly on the content output profile.

20. The computing device as recited in claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a distance between the display device and an eye of an individual; and

modifying the value of the content output feature based at least partly on the distance between the display device of the computing device and the eye of the individual.