Audio watermarking for people monitoring

• US 10,410,643 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2014
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielson Company (US), LLC
• Inventors: Topchy, Alexander, Soundararajan, Padmanabhan, Srinivasan, Venugopal
• Primary Examiner(s): Godbold, Douglas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Villena, Mark
• Application Number:
  US14/332,055
• Publication Number:
  US 20160019901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,883 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1063 Personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/50 characterised by the use of watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to utilize audio watermarking for people monitoring are disclosed. Example people monitoring methods disclosed herein include determining, at a user device, whether a first trigger condition for emitting an audio watermark identifying at least one of the user device or a user of the user device is satisfied. Such example methods also include, in response to determining that the first trigger condition is satisfied, providing a first audio signal including the audio watermark to an audio circuit that is to output an acoustic signal from the user device.

Claims

1. A people monitoring method comprising:

determining, by executing an instruction with a processor at a mobile device, whether a first audio signal sensed at the mobile device satisfies a first trigger condition for emitting a first audio watermark identifying at least one of the mobile device or a user of the mobile device, the first trigger condition being satisfied when the first audio signal sensed at the mobile device is determined to include a second audio watermark; and

in response to determining that the first audio signal sensed at the mobile device includes the second audio watermark and that the mobile device is in an operating state in which a ringtone is to be output;

obtaining, by executing an instruction with the processor, a ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark identifying the at least one of the mobile device or the user of the mobile device, the ringtone audio signal being a second audio signal different from the first audio signal; and

causing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark identifying the at least one of the mobile device or the user of the mobile device to be provided to an audio circuit that is to output an acoustic signal from the mobile device.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, further including:

determining a level of the first audio signal; and

adjusting a level of the ringtone audio signal based on the level of the first audio signal.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, further including:

determining, at the mobile device, whether a second trigger condition for emitting the first audio watermark is satisfied; and

in response to determining that the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are satisfied, but not if either the first trigger condition or the second trigger condition is not satisfied, providing the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark to the audio circuit.

4. The method as defined in claim 3, wherein the second trigger condition is satisfied when a location of the mobile device is determined to correspond to a first geographical area including a monitored media device.

5. The method as defined in claim 3, wherein the second trigger condition is satisfied when a current time at the mobile device corresponds to a first time period.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first audio watermark is conveyed in a first range of frequencies different from a second range of frequencies used to convey the second audio watermark included in the first audio signal sensed by the user device.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, further including:

determining, at the mobile device, whether respective ones of a plurality of trigger conditions for emitting the first audio watermark are satisfied, the plurality of trigger conditions including the first trigger condition; and

in response to determining that at least a majority of the trigger conditions are satisfied, but not if fewer than a majority of the trigger conditions are satisfied, providing the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark to the audio circuit.

8. A tangible machine readable storage medium comprising machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a mobile device to at least:

determine whether a first audio signal sensed at the mobile device satisfies a first trigger condition for emitting a first audio watermark identifying at least one of the mobile device or a user of the mobile device, the first trigger condition being satisfied when the first audio signal sensed at the mobile device is determined to include a second audio watermark; and

in response to determining that the first audio signal sensed at the mobile device includes the second audio watermark and that the mobile device is in an operating state in which a ringtone is to be output;

obtain a ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark identifying the at least one of the mobile device or the user of the mobile device, the ringtone audio signal being a second audio signal different from the first audio signal; and

cause the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark identifying the at least one of the mobile device or the user of the mobile device to be provided to an audio circuit that is to output an acoustic signal from the mobile device.

9. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the mobile device to:

determine a level of the first audio signal; and

adjust a level of the ringtone audio signal based on the level of the first audio signal.

10. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the mobile device to:

determine whether a second trigger condition for emitting the first audio watermark is satisfied; and

provide the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark to the audio circuit in response to determining that the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are satisfied, but not if either the first trigger condition or the second trigger condition is not satisfied.

11. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 10, wherein the second trigger condition is satisfied when a location of the mobile device is determined to correspond to a first geographical area including a monitored media device.

12. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 10, wherein the second trigger condition is satisfied when a current time at the mobile device corresponds to a first time period.

13. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the first audio watermark is conveyed in a first range of frequencies different from a second range of frequencies used to convey the second audio watermark included in the first audio signal sensed by the user device.

14. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the mobile device to:

determine whether respective ones of a plurality of trigger conditions for emitting the first audio watermark are satisfied, the plurality of trigger conditions including the first trigger condition; and

provide the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark to the audio circuit in response to determining that at least a majority of the trigger conditions are satisfied, but not if fewer than a majority of the trigger conditions are satisfied.

15. An apparatus to support people monitoring using watermarks, the apparatus comprising:

a trigger condition evaluator to determine whether a first audio signal sensed at a mobile device satisfies a first trigger condition for emitting a first audio watermark identifying at least one of the mobile device or a user of the mobile device, the first trigger condition being satisfied when the first audio signal sensed at the mobile device is determined to include a second audio watermark; and

a watermarker to obtain a ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark identifying the at least one of the mobile device or the user of the mobile device, the ringtone audio signal being a second audio signal different from the first audio signal and to provide the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark identifying the at least one of the mobile device or the user of the mobile device to an audio circuit in response to the trigger condition evaluator having determined that the first audio signal sensed at the mobile device includes the second audio watermark and that the mobile device is in an operating state in which a ringtone is to be output, the audio circuit to output an acoustic signal from the mobile device.

16. The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the watermarker is further to:

determine a level of the first audio signal; and

adjust a level of the ringtone audio signal based on the level of the first audio signal.

17. The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the trigger condition evaluator is further to:

determine whether a second trigger condition for emitting the first audio watermark is satisfied; and

cause the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark to be provided to the audio circuit in response to the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition being satisfied, but not if either the first trigger condition or the second trigger condition is not satisfied.

18. The apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the second trigger condition is satisfied when a location of the mobile device is determined to correspond to a first geographical area including a monitored media device.

19. The apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein the second trigger condition is satisfied when a current time at the mobile device corresponds to a first time period.

20. The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the first audio watermark is conveyed in a first range of frequencies different from a second range of frequencies used to convey the second audio watermark included in the first audio signal sensed by the user device.

21. The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the trigger condition evaluator is further to:

determine whether respective ones of a plurality of trigger conditions for emitting the first audio watermark are satisfied, the plurality of trigger conditions including the first trigger condition; and

cause the ringtone audio signal including the first audio watermark to be provided to the audio circuit in response to at least a majority of the trigger conditions being satisfied, but not if fewer than a majority of the trigger conditions are satisfied.