Audience response determination apparatus, playback output control system, audience response determination method, playback output control method, and recording media

• US 20020073417A1
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kondo, Tetsujiro, Okumura, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,555,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/439 Processing of audio elementary streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/002 Special television systems not provided for by H04N7/007 - H04N7/18 still pictures via a television channel H04N1/00098

Abstract

An audience response determination apparatus detects the state of an audience and the individual states of the members of the audience to determine the response of the audience to the content of entertainment and the like. Based on the thus determined audience response, a playback operation of the content such as a movie is controlled, so that the level of satisfaction felt by the audience to the content can be increased.

Claims

1. An audience response determination apparatus for determining an audience response, comprising:

overall state detection means for detecting the overall state of an audience;

individual state detection means for detecting the individual states of the members of the audience; and

determination means for determining the audience response on the basis of information detected by said overall state detection means and by said individual state detection means.

2. An audience response determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said overall state detection means takes an image of the entire audience and detects the overall bodily state of the audience based on the image taken.

3. An audience response determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said overall state detection means collects sounds uttered by the entire audience and detects the overall state of the audience based on the sounds thus collected.

4. An audience response determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said individual state detection means detects a load applied to each of the audience'"'"'s seats.

5. An audience response determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said individual state detection means detects a stepping force provided by each member of said audience.

6. An audience response determination apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said individual state detection means comprises:

first stepping force detection means for detecting a stepping force provided by the left foot of each member of said audience; and

second stepping force detection means for detecting a stepping force provided by the right foot of each member of said audience.

7. A playback output control system for controlling the output from playback means for the playback and output of data to be seen or heard by an audience, comprising:

overall state detection means for detecting an overall state of said audience;

individual state detection means for detecting individual states of the members of said audience;

determination means for determining an audience response on the basis of the information detected by said overall state detection means and by said individual state detection means; and

control means for controlling the operation of said playback means based on the audience response determined by said determination means.

8. A playback output control system according to claim 7, wherein said control means selects, on the basis of said audience response determined by said determination means, data to be played back by said playback means.

9. A playback output control system according to claim 7, wherein said control means controls, on the basis of said audience response determined by said determination means, signal processing on the data played back by said playback means.

10. A playback output control system according to claim 7, wherein said overall state detection means takes an image of said audience and detects the overall bodily state of said audience based on the image taken.

11. A playback output control system according to claim 10, further comprising reduction means for reducing the effect of video data played back by and output from said playback means, wherein said overall state detection means detects the overall bodily state of said audience by reducing the effect of said video data.

12. A playback output control system according to claim 7, wherein said overall state detection means detects the overall state of said audience by collecting sounds emitted by the entire audience.

13. A playback output control system according to claim 12, further comprising reduction means for reducing the effect of sound data played back and output by said playback means, wherein overall state detection means detects the overall state of the audience by reducing the effect of said sound data.

14. A playback output control system according to claim 12, wherein said overall state detection means detects the overall state of the audience by comparing the collected sounds with a reference sound level.

15. A playback output control system according to claim 14, further comprising varying means for varying said reference sound level on the basis of the audience size.

16. A playback output control system according to claim 12, further comprising a filter which passes a predetermined audio band, wherein said overall state determination means detects the overall state of the audience based on the sound passed through said filter.

17. A playback output control system according to claim 7, wherein said individual state detection means detects a load applied to each of the audience'"'"'s seats.

18. A playback output control system according to claim 17, further comprising auxiliary information input means for inputting auxiliary information which is used additionally for determining the audience response.

19. A playback output control system according to claim 7, wherein said individual state detection means detects a stepping force provided by each member of the audience.

20. A playback output control system according to claim 19, wherein said individual state detection means comprises:

first stepping force detection means for detecting a stepping force provided by the left foot of each member of the audience; and

second stepping force detection means for detecting a stepping force provided by the right foot of each member of the audience.

21. An audience response determination method for determining an audience response, comprising the steps of:

detecting an overall state of an audience;

detecting individual states of the members of said audience; and

determining the audience response based on information detected by the steps of detecting the overall state of said audience and detecting the individual states of the members of said audience.

22. A playback output control method for controlling a playback output, comprising the steps of:

detecting an overall state of an audience;

detecting individual states of the members of said audience;

determining an audience response based on information detected by the steps of detecting the overall state of said audience and detecting the individual states of the members of said audience; and

controlling the playback operation of data to be seen or heard by said audience based on the audience response determined in the determination step.

23. A data recording medium recording a processing program comprising the steps of:

detecting an overall state of an audience;

detecting individual states of the members of said audience; and

determining an audience response based on information detected by the steps of detecting the overall state of said audience and detecting individual states of the members of said audience.

24. A data recording medium recording a processing program comprising the steps of:

detecting an overall state of an audience;

detecting individual states of the members of said audience;

determining an audience response based on information detected by the steps of detecting the overall state of said audience and detecting the individual states of the members of said audience; and

controlling a playback operation of data to be seen or heard by said audience based on the audience response determined by the determination step.