Method and apparatus for processing responses from a remote, live audience
First Claim
1. A method for collecting responses comprising the steps of:
- a) presenting a question to an audience, said audience comprising a first plurality of members;
b) providing a second plurality of computers, each of said second plurality of computers having access to a physical network;
c) forming an overlay network on said physical network among said second plurality of computers;
d) forming an application hierarchy on said overlay network with at least a third plurality of computers of said second plurality of computers, wherein each of said first plurality of members has access to a corresponding one of said third plurality of computers, each of the third plurality of computers having an interface for collecting responses from the corresponding member;
e) executing an operational graph on at least said third plurality of computers, said operational graph comprising instructions for collecting a fourth plurality of responses to the question from at least a portion of said first plurality of members through the corresponding interface, said operational graph further comprising instructions for providing to at least one node of the application hierarchy a result, said result comprising a summary of said fourth plurality of responses.
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Abstract
A system and method for audience participation with a broadcast, such as a radio or television program distributed via terrestrial or satellite broadcast and IPTV multicast, is described. The system provides a distributed application architecture that self-organizes the audience'"'"'s computers, including PCs, mobile devices, and set-top boxes, so that they work together and distribute the audience-participation communications and processing load so as to not overburden any one machine or communication channel. This same technique ensures that no over reliance is placed on one machine or channel. The system is arbitrarily scalable, without requiring significant infrastructure enhancements, with o(log n) response times. This allows live, real-time audience interactions such as voting or participation as a contestant, with live, real-time feedback to the studio originating the broadcast.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for collecting responses comprising the steps of:
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a) presenting a question to an audience, said audience comprising a first plurality of members; b) providing a second plurality of computers, each of said second plurality of computers having access to a physical network; c) forming an overlay network on said physical network among said second plurality of computers; d) forming an application hierarchy on said overlay network with at least a third plurality of computers of said second plurality of computers, wherein each of said first plurality of members has access to a corresponding one of said third plurality of computers, each of the third plurality of computers having an interface for collecting responses from the corresponding member; e) executing an operational graph on at least said third plurality of computers, said operational graph comprising instructions for collecting a fourth plurality of responses to the question from at least a portion of said first plurality of members through the corresponding interface, said operational graph further comprising instructions for providing to at least one node of the application hierarchy a result, said result comprising a summary of said fourth plurality of responses. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification