DISTRIBUTED AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20110106587A1
• Filed: 10/30/2009
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Lynch, Wendell, Neuhauser, Alan, Jain, Anand, Arshi, Taymoor
• Granted Patent: US 8,990,142 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.33
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0204 Market segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/48 specially adapted for particular use
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/72 for transmitting results of analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/81 for discriminating voice from music
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for customizing, distributing and processing audio fingerprint data. One or more items of audio content are processed to generate pre-recorded audio fingerprints After identifying one or more specific devices in accordance to panelist and/or household data from a central site, an activation message is communicated to the identified devices, together with the pre-recorded audio fingerprint in accordance with a predetermined schedule. After receiving the activation message, the portable device records the audio content, forms an audio fingerprint, and performs local matching to determine if a match exists. The matching result is then communicated back to the central site for further processing and analysis.

Claims

1. A method for processing distributed audio fingerprint data for an audience measurement system, comprising:

processing an audio signal of a predetermined length to form an audio fingerprint in a central site;

processing scheduling information data relating to the audio signal;

processing panelist data to correlate one or more panelist characteristics to the scheduling information;

transmitting an activation signal and the formed audio fingerprint to a portable device in accordance with the scheduling information;

receiving matching information from the portable device relating to the formed audio fingerprint.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the audio signal comprises one of a commercial, announcement and a song.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the panelist data comprises one of panelist demographics, exposure to media, retail store visits, purchases, internet usage and consumer beliefs and opinions relating to consumer products and services.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the panelist data comprises household data correlated to the panelist data.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the activation signal comprises an executable code, configured to be executed on the portable device to form another audio fingerprint.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the matching information comprises data relating to a comparison between the audio fingerprint and the other audio fingerprint.

7. An audience measurement system for processing distributed audio fingerprint data, comprising:

a central site comprising a processor for processing an audio signal of a predetermined length to form an audio fingerprint in a central site, and a storage device for storing scheduling information data and panelist data;

said processor being configured to process the scheduling information data relating to the audio signal and panelist data to correlate one or more panelist characteristics to the scheduling information;

said central site comprising a communication device for transmitting an activation signal and the formed audio fingerprint to a portable device in accordance with the scheduling information and receiving matching information from the portable device relating to the formed audio fingerprint.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the audio signal comprises one of a commercial, announcement and a song.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the panelist data comprises one of panelist demographics, exposure to media, retail store visits, purchases, internet usage and consumer beliefs and opinions relating to consumer products and services.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the panelist data comprises household data correlated to the panelist data.

11. The system according to claim 7, wherein the activation signal comprises an executable code, configured to be executed on the portable device to form another audio fingerprint.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the matching information comprises data relating to a comparison between the audio fingerprint and the other audio fingerprint.

13. A portable device configured for audience measurement of audio-based content, comprising:

a communication interface for receiving an activation signal correlated to a pre-recorded audio fingerprint from a central site;

a recording device for recording ambient sound in the vicinity of the portable device, wherein the recording is performed in accordance with instructions contained in the activation signal; and

a processor for processing the recorded ambient sound to form an audio fingerprint and comparing the formed audio fingerprint to the pre-recorded audio fingerprint to determine a match result;

wherein the communication interface communicates the match result to the central site.

14. The portable device of claim 13, wherein the audio fingerprint is formed by digitally converting the audio signal into a series of features.

15. The portable device of claim 14, wherein the audio fingerprint is formed by modeling the series of features to define a representation of the formed signature.

16. The portable device of claim 15, wherein the representation comprises at least one of a trace of vectors, a codebook, a sequence of index to Hidden Markov Model sound classes, and a sequence of error correcting words.

17. The portable device of claim 13, further comprising a storage medium for storing panelist data comprising one of panelist demographics, exposure to media, retail store visits, purchases, internet usage and consumer beliefs and opinions relating to consumer products and services.

18. The portable device of claim 14, wherein the activation signal is received at least in part because of information contained in the panelist data.

19. The portable device of claim 13, wherein the activation signal comprises executable code for activating the portable device for a predetermined period of time.

20. The portable device of claim 19, wherein the period of time correlates to a period of time in which the audio signal is played.