INTELLIGENT SWITCHING OF AUDIO SOURCES

• US 20150098584A1
• Filed: 10/04/2013
• Published: 04/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Emani, Sitaram, Inabathuni, Tarun
• Granted Patent: US 9,628,207 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/81
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/24 Arrangements for distribution of identical information via broadcast system and non-broadcast system
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/12 wherein another information is substituted for the portion of broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/01 Input selection or mixing for amplifiers or loudspeakers for hearing aids H04R25/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

Intelligent switching of audio sources includes determining, via a computer processor communicatively coupled to an audio system in a vehicle, alternative sources of content that are communicatively available to the vehicle. The audio system renders an instance of a content item that has been received from a content provider, as a source of content, over a network. Upon determining an interruption in a signal from the content provider with respect to the instance of the content item, the intelligent switching of audio sources also includes presenting an alternative content item, through the audio system, from one of the alternative sources of content.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a computer processor communicatively coupled to an audio system in a vehicle, the audio system rendering an instance of a content item, the content item received from a content provider, as a source of content, over a network; and

logic executable by the computer processor, the logic configured to implement a method, the method comprising;

determining alternative sources of content that are communicatively available to the vehicle; and

upon determining an interruption in a signal from the content provider with respect to the instance of the content item, presenting an alternative content item, through the audio system, from one of the alternative sources of content.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic is further configured to implement:

determining an identification of the instance of the content item; and

searching the alternative sources of content for the identification;

wherein presenting the alternative content item from one of the alternative sources of content includes presenting another instance of the same content item based on the identification.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the identification is determined by metadata received from the content provider and the alternative sources of content.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the logic is further configured to implement:

determining a location in the instance of the content item when the interruption of the signal occurred; and

scanning the other instance of the content for the location;

wherein presenting the alternative content item includes rendering the other instance of the content item at the location when the interruption occurred.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining alternative sources of content that are available to the vehicle includes scanning broadcast signals external to the vehicle through a wireless interface in the vehicle.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining alternative sources of content that are available to the vehicle includes identifying any connection through the audio system to a digital media player in the vehicle, and requesting a content listing associated with content stored by the digital media player.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the wireless interface includes an onboard navigation system.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining alternative sources of content that are available to the vehicle includes monitoring short range wireless signals for a presence of a wireless device in the vehicle, and requesting a content listing from the wireless device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the wireless device is a smart phone.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the wireless device is a Wi-fi-enabled radio integrated with the audio system in the vehicle.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic is further configured to implement:

determining a geographic location and direction of movement of the vehicle from global positioning system data derived via an onboard navigation system;

identifying a physical barrier to the signal along a route associated with the geographic location and the direction;

anticipating a time of the interruption in the signal from the content provider prior to the determining based on the geographic location and current speed of the vehicle in reference to the physical barrier;

accessing one of the alternative sources of content that are communicatively available to the vehicle in response to the anticipating.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the content item is a song.

13. A method, comprising:

determining, via a computer processor communicatively coupled to an audio system in a vehicle, alternative sources of content that are communicatively available to the vehicle, the audio system rendering an instance of a content item, the content item received from a content provider, as a source of content, over a network; and

upon determining an interruption in a signal from the content provider with respect to the instance of the content item, presenting an alternative content item, through the audio system, from one of the alternative sources of content.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining an identification of the instance of the content item; and

searching the alternative sources of content for the identification;

wherein presenting the alternative content item from one of the alternative sources of content includes presenting another instance of the same content item based on the identification.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the identification is determined by metadata received from the content provider and the alternative sources of content.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining a location in the instance of the content item when the interruption of the signal occurred; and

scanning the other instance of the content for the location;

wherein presenting the alternative content item includes rendering the other instance of the content item at the location when the interruption occurred.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining alternative sources of content that are available to the vehicle includes at least one of:

scanning broadcast signals external to the vehicle through a wireless interface in the vehicle;

identifying any connection through the audio system to a digital media player in the vehicle, and requesting a content listing associated with content stored by the digital media player; and

monitoring short range wireless signals for a presence of a wireless device in the vehicle, and requesting a content listing from the wireless device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the wireless device is at least one of:

a smart phone; and

a Wi-fi-enabled radio integrated with the audio system in the vehicle.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a geographic location and direction of movement of the vehicle from global positioning system data derived via an onboard navigation system;

identifying a physical barrier to the signal along a route associated with the geographic location and the direction;

anticipating a time of the interruption in the signal from the content provider prior to the determining based on the geographic location and current speed of the vehicle in reference to the physical barrier;

accessing one of the alternative sources of content that are communicatively available to the vehicle in response to the anticipating.

20. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon, which when executed by a computer processor, cause the computer processor to implement a method, the method comprising:

determining alternative sources of content that are communicatively available to a vehicle, the computer processor communicatively coupled to an audio system in the vehicle, the audio system rendering an instance of a content item, the content item received from a content provider, as a source of content, over a network; and

upon determining an interruption in a signal from the content provider with respect to the instance of the content item, presenting an alternative content item, through the audio system, from one of the alternative sources of content.