Apparatus and method for providing emergency communications

• US 8,407,736 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2010
• Issued: 03/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: McClenny, John, McCarthy, Mary, Augustine, Andrew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): HOSSAIN, FARZANA E
• Application Number:
  US12/849,854
• Publication Number:
  US 20120036529A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 725/33, 704/2, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 340/286.02
• US Class Current: 725/33
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/005 with transmission via computer network
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/008 with transmission via TV or radio broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/63 to plural spots in a confined site, e.g. MATV [Master Antenna Television]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43074 of additional data with content streams on the same device, e.g. of EPG data or interactive icon with a TV program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/436 Interfacing a local distribution network, e.g. communicating with another STB or one or more peripheral devices inside the home
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4516 involving client characteristics, e.g. Set-Top-Box type, software version or amount of memory available
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/814 comprising emergency warnings arrangements specially adapted for emergency or urgency in broadcast systems H04H20/59; arrangements for providing alarms, notifications, alerts to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a server having a controller operable to monitor for emergency messages over a broadcast network and over the Internet, obtain an emergency message based on the monitoring where the emergency message comprises text data, audio data, schedule data and location data and where the text and audio data correspond to a plurality of languages, generate an alert message comprising the schedule data, the location data and at least a portion of the plurality of languages of the text and audio data, and multicast the alert message over an Internet Protocol Television network to a plurality of set top boxes, wherein each of the set top boxes presents a text alert that is synchronized with an audio alert based on the multicast alert message when the location data corresponds with a location of the set top box. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A server comprising:

a memory to store computer instructions; and

a controller coupled with the memory, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising;

monitoring for emergency messages over a broadcast network and over the Internet;

obtaining an emergency message based on the monitoring, the emergency message comprising text data, audio data, schedule data and location data, wherein the text data and the audio data correspond to a plurality of languages;

generating an alert message comprising the schedule data, the location data and the plurality of languages of the text and audio data; and

multicasting the alert message over an internet protocol television network to a plurality of set top boxes, wherein each of the plurality of set top boxes presents a text alert that is synchronized with an audio alert based on the alert message when the location data corresponds with a location of the set top box, wherein each of the plurality of set top boxes presents the text and audio alerts corresponding to a language selected from the plurality of languages, wherein each of the plurality of set top boxes presents the text and audio alerts according to a schedule determined from the schedule data, wherein error correction is performed by the set top boxes based on redundant information in a translation of another language from the plurality of languages, and wherein the translation is performed by the set top boxes.

2. The server of claim 1, wherein a language from the plurality of languages of the text and audio data is not multicast to the plurality of set top boxes.

3. The server of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise selecting the plurality of languages of the text and audio data for multicasting based on demographic information associated with a region in which the plurality of set top boxes are located.

4. The server of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise selecting the plurality of languages of the text and audio data for multicasting based on language preference information received from a set top box of the plurality of set top boxes.

5. The server of claim 1, wherein the emergency message is a first emergency message and wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining a second emergency message;

comparing the first and second emergency messages;

and generating the alert message based on the comparison of the first and second emergency messages.

6. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise arranging each language of the plurality of languages of the text and audio data in a multicast data stream.

7. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise translating the text and audio data into the other language and transmitting the translation in the alert message with the plurality of languages of the text and audio data.

8. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise multicasting the alert message to a communication device in addition to the plurality of set top boxes.

9. The server of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a priority of languages for the plurality of languages of the text and audio data; and

arranging each language of the plurality of languages of the text and audio data in a multicast data stream according to the priority.

10. A tangible computer-readable storage device comprising computer instructions which, responsive to being executed by a processor of a set top box, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a multicast of an alert message over an interactive television network, the alert message comprising location data and a plurality of languages of text and audio data;

selecting a first language from the plurality of languages of the text and audio data;

presenting text and audio alerts in the first language based on the alert message when the location data corresponds with a location of the set top box;

translating a second language from the plurality of languages of the text and audio data to generate a translation of the second language; and

performing error correction on the first language using corresponding data from the translation of the second language.

11. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the interactive television network comprises an internet protocol television network.

12. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the plurality of languages of the text and audio data are selected from a group of languages of the text and audio data based on demographics associated with the location of the set top box.

13. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the alert message comprises schedule data, and wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a schedule from the schedule data; and

presenting the text and audio alerts according to the schedule.

14. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the first language is selected based on a user profile associated with the set top box.

15. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise monitoring viewing behavior at the set top box, wherein the first language is selected based on the viewing behavior.

16. A method comprising:

obtaining, by a system including a processor, an emergency message comprising emergency information and location data;

obtaining, by the system, text and audio data corresponding to a plurality of languages representative of the emergency message;

generating, by the system, an alert message comprising the location data and the plurality of languages of the text and audio data; and

multicasting, by the system, the alert message to a plurality of communication devices, wherein each of the plurality of communication devices presents a text alert that is synchronized with an audio alert based on the alert message when the location data corresponds with a location of the communication device, wherein each of the plurality of communication devices presents the text and audio alerts corresponding to a language selected from the plurality of languages, wherein error correction is performed by the communication devices based on redundant information in a translation of another language from the plurality of languages, and wherein the translation is performed by the communication devices.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the multicasting is over an internet protocol television network.

18. The method of claim 16, comprising selecting the plurality of languages of the text and audio data for multicasting based on demographic information associated with a region in which the plurality of communication devices are located.

19. The method of claim 18, comprising selecting the plurality of languages of the text and audio data for multicasting based on language preference information received from a communication device of the plurality of communication devices.

20. The method of claim 16, comprising translating the emergency message to obtain the text and audio data corresponding to the plurality of languages representative of the emergency message.