Personal measurement devices for media consumption studies

• US 9,510,038 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2013
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Gildfind, Andrew, Rowe, Simon Michael, Krieger, Ken, Stewart, James Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Alcon, Fernando
• Application Number:
  US14/109,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20150365714A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,078 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/422 Input-only peripherals , i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS] input devices also receiving signals from specially adapted client devices H04N21/4104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• 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 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104

Abstract

A method for conducting a media consumption study, includes at a processor of a position marker placed in a study site in a vicinity of a fixed media device; receiving a signal broadcast from a personal measurement device; determining signal information of the received broadcast signal, the signal information including identification information of the personal measurement device, and one or more signal characteristics; comparing the one or more signal characteristics to threshold values; and based on the comparison, determining the personal measurement device is in proximity to the fixed media device.

Claims

1. A method for conducting a media consumption study, comprising:

receiving, by a processor of a remote device from a first position marker placed in a study site in a vicinity of a first fixed media device, first signal characteristics of a first single signal broadcast from a personal measurement device and second signal characteristics of a second signal broadcast from the first fixed media device or a second fixed media device, each of the first and second signal characteristics determined by a processor of the first position marker,

the first signal characteristics comprising received signal strength and time of arrival of the broadcast first single signal at the first position marker, the second signal characteristics comprising received signal strength and time of arrival of the broadcast second single signal at the first position marker;

receiving, by the processor of the remote device from a second position marker placed in the study site in a vicinity of the second fixed media device, third signal characteristics of the first single signal broadcast from the personal measurement device and fourth signal characteristics of the first fixed media device or the second fixed media device, each of the third and fourth signal characteristics determined by a processor of the second position marker, the third signal characteristics comprising received signal strength and time of arrival of the broadcast first single signal at the second position marker, the fourth signal characteristics comprising received signal strength and time of arrival of the broadcast second single signal at the second position marker;

comparing, by the processor of the remote device, responsive to receiving the first, second, third, and fourth signal characteristics determined by the first and second position markers, the first, second, third, and fourth signal characteristics to threshold values; and

based on the comparison of the first, second, third, and fourth signal characteristics to the threshold values, determining, by the processor of the remote device, a most proximate position marker of the first position marker and second position marker to the personal measurement device; and

determining, by the processor of the remote device, based on the determined most proximate position marker, that the personal measurement device is in proximity to the corresponding first or second fixed media device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the personal measurement device comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) beacon and the position marker comprises a BTLE-to-WiFi gateway.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second position markers each provide the proximity determination to a remote server using WiFi signaling.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at each of the first and second position markers, recording time of arrival of the first single and second single signals; and

at the remote device, determining relative proximity of the personal measurement device to each of the first and second position markers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal measurement device is a wearable measurement device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining panelist compliance with the media consumption study by determining an estimated proximity history of the personal measurement device; and

prompting the panelist to wear the personal measurement device based on the estimated proximity history.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first or second fixed media devices comprises a television.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the study site comprises a programs watched meter, the method further comprising:

at the remote device;

receiving programs watched log data from the programs watched meter;

comparing the programs watched log data to the proximity determination.

9. A system for conducting media consumption studies at study sites, comprising:

personal measurement devices provided to panelists recruited for a media consumption study at a study site, comprising;

a first wireless signaling device that broadcasts a first signal and a first identification;

media device measurement devices provided for media devices at the study site, comprising;

a second wireless signaling device that broadcasts a second signal and a second identification;

a plurality of position markers, comprising;

a receiver that receives the first and second signals and the first and second identifications,

a first processor that measures characteristics of the first and second signals comprising received signal strength and time of arrival of each of the first and second signals, and

a transmitter that transmits the measured characteristics and the first and second identifications; and

a second processor that receives the measured characteristics and the first and second identifications from a first position marker and a second position marker of the plurality of position markers and that executes instructions from a computer-readable storage medium to;

identify a most proximate position marker of the first position marker and second position marker to a panelist, said most proximate position marker in proximity to a media device, based on a comparison of the measured characteristics of the broadcast of the first signal at each of the first position marker and second position marker and the identification of the first signal,

estimate a location of the media device based on the measured characteristics at the identified most proximate position marker and the identification of the second signal, and

identify the panelist as consuming media from the media device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the personal measurement device and the media measurement device each comprises a BTLE beacon.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the position markers comprise:

a BTLE receiver; and

a WiFi transmitter.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the personal measurement device is a device wearable by the panelist.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the personal measurement device is a wrist band.

14. The system of claim 9, further comprising a meter that records media displayed by the media devices and reports the recorded media to the second processor.

15. A system for conducting media consumption studies at a study site having one or more panelists, comprising:

media devices configured with measurement devices that broadcast media device measurement device identification signals;

panelist devices that broadcast panelist device identification signals; and

a first and second position marker that;

receive broadcast identification signals,

determine a characteristic of a broadcast identification signal comprising received signal strength and time of arrival of the broadcast signal, and

transmit the characteristic and a corresponding identification to a remote server, the remote server, comprising;

a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for conducting a media consumption study, and

a processor that executes the instructions to;

determine a most proximate position marker of the first and second position markers to a panelist, based on a comparison of the characteristics of the broadcast identification signal received by the first position marker to the characteristics of the broadcast identification signal received by the second position marker, the determined most proximate position marker associated with a media device; and

based on the determined most proximate position marker, determine that the panelist consumed media at the media device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the broadcast identification signals are RFID signals.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the broadcast identification signals are BTLE signals.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions for a media consumption study, wherein a processor executes the instructions to:

receive signal information from each of a first and second position marker placed in a study site, the signal information comprising;

first signal information broadcast by a personal measurement device carried by a panelist, and

second signal information broadcast by a media device measurement device;

process the second signal information to locate the media device in the study site based on received signal strength and time of arrival of each broadcast signal; and

process the first signal information to locate the panelist in proximity to the media device by comparing signal characteristics of the first signal information measured by the first position marker to signal characteristics of the first signal information measured by the second position marker to identify a most proximate position marker, the identified most proximate position marker associated with the media device.