Audience Detection via Threshold-Based Signal Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audience survey techniques are prone to inaccuracies and participant reluctance due to recall errors, diary inaccuracies, and the high cost, weight, and battery life issues of portable devices used in passive techniques, as well as the inability to accurately identify individual audience members and exclude those outside the perception area.
Innovation Solution
A method involving portable devices with unique IDs that transmit signals detected by a stationary apparatus with an antenna and processing circuitry configured to set sensitivity thresholds, excluding signals from areas where individuals cannot visually perceive the program, ensuring only signals from relevant positions are detected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If portable devices with unique IDs are used to identify audience members, then individual identification accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the identification function from complex portable devices and implements it through simple RFID tags or transponders. These minimal devices contain only a unique ID, while the stationary detector performs all processing and identification logic, thereby resolving the contradiction between identification accuracy and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a stationary detector as an intermediary between the simple portable devices and the audience identification system. This intermediary handles the complex signal processing and threshold determination, allowing portable devices to remain simple while achieving accurate identification
2Measurement precision
If sensitivity thresholds are set to exclude persons outside the perception area, then audience measurement accuracy is improved, but detection reliability may worsen due to signal thresholding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by determining sensitivity thresholds in advance through calibration procedures. The stationary detector is pre-configured with appropriate threshold values that account for the perception area boundaries, allowing it to automatically exclude signals from persons outside the area while maintaining reliable detection within the area
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the sensitivity parameter dynamically based on the detected signal characteristics and predetermined threshold criteria. By adjusting the sensitivity threshold parameter, the system distinguishes between valid audience members within the perception area and persons outside it, resolving the contradiction between measurement accuracy and detection reliability
3Ease of operation
If phone interviews and diary methods are used to gather audience information, then data collection is simplified, but measurement accuracy deteriorates due to recall errors and participant bias
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of human recall and manual diary-keeping with an automated electronic detection system. RFID tags or transponders automatically transmit identification signals when persons enter the perception area, and the stationary detector automatically records this data, eliminating recall errors and participant bias while maintaining operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The portable devices automatically perform the identification function without requiring participant cooperation or manual input. The devices self-transmit their unique IDs when activated, and the system automatically processes the data, replacing the need for participants to actively recall or record their viewing habits
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A technique is disclosed for identifying members of an audience tuned to a program broadcast by a programming signal source, comprising the steps of storing personal identification signals in a plurality of portable devices to be carried by members of the audience; periodically transmitting said identification signals from the portable devices; providing a stationary detector to detect the identification signals if they exceed a selectable response of said detector; and setting the selectable response of said detector to a level such that the identification signals are detected only if the respective portable devices are located relative to the detector in positions where persons can perceive performance of the broadcast program.