Audience Response Units With Delay Tracking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Wireless audience response systems face unpredictable transmission delays due to collision avoidance procedures, which can affect the accuracy of response time measurements and data analysis in educational and business environments.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating RF transceiver modules with collision avoidance protocols in both host and audience response units, allowing for the tracking and transmission of delay times, and enabling data modification and display on touch-sensitive screens with calendaring and scheduling functions for improved network activity and off-network use.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If collision avoidance procedures are implemented in the transmission protocol, then wireless communication reliability is improved, but transmission delay becomes unpredictable

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewireless communication reliabilityVSAvoidtransmission delay

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by tracking delay time throughout the transmission process and preparing correction data in advance. The audience response unit monitors the actual transmission delay caused by collision avoidance procedures and calculates correction values before final response time determination, allowing the system to compensate for delays proactively rather than reactively.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by having the audience response unit track actual transmission delay and send this delay information back to the host unit. The host unit then uses this feedback to correct response time measurements, creating a closed-loop system that continuously improves accuracy by learning from actual transmission conditions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If delay time tracking and correction mechanisms are added, then response time measurement accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse time measurement accuracyVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The audience response unit performs self-service by autonomously tracking its own transmission delay and generating correction data without requiring external intervention. The unit independently monitors its transmission process, calculates delay values, and incorporates this information into its response data, reducing the need for complex external synchronization infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The delay correction value acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between raw transmission time and actual response time. Rather than directly measuring response time amid protocol complexities, the system uses the delay correction as an intermediate calculation step that simplifies the overall measurement process while maintaining accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS7715780B1Audience response systems, methods and apparatus

Publication Date: 2010.05.11 BOXLIGHT CORP

AI summary

A wireless audience response system can have a host unit, presenter device, and a plurality of audience response units with keypads, with the host unit being communicatively coupled to a computer. In some embodiments, the audience response units can be used to execute functions using application programs within the computer remotely. Also, in other embodiments, the audience response units track delay times required for transmitting input data, with the delay times being usable in comparing response times at the host unit.