Cloud Voice Search for STB Content Retrieval Across Multiple Sources
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods of channel surfing via remote devices connected to set-top boxes are time-consuming and challenging due to the overwhelming number of television programming sources, making it difficult for viewers to locate relevant content efficiently.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a cloud-based voice search system that utilizes voice-to-text conversion and natural language processing to identify and access content from multiple sources without manual navigation, using an elastic voice cloud search service integrated with a set-top box (STB) to query and select channels and programs across various platforms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional channel surfing methods are used to navigate through multiple content sources, then users can access television programming from various sources, but the process becomes time-consuming and challenging due to the overwhelming number of sources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a voice search intermediary system that mediates between the user and the multitude of content sources. Instead of manually navigating through each source, the user speaks a search query that the voice search system processes to retrieve content from multiple sources simultaneously. This intermediary layer eliminates the time-consuming manual navigation while preserving access to diverse content sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical interaction of manually navigating through content sources using remote controls with a voice-based search system. The mechanical process of channel surfing and source selection is substituted with natural language voice commands, dramatically reducing the time and effort required to access content while maintaining comprehensive source coverage.
2Ease of operation
If manual navigation through electronic program guide is used, then users can select channels and programs, but the process is challenging and frustrating when trying to locate specific content across multiple sources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of manually navigating through the electronic program guide with a voice search system. Users simply speak the name or description of the content they want to find, and the system automatically searches across multiple sources and retrieves the content. This substitution dramatically improves ease of operation and reduces the time required to locate specific content.
Solution Approach 2:
The voice search system performs self-service by automatically searching through multiple content sources without requiring user intervention in the navigation process. The system independently handles the complex task of searching across diverse sources, filtering results, and presenting relevant content, thereby improving ease of operation while reducing content location time.
3Productivity
If cloud-based voice search with real-time text conversion is implemented, then content retrieval efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases due to integration of multiple services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal voice search system that integrates multiple functions into a single platform. The system simultaneously performs voice input capture, real-time text conversion, natural language processing, multi-source content search, and result presentation. This multi-functional integration improves content retrieval efficiency while managing system complexity through unified architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cloud-based voice search intermediary that mediates between the set-top box and multiple content sources. This intermediary handles the complexity of real-time text conversion and natural language processing in the cloud, allowing the local set-top box to remain relatively simple while achieving high content retrieval efficiency through the sophisticated cloud-based processing layer.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems, and methods are described to provide voice search in an elastic cloud environment communicating with a set-top box (STB) by receiving by a voice cloud search server pulse-code modulation (PCM) audio packets transmitted from the STB; sending the PCM audio packets to a natural language processing (NLP) service for converting to text; sending the text sets to an elastic voice cloud search server for querying an electronic program guide (EPG) service, channel and program data associated with the text set wherein the EPG service to at least return identified channel and program data; in response to an identified return of channel and television program data, sending sets of text to a search service for performing an elastic search for related data from a plurality of different search sources and returning search results and error codes to a requester.