Event Notification Delivery via Presence Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face inefficiencies in managing event notifications across multiple devices, leading to redundant or expired reminders, as existing systems lack effective methods to determine and adapt to user presence and preferences for timely notifications.
Innovation Solution
A system that integrates a notification system with a presence system via a private network, allowing it to communicate with network-based calendar systems and subscriber devices to determine user presence and preferences, and send event notifications to the most appropriate device based on the type of event and user availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If event notifications are sent to multiple devices, then users can receive reminders on any device they are using, but users spend time managing redundant or expired reminders
Solution Approach 1:
The notification system queries the presence system to obtain real-time presence information about the user before sending notifications. This feedback mechanism ensures notifications are sent only to devices where the user is currently present, eliminating redundant notifications and the time users would spend managing them.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs presence checking before sending notifications, rather than sending to all devices and then filtering. This preliminary action of determining user presence beforehand prevents the generation of redundant notifications in the first place, saving user time.
2Ease of operation
If the system checks user presence across multiple devices, then notifications can be delivered to the most appropriate device, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The presence system acts as an intermediary between the notification system and multiple user devices. Instead of the notification system directly managing complexity of tracking user presence across devices, it delegates this function to a specialized presence system that handles presence information centrally.
Solution Approach 2:
The presence system serves multiple functions: it tracks user presence across devices, provides this information to the notification system, and enables the notification system to deliver notifications accurately without having to implement its own presence tracking infrastructure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system adapts to user preferences for notifications, then user experience is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring user state increases
Solution Approach 1:
The presence system serves as an intermediary that handles the complex task of detecting and measuring user presence state across multiple devices. It translates this complex information into simple presence indicators that the notification system can easily use to adapt notification delivery according to user preferences.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of delivering event notifications includes receiving data from a network-based calendar system at a notification system. The data indicates that a notification related to a calendar-based event is to be sent to a subscriber. The method also includes receiving presence information related to the subscriber from a presence system. The presence information indicates whether the subscriber is present at one or more of a plurality of subscriber devices. The plurality of subscriber devices includes a set-top box device. Further, the method includes sending an event notification related to the calendar-based event to the set-top box device when the presence information indicates that the subscriber is present at the set-top box device.