Mixed Media Document Hotspot Linking Printed and Digital Content
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a gap between the physical world of printed media and the virtual multimedia-based world, as users lack a mixed media reality document that bridges the two, despite the benefits of both formats, such as tactile feel and permanency of printed media, and portability and ease of transmission of digital media.
Innovation Solution
A Mixed Media Reality (MMR) system that transforms electronic documents by parsing for hotspots, applying transformation rules, and rendering them, using a content-based retrieval database to link printed documents to digital content, enabling interaction between printed and digital media through capture devices and software components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If printed media is used, then tactile feel and permanency are provided, but portability and ease of transmission are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges printed media and digital media into a single mixed media document. The printed document contains hotspots that link to digital content, allowing users to access both the tactile permanency of print and the portability of digital files through one integrated document.
Solution Approach 2:
Hotspots serve as intermediaries between printed and digital media. These visual indicators in the printed document mediate the connection to digital content, enabling seamless transition between physical and virtual worlds without requiring separate documents.
2Ease of operation
If digital media is used, then portability and ease of transmission are improved, but tactile feel and permanency are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the portability of digital media with the permanency of printed media in a mixed media document. The printed portion provides permanent reference material while digital content accessible through hotspots provides portable supplementary information.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a gap exists between printed media and digital media, then users lack integrated access, but combining them increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mixed media document into distinct functional components: printed content areas, hotspot indicators, and linked digital content. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall integration, reducing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making only specific portions of the printed document (hotspots) interactive rather than the entire document. This selective approach provides mixed media functionality where needed without adding complexity to the entire document structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A Mixed Media Reality (MMR) system and associated techniques are disclosed. The MMR system provides mechanisms for forming a mixed media document that includes media of at least two types (e.g., printed paper as a first medium and digital content and/or web link as a second medium). In one particular embodiment, the MMR system includes a method, system, and computer program product for transforming characters corresponding to a hotspot in a document. An electronic document to be printed is parsed for a mark indicating a beginning point for a hotspot, a transformation rule is a applied to a portion of the electronic document between the mark indicating the beginning point for the hotspot and a mark indicating an ending point for the hotspot, and the transformed electronic document is rendered.