Trigger-Based Audio Event Detection Across Home Recording Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to effectively detect and provide information about events of interest, such as a child crying or a pet's activity, across multiple user devices in a home environment, making it difficult for users to stay informed about their surroundings.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that associate recording devices with trigger terms, allowing users to query for information about animate objects, where audio data is transmitted and analyzed to identify characteristics of these objects, and present relevant information on user devices, including the ability to record additional data upon user request.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If multiple recording devices are deployed throughout the home environment, then the coverage and ability to detect events improves, but the complexity of managing and querying data from these devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary component that centralizes the management of multiple recording devices. The server receives queries from user devices, determines which recording devices are relevant based on stored associations, and coordinates data retrieval. This mediator approach resolves the complexity of directly managing multiple devices by providing a single point of control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing associations between recording devices and specific locations or rooms before queries are made. When a user wants to query about a particular location, the system already has the mapping information ready, eliminating the need for real-time device discovery or complex search algorithms.
2Reliability
If the system continuously monitors and analyzes audio data from all recording devices, then the ability to detect events of interest improves, but the energy consumption and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the system implements periodic action by only activating recording devices and analyzing audio data when a relevant query is received from a user device. The server determines which devices should be activated based on the query parameters, allowing devices to remain inactive and consume minimal energy during periods when no monitoring is required.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts only the necessary audio data from specific recording devices based on the user's query rather than processing data from all devices continuously. The server identifies and queries only those recording devices that are relevant to the specific event or location being investigated, reducing overall processing requirements and energy consumption.
3Loss of information
If the system stores and processes audio data from all recording devices, then the completeness of event information improves, but the data transmission and processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by determining which specific recording devices are relevant to each query based on their location and the nature of the event being investigated. Rather than retrieving data from all devices uniformly, the server selectively queries only those devices that have the relevant local information, reducing data transmission time while maintaining information completeness.
4Loss of information
If the system provides detailed information about detected events, then the usefulness of the information to users improves, but the complexity of information processing and presentation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by analyzing user queries and device responses to understand what information users find useful. The server can learn from query patterns and adjust the level of detail provided in responses, presenting only the most relevant characteristics and information about detected events, thereby reducing processing complexity while maintaining usefulness.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and media for providing information are provided. In some implementations, a method for providing information is provided, the method comprising: associating a first recording device of a group of recording devices located in an environment of a user with a trigger term; receiving, from a user device, a query that includes the trigger term; in response to receiving the query, determining that audio data is to be transmitted from at least one recording device from the group of recording devices in the environment of the user; identifying the first recording device based on the inclusion of the trigger term in the received query; receiving the audio data from the first recording device; identifying a characteristic of an animate object in the environment of the user based on the received audio data; and presenting information indicating the characteristic of the animate object on the user device.