Voice Command Interface for Set-Top Box Complexity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of modern set-top boxes (STBs) with numerous features complicates the television viewing experience, requiring users to navigate intricate menu structures and utilize remote controls with many buttons, making it difficult to balance new features with user simplicity.
Innovation Solution
A Programming Content Manager (PCM) that uses voice and/or text messages to interact with users, allowing them to manage television programming through voice commands, alerts, and social networking options, simplifying the interaction with STBs by using voice-enabled devices to convey and receive information, schedule recordings, and share viewing experiences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If additional features are introduced to STBs, then functionality and versatility are improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
A voice recognition system is introduced as an intermediary between the user and the complex STB interface. The system captures voice commands, processes them to identify user intentions, and translates them into appropriate STB operations, thereby simplifying the interaction without reducing functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical button-pressing interface with an acoustic/voice-based interaction system. Instead of requiring users to physically manipulate a remote control with multiple buttons, the system uses voice recognition to substitute the mechanical interaction, reducing the operational burden while maintaining full functionality
2Adaptability or versatility
If additional features are introduced to STBs, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The voice recognition system serves as a mediating layer that separates the user from the complex internal structure of the STB. It handles the complexity of interpreting user intentions and mapping them to system operations, allowing the STB to maintain advanced features while appearing simpler to the user
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the interaction process into distinct components: voice capture, voice processing, and STB execution. This segmentation allows the complexity to be distributed across separate functional modules rather than concentrated in a single complex interface, making the overall system more manageable and maintainable
Data Source
AI summary
A verbal request for an action to be performed in connection with a user's set-top box may be received by a Program Content Manager (PCM) from a voice-enabled input/output device such as a VoIP-enabled device or a mobile communication device. Alternatively, the user may request an action via email, text message, and the like. The PCM receiving the action request may execute, or schedule the request for later execution, depending on whether the request is for a real-time or future action. The user may also request to send an alert or a program recording request to others. Recipients may be able to request further alerts or confirm a program recording invitation if certain criteria are met.