Patent Application
20210281916
The present invention relates to computing technology, and particularly to filtering sections of electronic media content for specific users.
Presently, media content is rated by external committee(s), not a content provider, in accordance with a static rating system. Typically, the rating system uses age recommendations in an advisory or restrictive capacity ranging up to adulthood, and are often given to aid censorship of the content. Additionally, most content delivery services support some type of parental control defined at a coarse-level (e.g., application level, site level, etc.).
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a method for dynamic content filtering includes accessing, by a processing unit, a media content that includes several content portions. The method further includes determining a rating tag associated with each content portion from the media content, and a user profile of a user requesting the media content to be rendered. The user profile contains a permission level for the user. The method further includes filtering the content portions from the media content based on the permission level, wherein, in response to the rating tag of a particular content portion exceeding the permission level in the user profile, filtering out the particular content portion. The method further includes rendering content portions that were not filtered out.
A system, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention, includes a content rendering device, and a content server. The system performs a method for dynamic content filtering includes accessing, by a processing unit, a media content that includes several content portions. The method further includes determining a rating tag associated with each content portion from the media content, and a user profile of a user requesting the media content to be rendered. The user profile contains a permission level for the user. The method further includes filtering the content portions from the media content based on the permission level, wherein, in response to the rating tag of a particular content portion exceeding the permission level in the user profile, filtering out the particular content portion. The method further includes rendering content portions that were not filtered out.
According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a computer program product includes a memory storage device having computer executable instructions stored thereon. The computer executable instructions when executed by one or more processing units cause the one of more processing units to perform a method for censoring portions of media. The method for dynamic content filtering includes accessing, by a processing unit, a media content that includes several content portions. The method further includes determining a rating tag associated with each content portion from the media content, and a user profile of a user requesting the media content to be rendered. The user profile contains a permission level for the user. The method further includes filtering the content portions from the media content based on the permission level, wherein, in response to the rating tag of a particular content portion exceeding the permission level in the user profile, filtering out the particular content portion. The method further includes rendering content portions that were not filtered out.
Additional technical features and benefits are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed subject matter. For a better understanding, refer to the detailed description and to the drawings.
The specifics of the exclusive rights described herein are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the embodiments of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The diagrams depicted herein are illustrative. There can be many variations to the diagrams or the operations described therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, the actions can be performed in a differing order or actions can be added, deleted or modified. Also, the term “coupled” and variations thereof describe having a communications path between two elements and do not imply a direct connection between the elements with no intervening elements/connections between them. All of these variations are considered a part of the specification.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a dynamic individualized content rating system based on selection(s) made by a particular set of users, such as a family. Embodiments of the present invention further facilitate real time feedback and configuration of content delivery at a granular level. The technical solutions provided by embodiments of the present invention not only complement, but extend the present static content rating system, and accordingly provide an improvement to the present content rating system. Further, embodiments of the present invention improve computing technology that facilitates playback of media content by facilitating content rendering devices to implement such a dynamic content rating system that filters particular sections/portions of content from a requested media.
The content rendering devices 122 can access and render the media content 115 from the content server 110 via a communication network 130. The communication network 130 can be any type of network such as Ethernet, 3G, 4G, 5G, or any other type of network or a combination thereof. The communication network 130 can be a wired or a wireless network. The communication network 130 can use one or more communication protocols, such as transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), user datagram protocol (UDP), etc. to facilitate the content rendering devices 122 to send/receive data to/from the content server 110. Other types of communication networks and communication protocols can be used in one or more embodiments of the present invention without limiting the technical solutions provided.
Each content rendering device 122 is a computing device that is capable of displaying the media content 115. Displaying the media content 115 can include playing back video, audio, augmented reality content, virtual reality content, etc., or a combination thereof. Displaying the media content 115 can further include displaying images, text, hyperlinks, and other such types of content. Further, the content rendering device 122 can execute scripts, programs, and other such content to facilitate displaying portions of the media content 115.
Each of the content rendering devices 122 can be part of a group of devices that are managed together, for example, as a family, a business, an institution, or any other such group. Each content rendering device 122 can have a designated user profile, where only a user that is associated with that user profile can access that particular content rendering device 122. Alternatively, or in addition, a user from the group can access any content rendering device 122 with his/her credentials, and thereby associating his/her user profile with that content rendering device 122. The user can then logout and disassociate his/her user profile from the content rendering device 122.
In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the user profiles 150 associated with each of the users in the group are stored such that the content rendering device 122 can access the user profiles 150. For example, the user profiles 150 are stored on one of the content rendering devices 122 and are accessible to the other content rendering devices 122. Alternatively, or in addition, the user profiles 150 are stored in a separate device, such as a network gateway, a network attached storage, or any other device that is accessible from each of the content rendering devices 122.
Each user profile 150 provides a permission level that determines whether the corresponding user can view media content of a particular rating level. The content rendering device 122 compares the permission level with rating tags that are included in the media content 115. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the media content 115 includes an overall rating tag that indicates an overall content rating for the media content 115. In addition, the media content 115 is divided into one or more portions/sections. Each portion has a corresponding rating tag that indicates a content rating for that particular content portion. Based on the comparison, the content rendering device 122 filters (or alternatively renders) one or more portions of the media content 115 depending on the user profile 150 that is presently active on the content rendering device 122, active user profile indicative of the user that is logged in to the content rendering device 122. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, “filtering” a portion can include replacing that portion with another alternative portion. For example, the content server 130 can identify an alternative content that can be used in place of the filtered portion. Alternatively, or in addition, the content rendering device 122 stores one or more media content that can be used to replace the filtered content portion.
In the depicted example in
Further, consider that in an example scenario the group 120 of users is a hypothetical family of five: Mother, Father, John—8 years old, Jane—14 years old, and Mary—18 years old. Each of these users has a profile 150. Further, in this example, Mother and/or Father have administrative privileges to edit/configure user profiles 150 of other users, however, other users, i.e. John, Jane, and Mary, cannot change the user profiles of Mother and Father. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, Mother/Father can allow a user to edit their own user profile 150. For example, Mary, who is 18, may be allowed to update her own user profile 150.
In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the parent(s) can view a map of the media content 115 upon request. In one or more embodiments of the present invention the parent(s), who have an administrator role in this example, are associated with a master user profile 150. The users of the master user profile, i.e., administrators, have unlimited access to the content 115. That is all the portions are rendered for users with the master profile, and no filtering is performed in this case. The map can be a list of one or more portions in which the media content 115 is divided. For example, in the case of the website, a site-map can be the map. In other cases, for example, a video, the map can be a list of one or more sets of frames from the video, where each set of frames represents a particular content portion in the video. A content creator/provider can divide the media content 115 into one or more portions and tag each portion appropriately. The content creators/providers can be incentivized to provide such divisions, and tagging of content in order to reach broader audience, for example, by blocking any untagged portions and/or any undivided media content 115.
Alternatively, or in addition, the parents can add dynamic tags 210 to one or more portions of the media content 115, such dynamic tags being specific to the group 120. For example, the dynamic tags 210 can be stored in the user profiles 150 for the specific media content 115. Alternatively, or in addition, the dynamic tags 210 for the specific content 115 and for the specific users are stored in the content rendering devices 122.
Alternatively, or in addition, parents can update the dynamic tags 210 of the media content 115 in the content server 110. In this case, the dynamic tags 210 can be used by other groups of users, such as a second family that uses the tags 210 to filter out portions of the media content 115. For example, based on the configuration shown in table 1, when Jane accesses the website, her view is as shown in view 320. As can be seen, Jane does not have access to the hyperlink <labore et dolore> and the image. Similarly, when Mary access the website her view will be as depicted in view 330. Here, the hyperlink is accessible, but the link to the media is not accessible. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, “filtering” a portion can include replacing that portion with another alternative portion. For example, the content server 130 can identify an alternative content that can be used in place of the filtered portion. Alternatively, or in addition, the content rendering device 122 stores one or more media content that can be used to replace the filtered content portion. In the above example scenario, the hyperlink can be replaced with text, for example. Further, the image can be replaced with another image that the content server 130 (or the content rendering device 122) have stored as a replacement image. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the replacement content (e.g., image) can be a generic content (e.g., generic image) that replaces any filtered portion of that type (e.g., image, text, video, audio etc.). Alternatively, or in addition, the content provider/generator can store separate content portions appropriate for particular rating tags 210. The content rendering device 122 can, accordingly, replace the filtered content portion with the content that is marked with the particular user's permission level.
The method 400 includes creating a user profile 150 for each content consumer in the group 120, at block 410. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the user profiles 150 are created separately for each consumer. The user profile 150 is created, in one or more embodiments of the present invention, using a user-interface of the media-playback device 122. The user profile 150 is assigned one or more authentication techniques, at block 412. The authentication techniques can include username/password, biometrics, two-step authentication, and any other techniques. The user can use one of the assigned authentication techniques to activate that user profile 150. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the content rendering devices 122 may not operate without having an active user profile 150. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, a user has to activate the user profile 150 at startup of the content rendering device 122. Alternatively, or in addition, each user may have an assigned content rendering device 122, and the corresponding user profile 150 is stored on that content rendering device 122.
Further, each user profile 150 is assigned granular, customized permission level, at block 414. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the user profile 150 includes permission levels for specific rating tags 210. The customized permission levels can be rule-based or pattern-based. For example, based on the demographic information for the user, such as age, gender, location, etc., the permission levels can be automatically set/updated. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, each user profile 150 includes the types of content rating tags 210 that the user can (and/or cannot) view.
The user profiles 150 and associated ratings are persisted on a storage device that can be accessed by the content rendering devices 122. For example, the user profiles 150 are stored in a network attached storage/server or any other storage. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the user profiles 150 are stored on one or more content rendering devices 122 accessible by each of the content rendering devices 122.
Referring back to
The method 600 further includes filtering one or more portions of the content 115 based on the permission levels in the user profile 150, at block 610. The filtering can include accessing the rating tags 210 of the portions of the content 115, at block 612. Each portion of the content 115 can include one or more rating tags 210. The rating tags 210 are associated with each portion of the content 115 by the content provider and/or the content generator. In addition, the rating tags 210 can be a result of feedback received from other users as is described herein.
Further, the filtering includes comparing the rating tags 210 of each portion with the permission level from the user profile 150, at block 614. If the rating tag 210 of a portion exceeds the permission level, the portion is permitted to be viewed by the user, and accordingly, is rendered by the content rendering device 122, at block 616. Alternatively, if the user is restricted from viewing the portion, the content rendering device 122 does not render the portion, at block 618. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, if a portion is associated with an empty/blank rating tag 210, the portion is not rendered by default. This incentivizes content generators to tag all the portions of the content 115 so that maximum users can view their content. Further yet, in one or more embodiments of the present invention, comparing the rating tags 210 includes comparing the overall tag of the content 115 with the permission level. If the user is not allowed to view content with the overall rating itself, the rating tags 210 of individual portions of the content 115 are not checked. Instead, the entire content 115 is not rendered.
The filtering can be performed by the content rendering device 122 in one or more embodiments of the present invention. In this case, the content server 110 sends, to the content rendering device 122, along with the portion of the content, the rating tag 210 of that portion. The content rendering device 122, subsequently performs the determination as described above.
Alternatively, or in addition, the content server 110 filters the portions of the content 115 in one or more embodiments of the present invention. For example, the content rendering device 122 sends to the content server 110, along with the request to access the content 115, the permitted set 530, the restricted set 540, or both. The content server 110 can transfer, to the content rendering device 122, only the portions of the content 115 that are to be rendered. This can facilitate the content rendering device 122 to use lesser network bandwidth, because only the filtered content portions are transferred on the network 130. Accordingly, the technical solutions can provide additional technical improvements by improving network efficiency of the system 100.
The filtering and rendering continues until all of the portions of the content 115 are processed, i.e., either rendered or determined to not be rendered. Accordingly, the method 600 facilitates filtering content 115 at real time.
Further yet, the method 600 includes updating, by the user, a rating tag 210 of a portion of the content 115, at block 620. For example, if the user wants to provide a feedback that the rating tag 210 that is presently associated with a portion, or the overall content 115, is incorrect, the user can update the present rating tag 210 with a new rating tag 210. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the user sends the new rating tag 210 to the content server 110 to associate the new rating tag 210 with the portion or the overall content 115. Along with the new rating tag 210, the content rendering device 122, sends a portion-identifier/time-point of the content 115 that the user is presently viewing. Accordingly, the content server 110 can associate the new rating tag 210 with the appropriate portion of the content 115.
In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the new rating tag 210 is stored with the user profiles 150. The stored new rating 210 is also accessible to the content rendering devices 122 from the group 120. The content rendering device 122 uses the stored rating tag 210 instead of the rating tag 210 retrieved from the content server 110 in this case. In the case where the content server 110 filters the portions of the content 115, the stored new tag(s) 210 for the specific group 120 are also sent to the content server 110 for accurate filtering.
The real-time tagging includes associating one or more rating tags 210 to the one or more portions in the content 115 automatically. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, an image processing analysis is performed of any images in the content 115. The image processing analysis determines if any images contain any material that exceeds the permission level from the user profile 150. For example, if the image includes adult material, the image is assigned a rating tag 210 representing the “R” or “NC-17” rating. Accordingly, the image is marked as not suitable for Jane and/or John from the example family described herein. Similarly, the real-time tagging includes analyzing videos, text, audio, and other types of media. The analysis can be performed using machine learning techniques, neural networks, and other such automated techniques that are presently known or will be developed in the future. The real-time tagging can be performed by the content server 110 in one or more embodiments of the present invention. Alternatively, or in addition, the content rendering device 122 performs the real-time tagging.
The method 700 further includes filtering the one or more portions of the content 115 based on the rating tags 210 and the permission level from the user profile 150, at block 610. The filtering is described in detail earlier, and is not repeated. Further, the method 700 includes allowing the user to update the rating tag(s) 210 of the content 115 as described herein, at block 620.
Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention address the technical challenges of static content rating and provide an improvement by facilitating dynamic content rating that is particular to a group of users. Accordingly, different groups of users can have customized dynamic content rating permissions for individual users. For example, in the example family of five described earlier, Jane, who is 14 years old, is not allowed to view certain content from the website in view 320 (
The administrators, respectively, configure user profiles 150 from their respective groups 120, at blocks 804A and 804B. For example, consider that the first group 120 is the hypothetical family described earlier. A first administrator from the first group configures the user profile 150 for Jane (14 year old) so that she cannot view the image and hyperlink as noted in table 1. In the second group, say Grace's family, a second administrator sets up Grace's user profile 150 so that she can view the image, but not the hyperlink. Accordingly, when the users, in this case Jane and Grace, access the content 115, the portions of the content 115 are filtered in different ways for each of them, at blocks 806A, 806B, and 808. In the above example, Jane is blocked from the image and hyperlink, while Grace can view the image, but cannot access the hyperlink. The filtering can be performed by the content rendering devices 122 used by Jane and Grace, respectively, in one or more embodiments of the present invention. Alternatively, the content server 110 filters the portions in one or more embodiments of the present invention.
Any of the components depicted in
As shown in
The computer system 900 comprises an input/output (I/O) adapter 906 and a communications adapter 907 coupled to the system bus 902. The I/O adapter 906 may be a small computer system interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with a hard disk 908 and/or any other similar component. The I/O adapter 906 and the hard disk 908 are collectively referred to herein as a mass storage 910.
Software 911 for execution on the computer system 900 may be stored in the mass storage 910. The mass storage 910 is an example of a tangible storage medium readable by the processors 901, where the software 911 is stored as instructions for execution by the processors 901 to cause the computer system 900 to operate, such as is described herein below with respect to the various Figures. Examples of computer program product and the execution of such instruction is discussed herein in more detail. The communications adapter 907 interconnects the system bus 902 with a network 912, which may be an outside network, enabling the computer system 900 to communicate with other such systems. In one embodiment, a portion of the system memory 903 and the mass storage 910 collectively store an operating system, which may be any appropriate operating system, such as the z/OS or AIX operating system from IBM Corporation, to coordinate the functions of the various components shown in
Additional input/output devices are shown as connected to the system bus 902 via a display adapter 915 and an interface adapter 916 and. In one embodiment, the adapters 906, 907, 915, and 916 may be connected to one or more I/O buses that are connected to the system bus 902 via an intermediate bus bridge (not shown). A display 919 (e.g., a screen or a display monitor) is connected to the system bus 902 by a display adapter 915, which may include a graphics controller to improve the performance of graphics intensive applications and a video controller. A keyboard 921, a mouse 922, a speaker 923, etc. can be interconnected to the system bus 902 via the interface adapter 916, which may include, for example, a Super I/O chip integrating multiple device adapters into a single integrated circuit. Suitable I/O buses for connecting peripheral devices such as hard disk controllers, network adapters, and graphics adapters typically include common protocols, such as the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI). Thus, as configured in
In some embodiments, the communications adapter 907 can transmit data using any suitable interface or protocol, such as the internet small computer system interface, among others. The network 912 may be a cellular network, a radio network, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or the Internet, among others. An external computing device may connect to the computer system 900 through the network 912. In some examples, an external computing device may be an external webserver or a cloud computing node.
It is to be understood that the block diagram of
The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium (or media) having computer-readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.
The computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer-readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.
Computer-readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer-readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer-readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer-readable program instructions for storage in a computer-readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.
Computer-readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source-code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer-readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer-readable program instruction by utilizing state information of the computer-readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.
Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-readable program instructions.
These computer-readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer-readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments described herein.
Various embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to the related drawings. Alternative embodiments of the invention can be devised without departing from the scope of this invention. Various connections and positional relationships (e.g., over, below, adjacent, etc.) are set forth between elements in the following description and in the drawings. These connections and/or positional relationships, unless specified otherwise, can be direct or indirect, and the present invention is not intended to be limiting in this respect. Accordingly, a coupling of entities can refer to either a direct or an indirect coupling, and a positional relationship between entities can be a direct or indirect positional relationship. Moreover, the various tasks and process steps described herein can be incorporated into a more comprehensive procedure or process having additional steps or functionality not described in detail herein.
The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used for the interpretation of the claims and the specification. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains” or “containing,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a composition, a mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus.
Additionally, the term “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. The terms “at least one” and “one or more” may be understood to include any integer number greater than or equal to one, i.e. one, two, three, four, etc. The terms “a plurality” may be understood to include any integer number greater than or equal to two, i.e. two, three, four, five, etc. The term “connection” may include both an indirect “connection” and a direct “connection.”
The terms “about,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and variations thereof, are intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.
For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to making and using aspects of the invention may or may not be described in detail herein. In particular, various aspects of computing systems and specific computer programs to implement the various technical features described herein are well known. Accordingly, in the interest of brevity, many conventional implementation details are only mentioned briefly herein or are omitted entirely without providing the well-known system and/or process details.
