Patent Application
20130339852
The present disclosure relates to multiple information stream management, and more particularly, to systems for viewing information from multiple information streams on a device.
Electronic communication technology is continuing to evolve, and part of this evolution includes handling tasks that were commonly not orchestrated using electronic communication along with the introduction of new forms of electronic interaction. For example, wired and/or wireless communication technology that is now becoming available in devices may allow for the transmission and reception of various multimedia information including, but not limited to, audio information (e.g., voice interactions such as telephone conversations and teleconferencing, audio streaming, etc.), video information (e.g., videoconferencing, video sharing, video streaming, etc.) and textual information (e.g., email, messaging, etc.). In addition to interaction at the user level, service providers have also employed these forms of communication to facilitate everyday tasks. For example, accessing accounts, paying bills, shopping, requesting customer service, setting up appointments, making reservations, reading the new, monitoring security and many more daily tasks may all be handled electronically through the use of a variety of devices.
At least one result of the evolution of electronic communication technology is a desire for interaction with multiple information streams at the same time. Information streams may include substantially continuous flows of multimedia information that may be transmitted and/or received via wired and/or wireless communication. For example, electronic messaging or email communication, reading news reports or receiving news updates from an online (e.g., Internet) source, reading and/or writing online reviews, blogs, etc., may all constitute textual-based information streams. Likewise, information streams may also include conducting voice-based communications like telephone calls, streaming music, streaming programs, streaming movies, tracking scores from sporting events, interacting with accounts online, performing online searches, viewing Internet web pages, playing online games, etc.
Most importantly, users may desire to interact with some or all of the above information streams simultaneously. Existing picture-in-picture technology was developed to allow multiple television (TV) channels to be viewed concurrently on the same screen. While this technology may perform acceptably for simply viewing multiple TV channels, it falls far short of being able to handle continuously changing information streams comprising multimedia information, often requiring two-way interaction, the information streams being received from various sources not limited to conventional TV feeds, multimedia playback devices, gaming consoles, the Internet and other peripheral input devices like cameras, etc. Moreover, existing technology does not allow users to configure or manage interactions with multiple concurrent information streams.
Features and advantages of various embodiments of the claimed subject matter will become apparent as the following Detailed Description proceeds, and upon reference to the Drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts, and in which:
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
This disclosure describes systems and methods for stream-based media management. In general, a device may receive at least one information stream, and may control how displayable content in the at least one information stream behaves (e.g., whether to display the displayable content, to alter how the displayable content is displayed, to generate a visible or audible alarm to a user, etc.) based on activity in the at least one information stream. In one embodiment, a device may comprise at least a display and a stream manager, the device being configured to interact with at least one information stream. Information streams may comprise substantially continuous flows of multimedia information that may be transmitted from a device, or received at a device, via wired and/or wireless communication. For the sake of explanation herein, all information streams may include at least some displayable content. Displayable content may include, but is not limited to, textual information (e.g., emails, messages, social network status and updates, sports scores, headlines, various content viewed via an Internet browser and other information related to audio/video like album/song titles, lyrics etc.) and video information (e.g., photos, short videos, television programs, movies, live camera feeds, games, etc). In one embodiment, the device may be further configured to monitor the at least one information stream and to display the displayable content based on activity in the at least one information stream. For example, the stream manager may be configured to monitor the at least one information stream and to control how the displayable content is displayed based on detecting the activity.
In one embodiment, upon activation of stream-based media management the device may be configured to detect available information streams and to authenticate the identity of at least one device user. Authentication allows the device to determine if user preferences already exist for at least one current user of the device. If at least one user is authenticated, already existing preferences may be presented to the at least one authenticated user with the option to alter the user preferences. User preferences may include basic configurations for displaying displayable content including, for example, the size of a window in which to display displayable content, a resolution at which to display displayable content, an orientation in which to display displayable content, etc. User preferences may also identify activities (e.g., trigger activities) that, upon detection, may cause device to alter how the displayable content is being displayed and/or to generate an alert. Example trigger activities may include, but are not limited to, detecting incoming information in an information stream (e.g., a new email, message, status update, etc.), detecting important information in an information stream (e.g., an alert regarding an emergency), detecting certain changes in an information stream (e.g., detecting motion in a security camera feed), detecting a quality issue or an interruption in an information stream, etc.
User preferences may further comprise a configuration of an action to perform when a trigger activity is detected. In a basic configuration, detecting a trigger activity may cause the device to display or not display the displayable content. However, it may also be possible for the device to receive a plurality of information streams including displayable content. In such instances the stream manager may be configured to cause displayable content from different information streams in the plurality of information streams to be displayed (e.g., in different locations on the display) and to react to different trigger actions corresponding to each of the plurality of streams. In one embodiment, the action performed in response to the trigger action may cause the stream manager to change how displayable content from one stream is displayed with respect to displayable content from other streams. For example, the stream manager may cause the size or display order of displayable content to change on the display. Changing the display order may cause displayable content from an information stream to be displayed over or in front of displayable content from other information streams. In addition to the trigger actions affecting how displayable content is displayed by the device, visible or audible alerts may be generated corresponding to detected trigger activities. As a result, displayable content from at least one information stream may be displayed, and the manner in which the displayable content is displayed may be based on activities that are occurring in the one or more information streams.
Device 102 may comprise, for example, display 104 and stream manager 108. Display 104 may be based on various technologies such as, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal (LCD), plasma, light emitting diode (LED), active-matrix organic LED (AMOLED), etc. Display 104 may be configured to display at least displayable content 106 from information streams 110. Stream manager 108 may be configured to monitor information streams 110 received at device 102 and to control how displayable content 106 is displayed on display 104. Streams manager 108 has been illustrated in
While embodiments consistent with the present disclosure will be explained herein using examples with multiple information streams 110 being received by device 102, it is also possible for various embodiments to be employed with a single information stream 110 being received at device 102. Stream manager 108 may control how displayable content 106 from the single information stream 110 is displayed on display 104, and may alter how displayable content 106 is displayed based on activity detected in the single information stream 110. Explanations based on multiple information stream examples are used because some functionality exists in the multiple information stream scenario that may not be applicable to a single information stream.
Streams manager 108′ may comprise, for example, processing module 200, memory module 202, power module 204, communication interface module 206, communication module 208, user interface module 210 and stream control module 212. Processing module 200 may comprise one or more processors situated in separate components, or alternatively, may comprise one or more processing cores embodied in a single component (e.g., in a System-on-a-Chip (SOC) configuration). Example processors may include various x86-based microprocessors available from the Intel Corporation including those in the Pentium, Xeon, Itanium, Celeron, Atom, Core i-series product families. Processing module 200 may be configured to execute instructions in device 102′. Instructions may include program code configured to cause processing module 200 to perform activities related to reading data, writing data, processing data, formulating data, converting data, transforming data, etc. Information (e.g., instructions, data, etc.) may be stored in memory module 202. Memory module 202 may comprise random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM) in a fixed or removable format. RAM may include memory configured to hold information during the operation of device 102′ such as, for example, static RAM (SRAM) or Dynamic RAM (DRAM). ROM may include memories such as bios memory configured to provide instructions when device 102′ activates, programmable memories such as electronic programmable ROMs, (EPROMS), Flash, etc. Other fixed and/or removable memory may include magnetic memories such as floppy disks, hard drives, etc., electronic memories such as solid state flash memory (e.g., eMMC, etc.), removable memory cards or sticks (e.g., uSD, USB, etc.), optical memories such as compact disc-based ROM (CD-ROM), etc. Power module 204 may include internal power sources (e.g., a battery) and/or external power sources (e.g., electromechanical or solar generator, power grid, etc.), and related circuitry configured to supply device 102′ with the power needed to operate.
Communications interface module 206 may be configured to handle packet routing and other control functions for communication module 208, which may include resources configured to support wired and/or wireless communications. Wired communications may include parallel and serial wired mediums such as, for example, Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Firewire, etc. Wireless communications may include, for example, close-proximity wireless mediums (e.g., radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR), optical character recognition (OCR), magnetic readers, etc.), short-range wireless mediums (e.g., Bluetooth, wireless local area networking (WLAN), Wi-Fi, etc.) and long range wireless mediums (e.g., cellular, satellite, etc.). In one embodiment, communications interface module 206 may be configured to prevent wireless communications that are active in communication module 208 from interfering with each other. In performing this function, communications interface module 206 may schedule activities for communication module 208 based on, for example, the relative priority of messages awaiting transmission. User interface module 210 may include circuitry configured to allow users to interact with device 102′ such as, for example, various input mechanisms (e.g., microphones, switches, buttons, knobs, keyboards, speakers, touch-sensitive surfaces, one or more sensors configured to capture images and/or sense proximity, distance, motion, gestures, etc.) and output mechanisms (e.g., speakers, displays, lighted/flashing indicators, electromechanical components for vibration, motion, etc.). For example, user interface module 210 may be configured to interact with at least display 104′ as illustrated in
In operation 504 a determination may be made as to whether the identity of the user has been authenticated. If the identity of at least one user cannot be authenticated in operation 504, then in operation 506 already existing user preferences (e.g., a set of default user preferences, user preferences of the last authenticated user, etc.) may be used in operation 508 for controlling how the displayable content is displayed based on the user preferences. Alternatively, if it is determined in operation 504 that a user can be authenticated, then in operation 510 any existing user preferences that are determined to correspond to the authenticated user may be presented. A further determination may then be made in operation 512 as to whether the user desires to change the already existing user preferences. If the authenticated user decides to use the already existing user preferences, then a return to operation 506 may cause the already existing user preferences to be utilized. On the other hand, if in operation 512 the authenticated user determines that the already existing user preferences are to be changed, then in operation 514 the user preferences may be reconfigured. User preferences may include, for example, how displayable content is to be presented on the display of the device, trigger activities corresponding to information streams and control actions that may be performed by the device upon detection of trigger activities.
Operation 514 may be followed by a return to operation 508, wherein the device may control how displayable content is displayed based on the user preferences.
While
As used in any embodiment herein, the term “module” may refer to software, firmware and/or circuitry configured to perform any of the aforementioned operations. Software may be embodied as a software package, code, instructions, instruction sets and/or data recorded on non-transitory computer readable storage mediums. Firmware may be embodied as code, instructions or instruction sets and/or data that are hard-coded (e.g., nonvolatile) in memory devices. “Circuitry”, as used in any embodiment herein, may comprise, for example, singly or in any combination, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry such as computer processors comprising one or more individual instruction processing cores, state machine circuitry, and/or firmware that stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry. The modules may, collectively or individually, be embodied as circuitry that forms part of a larger system, for example, an integrated circuit (IC), system on-chip (SoC), desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, servers, smart phones, etc.
Any of the operations described herein may be implemented in a system that includes one or more storage mediums having stored thereon, individually or in combination, instructions that when executed by one or more processors perform the methods. Here, the processor may include, for example, a server CPU, a mobile device CPU, and/or other programmable circuitry. Also, it is intended that operations described herein may be distributed across a plurality of physical devices, such as processing structures at more than one different physical location. The storage medium may include any type of tangible medium, for example, any type of disk including hard disks, floppy disks, optical disks, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk rewritables (CD-RWs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor devices such as read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) such as dynamic and static RAMs, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memories, Solid State Disks (SSDs), embedded multimedia cards (eMMCs), secure digital input/output (SDIO) cards, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions. Other embodiments may be implemented as software modules executed by a programmable control device.
Thus, the present disclosure provides systems and methods for stream-based media management. A device may be configured to receive information streams including displayable content and to at least display the displayable content. For example, a stream manager in the device may be configured to control how the displayable content is displayed on a display in the device based on activity detected in the information streams. The activity may be defined by user preferences as trigger activities. For example, upon detecting a trigger activity in an information stream, the stream manager may cause the displayable content to be displayed or hidden, may cause the manner in which the displayable content is displayed (e.g., size, shape, order, etc.) to be altered, or may cause a visible or audible alert to be generated.
The following examples pertain to further embodiments. In one example embodiment there is provided a device. The device may include a communication module configured to receive at least one information stream via wired or wireless communication, the information stream including displayable content, a display configured to display at least the displayable content, and a stream manager configured to at least control displaying of the displayable content on the display based on activity in the at least one information stream.
The above example device may be further configured, wherein the stream manager is configured to monitor the at least one information stream for the activity and to cause the displayable content to be displayed or not be displayed based on detecting the activity. In this configuration the example device may be further configured, wherein the stream manager is configured based on user preferences including at least a trigger activity, the stream manager being configured to monitor the at least one information stream for the trigger activity and to control the displaying of the displayable content based on detecting the trigger activity. In this configuration the example device may be further configured, wherein the user preferences further include at least one of a size of a window on the display in which to display the displayable content, the resolution at which to display the displayable content or the orientation in which to display the displayable content.
The above example device may be further configured, wherein the at least one information stream comprises a plurality of information streams including displayable content, the stream manager being configured to control displaying of the displayable content based on activity in the plurality of information streams. In this configuration the above device may be further configured, wherein the stream manager is configured to cause displayable content from different information streams in the plurality of information streams to be displayed in different locations on the display. In this configuration the example device may be further configured, wherein the stream manager is configured to cause a display order of the displayable content from the different information streams to change based on activity in the different information streams. In this configuration the example device may be further configured, wherein the stream manager is configured to cause a display size of the displayable content from the different information streams to change based on activity in the different information streams.
The above example device may be further configured, wherein the stream manager is further configured to cause the device to generate a visible or auditory alert based on the activity.
In another example embodiment there is provided a method. The method may include receiving at least one information stream including displayable content, determining user preferences, determining an activity based on the user preferences, and controlling how the displayable content is displayed based on detecting the activity in the at least one information stream.
The above example method may be further configured, wherein determining user preferences comprises authenticating a user, determining whether user preferences already exist corresponding to the authenticated user, presenting any already existing user preferences to the authenticated user, and allowing the authenticated user to alter the already existing user preferences.
The above example method may be further configured, wherein determining at least an activity based on the user preferences comprises identifying a trigger activity defined in the user preferences. In this configuration the example method may be further configured, wherein the user preferences further include at least one of a size of a window in which to display the displayable content, the resolution at which to display the displayable content or the orientation in which to display the displayable content.
The above example method may be further configured, wherein controlling how the displayable content is displayed further comprises displaying or not displaying the displayable content based on detecting the activity.
The above example method may be further configured, wherein the at least one information stream comprises a plurality of information streams configured to provide displayable content, an activity being determined for each of the plurality of information streams based on the user configuration. In this configuration the example method may be further configured, wherein controlling how the displayable content is displayed further comprises causing displayable content from different information streams in the plurality of information streams to be displayed in different locations based on the user preferences. In this configuration the example method may be further configured, wherein controlling how the displayable content is displayed further comprises causing a display order of the displayable content from the different information streams to change based on at least one activity being detected in the different information streams. In this configuration the example method may be further configured, wherein controlling how the displayable content is displayed further comprises causing a display size of the displayable content from the different information streams to change based on at least one activity being detected in the different information streams.
The above example method may be further configured, further comprising causing a visible or auditory alert to be generated based on detecting the activity.
In another example embodiment there is provided a system comprising at least a device configured to receive information feeds, the system being arranged to perform any of the above example methods.
In another example embodiment there is presented a chipset arranged to perform any of the above example methods.
In another example embodiment there is presented at least one machine readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that, in response to be being executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to carry out any of the above example methods.
In another example embodiment there is provided a device comprising at least a display and a stream manager, the device being arranged to perform any of the above example methods.
The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described (or portions thereof), and it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all such equivalents.
