Digital Commons Network^™

Instream Video Queueing Ad Format, Ruxandra Davies, Justin Lewis

Defensive Publications Series

Systems and methods for unobtrusively queueing advertising are disclosed. In a first “opt-out” method, the promoted content or advertisement may be automatically queued for display after the present video, and the interstitial or banner advertisement may include a ‘remove’ or ‘skip’ button to remove the content from the queue. Accordingly, the promoted content may immediately be made available for the user for subsequent viewing, unless the user clicks the remove or skip button to remove the content from the queue. The button may appear for any length of time, such as during the promotion or advertisement, as well as after …

Dynamic Media Unit Switching Between Different Media Types Based On Loading State And User Interaction, Robert Neale, Yuan Zhang, Lloyd Thompson, Armen Mkrtchyan, Brian Mulford, Murtaza Halai

Defensive Publications Series

A data processing system can generate multimedia units for display with information resources on client devices that allow dynamic adjustment of media content, for example, based on client device capabilities, user's browsing behavior and actions, loading state of the media content, or a combination thereof. Each multimedia unit can include a thumbnail image, a first link to a first video sequence, a second link to a second video sequence, and a software module (e.g., controller) for controlling display of the image thumbnail and content associated with the first and second video sequences.

Inverse Pointer Unboxing, Michael Fairhurst

Defensive Publications Series

Virtual machines (VM) for dynamic programming languages store a combination of 64-bit data types in each 64-bit register. A motivation to store multiple variables in a single register is speed, since access to variables within a register is much faster than access to variables stored within RAM. Current approaches of storing multiple 64-bit values in a single 64-bit register result in undesirable effects such as higher register pressure, increased garbage collection burden, excessive boxing/unboxing steps, etc. Most current approaches cannot distinguish a sufficient number of values in 64 bits, as much is hidden behind 64-bit pointers to RAM. This in …

Producing A Sharable Link For Replaying Online User Actions, Reinaldo Aguiar

Defensive Publications Series

A mechanism is provided for a Web browser application that is initiated by a first user to automatically produce a single sharable link that, when opened by a second user, re-plays the actions performed by the first user who shared the link. For example, the second user can use the sharable link to automatically play back the actions on a different computer system. The actions can include, for example, search terms that were used, web sites that were accessed, and other steps that were performed.

Path Rendering By Counting Pixel Coverage, Brian Salomon, Christopher Dalton, Allan Mackinnon

Defensive Publications Series

A frequent task in computer graphics is to render a closed path, e.g., a polygon or other shape. Such shapes are found in typography, vector graphics, design applications, etc. Current path-rendering techniques have certain drawbacks, e.g., paths cannot scale too far during animation, control points within the path must remain static, etc. The ability to render paths efficiently and with fewer constraints allows interfaces and applications with richer and more dynamic content. This disclosure describes techniques for efficient path rendering using a GPU. In particular, it introduces the concept of fractional coverage counting, which ameliorates aliasing at the edges of …

Nfv Dynamic And Adaptative Contextual Execution, Ignacio Aldama, Ruben Sevilla Giron, Javier Garcã­A Lopez

Defensive Publications Series

Network function virtualization is an emerging technology that is changing the paradigm of operations within the telco industry. Associated with the virtualization benefits it also appear a growing complexity to manage and operate complex and dynamic scenarios.

In a traditional network all the elements are physical and so they are limited and very rigid. You may have N and only N elements and it is not easy, neither cheap and neither fast, to either increase or decrease that number.

In an NFV world you got one additional layer as the “physical elements” become virtual and run as software on top …

Client-Side Session-Based Contextual User Model Builder, Arthur Asuncion, Kang Li

Defensive Publications Series

A client-side user model is created and maintained for use in selecting content. For example, a user model builder creates and updates a client-side user model. The client-side user model is populated with information from a video-specific user model received from a server and updated at the client side using information from a user activity history, including a video watching history. When requesting a video from the server, the client device can send a user profile derived from the client-side user model. The server can use information from the user profile to personalize content provided to the client device.

Enabling Social Virtual Reality Experiences Using Pass-Through Video, Christian Frueh

Defensive Publications Series

Appropriately segmented portions from a video stream are captured by an outward-facing camera mounted on a virtual reality (VR) device and inserted into a VR environment. The outward-facing camera can be the onboard camera on the VR device or it can be a separate camera mounted on the VR device. Because the camera view from the point of view of the VR user is similar to a full three-dimensional (3D) model of the user’s environment, rendered from the user’s location, the video stream can be inserted directly into the VR environment by segmenting out the relevant pixels and placing them …

User Interface For Modular Conversational Assistant, Zachary Alcorn, Aparna Ramchandran, Jennifer Chen

Defensive Publications Series

Conversational assistants are available on various computing devices, e.g., smartphones. With greater popularity, conversational assistants are being deployed in multiple different computing devices such as televisions, laptops, tablets, speakers, Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, etc. Per techniques of this disclosure, user interface state of a conversational assistant is adjusted as appropriate for the device and the conversational context. Such adjustment can include dynamically adjusting the display of the conversational assistant, e.g., to one of a set of predetermined states and/ or dynamically scaling the display of the conversational assistant.

Secure Separation And Control Of Multiple Virtual Machines, David Weekly

Defensive Publications Series

A hypervisor provides secure separation of multiple virtual machines on a device, thus removing conflicts when using the device for multiple purposes, including business and personal use. The hypervisor ensures security and privacy amongst the multiple virtual machines and prevents malicious attacks on one virtual machine from threatening another virtual machine. A switch provides a dedicated interface to the hypervisor, enabling secure switching between the multiple virtual machines. In addition, an indicator enables the hypervisor to identify an active virtual machine. Furthermore, the hypervisor hibernates inactive virtual machines in order to conserve power and provide another layer of protection against …

Displaying Closed Captioning On A Separate Device From Display, Brant Candelore, Mike Nejat, Peter Shintani

Defensive Publications Series

A device and system for placing closed captioning (CC) on a separate device than the original rendering device or screen is disclosed. Accordingly, the system may override the placement of CC by the content provider. The system includes an original rendering device and an external display that is connected to the original rendering device via USB or wirelessly through WI-FI or Bluetooth. In another implementation, the external device may use audio clips to sync-up with the video to display CC. Alternatively, the external device may also sync up to the program, and retrieve and display CC from a web server. …

Display For Cataracts - High Contrast Content, Brant Candelore, Mike Nejat, Peter Shintani

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method are disclosed to improve visibility of content on a TV display. The method includes increasing parameters, such as brightness and contrast, and magnifying the most active part of a display. The system provides access to settings that would enable a user to adjust the parameters. The system may automatically magnify the most active part of the display by recognizing where most of the action is taking place with motion vectors and I-macroblocks. Alternatively, the viewer may switch to various predetermined blocks, which enables the viewers to back-out and then back-in to certain video scenes as needed. …

Accessibility Remote Control For The Visually Impaired, Fred Zustak, Brant Candelore, Mike Nejat, Peter Shintani

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method are disclosed to enable the visually impaired to easily access and control a remote. The system includes a remote control device with proximity or touch detecting sensors on the keys. When a user tries to access the remote, the sensors on the keys sense the user’s finger approaching a key. The system sends an announcement identifying the key which is likely to be pressed by the user. The user further proceeds to press the key if the selection is what they intended. Otherwise, the user proceeds to select another key. The system helps visually impaired users …

Synchronizing Closed Captioning With Dialogue, Brant Candelore, Mike Nejat, Peter Shintani

Defensive Publications Series

Systems and methods are disclosed for synchronizing closed captioning with dialogue in a video. The synchronization may be carried out in a couple of ways, the first involving having the user adjust the CC forward or backward in video time to sync. The second method includes an automatic rendering application that may use voice-to-text to match up the CC segments to display them simultaneously. Synchronization of closed captioning with dialogue may assist hearing impaired users who depend on CC to gain meaning from videos.

Displaying Closed Captioning Using Speech-To-Text, Brant Candelore, Mike Nejat, Peter Shintani

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method for providing synchronized Closed Captioning (CC) for live programming is disclosed herein. The method includes providing CC by speech-to-text conversion of the live content followed by synchronization of the CC with the dialogue to be displayed in a device. The speech-to-text conversion may be run in real-time or non-real time. The system provides annotations for different speakers and background music. The live content may also be stored on a video recorder, such as a set-top box, and processed offline. Similarly, a web stream may be recorded and processed offline. Alternatively, it may also be possible to …

Techniques For Disambiguation Of Uncertain User Input, Philip Weaver, Maya Ben Ari

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes techniques to perform disambiguation of uncertain or inaccurate user inputs to a computing device. Uncertain input can occur, for example, by an inadvertent touching of the touchscreen of a smartphone in a user’s pocket, inadvertent detection of gesture, etc. Current devices often interpret such input incorrectly, and respond in a manner that is unexpected for the user. Techniques disclosed herein determine a user intent based on the detected gesture. Machine learning is used to disambiguate user-intended input from inadvertent input. The framework described herein detects input and triggers an analyzer. The analyzer receives data from various sources, …

Systems And Method To Deliver Addressable Advertisements, Kevin Flanagan, Timothy Olds, Jose Gonzalez

Defensive Publications Series

System and method are disclosed for customizable ad delivery to targeted clients with efficient bandwidth usage. The system includes an ad server, asynchronous ad delivery server and an ad client. The ad client in a set top box (STB) device periodically requests for a set of possible ads from the asynchronous ad delivery server. The asynchronous ad delivery server is directly interfaced to the ad server and communicates with the ad server to determine a set of possible ads. The ad delivery server responds to the client request for possible ads by generating the customized ads. The asynchronous ad delivery …

Vehicle To Android Communication Mode, Tanmay Wadhwa, Neil Dhillon

Defensive Publications Series

System and method for vehicle-to-Android (V2A) communication mode is disclosed. The system includes an Android smartphone with the real time operating system (RTOS) responsible specifically for V2A communication. The RTOS-enabled device is connected to the vehicle’s OBD-II port using a special cable, providing both vehicle data and power. The device reads data from the vehicle’s CAN-bus and from neighboring V2X messages received by the device’s WiFi module. The inference obtained is then securely broadcast to neighboring V2X systems. The information is sent to Android where it may be logged, analyzed, and displayed to the driver with insights about his/her driving …

Linescan Projector And Camera Offset From Each Other Around Display For Creating Image That Appears To Be Captured From Middle Of Display, Andrew Ian Russell

Defensive Publications Series

A linescan projector and camera can be offset from each other around a display, such as the linescan projector being at the top of the display and the camera being at the side of the display. The linescan projector can sweep vertical lines horizontally, and the camera can capture horizontal images at different vertical locations. A processor can construct an image of a user’s face that appears to have been taken from a middle of the screen, creating the appearance that the user is looking directly into the camera.

Multiple Simultaneous Responses For Instant Messaging, Nadav Golbandi

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method are disclosed for multiple responses in instant messaging conversations. The first part of the system is a machine learning algorithm to predict and identify cases in which a second input box would be needed. The second aspect is a mechanism in the chat or instant messaging application to show an additional text input box. The system includes an algorithm that could collect training datasets from the user’s messaging log. From the collected data, a binary classification model could be trained to classify such cases. When the messaging system identifies a similar case it would open a …

Browser That Archives Webpages, Ricardo Garcia

Defensive Publications Series

An Internet web browser can archive webpages visited by a user. The archived pages can be verified by a trusted third party. The archived pages can include signatures and/or certificates that can be verified by the trusted third party, ensuring authenticity of the archived pages. The web browser can archive and request the trusted third party to verify the webpages by use of a plugin provided by the trusted third party.

Dynamic 2d Video Cropped From 360-Degree Video, Alexander Rothera, Leon Bayliss

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method are disclosed for providing interesting 2D video formats from 360-degree video. The system includes a 360-degree image capturing device paired with a synced 360-degree microphone for audio localization. The system filters to crop 2D frames in four steps: 1) audio identification, 2) visual identification, 3) identifying focus, and 4) object recognition. The system determines the scene that is to be cropped into 2D video format and crops the 360° video frame into a 2D video frame that encompasses the identified person or object. The system then curates or sequences the 2D frames as a story to …

System To Superimpose And Replace Character In Video With Custom Character, Manikandan Gopalakrishnan

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method are disclosed that replaces a character in a video with a user-provided character. The method involves using video processing and machine learning techniques to identify and tag the characters in a video. The system then identifies various attributes of the user-provided character. Depending on whether an image or a video is provided, the system uses artificial intelligence or machine learning techniques to derive the attributes. The extracted attributes from the image are then mapped to the character to be replaced in the target video. The system then replaces the character in each frame of the video …

Keyboard With Built-In Calculator, Dong Kim, Peter Ciccotto

Defensive Publications Series

Calculator applications are available for most platforms, e.g., as a built-in feature of an operating system or as an add-on application. Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, etc. provide software keyboards that can be used for data entry with a touchscreen display. To use a calculator, a user needs to leave a current application includes data or context for a calculation, open the calculator application, and toggle between the two applications to perform a calculation. This is both inconvenient and prone to mistakes as the user loses the context of the original application when switching to the calculator application. Techniques …

A Method To Improve The Call Handling On Reciprocal Peer To Peer Calls, Yann Grostete, Jérôme Elleouet, Ronan Thepaut

Defensive Publications Series

The solution consists in implementation of algorithms inside the call handling to determine if two distinct calls have finally the same objective and could automatically be merged.

Algorithm To Enrich Display Of A Link In A Web Application, Erwan Gereec

Defensive Publications Series

This document describes a universal algorithm to enhance display of a link tag in web applications. The purpose is to display at least the title of the website, a little description and if exist, some preview of images which are displayed on the website. Thus, the user who receive a link will have relevant information to know what is the content of the website.

Precaching Of Incomplete Content And Its On Demand Completion, Bart Thomee

Defensive Publications Series

A mechanism to separate a content item provided by a content item service into a first portion that is to be pre-cached by a device of a user and a second portion that is to be initially withheld from the device of the user. The first portion of the content item may correspond to a majority of the content item and may be transmitted to the device. Subsequently, the user may request playback of the content item. In response to the request, the device of the user may retrieve the second portion of the content item that was previously withheld …

In-Band Speed Test For Livestreams, Brian Schmidt

Defensive Publications Series

A method for in-band speed test for live streams is described. A user device opens a network connection for transmitting of a video item as a livestream, captures video data and audio data, encapsulates the video data and the audio data in one or more unused virtual channels, transmits the one or more unused virtual channels as stream data, determines network conditions based on transmission of the stream data, and sets quality of the video item to be transmitted as the livestream based on the network conditions. The server device receives the stream data including the video data and the …

Dynamic User-Affinity Based Curation, Justin Lewis, Scott Davies

Defensive Publications Series

Online content providers recommend content based on the user’s viewing history, e.g. to sustain user interest and promote content that users are likely to be interested in. Current recommendation systems generally focus on one signal, e.g., content viewed by others who also viewed the present content (“co-watch signal”), to make recommendations. Co-watch signal-based recommendations tend to skew towards lowest-common-denominator content and are not capable of accurately recommending niche content. Niche content recommendations that are poorly targeted result in low click-through / view-through rates (CTR/VTR) and miss truly interested audiences. This disclosure describes recommendation systems that take contextual information into account. …

Secure Separation And Control Of Multiple Virtual Machines, David Weekly

Defensive Publications Series

A hypervisor provides secure separation of multiple virtual machines on a device, thus removing conflicts when using the device for multiple purposes, including business and personal use. The hypervisor ensures security and privacy amongst the multiple virtual machines and prevents malicious attacks on one virtual machine from threatening another virtual machine. A switch provides a dedicated interface to the hypervisor, enabling secure switching between the multiple virtual machines. In addition, an indicator enables the hypervisor to identify an active virtual machine. Furthermore, the hypervisor hibernates inactive virtual machines in order to conserve power and provide another layer of protection against …