U.S. patent application number 14/844240 was filed with the patent office on 2016-03-10 for system and method to provide interactive, user-customized content to touch-free terminals.
The applicant listed for this patent is Sophatar, Inc.. Invention is credited to Bart DECANNE.
Application Number | 20160072915 14/844240 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55438651 |
Filed Date | 2016-03-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160072915 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DECANNE; Bart |
March 10, 2016 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD TO PROVIDE INTERACTIVE, USER-CUSTOMIZED CONTENT
TO TOUCH-FREE TERMINALS
Abstract
A method of displaying content to a user within a managed space
comprised of one or more touch-free interactive kiosks includes
collecting user data about the user. In addition, the plurality of
touch-free interactive kiosks are configured to uniquely identify
users located at the kiosk. Based on the identified user, and
collected user data associated with the user, content is selected
to be displayed to the user.
Inventors: |
DECANNE; Bart; (Sunnyvale,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sophatar, Inc. |
San Jose |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55438651 |
Appl. No.: |
14/844240 |
Filed: |
September 3, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62048233 |
Sep 9, 2014 |
|
|
|
62155337 |
Apr 30, 2015 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
715/728 ;
715/745 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/24578 20190101;
G07F 17/323 20130101; G09G 2354/00 20130101; G06F 3/167 20130101;
G06F 3/147 20130101; G06F 16/583 20190101; H04L 67/306 20130101;
H04L 67/22 20130101; G06K 9/00288 20130101; G06Q 30/0601 20130101;
H04L 63/10 20130101; G06F 3/1431 20130101; G06F 3/005 20130101;
G06F 16/245 20190101; G06F 3/1423 20130101; H04L 65/403 20130101;
H04L 63/0861 20130101; G09G 2330/022 20130101; G06Q 30/0269
20130101; G09G 2370/12 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/08 20060101
H04L029/08; G06F 3/147 20060101 G06F003/147; G06F 3/14 20060101
G06F003/14; G06F 3/16 20060101 G06F003/16 |
Claims
1. A method of displaying content to a user within a managed space
that includes one or more kiosks for displaying content, the method
comprising: collecting user data about the user; identifying the
user at one of the plurality of kiosks; selecting content to
display to the user based on the collected user data; and
displaying the selected content to the identified user at the kiosk
at which the user is located.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting user data about the
user includes one or more of collecting user data from the user at
a sign-in station, collecting user data about the user from a
social media website, and/or scanning a card provided by the user
that includes user data.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the user at one of
the plurality of kiosks includes: assigning identifying information
to the user at a sign-in station prior to the user interacting with
one of the plurality of kiosks; and identifying the user at one of
the kiosk within the managed space using the identifying
information assigned to the user at the sign-in station.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifying information
assigned to the user includes a visual cue card distributed by the
sign-in station and associated with the user. The method of claim
4, wherein the identifying the user at one of the kiosk includes
making a request to the user at the kiosk to display the assigned
visual cue card, and analyzing image data captured by the kiosk to
identify the visual cue card assigned to the user.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifying information
assigned to the user includes a unique audio password assigned to
the user, wherein the one or more kiosks identify users by
requesting the user to speak the assigned audio password into a
microphone associated with each kiosk.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the user at one of
the plurality of kiosks includes utilizing an application stored on
the user's handheld device that communicates an identification
associated with the user.
7. The method of claim 6, further including determining whether the
user is in close proximity to one of the plurality of kiosks by
measuring on the handheld device an attribute of a signal emitted
by the kiosk.
8. The method of claim 6, further include providing additional
content to be displayed on the user's handheld device that is
related to the content selected for display at the kiosk.
9. The method of claim 1, further including configuring each kiosk
to be associated with one or more of a plurality of item entities,
wherein the kiosk is configured to selectively display content
associated with the item entities assigned to the kiosk based on
collected user data.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein selecting content to display to
the user includes assigning for each user identified at one of the
plurality of kiosks an instantaneous score for each item entity
associated with the kiosk, wherein a higher score indicates that
content related to the item entity is more relevant to the
user.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein when a plurality of users are
located at a single kiosk, selecting content to display is based on
an aggregation of instantaneous scores calculated for each of the
plurality of users.
12. The method of claim 1, further including receiving an active
request for specific content from a user, wherein active requests
for content from users are given higher priority that content
selected based on collected user information.
13. The method of claim 1, further including: determining that a
user identified at one of the plurality of kiosks has not
downloaded an application onto the user's handheld device; and
displaying specific content at the kiosk requesting the user to
download the application to the user's handheld device to enhance
interaction between the user and the plurality of kiosks.
14. The method of claim 1, further including: receiving a message
from a user located at one of the plurality of kiosks; and
displaying the received message at one or more of the plurality of
kiosks within the managed space to enable location-based group chat
within the managed space.
15. The method of claim 1, further including: providing a request
to a user to submit presentation content; and receiving content
from one or more users in response to the provided request, wherein
received content is aggregated and displayed to users at one or
more of the plurality of kiosks.
16. A system for displaying content to one or more users within a
managed space, the system comprising: a plurality of touch-free
interactive kiosks located within the managed space that each
operate to identify users in close proximity to the kiosks and
display content selected for the identified user; and a central
database that stores content to be selectively distributed to the
plurality of touch-free interactive kiosks, and collected user
information and identifying information.
17. The system of claim 16, further including a sign-in station
that collects user information and identifying information from a
user.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the sign-in station assigns
users a unique identification entity that is presented by the user
to each of the plurality of touch-free interactive kiosks to
identify the user to the kiosk.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the identification entity is a
unique visual cue card assigned to the user, wherein each of the
plurality of touch-free interactive kiosks include a camera used to
identify users based on a displayed visual cue card.
20. The system of claim 18, wherein the identification entity is an
unique audio password assigned to the user, wherein each of the
plurality of touch-free interactive kiosks include a microphone
used to identify users based on the unique audio password provided
by the user.
21. The system of claim 16, further including a hand-held user
device operating an application ("app") that communicates with the
one or more plurality of touch-free interactive kiosks, wherein the
app provides a unique identification that uniquely identifies the
user to the each of the plurality of touch-free interactive
kiosks.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of
touch-free interactive kiosks include a location emitting device
that emits a beacon signal, wherein user proximity to each
touch-free interactive kiosks is determined by measuring, at the
user hand-held device via the app, an attribute of the beacon
signal.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein the touch-free interactive
kiosk distributes additional content for display on the user's
hand-held device, wherein the additional content is selected based
on content displayed at the one or more touch-free interactive
kiosks.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein the touch-free interactive
kiosk displays specific content at the kiosk requesting the user to
download the application to the user's handheld device in response
to a determination that a user is located at the touch-free
interactive kiosk but does not have the application downloaded to
the user's device.
25. The system of claim 16, further including: an instantaneous
score calculator associated with one or more of the touch-free
interactive kiosks that calculates instantaneous score for each
user with respect to a plurality of categories/interests offered by
the kiosk, wherein content is selected for display by the kiosk
based on the calculated instantaneous score.
26. The system of claim 25, further including: an instantaneous
score aggregator that aggregates calculated instantaneous scores
for a plurality of users to generate a category score for each
category/interest offered by the kiosk; and a content playback
organizing module that selects an order in which content is
displayed based on the instantaneous scores provided by the
instantaneous score aggregator.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein the instantaneous score
calculator, the instantaneous score aggregator and the content
playback organizing module are implemented locally on each of the
touch-free interactive kiosks.
28. The system of claim 26, wherein the instantaneous score
calculator, the instantaneous score aggregator and the content
playback organizing module are implemented on the central
database
29. The system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of touch-free
interactive kiosks receive active requests from users regarding
content, wherein the touch-free interactive kiosks prioritizes
active requests over content selected for the user based on
collected user information.
30. The system of claim 16, wherein the central database generates
a request for user-generated content and provides the request to
users via the one or more touch-free interactive kiosks, when
user-generated content is collected and aggregated by the central
database and displayed to users via the one or more touch-free
interactive kiosks.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/048,233, filed on Sep. 9, 2014, and entitled
"Interactive User-Customized and Auditory Content Presentation
Network using Touch-Free Terminals," and U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/155,337, filed on Apr. 30, 2015, and entitled
"Multi-Viewer Customized Playout of Audio/Video Assets," the
disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their
entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is in the technical field of
electronic devices and associated software for the display of
information with additional user-interactivity.
[0003] On the one hand, prior art in the field of information
presentation (`kiosk`) systems consists of devices for the
presentation of content that is either stored locally or
contributed by a network. Such one-directional systems deliver a
`playlist` of information content typically embedding audio &
video clips, potentially overlaid with text messages and/or other
graphical elements. The presented content at any given time can be
dependent on a priori known attributes such as the time of day,
and/or the location of the system. However there is no
user-individualized content nor do these systems allow for user
interaction to influence the presented content.
[0004] On the other hand, interactive touch-based systems have been
introduced. These systems utilize either proprietary
large-screen/area touch technology, or re-use consumer touch
technology developed for mobile devices, typically for tablets. The
information is displayed on the tablet screen, or projection
surface, and the user can interact by way of touch gestures,
typically by `tapping` on certain regions that will trigger the
display of specific content. When using tablets, the content is
displayed on the tablet screen itself and therefore the small
screen size limits operation of the device to one user at a time.
These systems require the user to `walk up` to the display or
projection surface, and require him to actively engage with it
using hand movements. In many scenarios users are rather
disinterested, limiting the utility of these systems to
applications with high user engagement.
[0005] All foregoing systems suffer from one or more of the
following: a lack of interactivity (i.e. the user is not able to
influence the content presented); a lack of an immersive user
experience (e.g., using a small screen such as the phone's built-in
display); unable to offer a concurrent multi-user experience;
require a user's active engagement; or do not present an individual
user-targeted experience.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, content
is displayed to a user within a managed space that includes one or
more kiosks. The method includes collecting user data and
identifying information associated with the user. Identifying
information is utilized to uniquely identify the user at one of the
plurality of kiosks, wherein content is selected for display at the
kiosk based on the identification of the user.
[0007] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a
system for displaying content to one or more users within a managed
space is provided. The system includes a sign-in station, a
plurality of touch-free interactive kiosks, and a central database.
The sign-in station collects user information from a user and
identifying information. The touch-free interactive kiosks located
within the managed space operate to identify users in close
proximity to the kiosks and display content selected for the
identified user. The central database stores content to be
selectively distributed to the plurality of touch-free interactive
kiosks, and collected user information and identifying
information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an interactive networked
information display system according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0009] FIG. 2A is a front and back view of a touch-free interactive
kiosk utilized in the interactive networked information display
system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 2B is a schematic view of a sign-in station utilized in
the interactive networked information display system according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the detection of a new
user by the interactive display system via an application installed
on a device associated with the new user according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 4A is a flowchart illustrating interaction of the user
with the interactive display system at a sign-in station according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 4B is a flowchart illustrating interaction of the user
with the interactive display system at a touch-free interactive
kiosk according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 5 is an example view of the presented content on the
touch-free interactive kiosk station and how a user may interact
with the station to influence this content according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a logical view of a core database structure
utilized to facilitate interaction with the user according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 7 is a flowchart describing the configuration of a
touch-free interactive kiosk according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of calculating
an interest score associated with a user based on a plurality of
inputs according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of prioritizing
the content to be displayed to a plurality of users detected near a
touch-free interactive kiosk based on a combination of interest
scores associated with the plurality of users according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of handling an
active viewer request for content associated with a particular
viewer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing the
playlist of content maintained by the kiosk when multiple users are
detected in close proximity to the kiosk according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a
playlist in response to proximity of a plurality of users,
including users issuing active requests and users participating
only passively according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] The present invention is directed generally to networked
systems consisting of multiple fixed-location display devices or
kiosks for the presentation of content. In particular, the
networked system targets the content displayed to a specific user
based on various contextual factors. In addition the networked
system allows for user interaction to adjust the presented content
in a way that does not require the user to touch the display
device. A number of methods of detecting both the presence of a
user and uniquely identifying the user detected are described
herein. Having identified the user, content may be selected for
display based on the interests or likes of the user, such that the
displayed content is relevant to the particular user identified. In
embodiments in which multiple users are detected and identified
with respect to a particular kiosk, then steps may be taken to
display content relevant to as many of the users as possible.
[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an interactive networked
information display system (hereinafter, interactive system) 100.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, interactive system 100 is
comprised of hardware components that include at least one sign-in
station 102, one or more touch-free interactive kiosks 104, and a
local media server 106. Touch-free interactive kiosks 104 and
sign-in station 106 may be referred to collectively as `display
stations`, and are located within managed space 101. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 1, display stations are classified as one
of two types: either a `sign-in station` 102 or a `touch-free
interactive kiosk` 104. Typically there is one sign-in station and
multiple interactive kiosk stations within a `managed space` such
as a retail store, museum, or exhibitor stand at a tradeshow. In
one embodiment, the sign-in station 102 can be positioned at the
entrance to the managed space, while the interactive kiosks 104 are
positioned throughout the managed space at fixed locations. For
instance in a retail outlet they can be mounted on store
shelves.
[0024] Each display station is networked, typically via Wi-Fi
connection, to the cloud 108, which holds the central system
database 110. In one embodiment, a local media server 106 within
the managed space's network (intranet) may be used to offload the
wide-area network (internet) from bandwidth-intensive data
delivery. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, there is a real-time
two-way communication between the central system database 110 and
the display stations 102, 104. Furthermore the display stations may
connect to the local media server 106 as needed to download, and
cache locally, frequently-used high-bandwidth content. Central
database 110 stores a plurality of data, including content
presentation resources 112, configuration data 114, and usage
metrics 116. In this way, information collected from display
stations 102, 104 (and in particular, from sign-in station 104) can
be communicated to central database 110 and stored. In addition,
content or other data stored by central database 110 may be
communicated to display stations 102, 104 for display to a user,
wherein in some embodiments or cases data that is used frequently
may be stored to local media server to ease the bandwidth
requirements associated with communicating large amounts of content
to display stations 102, 104.
[0025] In addition, cloud 108 is capable of communicating with
other web-connected devices, such as user device 116 (e.g.,
smartphone, watch, tablet, etc.) carried by or associated with the
user and/or personal computer 118. In particular, a system
administrator may utilize personal computer 118 to access certain
portions of the central database 110. Access control is typically
reserved for the system administrator, but allows the administrator
to modify/add/remove content from central database, as well as
review usage metrics and configuration data. For example, the
system administrator can retrieve or upload content presentation
resources 112 such as audio, video, text and graphics resources,
and their associated playlists, for the display stations; can
configure individual stations via configuration data 114, and
retrieve various data metrics 116 relating to usage of the
interactive system. With respect to user device 116, the device is
capable of downloading an application or "app", discussed in more
detail below. The downloaded app may be utilized, for instance, to
establish a form of communication and identification between a user
and a touch-free interactive kiosk. As discussed in more detail
below, initial interaction between the user and the touch-free
interactive kiosk may include prompting the user to download the
"app" in order to enhance the user experience and interactivity
level. A benefit of the present invention is that the "app", once
downloaded, will work with any business or company utilizing the
touch-free interactive kiosk.
[0026] As described in more detail below, an administrator
utilizing personal computer 116 would designate or assign content
presentation resources 112 to one or more of the plurality of
kiosks 104. Content assigned to a kiosk may be downloaded to local
media server 106 for storage, or may be maintained within central
database 110. In addition, content may be assigned to a specific
kiosk, for example, when the kiosk is being utilized to provide
information regarding a product located adjacent to the kiosk, or
may be distributed to a plurality of kiosks 104.
[0027] As the user enters managed space 101, the user is required
to sign-in or otherwise provide identification for subsequent
interaction within managed space 101. In embodiments in which the
user has downloaded the "app" onto the user's handheld device,
identification of the user is done automatically via communication
between the touch-free interactive kiosks and the "app" running on
the user's device. In this embodiment, sign-in station 102 is not
required for identifying the user (although may still be required
for identifying other users that do not have a handheld device
and/or the "app" downloaded onto their handheld device).
Communication between the "app" running on the user's device and
one or more of the touch-free interactive kiosks 104 may include
communication of user's interests and likes, as well as any other
collected user information that may be relevant (e.g., past
purchase history, friends, etc.).
[0028] In embodiments in which the user does not have a handheld
device and/or have the "app" downloaded onto the user's handheld
device, then when entering managed space 101, the user must first
interact with sign-in station 101 such that the user can be
uniquely identified within the managed space. In addition,
interactions with sign-in station 101 may include providing
information regarding user interests. This information may be
collected passively, or may be in response to queries provided by
sign-in station 102, and may include prompting to download the
"app" to accommodate subsequent visits to managed space 101. In
addition, sign-in station 102 provides a mechanism for uniquely
identifying the user within the managed space 101. Discussed in
more detail below, in lieu of the downloaded "app", identification
may be via facial recognition, dispensed visual cue cards, audio
passcodes, etc. The user then continues into managed space 101, and
interacts with one or more of the plurality of touch-free
interactive kiosks 104.
[0029] When interacting with a touch-free interactive kiosk 104,
the first step is for the kiosk to identify the user or users
located in close proximity. Identification of users is touch-free
as well, and as discussed above may utilize recognition of the
user's registered device via the downloaded "app", facial
recognition, assigned visual cue cards, audio passcodes, etc.
Identification of the user via the downloaded "app" is preferred,
but if not available then one or more of the other methods for
identifying the user may be utilized. In one embodiment, touch-free
interactive kiosks 104 may detect and/or identify that a user is
located in close proximity to the kiosk, but may also determine
that the user has not yet downloaded the "app". The
detection/identification of the user may be according to methods
described above, including facial recognition, motion detection,
visual cue cards, audio passcodes, etc. Detection of whether the
user has downloaded the app may be based on whether the touch-free
interactive kiosk has received any communication at that particular
location. If it is determined that the user has not yet downloaded
the "app", then touch-free interactive kiosk may display content
selected to encourage the user to download the application, which
may include additional benefits available to the user by
downloading the application.
[0030] Once the user has been uniquely identified via one or more
of the methods described above, information collected about the
user is utilized to select content to be displayed. Content may be
selected from a catalogue of content associated with the kiosk, or
may be selected from all content made available by central database
110. In addition, the user may make active request for specific
content. As described in more detail below, touch-free interactive
kiosk may additional include algorithms for managing content to be
displayed in situations where a plurality of users are identified,
each with different interests/profiles. In addition, users may
actively interact with touch-free interactive kiosks 104 to dismiss
content, request specific content, etc. Interaction with the
touch-free interactive kiosks 104 may be via the "app", or may be
via other means.
[0031] When the user has downloaded the "app", interaction with
touch-free interactive kiosks 104 is done via the "app", which
allows a user to provide input to dismiss content, request specific
content, etc. In addition, when the user has downloaded the "app"
to the user's handheld device, the touch-free interactive kiosk 104
may communicate additional and/or related content to the user's
handheld device. For example, in one embodiment touch-free
interactive kiosks 104 may be displaying a particular product
(e.g., iPhone), while a plurality of related products/items (e.g.,
iPhone cases) are displayed to the user on the user's handheld
device via the "app". This is particularly useful when the content
playlist associated with the touch-free interactive kiosk 104 is
directed to flagship items (i.e., more expensive items), but users
may be interested in content or items related to the flagship item,
with these related items displayed on the user's handheld
device.
[0032] In an embodiment in which the user has not downloaded the
"app", the user interacts with touch-free interactive kiosks 104
utilizing other methods, such as voice cues, hand gestures, etc. In
one embodiment, a user may make a swiping motion in order to skip
content or select different content to display, or utilize a voice
command to accomplish the same.
[0033] FIG. 2A is a front and back view of a touch-free interactive
kiosk 104 utilized in the interactive networked information display
system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The
left-side of FIG. 2A illustrates the front face of the touch-free
interactive kiosk 104 (i.e., the portion presented to the user),
wherein the right-side of FIG. 2A illustrates the back face or side
of touch-free interactive kiosk 104.
[0034] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, the front face of
touch-free interactive kiosk 104 includes monitor/display 210,
bezel frame 240, camera opening 242, and microphone opening 244.
The back face of touch-free interactive kiosk 104 includes digital
A/V link 220, adapter 225, mobile internet device 230, camera 250,
microphone 260, and location emitting device 280. Content is
delivered to touch-free interactive kiosk 104 via mobile internet
device 230 and A/V link 220 to the input of monitor 210. In this
way, selected content can be displayed to a user via monitor 210.
In one embodiment, the display area of monitor 210 is 27'' or
greater, and may utilize rear- or front-screen projector, LED, LCD,
or another type of display apparatus. Mobile internet device may be
any device capable of communicating bi-directionally with cloud 108
and specifically with central database 110, and providing an A/V
output to display content to monitor 210. For example, in one
embodiment mobile internet device 230 is an iOS device such as an
iPad or iPod Touch, wherein adapter 225 is utilized to split the
HDMI and AC power supply signals. In other embodiments, other
mobile internet devices capable of communicating bi-directionally
with cloud 108 may be utilized.
[0035] An extended bezel frame 240 is attached around the LCD
monitor to provide unique branding as a device within the platform
of this exemplary embodiment. It also serves as a fixture for the
mobile internet device 230, which is mounted in a secure way on the
backside of the frame with an opening 242 in the frame for its
front-facing camera 250. When voice interactivity is supported, an
external microphone 260 may be connected to the internet device.
The microphone is directed towards the user using a second opening
244 in the extended bezel frame 240.
[0036] In addition to communicating content to monitor 210,
touch-free interactive kiosk 104 additionally seeks to monitor user
activity in the vicinity around touch-free interactive kiosk 104.
Monitoring may include monitoring/identifying users near the kiosk,
as well as the location of the identified users relative to the
kiosk. To this end, a number of collected inputs may be utilized
either alone or in combination with one another to monitor, detect
and/or identify users. For example, location-emitting device 280
may be utilized to detect users in the vicinity of kiosk 104. In
one embodiment, the location-emitting device 280 is a low-energy
emitting beacon (e.g., Bluetooth) or alternatively an ultrasound
emitter affixed to the frame of kiosk 104. The signal emitted by
the location-emitting device 280 is detected and measured by a user
device associated with the user and located on the user's person,
wherein measuring the signal includes identifying the beacon ID
communicated by the location emitting device 280 and measuring
specific attributes of the signal (e.g., received signal strength).
In response to the detected signal, the user's device communicates
to mobile internet device 230 the identified beacon ID and such a
characteristic of the signal measured at the user device, wherein
the characteristic of the signal is indicative of the user's
distance from the location-emitting device. In one embodiment, the
determination of user distance from the kiosk is made locally at
touch-free interactive kiosk 104, while in other embodiments the
received information is communicated to cloud 108 for a
determination of user location. In some cases, the determined
location of the user is communicated to cloud 108 for selection of
content, while in other embodiments, the determined location of the
user is utilized locally by touch-free interactive kiosk 104.
[0037] In one embodiment, the correlation between the received
signal characteristic and distance can be calibrated by positioning
location-emitting device 280 a known distance 282 from the mobile
internet device 230. The emitted beacon signal is monitored by
mobile internet device 230 and the known distance is used to
calibrate the correlation between distance and signal strength. In
particular, the calibration can aid to determine the distance 282
of a user to the display when the user has a handheld or wearable
device with the `app` active as this `app` will signal the
identified beacon ID, and its received signal characteristic, from
the beacon to the cloud-based central database. Identification of a
user within close proximity to a particular kiosk 104 allows the
user to interact directly with the associated kiosk 104. For
example, a user may be allowed to send messages to the kiosk 104,
allowing the user to control the content displayed by kiosk 104 as
well as allowing the user to post messages/comments directly that
will be displayed on the kiosk 104 at which the user is located, as
well as other kiosks within the managed space 101. Furthermore, in
another embodiment, identification of a user device within close
proximity to kiosk 104 allows the kiosk to not only display
information selected for that user at kiosk 104, but may also allow
the kiosk 104 to deliver content for display to the user's handheld
device for display via the "app" running on the user's device. This
may include, for example, other products related to the
product/products displayed via kiosk 104, location/directions to
other products of interest to the user, as well as other content
that may be of interest to the user and more appropriate for
display to the user's device, rather than via the kiosk 104.
[0038] In embodiments in which the user does not have a smartphone
or other type of personal device, and therefore does not have an
app installed for monitoring a signal emitted from the
location-emitting device, other available methods may be utilized
to detect user presence in front of the display. In one embodiment,
camera 250 collects visual data and utilizes one or more of motion
detection, face detection, or detection of a unique visual token
that is held by the user in front of the display to detect and
identify users in close proximity to kiosk 104. While simple motion
detection/face detection may be sufficient to detect the presence
of users, identification of particular users may require additional
image/video processing techniques such as face recognition, or
image feature recognition. As an example of the latter case, in one
embodiment each user is assigned a unique visual cue card, either
at sign-in station 102 or elsewhere. When approaching a touch-free
interactive kiosk 104, the user displays the visual cue card to
camera 250, wherein analysis of the visual cue card (either locally
at kiosk 104 or remotely in cloud 108) allows the system to
identify the particular user or users at each kiosk 104. In another
embodiment, either alone or in conjunction with other means of
detecting users, audio input received from microphone 260 may be
utilized to detect and identify users. For example, in one
embodiment each user is assigned a password, either at sign-in
station 102 or elsewhere. When approaching kiosk 104, the user is
asked to provide the password or passcode, which is recognized
either locally at kiosk 104 or remotely at cloud 108 and used to
identify the user located in close proximity to the kiosk.
[0039] In absence of a detected app on the user's handheld device,
user authentication using either image/video recognition or audio
recognition is established at the sign-in station 102. If an `app`
is active, the sign-in information may already be contained in the
user profile 610 inside the app. As described in more detail below,
based on the detection and identification of one or more users,
content--and in some cases content unique to the user
identified--is displayed via touch-free interactive kiosk 104.
[0040] FIG. 2B is a schematic view of a sign-in station 102
utilized in the interactive networked information display system
according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hardware
included in sign-in station 102 consists of much of the same
hardware included as part of touch-free interactive kiosk 104,
described with respect to FIG. 2A. In the embodiment shown in FIG.
2B, a portion of sign-in station 102 is labeled touch-free
interactive kiosk 104, indicating that the same hardware described
with respect to FIG. 2A may be utilized to implement a portion of
sign-in station 102. In addition, sign-in station 102 may include
one or more additional hardware components attached to the
touch-free interactive kiosk portion 104. These additional items
can be: a keyboard 290 connected to the station's mobile internet
device, a dispenser 292 for dispensing a card which has a unique
visual pattern (`token`), and a magnetic stripe reader 294. For
example, keyboard 290 allows a user to complete tasks such as
creating a user profile, identifying interests, etc. Depending on
the capabilities incorporated into touch-free interactive kiosks
104, various hardware components may be utilized. As discussed
previously, sign-in station 102 includes many of the same
components found in touch-free interactive kiosk, including monitor
or display, mobile internet device for communicating with user
devices and/or central database 110 located in the cloud 108, as
well as cameras, microphones, and location emitting device to the
extent required to identify users located at sign-in station
102.
[0041] In one embodiment, a primary function of sign-in station 102
in addition to creating/updating the user's profile is to prompt
the user to download the application or "app" to the user's
handheld device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, etc.). Prompts from
sign-in station 102 may include audio prompts (e.g.,
text-to-speech, audio content, etc.), and/or visual cues to prompt
the user to download the "app" to the user's device. If the user
does not have a handheld device, or declines downloading of the
app, sign-in station 102 relies on other means to uniquely identify
the user as described above (e.g., visual cue cards, audio
passcodes, etc.).
[0042] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the process 300 for
detecting a new user via an application installed on a user device
116 associated with the new user according to an embodiment of the
present invention. The process begins with a user entering the
managed space, which is defined as the area that includes at least
one of touch-free interactive kiosk 104 and optionally sign-in
station 102. At step 302, an application (i.e., "app") which is
active on the user's device 116 determines that the user device has
entered managed space. This determination may be based on detection
of a beacon communicated by the sign-in station 102 or by one of
the plurality of touch-free kiosks 104. In other embodiments, this
determination may be made based on interaction between the user
device and the sign-in station 104, either automatically or at the
request of the user. At step 304, the application communicates an
identification (ID) associated with the user in order to signal the
user's presence within the managed space. In one embodiment, the
communication is provided via the sign-in station 102 (shown in
FIG. 1). However, in other embodiments the communication may be
provided directly to central database 110. Central database 110
compares the user identification communicated by the application
installed on the user's hand-held device to a list of
identifications of users currently operating within the managed
space, in order to determine if the user is a "new" user. If a new
user is detected, a notification is sent to both the sign-in
station 102 and each interactive kiosk 104 within the managed space
20 at steps 308 and 314, respectively. If the user is located in
close proximity to sign-in station 102, then the sign-in station
displays content customized for the identified user. For example,
personalized content may be shown to welcome the user, with further
user interaction initiated at step 312 to collect additional
information from the user, as described in more detail below. In
addition, at steps 316 the one or more touch-free interactive
kiosks 104 may queue content selected for the identified user.
Selections may be based on identification of the user as a "new"
user, or may be based on additional information provided by the
user, either via sign-in station 102 or collected directly from the
user's device. Content queued up for this user at the one or more
touch-free interactive kiosks 104 remains queued until the user is
detected in the vicinity of a particular kiosk. In addition, as the
user interacts with sign-in station 102 and one or more of the
touch-free kiosks 104, content provided to the user may be utilized
to provide user guidance to items corresponding to identified user
interest. For example, active indoor guidance of a user by way of
visual and auditory cues between kiosks can be developed based on
user proximity detection by each station. At step 318, the user
interacts with the content displayed at one or more of the touch
free interactive kiosks. As described in more detail below, the
interaction may be via voice, gesture, the "app", or via other
inputs provided by the user.
[0043] FIG. 4A is a flow chart illustrating interaction of the user
with the interactive display system at a sign-in station according
to an embodiment of the present invention when the user does not
have the appropriate application or "app" loaded and active and the
user's device. As a result, in this embodiment the user is required
to interact with sign-in station 102 in order to register with the
interactive system. At step 402, sign-in station 102 displays
generic content (i.e., not unique to the user) that prompts the
user to sign-in with the system. For example, in the embodiment
shown in FIG. 4A, at step 404 this includes displaying content
asking the user whether or not the user has a store loyalty card.
If the user does have a store loyalty card, then at step 406 the
user swipes the card through a magnetic card reader associated
sign-in station 102 (as described with respect to FIG. 2B), wherein
the store loyalty card identifies the user to sign-in station 102,
which in turn provides the identifying information to central
database 110. As an alternative to the card reader, a near-field
communication device may be used. If the user does not have a store
loyalty card, then at step 408 the user is prompted to provide
identifying information via other means, such as via a keyboard
associated with sign-in station 102 (as shown in FIG. 2B). Once
again, information collected via sign-in station 102 is
communicated to central database 110. Whether the user is
identified via a store loyalty card or by entering user
information, in addition to simple identifying information the user
may also provide information regarding interest, preferences, etc.
In either embodiment, additional information may be provided via a
keyboard or other input means (e.g., on-screen menu).
[0044] At step 410, sign-in station 102 optionally may request
permission from the user to utilize facial recognition to identify
the user throughout the managed space. If the user agrees, then at
step 412 facial recognition is used for the duration of the user's
stay in the managed space. In one embodiment, if the request is
granted, then at step 412 identifying face features are extracted
from a photograph taken at the sign-in station and will be used by
other kiosks to detect user presence within its field of view. In
other embodiments, rather than facial features, an analyzed image
of the entire user is utilized to uniquely identify the user (e.g.,
color histogram of the user). If the user does not acquiesce to
facial or other types of visual recognition, then at step 414 the
user is prompted to take a unique visual cue card and hold the cue
card in front of the camera in order to uniquely associate the
visual cue card with the user. Alternatively, at step 414 the user
is requested to pick up a card with a unique visual pattern from
the card dispenser at the sign-in station. Using image object
recognition at each kiosk, this can identify the user's presence at
other interactive kiosks but does not require use of the user's
biometrics. The latter method may be compared to a bar code scan to
identify an item, however in this case the unique scan is
associated with a user, rather than a sales item, and presents a
novel use of the capability.
[0045] Embodiments that utilize a token card may take advantage of
a more appealing visual pattern than a typical bar code, which is
possible as this use case only requires uniquely identifying a
small numbers of users who may be present in the `managed space` at
any given time (e.g., less than a hundred), thus relaxing the
number of unique patterns that are to be supported.
[0046] As an alternative to or in conjunction with the methods
described as steps 404 through 414, user identification may include
at step 416 displaying to the user at sign-in station a
user-specific unique "keyword" that the user is asked to remember.
As the user interacts with touch-free interactive kiosks 104
located within the managed space, the user is prompted to say the
keyword. Microphones located at each touch-free kiosk 104 are able
to identify the user located at the kiosk via recognition of the
keyword provided by the user.
[0047] At step 418, having uniquely identified the user via one of
the above-identified methods, sign-in station 102 updates user
identification information and pushes the identifying information
to touch-free interactive kiosks such that each kiosk is capable of
uniquely identifying users within the vicinity of the kiosk. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, sign-in station 102 communicates the
identifying information to central database 110 at step 420, which
in turn communicates or pushes the necessary identifying
information to each of the plurality of touch-free interactive
kiosks 104 at step 422. In other embodiments, sign-in station 102
may communicate the identifying information directly to touch-free
interactive kiosks 104.
[0048] FIG. 4B is a flow chart illustrating interaction of the user
with the interactive display system at a touch-free interactive
kiosk according to an embodiment of the present invention. At step
430, touch-free interactive kiosk 104 detects the presence of a
user. In one embodiment, this detection is based on the field of
view available to the camera associated with interactive kiosk 104.
In other embodiments, detection may be based on identification of a
signal provided by the app on the user's device. At step 432, in
response to the detected presence of a new user, touch-free
interactive kiosk determines whether a user can be identified via
communication with the "app" running on the user's device. If the
user is utilizing the appropriate application, and can be
identified in this manner, then at step 434 the interactive kiosk
104 identifies the user and displays unique content to the user
based on the identification. Otherwise, at step 436 the system may
detect the presence of a user in its field of view and request the
user to display the visual cue card assigned to the user at the
sign-in kiosk 102 for identification purposes. If identified in
this manner, then at step 434 the kiosk displays content customized
for the identified user. If the user was not assigned a visual cue
card, but rather acquiesced to facial recognition, then at step 438
the touch-free interactive kiosk 104 captures images of the user
and utilizes image recognition to identify the user. Once again,
facial recognition algorithms may be executed locally by
interactive kiosk 104 or may be executed remotely by central
database 110. Once again, once identified, user-customized content
is delivered to the interactive kiosk for display to the identified
user. If none of the other methods is available, the interactive
kiosk 104 may request that the user speaks the keyword provided to
the user at the sign-in kiosk 102. The interactive kiosk 104
identifies the user based on the keyword provided--again, either
locally or remotely--and delivers user-customized content for
consumption by the user at step 442. In other embodiments, various
combinations of the discussed identification methods may be
utilized to detect and/or verify the identity of the user located
near the kiosk.
[0049] As described above, content displayed by touch-free
interactive kiosk 104 may be selected from content stored locally
at kiosk 104 and corresponding to interests associated with the
identified user, or may be communicated to kiosk 104 from central
database 110 (or local media server 106) based on the
identification of the user.
[0050] FIG. 5 is an example view of unique content 500 presented to
a user via the display of touch-free interactive kiosk station and
how a user may interact with the station to influence this content
according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 5, content 500 is divided up into a
plurality of windows, including playlist window 502, presentation
content window 504, system message window 506, and
user-personalized content window 508.
[0051] As described above, having identified the user located at
touch-free interactive kiosk 104, unique content is selected based
on the identification and delivered to kiosk 104 for display to the
user. For example, the system may perform a look up of the user's
interests in relation to the items at or near the particular kiosk
from the central database 110 and show appropriate presentation
content. In particular, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the
playlist window 502 may display to the user a list of content
selected for display to the user based on identification of the
user. The list of content may correspond to a list of products
selected that the user may be interested in purchasing. A benefit
of playlist window 502 is that it allows a user to view a plurality
of items and provide input to select particular content for
viewing. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the list of content
includes "computer deals", audio/video deals", and "weekly
specials". In one embodiment, the user selects content from
playlist window 502 by providing a voice command regarding the
desired content (e.g., user may say, "next item", "skip", "go to
item#3", etc.). Another embodiment, either used independently or in
conjunction with voice commands, is utilizing gestures--such as
swiping arm right to left to skip to the next item--to provide
input regarding the content to be displayed. The kiosk will pick up
these control commands using camera 250 and/or microphone 260
described with respect to FIG. 2A.
[0052] Presentation content window 504 may be used to display a
wide array of selected content, including audio clips, real-time
synthesized text-to-speech which can be tailored to the user (for
instance addressing him/her by name, in his or her native
language), video clips, and other graphics overlay widgets. Content
displayed in presentation content window 504 may be content
selected based on identification of the user, but may also be
selected based on input received from the user, such as that
described above with respect to providing voice commands or
gestures to select content for display. In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 5, system message window 506 is used to communicate messages
to the user. For example, in the embodiment shown a message is
displayed to the user that reads "Hi, I detected a new user in
front of me. Pls hold up your token card so I know who you are and
can show you content that interests you!". In response to this
message, a user would display the assigned visual token card to be
identified by touch-free kiosk 104. User-personalized content
window 508 is utilized to provide custom messages to the user based
on the user's identity. For example, in the embodiment shown in
FIG. 5, user-personalized content window 508 provides a message
that reads "Hi Paul, based on your past phone purchase, we have
some great accessories".
[0053] In this way, touch-free interactive kiosk 104 allows unique
content to be displayed to the user, as well as allows the user to
interact with the kiosk to select/modify the content to be played.
In addition, kiosk 104 provides the means to allow these
interactions without requiring the user to touch the display or any
other external device.
[0054] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the core database structure
utilized to facilitate interaction with the user according to an
embodiment of the present invention. For example, the embodiment
shown in FIG. 6 may represent the organization utilized by central
database 110 to determine the content to be displayed to identified
users. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the database includes
user entities 602, item entities 604, presentation resource
entities 606, interest/category entities 608 and kiosk entities
610. With respect to each of the described entities types, a
plurality of individual entities may be created within each entity
type (e.g., unique item entities 604a, 604b . . . 604N may be
created). In other embodiments, other organizational techniques may
be utilized, and more or fewer entity hierarchies may be utilized
to achieve the desired functionality.
[0055] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, user entity 602 is unique
to each user registered within the system, and may include stored
information including user name and/or interests. This information
is typically obtained either from a user profile entered by the
user either via the user's device, provided by the user during
registration at log-in kiosk 102, or provided by a third-party
application (e.g., Facebook) that provides user information and/or
user historical data. As discussed in more detail below, interests
associated with a user entity 602 provide a logical link to one or
more interest/category entities 608. For example, a user entity
identified as having an interest in computers may be logically
associated with an interest/category entity 608b associated with
personal computers, and with another interest/category entity 608c
associated with laptops. Each interest/category entity 608 may
include information describing the interest and/or category, and
further may include pointers to item entities 604 associated with
the interest/category entity 608. For example, an interest/category
entity having a description of personal computers may include a
point to an item entity 604 that identifies a particular type or
brand of personal computer.
[0056] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, each item entity 604 may
include information naming the item, a description of the item, and
a playlist of content that can be displayed to the user that is
related to the item. For example, returning to the example of an
item entity associated with a personal computers, the name of the
item entity may identify the model or brand of the personal
computer, the description may include information related to
specifications of the computer (e.g., processor speed, memory,
etc.), and playlist may include pointers to presentation resource
entities 606 that are associated with content that can be provided
to the user regarding the selected personal computer. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 6, each presentation resource entity 606
includes an URL and a content type indicator, wherein the URL
describes the location or address where the content represented by
the presentation resource entity 606 is stored (either locally or
in the cloud), and content type identifies the media type of the
content (e.g., video, audio, etc.). For example, with respect to a
particular item entity (e.g., particular brand of personal
computer), a presentation resource entity may be associated with
the item entity that includes an URL to a video that provides
additional information related to the product and that can be
displayed to the user via one of the touch-free kiosks. In
addition, the database includes kiosk entities 610, which represent
real-world kiosks located within the managed space. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 6, each kiosk entity includes information
regarding location of the kiosk entity (e.g., GPS location) as well
as a unique identification ID. Each kiosk entity 610 is associated
with one or more item entities 604. For example, a first kiosk
located at a first location within the managed space may be
represented within the database as kiosk entity 610a. This kiosk
entity may be associated with one or more item entities 604, which
in turn may be associated both with one or more presentation
resource entities as well as one or more interest/category
entities. The first kiosk is therefore equipped to present
information to a user regarding the one or more item entities
associated with the kiosk entity. However, if the user would like
to receive information regarding a different item, then the first
kiosk may provide instructions directing the user to the location
of the kiosk associated with the item selected by the user (i.e.,
cross-reference to other kiosks). In particular, the location of
the second kiosk is stored as part of the kiosk entity within the
database, and can be utilized to actively guide the user towards
the correct kiosk.
[0057] In this way, upon registration with the system, a user
entity 602 is created in the database structure, with associations
(i.e., pointers) based on information provided by the user that
associates the created user entity with interest/category entities
608. In addition, kiosk entities 610 have been created, which
represent real-world kiosks, and include associations to item
entities 604 that will be displayed via the represented kiosk. A
user approaching a touch-free interactive kiosk--in the
real-world--is recognized by the kiosk and is provided with
information pertaining to items of interest to the user. If the
particular kiosk at which the user is located is not associated
with items of interest to the user, the touch-free interactive
kiosk may provide directions to the user on which touch-free
interactive kiosks are associated with items of interest to the
user.
[0058] In another embodiment, while a particular item entity 604 is
displayed via a particular kiosk entity 610, items related to item
entity 604 (e.g., items linked to item entity 604 or linked to the
same interest/category entity 608) may be displayed not via the
kiosk entity 610, but via the "app" loaded and running on the
user's device. In this way, while a particular kiosk entity 610 may
be limited to particular content with which it is associated,
additional items (e.g., items for which no content exist for
display at the kiosk, perhaps) can be displayed. Of course, in
other embodiments these additional items may be displayed to the
user via the "app" and selected by the user via the "app" or via
interaction directly with the touch-free interactive kiosk 104 for
display for the kiosk.
[0059] FIG. 7 is a flow chart describing the configuration of a
touch-free interactive kiosk in order to add it to a managed space
according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG.
7 illustrates how an administrator defines the content to be
displayed by the touch-free interactive kiosk by associating item
entities and associated presentation resource entities with a
particular kiosk.
[0060] At step 702, a unique station ID is allocated to the
touch-free interactive kiosk. The unique station ID is stored as
part of the kiosk entity 610 described with respect to FIG. 6 to
allow the touch-free interactive kiosk to be uniquely identified.
At step 704, the location of the kiosk is entered, which identifies
the exact location of the kiosk with respect to a local map of the
managed space. Location data may be collected automatically from
the kiosk based on GPS data, or may be entered manually by a user.
Once again, location data is stored as part of the kiosk entity 610
described with respect to FIG. 6.
[0061] At step 706, one or more items will be added to the kiosk
selected from a system-wide available list of item
categories/product interests. For each item added or associated
with the kiosk, an item entity 604 (shown in FIG. 6) is associated
with the kiosk entity 610 within the framework of the database. For
each item added to a kiosk, one or more presentation resource
entities 606 associated with the added item are added to the kiosk
via the association with the item entity. In this way, each kiosk
is associated with one or more items, and one or more resources
associated with each item to present to a user at the kiosk.
[0062] At step 708, the system administrator assigns available
playout resources to each item. That is, if a presentation resource
is not already associated with an item entity, at step 708 an
administrator may make the association between a presentation
resource and a particular item associated with the kiosk, with the
association being stored in the database as a relationship between
the presentation resource entity and the item entity. If playout
resources are desired but non-existing, the administrator can
request his authorized content providers to submit presentation
content for these, by entering a description of the requested
content illustrated by requests 712a . . . 712N. The system will
send out a notification to the content producer(s) to request the
desired content. The producer(s) can upload the content, which will
subsequently be approved by the administrator before it goes live
on the network. Similarly, each item is associated with one or more
item categories that will in turn be linked with the interest
categories of the user profiles.
[0063] At step 710, the administrator enters system-wide
messages/announcements 710, wherein each message/announcement may
include their own playlist scheduler. In this way, the
administrator identifies each station within the managed space,
determines the items to be displayed by the kiosk, and the
corresponding presentation resources to be associated with each
item.
[0064] Although not shown in FIG. 7, in addition to configuring the
one or more kiosks, the administrator also has access to management
tools that allow the administrator to monitor user interaction with
the plurality of kiosks. For example, the kiosks can provide data
regarding number of users visiting each kiosk, identity/demographic
information related to users and items viewed, resources presented,
etc. This provides the administrator with a trove of valuable
information, usage metrics by person (such as the number of people
and time spent in front of each interactive kiosk as well as
demographics of those people), as well as usage metrics by item or
item category, and by individual presentation resource. With
respect to content, the system allows sorting the time spent of
users in front of displays by content provider so that the system
administrator can gauge the effectiveness of contributed content by
provider. As a result an automated rating system for content
producers can be developed based on content consumption
metrics.
[0065] In addition, an administrator of the system may interact
with the kiosks within the managed space, either collectively or
individually, to send real-time messages to the one or more kiosks.
For example, the manager of the store may announce a store-wide
sale via messaging to each interactive kiosks, or may interact with
a particular user on a one-on-one level via messaging directed to a
particular kiosk.
[0066] FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams that illustrate modules utilized
to determine content to be shown at a kiosk when multiple users are
located in front of the kiosk according to an embodiment of the
present invention. In particular, FIG. 8 illustrates the
calculation of instantaneous interest scores for each user with
respect to a plurality of interest categories according to an
embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart that
illustrates how the instantaneous interest scores of multiple users
physically located in close proximity to a particular kiosk are
aggregated to select the items/content to be displayed to the
plurality of users according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0067] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, modules include: viewer
interest aggregator 801, category-based interest filter 806, and
instantaneous score calculator 808. These modules may be located
locally on touch-free interactive kiosks 104 or remotely as part of
central database 110. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, viewer
interest aggregator 801 collects user information from one or more
of a plurality of sources with respect to those users identified as
in close proximity to the kiosk. This information can be collected
in one of several ways. For example, in one embodiment, user
interests are obtained via a profile created by the user that
identifies user interest as shown by input 802. As illustrated with
respect to FIG. 6, the database may store with respect to each user
entity 602 one or more interest/category entities 608, which
provides a record of the interest identified by the user. As
described above, interests may include categories such as
"computers", "video games", etc. In addition, a hierarchy of
interest may be utilized, wherein information about a user may
indicate that the user is interested in "video games", and more
particularly to "flight simulator" games. In addition, user
interest may be derived based on general information collected with
respect to the user (e.g., demographic information, including one
or more of age, gender, social graph info, etc.) as shown by input
804.
[0068] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, category-based interest
filter 806 filters the interests or categories collected by viewer
interest aggregator 801 based on content offerings associated with
the kiosk at which the user is located. For example, if the user is
interested in video games, and in particular flight simulator
games, role-playing games, and strategy games, but the kiosk at
which the user is located only has content related to flight
simulator games and role-playing games, then the category-based
interest filter would filter or remove the interest in strategy
games from being provided as an input to instantaneous score
calculator 808.
[0069] Instantaneous score calculator 808 calculates an
instantaneous score with respect to each interest received from
category based interest filter 806. In the above example, for the
user with interests in video games, instantaneous score calculator
808 would provide an instantaneous score for this user with respect
to both flight simulator games and role-playing games. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the instantaneous score provides a
quantitative method of customizing the default playout schedule at
the kiosk. In particular, the instantaneous score is utilized to
prioritize which content will have the highest impact when a
plurality of users are gathered in front of the kiosk, each having
different interests.
[0070] In addition to the filtered interests associated with the
user, additional inputs may be analyzed to calculate the
instantaneous score. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
8, information available on social networks 810 such as friends,
`likes`, home location, etc. can be utilized to improve calculation
of the instantaneous score associated with the user for each
interest category. For example, if a user previously `liked` a
product on a social media site that is related to one of the
interest categories, then this may result in a higher calculated
instantaneous score for that interest category. In addition, the
embodiment shown in FIG. 8 utilizes historical data and/or purchase
history patterns associated similar products and/or at similar
locations 812. This may also be used to enhance the calculation of
the instantaneous score. For example, a user who has a history of
purchasing items from this kiosk or a similar kiosk may result in a
higher calculated score, indicating that it is more likely that the
user will purchase goods or services provided by the kiosk.
Similarly, if the user has previously purchased a product similar
to one of the items provided by the kiosk, that may result in a
higher calculated instantaneous score for an interest category
similar or related to the previously purchased product (e.g., if
the user previously purchased a cell phone, then a category related
to cell phone cases may receive a higher ranking).
[0071] In addition to data collected regarding interests of the
user, social media info, and/or historical visit and/or purchase
data, information regarding the state of the user relative to the
managed space and the kiosk may also be utilized in calculating the
instantaneous score. For example, if the camera associated with the
kiosk determines that the user is standing still and viewing the
display (i.e., interested in what is being displayed), then the
instantaneous score associated with the user may be increased.
Alternatively, if the user is moving (e.g., walking past the
display), or it is determined that the user is not looking at the
display, then the instantaneous score associated with the user may
be decreased. In addition, if the user being evaluated is
identified as the head-of-household associated with a plurality of
users (e.g., identification of a parent as opposed to a young
child), then the instantaneous score of the user may be increases.
In contrast, identification of the user at the kiosk as a young
child may result in the instantaneous score of the user being
decreased. Differentiation between adults and children may be based
on profile information, or may be based on input received from the
video camera located at the kiosk. In another embodiment, the
simultaneous presence of the user's friends at this location (but
possibly at other display stations as well) may increase the
instantaneous score of the user as there may be a possible larger
resulting group purchase. In addition, other metrics or means for
calculating an instantaneous score (i.e., determining which content
will have the highest impact on individual users) may be utilized
to prioritize the content displayed via the kiosk.
[0072] Although not shown in FIG. 8, instantaneous score calculator
808 may also generate the score based on the content associated
with kiosk 104. For example, returning to the example of the user
that has interest in both role-playing games and flight simulator
games, the instantaneous score calculator 808 will increase the
score related to role-playing games based on knowledge that one of
the items associated with the kiosk is a role-playing game.
[0073] The output of instantaneous score calculator 808 is an
interest score for each user located in close proximity to the
kiosk. In one embodiment, the interest score is for each interest
identified by the user. For example, the user would have an
instantaneous score associated with the user's interest in
role-playing games and an instantaneous score associated with the
user's interest in flight simulator games. The higher the score,
the better the indication that content associated with or assigned
to the kiosk will have an impact on the user or be successful
(e.g., successful in selling a product to the user). In response to
the calculated instantaneous interest scores, the kiosk can
generate custom content playlists.
[0074] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating how the instantaneous
scores calculated as described with respect to FIG. 8 can be
combined by instantaneous score aggregator 902 to select content
that will have the largest (i.e., most successful) impact on a
plurality of users, each defined by their own interests and likes.
Once again, instantaneous score aggregator 902 may be local to
kiosk 104 or may be located remotely at central database 110.
[0075] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, instantaneous score
aggregator 902 receives as inputs the instantaneous scores 900a,
900b . . . 900N (collectively, instantaneous scores 900) calculated
for each of the users identified as present at the kiosk. The
instantaneous scores 900 are calculated according to the method
described with respect to FIG. 8. In the embodiment shown in FIG.
9, in addition to the instantaneous scores 900, additional inputs
may be utilized, including momentary social data 904 and/or
inertial sensor data 906. Momentary social data 904 includes data
such as other visitors located in the group located near the kiosk,
whether the head of the household is present in the group in front
of the kiosk (e.g. a parent), etc. In some embodiments, this
information may already be incorporated into the instantaneous
score calculated with respect to FIG. 8, or may be re-calculated as
shown in FIG. 9 to account for changes in users located near the
kiosk. Inertial sensor data 906 may be collected from a user
device, and utilized to determine, for example, if a particular
user is standing still or moving, whether the user is heading
toward the display or away from it. As discussed with respect to
momentary social data 904, this information may be utilized to
calculate instantaneous scores as described with respect to FIG. 8,
or may be utilized as shown in FIG. 9 to modify calculated
instantaneous scores.
[0076] An instantaneous score 908a, 908b, . . . 908N is calculated
for each category/interest offered at the kiosk by weighing each
user's contribution to the score. That is, instantaneous scores
calculated for each interest category associated with each user are
weighted (e.g., summed) to calculate a category score 908a, 908b .
. . 908N for each interest category associated with the kiosk. For
example, it could be as simple as adding together the instantaneous
interest scores each user has for each of the plurality of
categories, and providing the ordered sum of scores as an output,
with the highest score representing the category that carries the
most interest for the group of users as a whole. In other
embodiments, more complex aggregation of the category scores may be
utilized.
[0077] Content playback organizing module 910 ranks/prioritizes the
content (e.g., category playback items) to be displayed to the user
based on the one or more category scores 908. In this way, playback
items are selectively customized based on information received
regarding the plurality of users located at the kiosk. As the users
located at the kiosk change, the ranking/prioritization of the
playlist may change and different content may be displayed to
increase the impact on the new/remaining users located at the
kiosk.
[0078] In this way, the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 provides a way
to optimize the content displayed to a group of users in order to
provide the largest impact. If reduced to a single user, the kiosk
would operate as described previously to optimize the content
displayed to the single user.
[0079] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of handling an
active viewer request for content associated with a particular
viewer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In
contrast with the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, in which content is
selected to display to a user or group of users based on
information obtained from the users, but without active user
participation, FIG. 10 illustrates a method that allows the user to
actively participate with the kiosk to play desired content. The
method described with respect to FIG. 10 is performed with respect
to each user located in close proximity to the kiosk.
[0080] At step 1000, it is determined whether the selected user has
made any on-demand or "active" request for content. If no, then at
step 1002 any on-demand requests previously made by the user (and
subsequently de-selected) are deleted from the queue of on-demand
requests. As described above, a user may be presented with a list
of content available to view, and may select, either through voice
command, gestures, or through interaction with an app residing on
the user's smartphone particular content to be displayed. If at
step 1000 it is determined that the user has made an active request
for content, then at step 1004 the kiosk retrieves or loads a
campaign associated with the requested content or item. For
example, the campaign may be associated with a particular item the
user is interested in, and may be comprised of a list of content to
be displayed to the user.
[0081] At step 1006, a determination is made whether the content
associated with the selected campaign is already scheduled to be
played by the kiosk. This may be as a result of the kiosk selecting
the content to be displayed based on information retrieved about
the user (e.g., passively selected), or may be a result of another
user at the kiosk either actively selecting the campaign (or as a
result of the same user making a duplicitous request). If the
campaign was not already scheduled for playout, it is determined
that this is a new request for the campaign and should therefore be
played. However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, each user is
afforded one campaign request at a time, and therefore at step 1010
any other on-demand requests made by the same user are removed from
the playlist. At step 1016, the campaign associated with the
on-demand content is displayed at the kiosk.
[0082] If at step 1006 it is determined that the campaign is
already scheduled for playout, then at step 1008 a determination is
made regarding whether the on-demand request was previously added
as an on-demand request by the same user. If the on-demand request
was previously added as an on-demand request by the same user, then
at step 1014 it is determined that the request is not new and no
additional steps are necessary. If the on-demand request was not
previously added as an on-demand request by the same user, this
indicates that it was passively scheduled to be played based on
information retrieved regarding one or more users. As a result, at
step 1012 the campaign--previously loaded--is removed from the
existing playlist to allow the actively requested campaign to be
given higher priority. At step 1010, any other on-demand requests
made by the user are removed from the playlist. At step 1016 the
on-demand campaign is displayed at the kiosk.
[0083] In this way, the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 allows a user
to actively select content to be displayed. This may be in
conjunction with embodiments described previously that act to
customize content displayed to the user.
[0084] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing the
playlist of content displayed by the kiosk when multiple users make
requests for content according to an embodiment of the present
invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, at step 1100, a
determination is made regarding whether new users have arrived at
the kiosk. If it is determined that no additional users have
arrived, then no further action is taken. If new users have arrived
at the kiosk, then at step 1102 the instantaneous scores of the
user corresponding to categories associated with the kiosk are
incorporated into the passive determination of which content
campaigns to display as illustrated by the input labeled "Score
calculation for each viewer as shown in FIG. 9". However, for
campaigns that are already scheduled to be played, either as a
result of previous passive viewer participation or as a result of
active requests from users, duplicate campaigns are prevented from
being added to the playlist.
[0085] At step 1106, a determination is made whether viewers have
left the vicinity of the kiosk. In response to a viewer leaving the
kiosk, the associated campaigns added by the user, either actively
by the user or passively as a result of scoring associated with
user categories, the associated campaigns are removed from the
playlist at step 1108.
[0086] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing a
playlist of content displayed to a plurality of users that includes
active request users and passive viewer participation. In
particular, FIG. 12 details how to handle multiple active requests
from a plurality of different users. The method is described from
the perspective of a user attempting to make an active request for
additional content to be displayed.
[0087] At step 1200, a determination is made whether a maximum
number of campaigns have been queued on the playlist. If a maximum
number of campaigns have been queued, then at step 1202 the
campaign is not added and a message is provided to the user
indicating that the maximum number of user requests has been
reached.
[0088] If the maximum number of campaigns has not been reached,
then at step 1204 a determination is made whether there are other
users with queued campaigns after the viewer whose queued content
is currently playing. Essentially, the question is: are there other
users waiting to have content or campaigns played which are related
to the content they are interested in. If so, then at step 1206 a
determination is made whether the user trying to add a campaign has
exceeded or will exceed the maximum allowed playlist time. If the
user will exceed the maximum allowed playlist time, then the
content or campaign requested by the user is not added (as shown at
step 1208) and a message is communicated to the user to that
effect.
[0089] If at step 1204 there are no other users with campaigns or
content queued to be played, or if at step 1206 the user has not
exceeded his maximum playlist time, then the method continues at
step 1210 with a determination of whether content or a campaign is
currently being played for the user attempting to add a new
campaign. If the content or campaign currently being displayed by
the kiosk is being played with respect to the user making the
request to play different content, then at step 1212 a
determination is made whether the content being requested is of the
active (i.e., on-demand) type or is the content to be added based
passive analysis of the user (e.g., instantaneous score value of
the user being used to select content). If at step 1212 it is
determined that the campaign type being added is of the on-demand
type, then at step 1214 the kiosk stops playing the current
campaign and/or content and begins playout of the added campaign.
If at step 1212 it is determined that the campaign type being added
is not of the on-demand type (i.e., is being added as passively in
response to analysis of the user's likes and dislikes), then at
step 1220 a determination is made whether the campaign to be added
is already queued in the playlist for the user. If at step 1220 it
is determined that the campaign to be added is already queued on
the playlist, then at step 1222 the campaign is not added to the
playlist and the method ends. If at step 1220 it is determined that
the campaign is not already queued on the playlist, then at step
1226 the new campaign is appended to the campaign playlist.
[0090] If back at step 1210 it is determined that the campaign
being played currently is for the user requesting that a new
campaign or content be added, then at step 1216 a determination is
made whether the campaign to be added is of the on-demand type. If
the campaign to be added is of the on-demand type, then at step
1218 the campaign is added as the first item or content to be
displayed in the playlist. If at step 1216 it is determined that
the content being added is not of the on-demand type, then the
campaign to be added is appended to the user's playlist for
playback in the order in which it was added to the queue. In this
way, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, content actively requested
by the user is given priority over content that is being passively
added to the playlist based on calculated expectations that the
content will appeal to the user.
[0091] While the invention has been described with reference to an
exemplary embodiment(s), it will be understood by those skilled in
the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be
substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope
of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to
adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the
invention without departing from the essential scope thereof.
Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the
particular embodiment(s) disclosed, but that the invention will
include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *