CA2441373A1

CA2441373A1 - Real-time, mobile, audience measurement system

Info

Publication number: CA2441373A1
Application number: CA 2441373
Authority: CA
Inventors: Paymaan Behrouzi; Ravosh Samari
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-09-12
Filing date: 2003-09-12
Publication date: 2005-03-12

Abstract

A system that identifies, logs, and reports, with resolution in seconds, which broadcast station a Radio or a Television is tuned to and the instantaneous volume level of the media. The station and volume information gives an indication over statistical ranges of the popularity of the radio/television content and can be used to infer accurate ratings information.
Although the device can be used for both radio and television, this document will primarily focus on solving the specific problem of collecting radio ratings in vehicles.
The system consists of a unit in a vehicle, a remote unit, and a central server. The vehicular unit identifies the station and volume and wirelessly transmits this information to the remote unit, which then transmits, via the internet, to the central server. The central server collects data from all sources and performs all necessary data formatting.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Determining and collecting audience patterns in mass media has and always will be valuable information used to determine the popularity of the content. This information can then be used to determine the population and demographics of the listeners and thereby determine advertisirzg cost structures and as a medium for advertisers to hit target audiences. There are various methods for determining this information for various forms of media including text, radio, and television.
Currently, for radio audience measurements, the most prevalent method is paper diaries. This method requires a pre-selected group of listeners, deemed. to be representative of various demographics of the entire listening population to fill in paper diaries, recording which radio stations they have been listening to.
These paper diaries are then mailed in to a location where they are processed. This method cannot capture situations where a person is continuously changing the radio station, such as in a vehicle. The paper diary method is not real-time, meaning that this system cannot measure audience behaviour at an instantaneous point in time.
With respect to methods of collecting television audience behaviours, the most prevalent method is as follows. ~1 sample of the TV viewing population is chosen to be representative of various demographics and a ratings device is installed in the personal television set, Video Cassette Recorder (VCR), Digital Video Disk (DVD) Player, and video game console (ie. The TV and any device that provides input to the TV) as well as the remote control unit for all these devices. The ratings device logs all the user behaviour and at a predetermined time, dials out on a telephone line, to which it is connected, and via modem, relays all the information to a central database.
This ratings device is very intrusive to the user's equipment and as such it has been found in the industry that it is difficult to successfully solicit people in the general population to agree to participate in the system. Technically, this ratings collection system must have access to the internal parts of the users devices in order to be able to determine what station the user is on.
The primary technical problems that this invention will solve are:

1. Non-Intrusive: Identifying a station without the need for gaining access to the inside of the users equipment. In the vehicular industry, it is very difficult to open the users radio equipment and install electronics that can track the users listening patterns.

2. Resolution in Seconds. Instantaneous monitoring of the users audio signal provides a much higher resolution of the listening behviour. Paper diaries cannot provide this resolution. This is especially relevant in vehicles as the number of station changes and volume level changes are far greater in this context.

3. Transparent to Audience Members: While paper diaries and the TV ratings system require on going user interaction, this invention is fully automatic and transparent to the participant. ~nce installed in it's final location, the system collects and reports data without any interaction from the user.

4. Volume Level Detect. Especially in the context of a vehicle, the volume level of the radio is a direct indication of the user interest. None of the systems used for audience measurement monitor the users volume level.

5. Mobility. Provide a means to measure audience radio listening habits when the audience is mobile, as in a vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTI~N
This invention will allow a device to be installed in such places as a user's vehicle, home or business - any environment that a radio can exist. The device monitors the audio signal coming out of the radio, either by a microphone or a wire connection to one of the radio speakers and therefore does not need access to the internal parts of the users radio equipment. The device will simultaneously scan, using its own internal tuner, all available radio stations in the area and by comparing with the users audio signal, determine which station the user is listening to. Any time the user changes the radio station, or adjusts the volume the information is logged with a time stamp. The log of user behaviour is wirelessly transmitted to a second device which is in a stationary location and connected to the Internet. If the transmitting device is out of range of the receiving device, the transmission is postponed until they are in range.
The information is then transferred to a central server via the Intenet. The end goal of this invention is to provide an accurate measurement of the audience in a region.
Therefore, devices will be placed in a statistically accurate sample of the population such that the results will be reasonably representative of the entire population. All information will be collected and delivered to the central server for processing.
In the drawings, which form a part of this specification:
Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the Capture Module, the Base Module, and the Central Server at a system level.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing the invention embodiment where the Base Module is in the users' house and the Capture Module is in the users' vehicle.
Figure 3 is a diagram showing the invention embodiment where the Base Modules are placed in strategic locations throughout a city and the Capture Modules are in the users' vehicles.
Figure 4 is a diagram showing the invention embodiment where the entire system resides in a stationary location. The Capture Module is not installed in a vehicle.
Figure 5 is a block diagram of the internal parts of the Capture Module Figure 6 is a block diagram of the Base Module.
Figure 7 is a flow diagram of the Capture Module Algorithm that resides in the Capture Module DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TIEI:~ INVENTION
A block diagram of the system is shown in Figure 1. It consists of two modules per user and a single computer that acts as a central server which services all the users.
The first module, herein called the Capture Module 1, is responsible for identifying the station and volume of said station that the user is listening to and furthermore, passing this information to the next part of the system. The second module, herein referred to as the Base Module 2, is responsible for wirelessly receiving the information from the Capture Module. The Base Module then sends this information to the Central Server 3 by way of the Internet. In addition to the two hardware Modules, there are four software modules that make the system work as follows.
~ The first module resides in the Capture Module and controls the device in the vehicle.
~ The second software module resides in the Base Module and handles the communication and data transfer from the Capture Module and communication to the local PC.
~ The third software module resides in the PC and is responsible for data formatting, Internet interface and packet transmission to the central server.
~ The fourth and final software module resides in the central server and is responsible for all the data collection and formatting.
There are three possible embodiments of this invention described below.
A diagram of Embodiment 1 is shown in Figure 2. In this embodiment, a sample of vehicles is each equipped with a Capture Module 2, and each vehicle has a single and unique Base Module located at its home-base 1. Each vehicle drives around and the user behaves normally with respect to radio listening habits. All station and.
volume level information is logged and stored in the Capture Module. When the vehicle approaches the home-base 1 and the two are within wireless range, the information is transmitted from the Capture Module to the Base Module. Periodically, the Base Module transfers all its information to the Central Server 3, via the Internet.
A diagram of Embodiment 2 is shown in Figure 3. In this embodiment, a sample of vehicles is each equipped with a Capture Module. There are several Base Modules strategically placed throughout a geographical area such that all Capture Modules will be within wireless range of at least one Base Module at all times. Each user will drive around and behave normally with respect to radio listening habits. Since the Capture Modules are always in constant communication with at least one Base Module, each users station and volume level information is immediately transmitted from the Capture Module to one of the Base M~dules as soon as the status changes. As an example, if a user turns up the volwne, one of the Base Modules will be immediately informed of this information. The Base Modules are all connected to the Internet. As they receive updated information from the Capture Modules, they relay this information to the Central Server via their Internet connection. The Central Server can be accessed by a human operator to obtain instantaneous, real-time information about all the Capture Modules in the system.
A diagram of Embodiment 3 is shown in Figure 4. In this embodiment, the Capture Module and Base Module both reside in a stationary location, such as a users house.
The Capture Module will be located where access to the audio signal is available. The Base Module will be located, as in the other embodiments, such that an Internet access point is accessible. This embodiment will provide instantaneous radio audience measurements for a home or business location.
A description of the Capture Module follows. Refer to the block diagram shown in Figure 5. The Capture Module is responsible for monitoring an audio source, specifically, the users radio output at 1 or at 2, depending if the microphone option is enabled or not. In some situations it might be required that a wired connection be used (e.g. Noisy environments, or if the radio source if very low). Source selection is under software control. The Capture Module then determines what radio station the user is on by comparing the internal tuner output 6 to the external signal.
The comparison is done at 3. Simultaneous to the comparison function, the volume of the users signal is detected at 10. After the station and volume level are known, the communications block 4 takes a timestamp by reading the local clock at 1 ~ .
The station, valume level, and timestamp information are stored locally in memory where they can be accessed at any time for transmission to the Base Module via wireless modem 8. The Capture Module has two separate antennas, one for the internal tuner at 5, and the other for the wireless modem at 9.
Referring to Figure 7, the Capture Module Algorithm. At 2 we check if there is any outside communication, like the Base Module expecting information and perform that function if required. FaII through to 3 where we set the internal Tuner shown at 6 in Figure S to a station. After Tuner locks onto station, compare source signal to internal tuner signal at 4. If comparison shows the signals are the same, log the station frequency, volume level, and the time at 5. Set state variable to 'Matched' at

6, and compare again. Loop between 6 and 7 until external signal source no longer matches the signal from the internal Tuner. Go to 8 and cheek if state variable was on 'Matched' to determine if we have arrived here after being on a station. If true, then determined that user has dropped off the previous station so log this information at 9.
Clear the state variable at 10 and loop back to 2. If false, then determine that user was not on a station before arriving here, so jump to 3 and set the internal Tuner to next station.
Referring to Figure 6, a description of the Base Module follows. The Base Module is a simple device consisting of a wireless modem with antenna, connected , usually via a personal computer, to the Internet. The Base Module is normally in a scanning mode where it is waiting for the Capture Module to initiate communications.
When it receives the request to send information from the Capture Module, the communications link is established and all information from the Capture Module is delivered to the Base Module. The information is sent via Internet Protocol (IP) to the Central Server.
The Central Server is a computer with a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address somewhere on the Internet. All the Base Modules will relay their information to this computer. The Central Server will run software that will collect all the data from the Base Modules and format it according to the liking of the human operator. In general the data will be formatted and presented in a way to provide useful information regarding the behaviour of the radio listening audience.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS
What is claimed is:

1. An audience measurement system consisting of a Capture Module Figure 1 (1), a Base Module Figure 1 (2), and a Central Server Figure 1 (3), wherein the Capture Module monitors an audio signal either electrically or audibly using a microphone as in Figure 5 (1) and (2), and compares said input to the output of an internal Tuner Figure 5 (6) which is cycled through all available broadcasted signals in the area. The system uses the result of the comparisons to identify which broadcast station the external input (Figure 5 (1) and (2)) is tuned to.

2. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the broadcast signal may either be Television or radio.

3. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the external television or radio audio signal is monitored either electrically by connecting to a speaker of said media or via a microphone.

4. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the exact time whereby the audience in question was tuned to an identified broadcast station is logged in the internal memory of the Capture Module, Figure 5 (7).

5. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the frequency of the identified broadcast station is logged in the internal memory of the Capture Module, Figure 5 (7).

6. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the volume level of the identified broadcast station is logged in the internal memory of the Capture Module, Figure 5 (7).

7. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the information of interest (i.e. frequency, time, and volume as detailed in claim 4, claim 5, and claim 6) is transmitted to the Base Unit via wireless point-to-point modem, at a predefined time.

8. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein each Capture Module is paired with its own Base Module and said Base Module is kept stationary at the users home and the Capture Module is kept in the users vehicle as shown in Figure 2.

9. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein a small number of Base Modules service all the Capture Modules in a city as shown in Figure 3. The Base Modules will be located strategically throughout a city such that all Capture Modules are in constant wireless communication with at least one Base Module allowing instantaneous audience measurements to be relayed to the central server.

10. The audience monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the Base Module and Capture Module are part of the same subsystem and both reside in a fixed location.~