2067 results about "User feedback" patented technology

A three-dimensional imaging and display system is provided in which user input is optically detected in an imaging volume by measuring the path length of an amplitude modulated scanning beam as a function of the phase shift thereof. Visual image user feedback concerning the detected user input is presented.

A search engine provides intelligent multi-dimensional searches, in which the search engine always presents a complete, holistic result, and in which the search engine presents knowledge (i.e. linked facts) and not just information (i.e. facts). The search engine is adaptive, such that the search results improve over time as the system learns about the user and develops a user profile. Thus, the search engine is self personalizing, i.e. it collects and analyzes the user history, and / or it has the user react to solutions and learns from such user reactions. The search engine generates profiles, e.g. it learns from all searches of all users and combines the user profiles and patterns of similar users. The search engine accepts direct user feedback to improve the next search iteration One feature of the invention is locking / unlocking, where a user may select specific attributes that are to remain locked while the search engine matches these locked attributes to all unlocked attributes. The user may also specify details about characteristics, provide and / or receive qualitative ratings of an overall result, and introduce additional criteria to the search strategy or select a search algorithm. Additionally, the system can be set up such that it does not require a keyboard and / or mouse interface, e.g. it can operate with a television remote control or other such human interface.

A method of adding a device to an existing or new electrical or electronic automation or multimedia network. The invention facilitates adding a device to the network that can communicate using various protocols such as LonWorks, CEBus, X-10, etc. over media such as AC power line, IR, RF, twisted pair, optical fiber, etc. The method is a mechanism for adding a device to a system that can be used by an ordinary user of network capable electrical devices. The method comprises the steps an installer would perform including the handshaking that needs to occur between devices to accomplish the binding process. A Functional Profile for LonWorks networks is given as an example. This includes a Home Device profile that employs an automated explicit type messaging for all devices intended for use in a home environment. The invention includes adding to the device an install button and a visual indicator for status such as an LED. Alternatively, existing buttons and LEDs on the device may be used for installed and binding purposes. Other methods of binding can be employed by the use of wired or wireless handheld tools, remote controls, etc. Other interfaces and user feedback can be used such as touch screen, personal computers, cellular phones, PDAs, etc which can offer simple ‘virtual’ binding by the press of an icon versus the physical button on the device. The binding can be performed locally or remotely such as via LAN, WAN, Internet, etc.

A surgical tool system including a laparoscopic surgical tool for heating, ablating, sealing, and / or dissecting tissue, a control system for monitoring impedance of the tissue during treatment thereof, and a tactile feedback system integrated onto a handle of the tool that generates relevant feedback from the control system in at least the form of haptic effects to the user. The tactile feedback alerts the tool user of changes in tissue properties, i.e., when the impedance of the tissue indicates that the treatment procedure is complete. In addition, the tactile feedback provided may supply information relating to the operating status of the control system to the user.

A method, system and computer program product for generating a document representation are disclosed. The system includes a server and a client computer, and the method involves: receiving into memory a resource containing at least one sentence of text; producing a tree comprising tree elements indicating parts-of-speech and grammatical relations between the tree elements; producing semantic structures each having three tree elements to represent a simple clause (subject-predicate-object); and storing a semantic network of semantic structures and connections therebetween. The semantic network may be created from a user provided root concept. Output representations include concept maps, facts listings, text summaries, tag clouds, indices; and an annotated text. The system interactively modifies semantic networks in response to user feedback, and produces personal semantic networks and document use histories.

An apparatus, program product, and method rely on user interaction in the ordering search results returned by a search engine. Each of a plurality of records in a database is associated with a user feedback parameter that is used in ordering the records identified in a result set generated in response to a search request. The user feedback parameter for a given record may be selectively updated in response to detecting multiple accesses thereto by a user and / or in response to detecting that the record is the most recently accessed record in the result set. In addition, the user feedback parameter for a given record may be configured with a plurality of weights that are respectively associated with particular keywords, such that ordering of the records in a result set can utilize only those weights that are associated with keywords that match a particular search request. Furthermore, a search request data structure may be utilized to store a plurality of search request records, each including a search request identifier identifying a unique combination of keywords, and a result set identifier identifying a subset of a plurality of records in a database that match the unique combination of keywords. The search request data structure may be accessed in response to a search request to locate a search request record including a search request identifier that matches the keywords provided in the search request, with a result set generated that identifies the subset of records identified in the result set identifier in the located search request record.

An electronic device coupleable to a display screen includes a camera system that acquires optical data of a user comfortably gesturing in a user-customizable interaction zone having a z0 plane, while controlling operation of the device. Subtle gestures include hand movements commenced in a dynamically resizable and relocatable interaction zone. Preferably (x,y,z) locations in the interaction zone are mapped to two-dimensional display screen locations. Detected user hand movements can signal the device that an interaction is occurring in gesture mode. Device response includes presenting GUI on the display screen, creating user feedback including haptic feedback. User three-dimensional interaction can manipulate displayed virtual objects, including releasing such objects. User hand gesture trajectory clues enable the device to anticipate probable user intent and to appropriately update display screen renderings.

An authentication or authorization system to facilitate electronic transactions uses simultaneous or substantially simultaneous communications on two different networks to verify a user's identity. When a user logs onto a site, via the internet, a telephone number, either pre-stored or obtained in real time from the visitor, where the visitor can be called essentially immediately is used to set up, via the switched telephone network another communication link. Where the user has multiple communication links available, the telephone call is automatically placed via the authentication or authorization software simultaneously while the user is on-line. In the event that the user has only a single communication link, that individual will have to log off temporarily for purposes of receiving the telephone call. Confirmatory information is provided via the internet to the user. The automatically placed telephone call requests that the user feed back this confirmatory information for verification purposes. The telephone number which is being called is adjacent to the user's internet terminal. The user's response, via the telephone network, can be compared to the originally transmitted confirmatory information to determine whether the authentication or authorization process should go forward.

Surgical instrument with wireless communication between control unit and sensor transponders. The surgical instrument (10), such as an endoscopic or laparoscopic instrument, comprising, according to various embodiments, an end effector (12) comprising at least one sensor transponder (368). The surgical instrument also comprises a shaft (8) having a distal end connected to the end effector (12) and a handle (6) connected to a proximate end of the shaft (8). The handle (6) comprises a control unit (300) in communication with the sensor transponder (368) via at least one inductive coupling (302,320,324). The surgical instrument (10) may be a power assist motorized device including a battery for powering (at least partially) the surgical instrument (10) during use. The surgical instrument (10) may be adapted to provide user feedback regarding the load being experienced by the end effector.

A system and method is disclosed for facilitating the reporting of information regarding a computer software product by way of a dynamically-configurable general report client. The general report client is used along with a set of report user interface definition files that is specific to each software product for which a report can be prepared. A set of report user interface definition files customizes the report user interface for reporting information relating to the software product with which it is associated. The invention provides for dynamic configurability in that, by entering certain values by way of the report user interface, the user may cause the client to load additional report user interface definition files and present additional user interface child screens accordingly. The invention provides methods by which software developers, software providers and others obtain user feedback for such purposes as beta-testing and debugging.

A method and apparatus for use in conjunction with a “push” approach to multimedia content delivery is disclosed. Content that is received by the client is stored in memory. Items of content that are of interest to the user are “preserved” in memory by the user. Feedback relating, among other things, to which items of content have been preserved is returned to the server. Additional content, which is based on the user feedback, is sent to the client. The additional content overwrites items of content that have not been preserved by the user.

A behavior modification system includes a network of components that interact to collect various data and provide user feedback. The network may include a personal device, an Internet-enabled storage device and a hub capable of receiving communications from the personal device and communicating to the storage device. The personal device may include bio-impedance measurement circuitry, an accelerometer and a processor for determining energy expenditure based on data from the accelerometer(s). The system may include a smart hub capable of routing communications between various components within the system. The hub may include different transceivers for different communication protocols. The system may incorporate a low-power RF wake-up system. The system may include bio-impedance measurement circuitry that is reconfigurable to function as an alternative type of sensor. In other aspects, the present invention provides a method for measuring bio-resonance and a method for determining caloric intake from body composition and caloric expenditure.

A process for refining the results of a query to an internet search engine database by the use of user feedback is disclosed. It is a method to allow a user to rate the relevancy of URLs returned for a specific query. The relevancy ratings for a specific query are combined by the internet search engine with data from a user profile of personal information defined by the user. The internet search engine can determine which items of data in the profile are common between users who have rated a query result highly. The search engine can then modify the search algorithm to return those URLs rated highly by users with common profile attributes. The benefit to the internet is more efficient searching and retrieval of information for users.

An electronic catalog system provides an interface for users to author and post pieces of content, referred to as “blurbs,” for viewing by other users. The blurbs submitted by a particular author are made available for viewing in an author-specific blog (web log) format. Blurbs may also be obtained from external sources, such as from blogs hosted by various web sites. A personalized blurb selection component selects blurbs to present to users based on histories of catalog items selected by such users, and / or based on various other criteria. The blurbs selected for a particular user are presented within a personal log or “plog,” which may be updated daily and will typically contain entries from many different authors. User feedback provided on specific blurbs is taken into consideration by the personalized blurb selection algorithms.

A user controls, by hand, relative positioning between a camera-equipped apparatus and an object, to vary image data captured by the apparatus. At least certain of the image data is processed in connection with automated recognition of the object. An action based on recognition of the object can be taken. The arrangement further includes presenting feedback data to help guide the user in connection with said positioning, so as to aid in capturing image data from which the object can be recognized. In another aspect, the apparatus can provide a sequence of state data to the user on a display device, to indicate progress through several states in connection with the object recognition. A great variety of other arrangements and technologies are also detailed.

A hemostatic clip assembly for mounting on a delivery device comprises a capsule and a clip slidably mounted within the capsule so that, when the clip is drawn proximally into the capsule, arms of the clip are drawn together to a closed position, an abutting surface of at least one of the arms contacting a corresponding surface of the capsule when the clip is drawn to a predetermined position within the capsule to provide a first user feedback indicating closure of the clip in combination with a tension member connected to the clip arms and biasing the clip arms toward an open, tissue receiving configuration and a yoke slidably received within the capsule and releasably coupled to the tension member, the yoke including a ball cavity for receiving a ball connector of a control element of the delivery device to maintain the clip assembly coupled to the delivery device, wherein the control element is frangible to detach the yoke from the delivery device and to provide a second user feedback and, wherein release of the yoke from the tension member provides a third user feedback.

Techniques for interactively presenting word-alignments of multilingual translations and automatically improving those translations based upon user feedback are described herein. With one or more implementations of the techniques described herein, a word-alignment user-interface (UI) concurrently displays a pair of bilingual sentences, where one is a translation of the other, and interactively highlights linked (i.e., “word-aligned”) words and phrases of the pair. Other implementations of the techniques described herein offer an option for a user to provide feedback about the existing word-alignments or realign the words or phrases. In still other described implementations, word-alignment is automatically improved based upon that user feedback.

A method includes determining a facet from a web page to be indexed for searching, indexing the web page with the facet in a search index, augmenting a user's web search query with the facet, searching the search index for the facet-augmented query, and presenting to the user, as a search result, the web page based on a correlation of the query and the facet. Another method includes receiving a user's web search query, augmenting the query with a facet, and transmitting the augmented query to a search engine. A further method includes agreeing with an advertiser to associate a web page with a facet, and indexing the web page with the facet in a search index.

A system for monitoring performance of a physical exercise routine comprises a Pilates exercise device enabling a user to perform the physical exercise routine, a plurality of motion and position sensors for generating sensory information that includes at least position and movements of a user performing the physical exercise routine; a database containing routine information representing at least an optimal execution of the physical exercise routine; a training module configured to separate from sensory information at least appearance of the Pilates exercise device, compare the separated sensory information to the routine information to detect at least dissimilarities between the sensory information and the routine information, wherein the dissimilarities indicate an incorrect execution of the physical exercise routine, the training module is further configured to feedback the user with instructions related to correcting the execution of the physical exercise routine by the user; and a display for displaying the feedback.

A recommendation system uses feedback from users on specific item recommendations to assess the quality of the recommendation rules used to generate such recommendations. The feedback may be explicit (e.g., a user rates a particular recommended item), implicit (e.g., a user purchases a recommended item), or both. The system may use these assessments to modify the degree to which particular recommendation rules are used to generate recommendations. For instance, if a particular recommendation rule leads to negative feedback relatively frequently, the system reduce or terminate its reliance on the rule. In some embodiments, the system may also increase its reliance on recommendation rules that tend to produce positive feedback.

The present invention is directed at modifying digital images of faces automatically or semi-automatically. In one aspect, a method of detecting faces in digital images and matching and replacing features within the digital images is provided. Techniques for blending, recoloring, shifting and resizing of portions of digital images are disclosed. In other aspects, methods of virtual “face lifts” and methods of detecting faces within digital image are provided. Advantageously, the detection and localization of faces and facial features, such as the eyes, nose, lips and hair, can be achieved on an automated or semi-automated basis. User feedback and adjustment enables fine tuning of modified images. A variety of systems for matching and replacing features within digital images and detection of faces in digital images is also provided, including implementation as a website, through mobile phones, handheld computers, or a kiosk. Related computer program products are also disclosed.

A method of adding a device to an existing or new electrical or electronic automation or multimedia network. The invention facilitates adding a device to the network that can communicate using various protocols such as LonWorks, CEBus, X-10, etc. over media such as AC power line, IR, RF, twisted pair, optical fiber, etc. The method is a mechanism for adding a device to a system that can be used by an ordinary user of network capable electrical devices. The method comprises the steps an installer would perform including the handshaking that needs to occur between devices to accomplish the binding process. A Functional Profile for LonWorks networks is given as an example. This includes a Home Device profile that employs an automated explicit type messaging for all devices intended for use in a home environment. The invention includes adding to the device an install button and a visual indicator for status such as an LED. Alternatively, existing buttons and LEDs on the device may be used for installed and binding purposes. Other methods of binding can be employed by the use of wired or wireless handheld tools, remote controls, etc. Other interfaces and user feedback can be used such as touch screen, personal computers, cellular phones, PDAs, etc which can offer simple ‘virtual’ binding by the press of an icon versus the physical button on the device. The binding can be performed locally or remotely such as via LAN, WAN, Internet, etc.

A method for providing content items located on a server (2) to a client (3), the server (2) being able to communicate with the client (3) via a communication network (7), comprises the following steps: a) transferring a first content recommendation list request from the client (3) to the server (2), b) generating a first content recommendation list (81) comprising several content recommendation list entries (9) at the server (2) in dependence on a user feedback profile, each content recommendation list entry (9) representing a content item, c) transferring the first content recommendation list (81) from the server (2) to the client (3), d) providing a visual and / or audible representation of the first content recommendation list entries through a client user interface, each entry being selectable and arranged such that for each entry, user feedback may be generated and corresponding user feedback information sent to the server and that upon selection of an entry at a predetermined position in the first content recommendation list, a second recommendation list request is transferred to the server, e) generating at the server, a second content recommendation list in dependence on the user feedback profile and also, if received, in dependence on the user feedback information, and f) transferring the second content recommendation list from the server to the client in response to the second recommendation list request and providing a visual and / or audible representation of the second content recommendation list entries through the client user interface, wherein the client initiates at least one transfer process of content items from the server to the client based on user selections of recommendation list entries, and wherein the second content recommendation list is prepared at the server in advance of receiving the second recommendation list request from the client.

A system and method for measuring biologically and behaviorally based responses to social media, locations, or experiences and providing instant and continuous feedback in response thereto. The system and method of the invention is capable of monitoring stress levels and well-being and may be implemented using a cloud-based infrastructure for remote monitoring.

A method and system for periodically deriving an optimal batch broadcast schedule based on client demand feedback data from a distributed set of broadcast clients. The broadcast system includes an operation center that broadcasts meta-data to a plurality of client systems. The meta-data describes a plurality of pieces of content that are in consideration for upcoming broadcasts by the server. Each client receives the broadcasted meta-data from and sends back a set of client demand feedback data to the operations center, wherein the user feedback data reflects a client's interest level in at least a portion of the pieces of content. The feedback data, which typically may include ratings and / or relative rankings, may be user-generated, automatically-generated, or a combination of the two. The system then send a batch of content based on an aggregation of the feedback data in combination with available broadcast bandwidth and broadcast schedule window.

User feedback regarding a displayed item, such as a web page, is obtained by providing a first and second transport-control elements, such as back buttons, that have the same effect for moving within or between displayable items but which have different associated semantic information. Upon activation of one of the transport-control elements, not only is the required movement effected, but data is output or stored indicative of the semantic information associated with the activated transport-control element. Thus, for example, the semantic information associated with one transport-control element can relate to a good user experience of the currently-displayed item whilst the semantic information associated with the other transport-control element can relate to a bad user experience of the displayed item. Related server arrangements and page and program code are also envisaged.

Context-based user behavior data is collected from a search mechanism. This data includes, for a given query, user feedback (implicit and explicit) on the query and context information on the query. A predictive pattern is applied to the context-based user behavior data in order to produce predicted user satisfaction data. Data mining techniques may be used to create and improve one or more predictive patterns. Predicted user satisfaction data can be used to monitor or improve search mechanism performance, via a display reporting the performance or identification of any queries with a shared characteristic and sub-par user satisfaction. A dynamically-improving search mechanism uses the predicted user satisfaction data to improve the performance of the search mechanism.

The invention provides, in one aspect, a multimedia content sharing system that includes (i) a shared content server which stores items of content (such as still, moving images and audio) and (ii) a plurality of nodes, each of which is in communications with the shared content server via cellular telephone and / or other data networks. The shared content server transmits items of content to a first set of the nodes “automatically,” e.g., without requests by users of those nodes for the items. At least one node in that first set displays the content of received items (e.g., on an LCD screen) and accepts user feedback in regard to those items. That feedback—which may be, for example, a command to copy an item into an “album”, to rotate an item on the display, to block another node from displaying the items, and / or to block a sender (or creator) of the item from sending further items of content from presenting—is transmitted back to the shared content server for distribution to other nodes, which alter their own respective displays of the items accordingly.