Abstract: A system for increasing the safety of voice conversations between drivers and remote parties, wherein the system includes an in-vehicle subsystem, wherein the in-vehicle subsystem is configured to communicate wirelessly with a remote subsystem accessible to the remote parties in an initial state, a plurality of sensors, and a computing apparatus, wherein the computing apparatus is configured to received monitoring data from the plurality of sensors, determine risk levels as a function of the monitoring data, and alter a state of the communication between the in-vehicle and the remote subsystem as an automatic safety response according to the risk levels, wherein altering the state of the communication includes switching the initial state to a second state as a function of a transition between a first risk level and a second risk level, and transmitting an alert to the remote subsystem as a function of the automatic safety response.

Abstract: A system for increasing the safety of voice conversations between drivers and remote parties is shown. The system includes an in-vehicle subsystem and a remote subsystem. The system includes a plurality of sensors which are configured to generate monitoring data. The system includes a computing device, which may be distributed between the subsystems and is configured to calculate a risk level as a function of the monitoring data. The computing device may engage an automatic safety response as a function of the risk level, that may include suspension or termination of on-going conversations among the parties, together with notification about the status of the communication channel. The safety response may be communicated to the driver by generating an alert. The in-vehicle and the remote subsystems communicate using a wireless connection and collaborate in engaging the automatic safety response and communicating any alerts to the driver and remote party using notifications.

Abstract: A system for increasing the safety of voice conversations between drivers and remote parties is shown. The system includes an in-vehicle subsystem and a remote subsystem. The system includes a plurality of sensors which are configured to generate monitoring data. The system includes a computing device, which may be distributed between the subsystems and is configured to calculate a risk level as a function of the monitoring data. The computing device may engage an automatic safety response as a function of the risk level, that may include suspension or termination of on-going conversations among the parties, together with notification about the status of the communication channel. The safety response may be communicated to the driver by generating an alert. The in-vehicle and the remote subsystems communicate using a wireless connection and collaborate in engaging the automatic safety response and communicating any alerts to the driver and remote party using notifications.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided that enable seamless access and control of hardware device resources through a common, device-independent interface without the need for device-specific drivers. For instance, system and methods are designed to expose capabilities/functions of hardware devices as web-based services which can be invoked to provide specific services based on the capabilities of the hardware devices.

Abstract: Content delivery by a network node in a network is optimized. The network node is communicatively coupled between multiple client devices and at least one content service provider. A media streaming service provided by a content service provider is received at the network node over a first unicast link. The service is transmitted from the network node to a first requestor device via a second unicast link. A request from a second requestor device for the service is intercepted by the network node. If it is determined that a multicast optimization threshold has been reached and/or exceeded, the service is transmitted from the network node to the first and second requestor devices using a single multicast link, while the service is received from the content service provider over the first unicast link.

Abstract: Content delivery by a network node is optimized. The network node is communicatively coupled between multiple end user devices and at least one content service provider. A request for a media streaming service available from the content service provider is intercepted from a first requestor device. It is determined if the media streaming service is registered for delivery optimization based on at least one service rule specific to the media streaming service. It is determined if a second requestor device is currently receiving the media streaming service from the content service provider. In response to the media streaming service being received by the second requestor device, delivery optimization of the media streaming service is performed by replicating the media streaming service for delivery to the first requestor device. The replicated media streaming service is sent to the first requestor device.

Abstract: Content delivery by a network node in a network is optimized. The network node is communicatively coupled between multiple client devices and at least one content service provider. A media streaming service provided by a content service provider is received at the network node over a first unicast link. The service is transmitted from the network node to a first requestor device via a second unicast link. A request from a second requestor device for the service is intercepted by the network node. If it is determined that a multicast optimization threshold has been reached and/or exceeded, the service is transmitted from the network node to the first and second requestor devices using a single multicast link, while the service is received from the content service provider over the first unicast link.

Abstract: Content delivery by a network node is optimized. The network node is communicatively coupled between multiple end user devices and at least one content service provider. A request for a media streaming service available from the content service provider is intercepted from a first requestor device. It is determined if the media streaming service is registered for delivery optimization based on at least one service rule specific to the media streaming service. It is determined if a second requestor device is currently receiving the media streaming service from the content service provider. In response to the media streaming service being received by the second requestor device, delivery optimization of the media streaming service is performed by replicating the media streaming service for delivery to the first requestor device. The replicated media streaming service is sent to the first requestor device.

Abstract: A method for extending the service life of a portable device includes monitoring a battery of a portable device; identifying a problem bank; reconfiguring a connection schema for the battery to replace the problem battery bank with at least one spare bank; conditioning or exercising the problem bank; connecting the portable device to a power supply to recharge the problem bank; and reconnecting the recharged or repaired bank according to the connection schema without the at least one spare bank. A method for extending the service life of a portable device includes monitoring power consumption of at least one of the hardware or software of a portable device; and reconfiguring the connection schema of the battery banks to redistribute power consumption of at least one of the hardware or software.

Abstract: A method and apparatus, particularly suited to SIMD instruction sets, to filter streaming video information encoded under a predictive encoding algorithm specified under video encoding standards, such as MPEG 4 or H.264/AVC. The filtering operation de-blocks or removes unwanted borders in the perceived video. During the filtering process, a series of filtering mask is generated based on temporal and spatial statistics of predictive encoded video information, which is then recursively applied to the video in order to gate filtered or unfiltered video to an output channel according to coefficients of the masks. The filtering mask effectively yields a decision or rule-based map that transforms the video on a pixel-by-pixel basis thereby avoiding complex and processor-intensive decision tree logic customarily required to process individual pixels of successive macroblocks that may have different filtering requirements.

Abstract: A method for extending the service life of a portable device includes monitoring a battery of a portable device; identifying a problem bank; reconfiguring a connection schema for the battery to replace the problem battery bank with at least one spare bank; conditioning or exercising the problem bank; connecting the portable device to a power supply to recharge the problem bank; and reconnecting the recharged or repaired bank according to the connection schema without the at least one spare bank. A method for extending the service life of a portable device includes monitoring power consumption of at least one of the hardware or software of a portable device; and reconfiguring the connection schema of the battery banks to redistribute power consumption of at least one of the hardware or software.

Abstract: A method for extending the service life of a portable device includes monitoring a battery of a portable device; identifying a problem bank; reconfiguring a connection schema for the battery to replace the problem battery bank with at least one spare bank; conditioning or exercising the problem bank; connecting the portable device to a power supply to recharge the problem bank; and reconnecting the recharged or repaired bank according to the connection schema without the at least one spare bank. A method for extending the service life of a portable device includes monitoring power consumption of at least one of the hardware or software of a portable device; and reconfiguring the connection schema of the battery banks to redistribute power consumption of at least one of the hardware or software.

Abstract: A method for extending the service life of a portable device includes monitoring a battery of a portable device; identifying a problem bank; reconfiguring a connection schema for the battery to replace the problem battery bank with at least one spare bank; conditioning or exercising the problem bank; connecting the portable device to a power supply to recharge the problem bank; and reconnecting the recharged or repaired bank according to the connection schema without the at least one spare bank. A method for extending the service life of a portable device includes monitoring power consumption of at least one of the hardware or software of a portable device; and reconfiguring the connection schema of the battery banks to redistribute power consumption of at least one of the hardware or software.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided that enable seamless access and control of hardware device resources through a common, device-independent interface without the need for device-specific drivers. For instance, system and methods are designed to expose capabilities/functions of hardware devices as web-based services which can be invoked to provide specific services based on the capabilities of the hardware devices.

Abstract: A method and apparatus, particularly suited to SIMD instruction sets, to filter streaming video information encoded under a predictive encoding algorithm specified under video encoding standards, such as MPEG 4 or H.264/AVC. The filtering operation de-blocks or removes unwanted borders in the perceived video. During the filtering process, a series of filtering mask is generated based on temporal and spatial statistics of predictive encoded video information, which is then recursively applied to the video in order to gate filtered or unfiltered video to an output channel according to coefficients of the masks. The filtering mask effectively yields a decision or rule-based map that transforms the video on a pixel-by-pixel basis thereby avoiding complex and processor-intensive decision tree logic customarily required to process individual pixels of successive macroblocks that may have different filtering requirements.

Abstract: A method and apparatus, particularly suited to SIMD instruction sets, to filter streaming video information encoded under a predictive encoding algorithm specified under video encoding standards, such as MPEG 4 or H.264/AVC. The filtering operation de-blocks or removes unwanted borders in the perceived video. During the filtering process, a series of filtering mask is generated based on temporal and spatial statistics of predictive encoded video information, which is then recursively applied to the video in order to gate filtered or unfiltered video to an output channel according to coefficients of the masks. The filtering mask effectively yields a decision or rule-based map that transforms the video on a pixel-by-pixel basis thereby avoiding complex and processor-intensive decision tree logic customarily required to process individual pixels of successive macroblocks that may have different filtering requirements.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for increasing virtual storage capacity in on-demand storage systems. The method utilizes data compression to selectively compress data stored in a storage resource to reduce the utilization of physical storage space whenever such physical resources have been over committed and the demand for physical storage exceeds its availability. In one exemplary embodiment, the utilization of the capacity of a shared storage resource is monitored and data is selected for compression based on the utilization. The compression of the selected data is triggered in response to the monitoring results. In addition, policies and rules are defined that determine which data is selected for compression.

Abstract: A system and method for storing data objects in a storage device includes storing data objects where the data objects include associated main data and metadata that describes properties of the main data. Associated identifiers of computational procedures that can be applied to the main data are further included. Execution of the computational procedures associated with the data objects is also supported.

Abstract: A system for transcoding compressed video signal, including a plurality of pictures, comprising an estimator to gather information and estimate the signal characteristics about the video signal; a decoder to completely or partially decode the compressed video signal; and an encoder to compress the reconstructed video signal according to a coding scheme devised on the estimated signal characteristics from the estimator.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for presenting information to a user of an audiovisual appliance such as a television receiver, a set top box, or a DVD or a VCR player. The method includes extracting source text from a graphical representation of the source text in an associated audiovisual program; translating the extracted source text into a target text in a language different than a language of the source text; and presenting the target text in a human perceptible format in a synchronized manner with the associated audiovisual program. Translating the extracted source text may include an initial step of identifying the source language.