Abstract: A computerized method of visualizing the collective opinion of a group regarding one or more qualitative issues. The group initially selects N issues from the universe of potential issues and often assigns the issues images and titles. The system presents each user with graphical user interface screens wherein individual users vote on the relative importance and degree of relationship between the N aspects (Data Points) and issues, often using drag and drop methods. The software computes N×N similarity matrices based on users voting input and clusters various aspects into groups of greater and lesser similarity and importance, and presents results of users qualitative ranking in easy to read relationship tree diagrams where the relative importance and qualitative relationship of the issues may be designated by size and other graphical markers. The software may reside on a network server and present display screens to web browsers running on users computerized devices.

Abstract: A handheld tool device to facilitate maintenance and installation of hollow through-hole audio input jacks on electrical guitars and other electronic musical devices. The tool has an expandable tip that can be placed inside the hollow opening of the through-hole audio input jack, and then be expanded by the operator. The device enables the operator to hold the audio input jack in a fixed position while a nut or other jack fastening device is tightened. Other applications for the device include stabilizing a large variety of different through-hole connectors, embedded in a wide variety of different surfaces.

Abstract: A uterine activity monitoring device and method for monitoring uterine activity on a nearly continuous basis. The device may comprise a belt configured to fit around a pregnant patient's abdomen, with a plurality of, uterine contraction sensors. These sensors may be protruding contraction sensing buttons, disposed generally perpendicular to the patient's skin. In order to avoid signal distortions caused by patient movement, the belt will often have at least one ambient motion sensor configured to monitor non-uterine contraction movements and produce background movement signals. These ambient motion sensors may be accelerometers and stretch or pressure disposed generally parallel to the patient's skin. The device will have an onboard processor communicate wirelessly with a variety of external monitoring and management systems, such as wrist worn monitors, cell phones, and remote patient management websites.

Abstract: Distributed CMTS device for a HFC CATV network serving multiple neighborhoods by multiple individual cables, in which the QAM modulators that provide data for the individual cables are divided between QAM modulators located at the cable plant, and remote QAM modulators ideally located at the fiber nodes. A basic set of CATV QAM data waveforms may be transmitted to the nodes using a first fiber, and a second set of IP/on-demand data may be transmitted to the nodes using an alternate fiber or alternate fiber frequency, and optionally other protocols such as Ethernet protocols. The nodes will extract the data specific to each neighborhood and inject this data into unused QAM channels, thus achieving improved data transmission rates through finer granularity. A computerized “virtual shelf” control system for this system is also disclosed. The system has high backward compatibility, and can be configured to mimic a conventional cable plant CMTS.

Abstract: A computerized method allowing insurance customers to enter details of their individual risk factors like age, as well as various customer designed risk scenarios, and receive information on the payout amounts that various insurance plans will deliver based upon both the individual risk factors and the customer designed risk scenario. In one embodiment, a method for allowing travelers going to a foreign country, where the traveler may be unaware of prevailing costs for various medical contingencies, to enter the traveler's risk factors like age and various adverse medical scenarios, and be informed both as to the costs of medical treatment in that country and the benefits that a variety of travel medical insurance plans will provide under these scenarios. These plans may then be evaluated according to different user selected parameters. The method can be implemented using computerized servers and client devices communicating using standard internet protocols over the internet.

Abstract: An inflatable electric and hybrid vehicle system, that has the features and accoutrements of traditional automotive vehicles, that is extremely safe, lightweight, inexpensive, compact and energy efficient. The system designed to be shipped by common carrier and then assembled in a few hours with a minimal amount of tools or effort. The vehicle has either an inflatable body or membrane skin with a hybrid-type or electric motor drive train as well as heating and cooling system and inflatable seats. The battery power supply utilizes banks of commonly available batteries charged by a mobile onboard charger, configured to be easily removed with agnostic software and hardware to manage the power source They are also networked via wireless communication to various base stations to allow for monitoring and exchange of battery banks quickly and efficiently.

Abstract: The described systems and methods control the display of media content on a media player with player preferences. The media content is analyzed and multiple signatures are computed that are representative of temporal portions of the media content. The multiple signatures are matched to a database of signatures, and a closest corresponding signature is found. Metadata associated with the closest corresponding signatures is retrieved as matching metadata. Display of the media content is controlled based on the player preferences and the matching metadata.

Abstract: Method and apparatus to non-invasively measure fetal blood oxygen saturation levels. Optical sensors capable of producing and detecting multiple wavelengths of tissue penetrating light are placed on the surface of the maternal abdomen, and the light beams directed to pass through at least a portion of the uterus containing the fetus. The fetal heart rate is monitored by Doppler ultrasound, and pure maternal optical signal related to maternal arterial blood flow are also measured. The optical sensors collect composite signals containing both maternal and fetal hemoglobin absorption spectral data and modulated by their respective pulsatile blood flows. The composite signals processed in the time domain and frequency domain, the pure maternal pulsatile optical signal used to extract the maternal contribution to the composite signal, and the fetal pulsatile signal is used to lock onto and extract the fetal contribution to the composite signal, and a fetal blood oxygen level deduced.

Abstract: A method for resource allocation for video encoder to achieve the minimum sequence cost within given resource budgets. Optimal video encoder design by deriving the optimal sequence order and frame type selection is invented. In order to achieve computationally practical resource allocation, the current invention utilizes various encoder model and buffer model. The models allow the optimization procedure to assess the best encoding design without actually performing the computationally expensive encoding. Efficient optimization algorithm is also derived to substantially reduce the computations required to search for the optimal action sequence.

Abstract: Systems and methods for deriving a net equation representing a net state of an analog circuit net, wherein the net equation is derived from at least one other net state, determining a truthfulness of the net equation, reporting the truthfulness.

Abstract: The present invention is a video digest which extracts only the relevant information out of the video content according to user preferences. Video digest generator is a combination of hardware and software constituting a component of the digital video recorder, which analyzes the content and extracts only the portions which are meaningful or important for the user.

Abstract: Methods of generating Hilbert space-filling indexes using simple bit-wise transformation are described herein. One method is based on a linear-based transformation uses bit-wise AND and XOR operations on a simple input index counter. In another method, the regular structure of the transform matrix was then used to obtain a Gray-based transform at a reduced complexity. Due to the simple and regular structure of the transformation, an efficient hardware implementation of generating indexes (addresses) along the Hilbert curve results.

Abstract: Proposed is a model for generation and use of metadata for interactive video navigation and video content identification.

Abstract: A method for resource allocation for video encoder to achieve optimal picture quality within a given resource budget. Making a video encoder utilize the computational complexity, bitrate and other resources in an optimal way while maintaining optimal quality is a complicated optimization problem. A subset of this resource allocation problem, optimizing the tradeoff between bitrate versus quality is called rate-distortion optimization and is performed in most modern encoders. In order to achieve a computationally practical solution of the resource allocation problem, the current invention partitions the video content into a number of regions based on their characteristics and assesses resource allocation among regions to achieve the optimal quality within the resource budget limit. To maintain the computation tractable, the invention relies on bit production model and distortion model for the underlying video content to assess the quality and resource usage instead of actually conducting video compression.

Abstract: Material and method for reducing creep in orthotics and prosthetics. Thermoplastic resin plies and fiber veil plies with a substantially porous structure composed of discontinuous fibers held together by small amounts of polymeric binder between the fiber contact points are consolidated under heat and pressure. This causes the resin to flow into the porous voids and the binder to dissociate from the contact points, producing a composite material with an embedded fiber veil remnant that retains the three dimensional structure of the original fiber veil. The various fibers can move freely with respect to one another at melt temperature, while the orientation of the fibers in the fiber veil remnant resists bending in all directions at lower temperatures. This composite material can then be vacuum thermoformed into at least one complex component of an orthotic device or prosthetic device, such as a complex component with a double horizon bend.

Abstract: A method and system for decoding and modifying processor instructions in runtime according to certain rules in order to separately control processing elements embedded within a multi-processor array using a single instruction. The present invention allows multiple processing elements and/or execution units in a multi-processor array to perform different operations, based upon a variable or variables such as their location in the multi-processor array, while accepting a single instruction as an input.

Abstract: A system for automatically creating and maintaining a database of information utilizing user opinions about subjects, particularly exceptional experiences. Described is an Internet system assisting/motivating a population of users interested in information about certain categories of subjects to automatically maintain the database content and to improve the usefulness and quality of the database information without any substantial management by the website owner-manager. The user opinions are primarily in the form of both comments and ratings about which natural-language terms best describe a particular subject, enabling user searches of the subject database to be by way of preferred such descriptive natural-language terms, which terms are further preferred to be evaluative and approving.

Abstract: A system for automatically creating and maintaining a database of information utilizing user opinions about subjects, particularly exceptional experiences. Described is an Internet system assisting/motivating a population of users interested in information about certain categories of subjects to automatically maintain the database content and to improve the usefulness and quality of the database information without any substantial management by the website owner-manager. The user opinions are primarily in the form of both comments and ratings about which natural-language terms best describe a particular subject, enabling user searches of the subject database to be by way of preferred such descriptive natural-language terms, which terms are further preferred to be evaluative and approving.