Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for using applications of items in conducting item searches. It is determined, in one or more computing devices, whether a search query string includes an application key. A non-key portion of the search query string that excludes the application key is obtained when the search query string includes the application key. A search is executed on a subset of items in an item catalog using the non-key portion of the search query string to obtain a result set of items. Each item in the subset of items is associated with an item application that matches the application key.

Abstract: The systems, devices, and processes described herein may generate a signal, such as an audio signal or an electrical signal, that may include echo and/or noise. The echo may be at least partially canceled based at least in part on acoustic echo cancellation or local echo cancellation, while the noise may be at least partially reduced based at least in part on noise reduction. A residual amount of echo and/or noise may then be determined. The residual echo and/or noise may be suppressed based at least in part on adaptive filtering of the signal, which may include modifying weights of an algorithm associated with an adaptive filter.

Abstract: Techniques for precisely determining a location of a mobile computing device based on both wireless signal strengths measured at the mobile computing device and movement of the device. The wireless signal strengths may represent the strength of a connection between the device and wireless access points (WAPs), cellular towers, or the like. Furthermore, the techniques described herein may utilize movement data provided by the device. For instance, the device may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or any other components configured to recognize when a device is moving, a direction that the device is moving, or the like. In one example, the accelerometer reports when the device has moved by a certain amount, while the gyroscope reports a direction in which the device is moving. The techniques then utilize this information in addition to the wireless signal strengths to estimate locations of the device as the device moves over time.

Abstract: Techniques for adjusting a brightness of a front that lights a display of an electronic device in response to determining that the display is going to perform an update. Typically, page updates on certain types of displays, such as electronic paper displays, result in a relatively large but rapid change in brightness. Therefore, by increasing the brightness during the relatively dark portion of the update (e.g., when some, a majority, or all of the pixels are in the black state) and then decreasing the brightness back to its initial state upon completion of the update, the overall brightness perceived by the user remains more uniform. Increasing the uniformity of this perceived brightness in turn decreases the jarring affect of the flashing update and increases the experience of the user.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatus are provided for enabling orientation of directional antennas even when one or more of the directional antennas are moving. Position information for each directional antenna is transmitted using an omnidirectional antenna transmitting at a low bandwidth and a low power. The position information of the directional antennas is used to orient the directional antennas so that a high bandwidth, low power wireless connection can be enabled and/or maintained between the directional antennas. The position information is periodically transmitted and the orientation of the directional antennas is updated as one or more of the directional antennas move so that the wireless connection between the directional antennas is maintained.

Abstract: Systems and methods can provide users with access to alternative content available from different providers without requiring the users to manually cross providers' platform boundaries. These systems and methods can enable a user browsing items in an electronic platform of a first provider to identify alternative versions of items available in another provider's platform that are free (or at reduced cost) or have other benefits in the other provider's electronic platform.

Abstract: A mobile drive unit including a docking head assembly is provided. The docking head assembly is configured with two or more actuator assemblies to lift an inventory holder and tilt the inventory holder in two or more directions. The direction of tilt and an associated angle may be determined based on a location of a center of gravity of the inventory holder relative to the mobile drive unit. The direction of tilt and the associated angle may also be determined based on information describing external forces acting on the inventory holder.

Abstract: Techniques and systems are provided for providing linear entertainment content for perspective-shiftable displays. Some of the provided techniques and systems allow for pre-existing three-dimensional assets, such as models, scene definitions, virtual lights and cameras, motion paths, etc., that were used to create an original animated piece of linear entertainment content may be re-used and mapped, if necessary, into a format that is compatible with a perspective-shiftable display in order to re-create that same entertainment content in a perspective-shiftable format. In some instances where such pre-existing content is used, the technique may also include inserting additional content in locations that are only visible to the viewer when viewed from a perspective other than the perspectives used in creating the original animated piece of linear entertainment content.

Abstract: Techniques for tracking, profiling and recognizing attributes associated with transactions associated with computer system services. A bitmap representation of the unique identifiers created from name-value pairs of attributes is created and one or more operations are performed on the representation to process the bitmap representation. The one or more operations include operations to, for example, compress the bitmap representation, sub-sample the bitmap representation, locate patterns of attributes within the bitmap representation and other such processing operations. The processed bitmaps may then be further queried to analyze the event data.

Abstract: Features are disclosed for estimating a false rejection rate in a detection system. The false rejection rate can be estimated by fitting a model to a distribution of detection confidence scores. An estimated false rejection rate can then be computed for confidence scores that fall below a threshold. The false rejection rate and model can be verified once the detection system has been deployed by obtaining additional data with confidence scores falling below the threshold. Adjustments to the model or other operational parameters can be implemented based on the verified false rejection rate, model, or additional data.

Abstract: A method of driving an electrowetting display device that includes a display element having a cavity; a first fluid and a second fluid within the cavity, the first fluid being immiscible with the second fluid; a surface facing the cavity; and a first electrode. The display device includes a control system for applying a voltage to the first electrode to provide a display state in response to a signal level of the voltage, wherein the control system is arranged to configure the signal level throughout a display period such that the second fluid adjoins at least a minimum area of the surface, the minimum area being greater than a zero area. The method includes applying at least one display signal level during the display period, the at least one display signal level configured such that the first fluid and the second fluid adjoin the surface throughout the display period.

Abstract: Embodiments of systems and methods are described for determining weighting coefficients based at least in part on using convex optimization subject to one or more constraints to approximate a three-dimensional beampattern. In some implementations, the approximated three-dimensional beampattern comprises a main lobe that includes a look direction for which waveforms detected by a sensor array are not suppressed and a side lobe that includes other directions for which waveforms detected by the microphone array are suppressed. The one or more constraints can include a constraint that suppression of waveforms received by the sensor array from the side lobe are greater than a threshold. In some implementations, the threshold can be dependent on at least one of an angular direction of the waveform and a frequency of the waveform.

Abstract: Technology is described for generating an electronic book. A 3D (three dimensional) virtual environment may be identified. A scene depicting a 3D virtual sub-environment may be identified. A page object may be generated in the 3D virtual environment. A plurality of page panels may be generated that include the scene depicting the 3D virtual sub-environment and the page panels are associated with the page object.

Abstract: A conferencing system receives information identifying a user and retrieves calendar information specifying scheduled events of the user. The conferencing system selects one of the events and joins the user to the event without the user manually entering information about the event.

Abstract: Short range transmissions are used to identify potential interactions between warehouse workers and warehouse robots in automated warehouses. The robot can be equipped with one or more short range transmission tags, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, while the warehouse worker can be equipped with a short range transmission reader, such as an RFID reader. The robot can detect a warehouse worker that is within range when the RFID tags on the robot are written to by the RFID reader. The warehouse robots and warehouse workers can also be equipped with one or more cameras to identify fiducials in the automated warehouse and to report their positions. A central control or interaction server can ensure that warehouse robots and warehouse workers are routed appropriately to avoid incidents.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for deterring exfiltration of data from are provided. In the method and apparatus, it is determined that data is to be inflated. A request for access to data is received and data responsive to the request is retrieved. Spurious data is also generated and provided together with the responsive data in response to the request.

Abstract: Subject matter disclosed herein relates to arrangements and techniques that provide for identifying objects within an image such as the face position of a user of a portable electronic device. An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is configured to locate objects within images. The ASIC includes an image node configured to process an image and a search node configured to search the image for an object in the image. The search node includes an integral image generation unit configured to generate an integral image of the image and a Haar feature evaluation unit configured to evaluate search windows of the integral image with respect to Haar-like features. The ASIC also includes an ensemble node configured to confirm the presence of the object in the image.

Abstract: Mobile devices may obtain applications from an application market infrastructure. The applications may consume data from a data allocation that has been purchased from a mobile data provider. A user may assign a sub-allocation of the data allocation with a specific application, for use by the application. When the sub-allocation is depleted, the application may alert the user and also give the user an opportunity to purchase additional data. If the user accepts an offer to purchase additional data, the application calls the application market infrastructure to process a purchase transaction for the additional data. The application market infrastructure interacts with the user to complete the transaction and then instructs the mobile data provider to allocation additional data to the mobile device of the user, which is then added to the sub-allocation associated with the application.

Abstract: Methods and systems for implementing message batching in a distributed strict queue are disclosed. A plurality of messages are distributed to a plurality of queue servers based on strict order parameters for the messages. Messages that share a value for the strict order parameter are distributed to the same queue server. The messages are enqueued at the queue servers. Messages that share a value for the strict order parameter are enqueued in a strict order based on the time of receipt at the queue server. A batch comprising individual messages is sent to a queue client. The messages that share a value for the strict order parameter are batched in the strict order.

Abstract: A first method for facilitating personal contacts among a plurality of subscribers to a location-based person contact service provided by a service provider; and a second method for real-time monitoring of vital signs of a living being. In the first method, personal profiles are transmitted to subscribers. In the second method, information relating to a violated vital sign parameter determined from the monitoring is communicated to a local communication node.