Abstract: Various techniques are described herein for autonomously registering and/or activating Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, provisioning wireless network access of those devices, and connecting the IoT device to an NB-IoT network with agreed-to terms for network usage. In various embodiments, IoT devices may be configured to negotiate for NB-IoT network access by (i) sharing their data with the NB-IoT network provider, (ii) security storing and using cryptocurrency to obtain NB-IoT network access, and/or (iii) automatically providing the NB-IoT network provider with access to data from other associated IoT devices and/or with payment from a separate payment provider. Individual IoT devices may be preconfigured with negotiation terms for NB-IoT network access, pre-associated with other devices/users, and/or pre-loaded with cryptocurrency in a secure storage.

Abstract: Novel techniques are described for automated crisis incident response in facilities having networks of Internet of Things (IoT devices). For example, embodiments can operate in context of automatically responding to an active shooter incident in a school. Detection of a gunshot event can trigger embodiments automatically to obtain (e.g., retrieve and/or compute) and execute an automated response plan. Execution of the plan can involve automated control of multiple IoT devices installed in and around the facility, and can be responsive to feedback from the IoT devices. Some embodiments facilitate interaction with crisis responders via a responder network, providing such responders with various levels of information access and/or control of components (e.g., execution of the automated response plan can also be responsive to commands issued by responders.

Abstract: Embodiments are related to faster provisioning of targeted advertisements at a set-top box (STB) via an Internet Protocol (IP) connection between the STB and a remote server. The disclosed IP-based advertisement distribution system enables targeted advertisements to be pulled from the remote server efficiently, causing the advertisements to be made available within a short time frame (e.g., less than one day from the time when the advertisements are available). The disclosed methods enables a STB to determine whether to retain existing targeted advertisements, discard them, or provision newly-available advertisements. The targeted advertisements can depend on various factors such as demographic information of an owner of the STB, lifestyle information of the owner of the STB, etc.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for configuring or customizing settings or parameters of different media devices for compatible operations in an automated manner. An exemplary method of configuring a device for presenting media content in conjunction with a second device involves a client device detecting the device on a wireless network, identifying performance characteristics associated with the second device coupled to the device, and automatically configuring the device for operation with the second device via the wireless network and in a manner that is influenced by the performance characteristics associated with the second device. In this regard, one or more configurable parameters or settings maintained at the device and that influence its operation may be modified via the wireless network to correspond to performance characteristics of the second device, thereby facilitating compatible interoperation with the second device.

Abstract: Novel techniques are described for coexistence of multiple radio technologies in a shared frequency band. Techniques described herein enable multiple radiofrequency networks using different radio technologies to coexist on a same carrier frequency by exploiting various frequency- and/or time-domain sharing of scheduled resources. For example, data signals are received for transmission over different radio networks according to different radio technologies (having different respective sub-carrier definitions and timeslot definitions). A coexistence resource schedule is computed from the communication resource grids define an allocation of sub-carrier and/or timeslot resources among the radio technologies. Radio technologies can then be generated from the data signals in accordance with the coexistence resource schedule and the communication resource grids.

Abstract: Systems, devices and processes are provided to facilitate the streaming of commercial content in a video streaming system. Various embodiments facilitate the improved delivery of commercial content in a video streaming system by providing the ability to shift content to allow multiple relatively short commercials to be replaced with one or more longer commercials. As an example, a program channel is monitored to detect commercial content that has a first timespan. This commercial content is replaced with replacement commercial content that has a different timespan. The timing of the video stream is then adjusted to compensate for the difference in the timespan. For example, by monitoring the program channel to detect later commercial content that also has a timespan less than a threshold amount and then skipping this later detected commercial content.

Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods are provided for use in interpreting, converting, generating, embedding, presenting, storing and otherwise using mini-banner content. For at least one embodiment, a mini-banner content system may include a secondary content system element which executes non-transient computer executable instructions to configure: a content interpreter to interpret secondary content, identify aspect information, and output the aspect information; a content converter, which when receiving aspect information at least one of retrieves a first element corresponding to the aspect information and/or generates a second element corresponding to the aspect information, and generates a mini-banner content element based upon results of the retrieving operation and/or the generating operation.

Abstract: Disclosed are devices, system, and method for mitigating wind damage to satellite antennas and for reducing the amount of ballast required to secure the satellite antennas. The device, system, and method include a mast on which an antenna may be affixed, a pivot gear capable of rotating between two or more positions, and a tension force or retention force on the pivot gear. A load force applied to the antenna creates a risk of damage proportional to the load force. The antenna system is capable of transitioning from a first orientation into a second orientation when the load force exceeds tension force or retention force, or the sum thereof, such that the antenna system experiences a reduced load force and therefore a reduced risk of damage. The device, system, and method also reduce the amount of ballast required to secure a non-penetrating antenna installation against tipping or sliding.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and machine-readable media are provided to facilitate content receiver control for particularized output of content items based on intra-content metrics. Observation data, corresponding to indications of detected content receiver operations associated with a content receiver and mapped to a first set of content items, may be processed. A first set of intra-content metrics may be detected. An audiovisual pattern of intra-content metrics may be mapped based on correlating the set of observation data with the first set of intra-content metrics. A second set of content items may be processed to detect a second set of intra-content metrics. A subset of the second set of content items may be selected based on a visual category and/or an audio category of the audiovisual pattern of intra-content metrics. The subset may be specified to cause a content receiver to modify operations to record and/or output content corresponding to the subset.

Abstract: Novel techniques are described for discharging high voltage components. For example, a tool is provided to discharge high-voltage capacitors in electrical appliances prior to servicing those appliances. The tool can include a handle structure electrically and physically isolated from a head structure by an elongated body. The elongated body can house at least a portion of a discharge circuit configured to discharge high-voltage components and to indicate (visually, audibly, etc.) whether voltage is present on components being discharged. The head structure can include multiple probes adapted to electrically couple the tool with the high-voltage components and through which to discharge the components.

Abstract: Novel techniques are described for viewer compositing using media playback systems for enhanced media recommendation and consumption. For example, a display device can be in communication with a media recommendation and consumption compositor (MRCC) system. When a group of viewers desires a shared media consumption experience, the MRCC system can detect the group of viewers and can obtain respective viewer profiles, which can be used to generate a composite profile representing a composite of the group of viewers. The MRCC system can determine an available content space indicating the content available for consumption and can compute a content recommendation space as a function of the composite viewer profile and the available content space that defines recommended content options for the composited group of viewers. A recommendation interface can be output to indicate recommended content options for selecting and viewing.

Abstract: Devices, systems and processes for facilitating watch parties are described. For at least one embodiment, a system may include a sync server; a first user device communicatively coupled to the sync server; a second user device communicatively coupled to the sync server; and a content source providing a content. The sync server may transmit the content as each of a first content to the first user device and as a second content to the second user device. The sync server may be configured to adjust a first bit rate for the first content and, upon adjusting the first bit rate, the first content and second content may be respectively provided to each of the first user device and the second user device such that the devices can substantially simultaneously and separately present the first content to the first user and the second content to the second user.

Abstract: Devices, systems and processes for providing relevant, real-time information to a responder are described. For at least one embodiment, a process may include receiving, by a responder system, alert data identifying an incident location. The process may include determining whether relevant data for the incident location is stored in the responder system. When relevant data is not stored in the responder system, the process may include obtaining the relevant data for the incident location from an external data source and storing the obtained relevant data in the responder system. While proceeding to the incident location, the process may include generating, based on the alert data and the relevant data, initial augmented reality information for presentation to a responder associated with the responder system. Upon arriving at the incident location, the process may include generating second augment reality information for the responder.

Abstract: The disclosure is directed to a network gateway device (“gateway”) that provides various network management features, including a device zoning feature in which client computing devices (“client devices”) connected to the gateway are assigned to different device zones. The client devices connected to the gateway form a local area network (LAN) of the gateway, and can access an external network, e.g., Internet, using the gateway. Each of the device zones has a specific set of network access privileges. Different device zones can have different network access privileges and can provide device isolation in the LAN at different degrees.

Abstract: A method includes determining that data out of a peripheral device has been interrupted. In response, control signals are transmitted that cause power to not be supplied to the peripheral device and then cause power to be supplied to the peripheral device. If the peripheral device is determined to not be outputting data, whether data into the peripheral device has been restored is determined. If it is not, control signals are transmitted that cause power to not be supplied to a router and then cause power to be supplied to the router. If the router is determined to be outputting data, control signals are transmitted that cause power to not be supplied to a wireless access point that is coupled to the modem and then cause power to be supplied to the wireless access point. Whether the wireless access point is outputting data is determined.

Abstract: Systems, and methods are described to provide voice search in an elastic cloud environment communicating with a set-top box (STB) by receiving by a voice cloud search server pulse-code modulation (PCM) audio packets transmitted from the STB; sending the PCM audio packets to a natural language processing (NLP) service for converting to text; sending the text sets to an elastic voice cloud search server for querying an electronic program guide (EPG) service, channel and program data associated with the text sets wherein the EPG service to at least return identified channel and program data; in response to an identified return of channel and television program data, sending sets of text to a search service for performing an elastic search for related data from a plurality of different search sources and returning search results and error codes to a requester.

Abstract: Disclosed embodiments are directed an application program configured to run on a user's mobile device can allow voice-activated call pick-up to the user, without the user having to use his or her hands for picking up the call. For example, the application program can initially be trained to a user's voice command. When an incoming call is received at the mobile device, the user can pick up the call by issuing a voice command. In some embodiments, the application program can determine whether to allow voice-activated pick-up of calls based on data collected from multiple sensors associated with the vehicle, the mobile device, or a remote source.

Abstract: Various arrangements involving environmental sensor gateways are presented. Wire terminals of the environmental sensor gateway may be connected with wires that are electrically connected with environmental sensors. Multiple communication interface protocols used by the environmental sensors connected via the wires may be determined. One or more operator-specific applications may be executed. Each operator-specific application may be mapped to a corresponding environmental sensor. Environmental sensor measurements may be received from the environmental sensors via the wire terminals. Based on a wire terminal through which an environmental sensor measurement is received, the environmental sensor measurement may be processed using an operator-specific application. The environmental sensor measurement may be processed using the operator-specific application.

Abstract: Novel techniques are described for platooning of computational resources in automated vehicle networks. An on-board computational processor of an automated vehicle typically performs a large number of computational tasks, and some of those computational tasks can be computationally intensive. Some such tasks, referred to as platoonable tasks herein, are well-suited for parallel processing by multiple processors. Embodiments can detect one or more on-board computational processors in one or more automated vehicles that are likely, during the time window in which the platoonable task will be executed, to have available computational resources and to be traveling along respective paths that are close enough to each other to allow for ad hoc network communications to be established between the processors. In response to detecting such cases, embodiments can schedule and instruct shared execution of the platoonable tasks by the multiple processors via the ad hoc network.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed towards remotely generating encoding metadata at a remote content distributor for use by a local user computing device. The remote content distributor receives and encodes content. During or after the encoding process, the remote content distributor generates encoding metadata that indicates how the content was encoded by the remote content distributor. The remote content distributor provides the encoding metadata to the user computer device. The user computing device receives the content and the encoding metadata and encodes the content based on the encoding metadata. The user computing device can then provide the encoded content to another computing device for decoding and presentation to a user.