Abstract: A method of determining occupancy of a vehicle along a route is determined by processing data generated by two different smartphones reported to be travelling in the same vehicle. An app executing within each smartphone. Information that has been transmitted from the two smartphones includes a unique identification of the mobile computing device and a unique identification of a person associated with the mobile computing device. Sensor data is also received, which corresponds to a local ambient environment inside the vehicle of the mobile computing device generating the data. The sensor data does not include location data or data entered by a user. The received data is used to determine if both mobile computing devices were actually present during the portions of the route, by comparing the data from each device.

Abstract: Various mechanisms presented in this disclosure provide for dynamically adjusting the exhibition of subtitles. In one example, check-points are introduced into the subtitle file format that, once achieved by a multimedia player, provoke the rescheduling of the moment in which the texts contained in the subtitle file will be exhibited.

Abstract: A method of determining occupancy of a vehicle along a route is determined by processing data generated by two different smartphones reported to be travelling in the same vehicle. An app executing within each smartphone. Information that has been transmitted from the two smartphones includes a unique identification of the mobile computing device and a unique identification of a person associated with the mobile computing device. Sensor data is also received, which corresponds to a local ambient environment inside the vehicle of the mobile computing device generating the data. The sensor data does not include location data or data entered by a user. The received data is used to determine if both mobile computing devices were actually present during the portions of the route, by comparing the data from each device.

Abstract: Determining occupancy of a vehicle during a trip can be carried out using a computer server which receives data from mobile computing devices within the vehicle. Each of the mobile computing devices is associated with a person, and sends to the server a unique identification of the vehicle, such as a license plate number, and also data generated during the trip from sensors within the device. The sensors collect data that relates to the local ambient environment of the device during the trip, such as a local magnetic field, movements, altitude, location, and sounds. The server compares the data from all devices in the vehicle to determine if the data from all of devices match, within predetermined limits. If there is a match, the server can provide a probable vehicle occupancy count; otherwise, the server can provide an indication that the vehicle occupancy should be investigated in another manner.

Abstract: To identify spaces on shelves which are not full of product and need restocking, markers having a pattern are placed on or near shelves containing product. A camera obtains an image of the shelf, products, and markers. A processor executing software is used to analyze the image to identify the markers and the shelf. Next, storage areas on the shelf are analyzed to identify vacant areas represented by a lower light intensity relative to adjacent areas. The processor determines a location of the vacant areas, and determines the size of the vacant areas using the known marker size and the size of the marker in the image, to generate a scale which is applied to the vacant area. This information and stored product information is used to determine which products should be restocked. The marker pattern can be selected to be readily recognizable by an image processing algorithm.

Abstract: Various mechanisms presented in this disclosure provide for dynamically adjusting the exhibition of subtitles. In one example, check-points are introduced into the subtitle file format that, once achieved by a multimedia player, provoke the rescheduling of the moment in which the texts contained in the subtitle file will be exhibited.

Abstract: Waiting time for the use of activities at a venue with multiple activities, such as an amusement park, is reduced by first receiving selections from visitors to the park using mobile phones, of desired activities and starting times. The selections are transmitted to a server which determines, for each user, waiting times associated with the desired starting times. The server then recommends alternative starting times for those activities. The alternative starting times are chosen to not only reduce the user's waiting time, but the waiting time for all users in the park. The alternative starting times are transmitted back to the mobile phones, where users can accept or reject the alternative starting times. The users are then placed into a virtual queue for each activity.

Abstract: Determining occupancy of a vehicle during a trip can be carried out using a computer server which receives data from mobile computing devices within the vehicle. Each of the mobile computing devices is associated with a person, and sends to the server a unique identification of the vehicle, such as a license plate number, and also data generated during the trip from sensors within the device. The sensors collect data that relates to the local ambient environment of the device during the trip, such as a local magnetic field, movements, altitude, location, and sounds. The server compares the data from all devices in the vehicle to determine if the data from all of devices match, within predetermined limits. If there is a match, the server can provide a probable vehicle occupancy count; otherwise, the server can provide an indication that the vehicle occupancy should be investigated in another manner.

Abstract: Various mechanisms presented in this disclosure provide for dynamically adjusting the exhibition of subtitles. In one example, check-points are introduced into the subtitle file format that, once achieved by a multimedia player, provoke the rescheduling of the moment in which the texts contained in the subtitle file will be exhibited.

Abstract: A method for calculating sales trend of a product at a store shelf based on crowdsourcing, includes receiving, by a retail store server, availability data of a product measured on a shelf in the retail store from a portable device, where the availability data is in the form of a picture acquired of the product on the shelf, identifying products on the shelf using tags attached to the shelves, calculating sales velocity and sales trends of the product from the identified products, and transmitting the sales velocity and sales trend of the product to one or more third parties' systems in a supply chain of said retail store. Products and their locations on retail store shelves have been cataloged in a product database.

Abstract: A method for calculating sales trend of a product at a store shelf based on crowdsourcing, includes receiving, by a retail store server, availability data of a product measured on a shelf in the retail store from a portable device, where the availability data is in the form of a picture acquired of the product on the shelf, identifying products on the shelf using tags attached to the shelves, calculating sales velocity and sales trends of the product from the identified products, and transmitting the sales velocity and sales trend of the product to one or more third parties' systems in a supply chain of said retail store. Products and their locations on retail store shelves have been cataloged in a product database.

Abstract: A method of controlling access to content comprises receiving, at a domain gateway (3) of a domain (4), a request from a device (5) in the domain for access to the content. It is determined at the domain gateway whether the number of devices in the domain currently accessing the content is equal to a specified maximum number of devices that may simultaneously access the content. The maximum number of devices that may simultaneously access the content is independent of the number of devices in the domain. If the determination is that the number of devices in the domain currently accessing the content is less than the specified maximum number the request is allowed, otherwise it is refused.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and system hardware for ingesting media content in a peer-to-peer network from a data stream. The data stream is made up of a sequence of packets of media data, and each packet is identified by a sequence identifier. The method includes commencing caching of the data packets from the data stream. A missing data packet is identified using the sequence identifiers of the packets and the size of the missing data packet is determined. A portion of the memory medium is skipped to provide a skipped portion of medium having no data cached therein. The skipped portion has a size corresponding to the determined size of the missing data packet. The missing data packet is then retrieved and inserted into the skipped portion of the memory medium.

Abstract: A method of controlling access to content comprises receiving, at a domain gateway (3) of a domain (4), a request from a device (5) in the domain for access to the content. It is determined at the domain gateway whether the number of devices in the domain currently accessing the content is equal to a specified maximum number of devices that may simultaneously access the content. The maximum number of devices that may simultaneously access the content is independent of the number of devices in the domain. If the determination is that the number of devices in the domain currently accessing the content is less than the specified maximum number the request is allowed, otherwise it is refused.

Abstract: A method for executing services over an enterprise service bus includes analyzing a message of a first service to a second service to determine a nature of a digital media object sent from the first service to the second service, analyzing one or more media rules to determine whether one or more intermediary services are to be performed based on the nature of the digital media object, and when it is determined that one or more intermediary services are to be performed, executing, after the first service and before the second service, the one or more intermediary services.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and system hardware for ingesting media content in a peer-to-peer network from a data stream. The data stream is made up of a sequence of packets of media data, and each packet is identified by a sequence identifier. The method includes commencing caching of the data packets from the data stream. A missing data packet is identified using the sequence identifiers of the packets and the size of the missing data packet is determined. A portion of the memory medium is skipped to provide a skipped portion of medium having no data cached therein. The skipped portion has a size corresponding to the determined size of the missing data packet. The missing data packet is then retrieved and inserted into the skipped portion of the memory medium.