Abstract: A destination information retrieval method is provided. When “airports” is selected as a desired destination from a category list, a list of airports is provided. When a desired airport is selected from the provided airport list, it is determined whether the desired airport has a plurality of airport terminals. If a plurality of airport terminals is present, the airlines that utilize the desired airport are retrieved, and a list of the retrieved airlines is provided. When a desired airline is selected from the provided airline list, the airport terminal on the desired airline is displayed in a display window, while a map of the target airport and the vicinity is displayed with a cursor located at the center.

Abstract: An off-line transit planning and management system is disclosed. The off-line transit planning and management system is to be integrated into an on-line transit and management planning system. The process disclosed includes logging timepoints and generating route, pattern, block, and schedule information therefrom to be supplied to a database that is connected to a real-time transit management system.

Abstract: In a vehicular navigation system which provides a recommended travel route, a control unit checks for the number of each road branching from an entering road of the travel route at an intersection when the entering road has a plurality of traffic lanes. If an exiting road of the travel route from the intersection has a largest number of traffic lanes among the branching roads, no intersection guidance is provided. If the exiting road has a smaller number of traffic lanes, an intersection guidance is provided. This intersection guidance may include guidance of turn direction and guidance of traffic lane to be taken.

Abstract: A method is provided for monitoring and controlling the pick up of waste trash which includes providing an identifier visible to the operator of the trash on the trash bin of predetermined customers. The operator or an electronic eye communicating with a computer matches the identifier to a list of the customer names. If the identifier matches a name on the list, the operator proceeds to empty the trash bin. The computer may activate a switch to activate certain components on the trash vehicle and to record data regarding the trash pick up time and location.

Abstract: A system for providing real-time site specific weather information includes a plurality of remote sensing units, each of which incorporates an electronic messaging system for delivering electronic messages indicative of ground level meteorological observations, and a server system communicating with the remote sensing units to receive the electronic messages. The server system includes a database for storing information pertaining to the remote sensing units and instructions for routing the received electronic messages. At least one remote system is configured to receive non-ground level meteorological data indicative of a weather phenomenon and to associate the electronic messages with the non-ground level meteorological data for graphical display together with a graphical view of the geographic area affected by the weather phenomenon and the ground level meteorological observations. A method for providing real-time site specific weather information is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method for predicting a set of chemical, physical or biological features related to chemical substances or related to interactions of chemical substances including using at least 16 different individual prediction means, thereby providing an individual prediction of the set of features for each of the individual prediction means and predicting the set of features on the basis of combining the individual predictions, the combining being performed in such a manner that the combined prediction is more accurate on a test set than substantially any of the predictions of the individual prediction means.

Abstract: A method of designing human clinical drug trials in which the drug under study is administered to a defined population of test patients who have demonstrated a predisposition to responding to the study drug by virtue of their having one or more genes that have independently been determined to be associated with the desired response.

Abstract: The latent stress in a material can be measured using critically refracted longitudinal ultrasonic technique. The system uses a frame to hold a hydraulic piston. The piston is used to apply an adjustable force against the probes. A signal is initiated by a first transducer. The signal is angled against the piece under test so as to create a critically refracted wave along the piece. The delay time to receive the wave at a first and second probe is measured. The delay time correlates to a stress in the piece.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for operating an integrated circuit in an electronic device by controlling the supply voltage to the integrated circuit (IC). A parameter of the IC is measured and used to adjust the supply voltage of the IC. The measured parameter is indicative of the effective channel mobility of the IC. One purpose of adjusting the voltage is to modify the effective channel mobility such that the individual channel currents are substantially constant over a predetermined operating temperature range of the IC. The modification of channel mobility is chosen to set the individual channel currents at levels that either maximizes operating speed, minimizes power consumption, extends the range of operating temperature, or increases the operational reliability of the IC.

Abstract: A method of aligning each of a plurality of processing areas arranged on a substrate with a predetermined transfer position in a static coordinate system XY for defining a moving position of said substrate, a pattern of a mask being transferred to each of the plurality of processing areas, the method comprising the steps of: wherein each of the plurality of processing areas has a specific point and a plurality of marks for alignment arranged by a predetermined positional relationship with respect to said specific point; measuring coordinate positions of a predetermined number of marks selected from several processing areas of the plurality of processing areas on the static coordinate system XY; calculating a plurality of parameters in a model equation expressing the regularity of arrangement of the plurality of processing areas by performing a statistic calculation by use with the measured plurality of coordinate positions, arrangement coordinate values upon the design of the specific points of the several pr

Abstract: A system, method and program product for monitoring a complex signal for ultrasensitive detection of state changes, or for signature recognition and classification is provided. A complex signal is decomposed periodically for empirical modeling. Wavelet analysis, frequency band filtering or other methods may be used to decompose the complex signal into components. A library of signature data may be referenced for selection of a recognized signature in the decomposed complex signal. The recognized signature may indicate data being carried in the complex signal. Estimated signal data may be generated for determination of an operational state of a monitored process or machine using a statistical hypothesis test with reference to the decomposed input signal.

Abstract: A method for producing a color recommendation for a structure or part of a structure to be painted which comprises selecting from a database containing images of structural archetypes stored on storage means of an archetype image that closely matches the structure to be painted, selecting a color or colors from a database comprising colors stored on storage means and applying the color or colors to the archetype to produce a color scheme and displaying the structure or part of the structure with the color applied.

Abstract: A method for producing a colour recommendation for a structure or part of a structure to be painted which comprises the steps of: selecting, at a user terminal and from a first database containing at least one image of structural archetypes stored in electronic format on storage means, an archetype image that closely matches the structure to be painted, the first database being located at a server remote from the said user terminal; selecting, at the said user terminal, a colour or colours from a second database containing at least one colour stored in electronic format on storage means the second database likewise being located at the remote server; applying the colour or colours at the remote server to the image to produce a colour scheme; displaying, on a display unit of the user terminal, the structure or part of a structure with the colour applied; and providing information from which paint corresponding to the colour or colours in the colour scheme can be identified.

Abstract: A method and system for co-verifying a hardware simulation of a field-programmable-system-level integrated circuit (FPSLIC) and a software simulation of the field-programmable-system-level integrated circuit. A FPSLIC device is simulated in hardware, and a simulator-port layout of the FPSLIC device is generated. In software, the method separately simulates, with an instruction-set simulator, the FPSLIC device, and outputs register contents from the instruction-set software. The contents from the simulator-port layout are verified with the register contents. Additionally, the method may further include outputting peripheral contents from the instruction-set simulator, and verifying contents from the simulator-port layout with the peripheral contents. UART contents also may be outputted from the instruction-set simulator, and verified with contents from the simulator-port layout with the UART contents.

Abstract: A system and method for simulating a networked system for testing of embedded software on an emulated hardware device. The system provides for automated generation of a simulated hardware and facilitates testing of embedded software response to simulated error conditions created by the simulated hardware. Communications from the embedded software are intercepted at a low software level and redirected from the emulated hardware device to the simulated hardware.

Abstract: A system and method for performing modeling, prediction, optimization, and control, including an enterprise wide framework for constructing modeling, optimization, and control solutions. The framework includes a plurality of base classes that may be used to create primitive software objects. These objects may then be combined to create optimization and/or control solutions. The distributed event-driven component architecture allows much greater flexibility and power in creating, deploying, and modifying modeling, optimization and control solutions. The system also includes various techniques for performing improved modeling, optimization, and control, as well as improved scheduling and control. For example, the system may include a combination of batch and continuous processing frameworks, and a unified hybrid modeling framework which allows encapsulation and composition of different model types, such as first principles models and empirical models.

Abstract: The process of turning plain text into animated sequences using a digital image generator, which can be a computer or digital video system is disclosed. A text string is analyzed to determine the concepts contained in the string. An Animation Compositor is used to compose an animated sequence based on the selected concept. The disclosed invention combined with the animation compositor can take a text string and display an animated story, which is conceptually related to the text.

Abstract: A method and system for analyzing a user's textual input and providing a natural language response based on content analysis of the user's input. The system and method converts output of a content analysis algorithm to generate a response that relates to a psychoanalytical category of a content analysis scale, such as anxiety, hostility, and many others. The method and system includes intelligent algorithms that simulate the response of a living counselor or therapist.

Abstract: A low-bit-rate coding technique for unvoiced segments of speech includes the steps of extracting high-time-resolution energy coefficients from a frame of speech, quantizing the energy coefficients, generating a high-time-resolution energy envelope from the quantized energy coefficients, and reconstituting a residue signal by shaping a randomly generated noise vector with quantized values of the energy envelope. The energy envelope may be generated with a linear interpolation technique. A post-processing measure may be obtained and compared with a predefined threshold to determine whether the coding algorithm is performing adequately.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and method for verifying address identifiers over a telecommunications network by first storing a plurality of zip codes in a database. A corresponding list of address identifiers is created and stored for each zip code. After receiving a spoken zip code from a user, the corresponding list of address identifiers is retrieved. Once the list of address identifiers is retrieved, a plurality of choices for at least some of the address identifiers is created. These plurality of choices contain words that rhyme with or sound like other address identifiers located in the retrieval group of address identifiers.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a system and method for speech verification using an efficient confidence measure, and includes a speech verifier which compares a confidence measure for a recognized word to a predetermined threshold value in order to determine whether the recognized word is valid, where a recognized word corresponds to a word model that produces a highest recognition score. In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing confidence measure may be calculated using the recognition score for the recognized word and a pseudo filler score that may be based upon selected average recognition scores from an N-best list of recognition candidates.

Abstract: A phonetic data processing system processes phonetic stream data to produce a set of semantic data, using a context-free rich semantic grammar database (RSG DB) that includes a grammar tree, comprised of sub-trees, representing words and phrases. A phonetic searcher accepts the phonetic estimates and searches the RSG DB to produce a best word list, which is processed by a semantic parser, using the RSG DB, to produce a semantic tree instance, including all valid interpretations of the phonetic stream. An application accesses a semantic tree evaluator to interpret the semantic tree instance according to a context to produce a final linguistic interpretation of the phonetic stream, which is returned to the application.

Abstract: A communication system for communicating information to a telephone user in response to a request for the information from the telephone user. The communication system includes a text data source having text documents. A voice application receives a request from the telephone user for information and then retrieves a text document related to the requested information from the text data source. A context detector determines the context of the text document. A text cleaner modifies the text document as a function of a context of the text document. A text-to-speech (TTS) converter converts the modified text document into speech. The TTS converter provides the speech to the telephone user via the voice application in order to satisfy the request for information from the telephone user.

Abstract: A system for multimodal information services includes a multimodal information service mechanism for providing the multimodal information services. An information user connects to a first network through at least one communication device, the first network connecting to the multimodal information service mechanism, the information user requesting and receiving the multimodal information services from the multimodal information service mechanism through the device. An information source connects to the multimodal information service mechanism via a second network, the information source providing multimodal information to the multimodal information service mechanism to facilitate the multimodal information services.

Abstract: To provide a browser apparatus with the contents of data provided on a network in a form of voice data, voice data indicating a part or the whole of the contents of the data provided on the network is formed and stored on a gateway, on the basis of the data. Data is formed by adding to the data provided on the network an identifier <VOICEOUT . . . >indicating a location where the voice data is stored. This data is provided to the browser apparatus. The browser apparatus receives the voice data from the location indicated by the identifier.

Abstract: A review service system capable of supplying a review service desired by a general practitioner such that the service fits desired conditions. Supplier information such as a location and an amount of spare time concerning each of a plurality of medical specialists is stored in a database in advance. The medical specialists are suppliers capable of supplying review services. A management center comprises: a supplier information acquire unit for acquiring supplier information; a customer information acquire unit for acquiring customer information concerning the review service desired by the general practitioner as the customer; and a matching unit for listing the medical specialists capable of supplying the review service that fits the conditions desired by the general practitioner from the database, deciding a medical specialist who best fits desired conditions, and allowing the customer and the supplier to correspond with each other, based on the supplier information and the customer information.

Abstract: An Internet-based system for registering and assuring authentication of a unique, collectible item is provided which includes an individual web page hosted by an online company for that unique item, wherein the web page displays a digital image, written description and current owner of that unique item. The individual web page is assigned a unique URL address and password. This web page represents an electronic title of ownership viewable by any Internet connection worldwide in a format that excludes the owner's personal information. As the object is sold, traded or otherwise changes owners, this process is facilitated by the additional exchange of the Internet-based electronic title, as the current owner transfers the password to the new owner who subsequently changes the personal ownership information on the electronic title.

Abstract: The disclosed network marketing system sequentially confirms a user's intention to purchase items for each item in a shopping cart. A marketer server adds items that have been selected by a user terminal to a shopping cart that is stored in a shopping cart database. Upon receiving notification from the user terminal of the intention to purchase items in the shopping cart, the marketer server sequentially presents items in the shopping cart to the user terminal to confirm the intention to purchase, and then actually accepts the purchase of only those items for which the intention to submit for purchase could be confirmed. The user can place items that he or she still has not definitely decided to buy in the shopping cart rather than being limited to placing in the shopping cart only those items that he or she has actually decided to purchase, and the user therefore does not need to separately record information regarding items he or she considers buying.

Abstract: An automated drug administering system such an injection device or infusion pump is provided with means for reading information from a container holding the drug. The information is then checked for accuracy before the administration of the drug. Optionally, an ID tag on the patient and/or the health care professional providing the drug may also be scanned and checked. The information thus gathered is sent to another station where it is logged for future use and analyzed.

Abstract: A system for improving wound treatment data management has been developed. The system evaluates relevant wound and patient characteristics to generate a proposed treatment routine. The system also evaluates the ongoing treatment of the wound and may generate alarm output, suggestions to health care providers, or proposed modifications to the treatment routine. In addition, the invention may also generated automated orders for such items as consumable treatment components. The system may also be used to evaluate financial considerations and implications of both initial and modified treatment routines.

Abstract: An electronic medical record information management system and an electronic medical record information management method, in which a medical institute such as a medical practitioner and a small hospital, which have some difficulty to introduce and operate a large electronic medical record information management system, can use, are provided. A user makes electronic medical records of patients by using an electronic medical record terminal in a hospital information system, and transmits the electronic medical records of the patients made at the electronic medical record terminal to an electronic medical record information management center system. The user requests to transmit an electronic medical record of a patient storing in the electronic medical record information management center system.

Abstract: A system, method and program product for source point collection of insurance application and contract data. A potential client or a customer contacts an insurance agent, providing sufficient information that includes whatever is necessary to obtain a quote on an insurance policy. The insurance agent passes the client information, preferably over the Internet, to insurance carrier databases on a central system or server. The client data is automatically entered into insurance industry standard forms, such as those promulgated by the Association for Cooperative Operations Research (ACORD), for example. An insurer may accept the application and issue a policy, conveying such information to the requesting agent or return completed forms to the agent. Completed forms may be compressed into a single file which may be transmitted to the requesting insurance agent as e-mail or, may be made available for direct download from the server by the agent.

Abstract: A method for providing deferred compensation to an employee's beneficiary is disclosed, whereby the benefit takes the form of insurance policy proceeds payable to an employee's beneficiary, and wherein the deferred compensation is paid to the beneficiary in an income and estate tax free manner.

Abstract: A reservation system synchronization process that synchronizes scheduling, customer, and configuration information and reduces conflicts for calendar-driven consumer service businesses. The process keeps business calendar information on both a local computer system, residing at the local business facility, and a webserver attached to the Internet, each of which is self-sustaining in the event of a computer system or network connection failure. A polling process synchronizes the reservation information entered into the databases on each computer system. The reservation system synchronization process automatically resolves conflicts and avoids information loss.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and system for bundling orders of customers so as to make a business operation more efficient.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for dynamic business management. One embodiment includes a method for workforce procurement and management using a hosted network application. The method comprises maintaining a plurality of modules accessible at varying levels to different participants in a workforce procurement and management process. The modules include: an exchange module comprising a search function; a fulfillment module comprising; a resource management module comprising a work journal function; a knowledge management module comprising a reporting function and an analysis function; and a supplier management module comprising a digital portfolio function. The method includes maintaining a database coupled to the plurality of modules.

Abstract: A system for enabling a series of individual actions that together finance and complete a group action. The system includes a project forum that presents the user with specific projects requiring monetary support, a sub-system that facilitates individual support of projects of interest, a sub-system for monitoring progress of the projects, and a sub-system for developing interest in the specific project. The system facilitates raising funds to complete different projects that will lead to a specific end. Support structures are provided for finding and easily supporting projects placed on a site embodying the system. An apparatus is included for conducting directed notification about the projects at various stages of completion. A verification protocol is provided for active determination and verification of issue posting individuals and organizations.

Abstract: An event scheduling system which allows a user to request reminders of upcoming events over the Internet. The user may request to be reminded about a specific event or he may request to be reminded of events that meet a certain criteria. The reminders automatically update the user's electronic calendar if requested by the user. The reminders may also notify the user of the event by a variety of different media. The reminders may also automatically update the user's calendar as a result of changed data event.

Abstract: Method and system for allocating predictable costs for consumable items of a laser system includes determining an average or predicted lifetime of one or more components of a laser system. Then, costs are estimated for the repair and/or replacement of the components in advance of their predicted failure. The costs are then scheduled to be paid at a known time or known times. The average or predicted lifetime may be determined in terms of time, pulse count, accumulated energy input to the discharge, number of workpieces processed or another countable parameter. Also, the component or components predicted to fail may be ordered in advance for rapid delivery at the time of failure. The components may include a laser tube, tube windows, a line-narrowing optical component, a line-narrowing module, a monitor optics module and a halogen filter, the pulser module for a gas discharge laser and/or containers of laser gas.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for allocating appointment time windows. The steps of this method include creating a statistical estimate of a daily schedule comprising a series of estimated service orders. An actual service order is then received. This actual service order is inserted into the daily schedule by using a set of scheduling instructions for determining the least cost to employ the available service resources. At this point, this actual service order does not have a system imposed time window. The set of scheduling instructions is used to determine a time window surrounding this insertion point. If the customer accepts this time window, then the closest estimated service order is replaced by this actual service order, and the daily schedule is recomputed based upon the revised set of service orders to yield a revised daily schedule.

Abstract: A system and method for transaction profiling in a privacy-protected manner, wherein the transaction generally refers to an intentional action by a user. For example, in the context of television programming, the transaction data may relate to programming and advertisements watched by the user over a predetermined period of time. A transaction profile vector based on the evaluation of the recorded transaction data is then computed, wherein the transaction profile vector may include demographic attributes such as probable age, household size, income level of the user, or preference attributes indicating probable products and services preferred by the user. To protect privacy, the generation of the transaction profile vector (also known as profile vector) preferably takes place local to the transaction.

Abstract: Methods and machines that provide for creation of surveys with a variety of questions. Each survey is assigned goals. Each question is weighted toward the goals. The results of each response to a survey can be tallied to determine an index. The index can be correlated with the indices of other related surveys to produce a graph of the trends of the success toward the goals.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for computing the compensation for sales agents within a corporate sales force of a deploying company includes steps of creating one or more sales agent compensation plans tailored to provide an incentive for the sales agents to sell goods and/or services according to a corporate sales strategy. The compensation plan(s) are then stored within a database. Sales agents are then provided with remote access to the database via a computer network, such as the Internet. The sales agents may then input past sales into the database and may input, qualify, modify and/or store future sales opportunities into the database. The past sales and future sales opportunities may then be applied to one or more of the stored compensation plan(s) to calculate the sales agents' compensation. Quota achievement levels may be included in the calculated compensation and graphically or textually displayed for the sales agents.

Abstract: The present invention derives product characterizations for products offered at an e-commerce site based on the text descriptions of the products provided at the site. A customer characterization is generated for any customer browsing the e-commerce site. The characterizations include an aggregation of derived product characterizations associated with products bought and/or browsed by that customer. A peer group is formed by clustering customers having similar customer characterizations. Recommendations are then made to a customer based on the processed characterization and peer group data.

Abstract: A prospective customer searching part searches a customer database on the Internet based on information regarding a target article, a shop searching part searches a shop database, and a prospective customer list generating part generates a prospective customer list for each shop. A prospective customer list presenting part presents the list, and a shop determines whether or not advertisement is to be distributed to each prospective customer by using an advertisement distribution selecting part. An advertisement distribution preliminary list generating part excludes customers selected not to receive advertisement to generate an advertisement distribution preliminary list. A name-embedded advertisement generating part generates advertisement using advertisement data in accordance with the advertisement distribution preliminary list, and a name-embedded advertisement distributing part distributes the name-embedded advertisement to customers.

Abstract: A multimedia system and method which includes a television program, an electronic commerce catalog, an interactive Internet site and an electronic communications network linking the television program, the electronic commerce catalog and the interactive Internet site. The system and method is designed such that the users of the Internet site affect the content within the live television program, and the live television program is produced to function in tandem with the Internet site such that the content of the program determines the content of the electronic commerce catalog.

Abstract: A system and method of cross-selling products and increasing fuel sales at a fuel service station. A price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel is associated with a purchase of a non-fuel product. A display screen at the dispenser then informs the customer of the PPU discount and that a future purchase of fuel can be currently made at today's price, or may be purchased over the Internet at a later time. The system determines whether the customer ordered a non-fuel product or future fuel, and records the customer's orders. The system then accepts the customer's payment for the non-fuel product and the future fuel, and discounts the PPU of the fuel by the amount associated with the purchase of the non-fuel product during a current fuel purchase by the customer.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system enabling the electronic dissemination of electronic coupons combined with both coupon-related and coupon-unrelated information stored on a computer readable storage medium, and a control program limiting a user's access to only such coupons as have been authorized through user input of an access code.

Abstract: A purchase award program for purchases through the internet includes a web site having a mail server, database server, and web server. Users register with the system, and the user's name and email address are stored in the database server. To initiate a purchase or browse commercial web sites, the user first enters the program web site, receives verification, and is directed to a web page displaying a list of vendors related to any selected category. When the user purchases from a vendor's web site, the procedure is carried out as required by the vendor, and the program receives the purchase information such as: order number, amount purchased and the time of the order. The order information is stored in the database server and the user's account is updated with purchase award points. Periodically, the database server requests to purchase points from a points supplier corresponding to users' purchases.

Abstract: A system is provided for locating an intended package, product or other item that may be located in an area where a number of such packages may be located, such as a warehouse, receiving area or the like. The novel system allows personnel to quickly identify a particular package or package location from among other packages in the area. The system comprises a wireless transmitter which is operative to transmit coded signals each associated with a respective package to be located. A receiving device is disposed on or near each particular package being sought. The receiving device upon receipt of an interrogating signal from the transmitter and recognition of a unique code indicates its presence by an audible and/or visible response.