Passive surface acoustic wave communication

This disclosure relates to systems and/or methods for detection of eye blinking by interrogating a passive surface acoustic wave based contact lens using an interrogation signal and interpreting reflections of the interrogation signal from the passive surface acoustic wave based contact lens.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for detecting eye blinking using a passive surface acoustic wave based contact lens.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

In accordance with various disclosed aspects, a mechanism is provided for detecting blinking of an eye via a passive surface acoustic wave based contact lens (hereinafter referred to as “SAW contact lens”). For example, a SAW contact lens can be placed in one or both eyes of a user and a wearable device can periodically interrogate the contact lens in order to determine (or infer) blinking of the eye. In a non-limiting example, a wearable device can interrogate the contact lens at intervals that are less than an average or shortest length of time of an eye blink. It is to be appreciated that both eyes of a human user generally blink at the same time, and thus in various embodiments only one passive surface acoustic wave (SAW) based contact lens is needed, and a wearable device can be configured to interrogate the SAW contact lens. In another embodiment, two such SAW contact lenses can be employed such that a user can selectively blink one or both eyes to generate a command to a device. In yet another embodiment, the SAW contact lens and wearable device can be employed in connection with non-human users (e.g., dogs or other species with eyes). Furthermore, detected (or inferred) blinking can include determination or inference of full or partial eye blinks.

While the herein embodiments disclose a wearable device to interrogate the passive surface acoustic wave based contact lens, it is to be appreciated that a non-wearable device can be employed to interrogate the SAW contact lens. A device (e.g., eye scanner, mobile phone, a booth, a remote device, . . . ) in or on which the SAW contact lens wearer places his head can interrogate the contact lens. In addition, the non-wearable device can interrogate the contact lens to detect eye blinks in connection with the user issuing commands to the device for control thereof.

Wearable device can include, for example, head mounted device, heads-up display glasses, a monocle, eyeglasses, sunglasses, a headset, a visor, a cap, a helmet, a mask, a headband, clothing, or any other suitable device that can be worn by a human or non-human user in a position to interrogate the passive SAW contact lens worn by a user.

Referring now to the drawings,FIG. 1depicts a system100for detecting (or inferring) eye blinking using a passive SAW contact lens. System100includes a wearable device110that interrogate the SAW contacts lens and determines (or infers) blinking of an eye on which the contacts lens is worn. In addition, wearable device110can utilize information regarding the determined (or inferred) blinking of the eye (hereinafter referred to as “eye blink information”) locally to control features of the wearable device (e.g., adjusting content presentation, activating or deactivating options, or any other suitable function). Furthermore, wearable device110can communicate the eye blink information to remote devices160for employment in connection with operations associated with the remote devices160, e.g., adjusting content presentation, or controlling a user interface. Wearable device110and remote devices160can also receive input from users to control interaction with and presentation of content, see e.g.,FIG. 7and corresponding disclosure.

Wearable device110and remote devices160, respectively include a memory that stores computer executable components and a processor that executes computer executable components stored in the memory (see e.g.,FIG. 7). Wearable device110and remote devices160can communicate via a wired and/or wireless network. It is to be appreciated that while only two remote devices160are depicted, wearable device110can communicate with any suitable number of remote devices160concurrently, serially, an ad hoc manner, or in accordance with any suitable protocol.

The remote device160can interact with or supply content locally, or remotely over a wired or wireless communication link (e.g., the remote device can be a mobile device, a mobile phone, a camera, a camcorder, a video camera, personal data assistant, laptop computer, tablet computer, desktop computer, server system, cable set top box, satellite set top box, cable modem, television set, monitor, media extender device, blu-ray device, DVD (digital versatile disc or digital video disc) device, compact disc device, video game system, portable video game console, audio/video receiver, radio device, portable music player, navigation system, car stereo, wearable device, . . . ). Moreover, wearable device110and remote devices160can include a user interface (e.g., a web browser or application), that can receive and present graphical indicia (e.g., displays, text, video . . . ) generated locally or remotely.

Wearable device110includes interrogation component120that interrogates passive SAW contact lenses worn by users. Wearable device110further includes blink detection component130that determines (or infers) blinking of an eye based on interrogation of the passive SAW contact lens interrogation component120. In addition, wearable device110includes an interface component140that communicates determined (or inferred) blinking of the eye to remote devices160and can receive data from remote devices160. Wearable device110can also include components (not shown) for employing determined (or inferred) blinking of the eye locally as describe above. Additionally, wearable device110can include a data store150that can store from data interrogation component120, blink detection component130, or interface component140. Data store150can reside on any suitable type of storage device, non-limiting examples of which are illustrated with reference toFIGS. 6 and 7and corresponding disclosure.

With continued reference toFIG. 1, interrogation component120periodically transmits an interrogation signal to passive SAW contact lens and can receive a reflection of the interrogation signal from the passive SAW contact lens. In a non-limiting example, interrogation component120can transmit the interrogation signal at intervals that are less than an average or shortest length of time of an eye blink to avoid missing detection of a blink. For example, if the average human user has a blink that is X milliseconds, interrogation component120can transmit an interrogation signal at an interval less than X milliseconds. In another example, if the shortest blink for a human user is Y milliseconds, interrogation component120can transmit an interrogation signal at an interval less than Y milliseconds. It is to be appreciated that any suitable interval for transmitting an interrogation signal can be employed.

Referring toFIG. 2A, system200A is depicted comprising a wearable device210, which can be substantially similar to wearable device110, being a pair of heads-up display glasses with one or more interrogation signal transceivers220arranged in or on the frame of the heads-up display glasses for interrogating the passive SAW contact lens240which can be worn in one or both eyes. Interrogation signal transceiver220can be any suitable device for transmitting a signal to and receiving a signal from passive SAW contact lens240. In the depicted example, one interrogation signal transceiver220is provided for each eye arranged at the top of the heads-up display glasses frame. It is to be appreciated that any suitable number of interrogation signal transceivers220can be employed for each eye and arranged in suitable locations of wearable device210for transmitting a signal to and receiving a signal from passive SAW contact lens240. It is to be further appreciated that interrogation signal transceiver220can have a transmission power and/or signal reception sensitivity suitable for transmitting a signal to and receiving a signal from an associated passive SAW contact lens240in an eye without interfering with another passive SAW contact lens240in another eye. Additionally, respective SAW contact lenses can be differentiated by using unique frequencies.

Referring toFIG. 2B, system200B is depicted comprising a wearable device210being a pair of heads-up display glasses with one or more interrogation signal transceivers220arranged in or on the frame near a portion of the heads-up display glasses for interrogating passive SAW contact lens240in one eye. WhileFIG. 2Bdepicts an interrogation signal transceiver220and passive SAW contact lens240arrangement for detection of blinks in the right eye, it is to be appreciated that interrogation signal transceiver220and passive SAW contact lens240can be arranged near the left eye. It is to be further appreciated that any suitable number of interrogation signal transceivers220can be employed for each eye and arranged in any location of wearable device210suitable for interrogating passive SAW contact lens240.

Referring toFIG. 2C, a surface wave acoustic based sensing component260(hereinafter referred to as “SAW sensing component”) is depicted suitable for placement on or within the substrate of a SAW contact lens240. SAW sensing component260comprises an antenna266, a surface acoustic wave filter264(hereinafter referred to as “SAW filter”), and a sensor262. It is to be appreciated that antenna can be any suitable type for receiving interrogation signal and reflecting all, none, or a portion of the interrogation signal. In an embodiment, antenna266is a resonant dipole antenna. Furthermore, antenna266can be of a size that is suitable to receive an interrogation signal from interrogation signal transceiver220and/or to reflect all, none, or a portion of the interrogation signal at a signal strength sufficient for reception by interrogation signal transceiver220. Antenna266propagates electrical energy from the received interrogation signal to SAW filter264. SAW filter264converts the electrical energy to mechanical energy and converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. Sensor262is any suitable sensor that changes electrical impedance based on a condition that changes according to blinking of the eye. For example, sensor262can be a photodiode that changes electrical impedance based upon an amount of light received at the photodiode, such as difference in amount of light incident on the photodiode when an eyelid covers the photodiode versus not covering the photodiode. In another example, sensor262can be a pressure sensor that changes electrical impedance according to pressure change caused by an eyelid covering sensor262. In a further example, sensor262can be a conductivity sensor that changes electrical impedance according to change in conductivity from a tear film caused by an eyelid covering sensor262. In an additional example, sensor262can be a temperature sensor that changes electrical impedance according to a change in temperature as a tear film caused by an eyelid covering sensor262evaporates. A mismatch in impedance between surface wave acoustic filter264and sensor262can cause a portion of the interrogation signal to propagate back towards the SAW filter264and to antenna266resulting in a reflected transmission of a portion of the interrogation signal from antenna266. It is to be appreciated that an amount of reflected transmission of a portion of the interrogation signal can be a function of amount of impedance mismatch between SAW filter264and sensor262. The reflected portion of the interrogation signal is received by interrogation signal transceiver220. It is to be appreciated that respective SAW filters264can vary between respective SAW sensing components260in order to have unique operating frequencies for respective SAW sensing components260detectable by interrogation signal transceiver220. In an embodiment, a first SAW sensing component260can have a first SAW filter264operating at 2412 MHz, while a second SAW sensing component260can have a second SAW filter264operating at 2417 Mhz. It is to be appreciated that any suitable operating frequency can be employed for SAW filter264and one or more associated interrogation signal transceivers220can be employed to operate at a compatible frequency or range of frequencies. Advantageously, employing unique operating frequencies for SAW filters264allows for having uniquely detectable SAW sensing components260in a single SAW contact lens240or in SAW contact lenses240in two respective eyes of a user.

Referring toFIGS. 2D-I, various exemplary configurations of SAW sensing components260in a SAW contact lens240are depicted. In an embodiment, SAW contact lens240can be weighted to self-align into a particular position when worn, similar to toric contact lenses. For example, when one or two SAW sensing components260are employed, the SAW sensing components260may require specific positioning in order to detect eye blinks. In another embodiment, SAW contact lens240are not weighted. For example, sufficient SAW sensing components260can be employed in an arrangement, such as four SAW sensing components260equally spaced around a periphery of the contact lens240to detect blink in most any orientation of the SAW contact lens240.FIG. 2Ddepicts a SAW contact lens240with a single SAW sensing component260aligned at a bottom of contact lens240.FIG. 2Eillustrates a SAW contact lens240with a single SAW sensing component260aligned at one side of contact lens240.FIG. 2Fdepicts a SAW contact lens240with two SAW sensing components260aligned at a bottom and one side of contact lens240.FIG. 2Gshows a SAW contact lens240with two SAW sensing components260aligned at top and bottom of contact lens240.FIG. 2Hdepicts a SAW contact lens240with three SAW sensing components260aligned at top, bottom, and one side of contact lens240.FIG. 2Iillustrates a SAW contact lens240with four SAW sensing components260aligned at top, bottom, and both sides of contact lens240. Employing more than one uniquely identifiable SAW sensing component260can allow for detecting partial eye blinks or an amount of eye blink. It is to be appreciated that any suitable number of SAW sensing components260can be respectively placed in any suitable locations of SAW contact lens240.

Referring back toFIG. 1, interrogation component120receives reflected interrogation signal information corresponding to one or more SAW sensing components260from interrogation signal transceivers220on wearable device110. Reflected interrogation signal information can include strength of received reflected interrogation signal, frequency of the received interrogation signal, or any suitable type of information related to the reflected interrogation signal.

Referring toFIG. 2J, is depicted system200A on a human user. SAW contact lenses240are shown worn on both eyes230, covering iris250while eyelid270is open. It is to be appreciated that SAW contact lenses240can be of any suitable shape or size and be worn on any portion of the eye230. Wearable device210is depicted worn over the eyes230. Interrogation component120instructs interrogation signal transceivers220to periodically transmit interrogation signals and receives reflected interrogation signal information corresponding to one or more SAW sensing components260from interrogation signal transceivers220.

In an embodiment,FIG. 2Kdepicts a close-up of a portion of wearable device210covering eye230wearing a SAW contact lens240with a single SAW sensing component260in a configuration as depicted inFIG. 2Dat a bottom of the lens when worn. In this example, eyelid270is open. As such, interrogation component120receives reflected interrogation signal information corresponding to SAW sensing component260not being covered by eyelid270.

In another embodiment,FIG. 3Adepicts a close-up of a portion of wearable device210covering eye230wearing a SAW contact lens240with three SAW sensing components260A-C in a configuration as depicted inFIG. 2Hat top260A, bottom260C, and one side260B of the lens when worn. It is to be appreciated that respective SAW sensing components260A-C can respectively have unique operating frequencies such that respective reflected interrogation signal information can be provided unique to each respective SAW sensing component260A-C. In this example, eyelid270is open. As such, interrogation component120receives reflected interrogation signal information corresponding to SAW sensing components260A-C not being covered by eyelid270.

FIG. 3Bcorresponds toFIG. 3Awith eyelid270partially closed. As such, interrogation component120receives reflected interrogation signal information corresponding to SAW sensing component260A covered by eyelid270and SAW sensing components260B-C not covered by eyelid270.

FIG. 3Ccorresponds toFIGS. 3A-Bwith eyelid270partially closed an amount more than depicted inFIG. 3B. As such, interrogation component120receives reflected interrogation signal information corresponding to SAW sensing components260A-B being covered by eyelid270and SAW sensing component260C not being covered by eyelid270. As depicted inFIGS. 3B-3C, reflected interrogation signal information can allow for determination (or inference) of amount of partial blink that has occurred based on known or inferred positioning of SAW sensing components260A-C.

FIG. 3Ccorresponds toFIGS. 3A-Cwith eyelid270closed. As such, interrogation component120receives reflected interrogation signal information corresponding to SAW sensing components260A-C being covered by eyelid270.

FIGS. 2K-Land3A-D are non-limiting examples of configurations for SAW sensing components260on SAW contact lens240. It is to be appreciated that any suitable number of SAW sensing components260can be placed in any suitable location(s) of SAW contact lens240. It is to be further appreciated that, respective SAW contact lenses240in two eyes can have differing configurations of SAW sensing components260.

With reference toFIG. 1, blink detection component130employs the reflected interrogation signal information from interrogation component120to determine (or infer) a blink of eye230. In an embodiment, blink detection component130can employ strength of received reflected interrogation signal included in the reflected interrogation signal information to determine (or infer) whether SAW sensing component260is covered by eyelid270. For example, a received reflected interrogation signal strength threshold can be employed to determine if SAW sensing component260is covered by eyelid270. It is to be appreciated that a threshold can be any condition, for example, a greater than condition, less than condition, equal to condition, one or more ranges, or function. If strength of the received reflected interrogation signal is above a received reflected interrogation signal strength threshold, it can be determined (or inferred) that eyelid270is not covering SAW sensing component260. If strength of the received reflected interrogation signal is below or equal to received reflected interrogation signal strength threshold, it can be determined (or inferred) that eyelid270is covering SAW sensing component260. In another example, if strength of the received reflected interrogation signal is within a range indicated by received reflected interrogation signal strength threshold it can be determined (or inferred) that eyelid270is covering SAW sensing component260. In addition, blink detection component130can employ reflected interrogation signal information received at multiple points in time to determine duration of eyelid270covering SAW sensing component260. Blink detection component130can employ duration of eyelid closure over a period of time, for example by reflected interrogation signal information at consecutive points in time indicating eyelid closure, to determine whether a blink has occurred or whether the eyelid is closed, for example, during a nap. Blink detection component130can employ an eyelid closure duration threshold to indicate whether a blink has occurred. For example, if a period of time of eyelid closure is below an eyelid closure duration threshold, it can be determined (or inferred) that a blink has occurred. In another example, if a period of time of eyelid closure is within a range indicated by eyelid closure duration threshold, it can be determined (or inferred) that a blink has occurred.

Furthermore, blink detection component130can track eye blinks over a period of time to identify patterns of eye blinking for one or both eyes. It is to be appreciated that pattern of eye blinking can include number of blinks in one or both eyes, duration of blinks in one or both eyes, pause between blinks in one or both eyes, partial blinks (an amount of partial blink) in one or both eyes, or order of blinks in one or both eyes. In an example, blink detection component130can identify a known pattern of blinking for one or both eyes that correlates to an associated command input, from a library of commands, of the wearable device110or remote device160. For example, a library of commands can include one or more commands with a respective pattern of eye blinking that corresponds to a respective command.

Interface component140can communicate eye blink information, such as a determined (or inferred) blink of an eye, an identified pattern of eye blinking of the eye, or command input associated with an identified pattern of eye blinking, to remote device160. Furthermore, interface component140can receive data or commands from remote device160. For example, interface component140can receive a request for eye blink information from remote device160and respond to the request with eye blink information.

It is to be appreciated that in accordance with one or more implementations described in this disclosure, users can opt-in or opt-out of providing personal information, demographic information, location information, proprietary information, sensitive information, or the like in connection with data gathering aspects. Moreover, one or more implementations described herein can provide for anonymizing collected, received, or transmitted data.

FIGS. 4 and 5illustrate various methodologies in accordance with certain disclosed aspects. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the disclosed aspects are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology can alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with certain disclosed aspects. Additionally, it is to be further appreciated that the methodologies disclosed hereinafter and throughout this disclosure are capable of being stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring such methodologies to computers.

Referring toFIG. 4, an exemplary method400for determining blinking of an eye is depicted. At reference numeral410, reflected interrogation signal information is received (e.g. by an interrogation component120or wearable device110). At reference numeral420, a blink of the eye is determined (or inferred) based on the reflected interrogation signal information (e.g. by a blink detection component130or wearable device110). At reference numeral430, an optional act of identifying a pattern of blinking of the eye is performed (e.g. by a blink detection component130or wearable device110). At reference numeral440, an optional act of determining a command input associated with the identified pattern of eye blinking is performed (e.g. by a blink detection component130or wearable device110). At reference numeral450, an optional act of communicating eye blink information related to a determined (or inferred) blink of an eye, an identified pattern of eye blinking of the eye, or command input associated with an identified pattern of eye blinking to remote device is performed (e.g. by an interface component140or wearable device110).

Referring toFIG. 5, an exemplary method500for interrogating a SAW contact lens is depicted. At reference numeral510, an interrogation signal is transmitted to one or more SAW contact lenses (e.g. by an interrogation component120or interrogation signal transceivers220). At reference numeral520, one or more reflected interrogation signals are received from the SAW contact lens (e.g. by the interrogation component120or interrogation signal transceivers220). It is to be appreciated that the received one or more reflected interrogation signals can be on respective unique operating frequencies corresponding to respective SAW sensing components of the one or more SAW contact lenses. At reference numeral530, respective reflected interrogation signal information is determined for the one or more respective received reflected interrogation signals (e.g. by the interrogation component120or interrogation signal transceivers220).

Exemplary Networked and Distributed Environments

One of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that the various embodiments described herein can be implemented in connection with any computer or other client or server device, which can be deployed as part of a computer network or in a distributed computing environment, and can be connected to any kind of data store where media may be found. In this regard, the various embodiments described herein can be implemented in any computer system or environment having any number of memory or storage units, and any number of applications and processes occurring across any number of storage units. This includes, but is not limited to, an environment with server computers and client computers deployed in a network environment or a distributed computing environment, having remote or local storage.

Distributed computing provides sharing of computer resources and services by communicative exchange among computing devices and systems. These resources and services include the exchange of information, cache storage and disk storage for objects, such as files. These resources and services can also include the sharing of processing power across multiple processing units for load balancing, expansion of resources, specialization of processing, and the like. Distributed computing takes advantage of network connectivity, allowing clients to leverage their collective power to benefit the entire enterprise. In this regard, a variety of devices may have applications, objects or resources that may participate in the various embodiments of this disclosure.

FIG. 6provides a schematic diagram of an exemplary networked or distributed computing environment. The distributed computing environment comprises computing objects610,612, etc. and computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc., which may include programs, methods, data stores, programmable logic, etc., as represented by applications630,632,634,636,638. It can be appreciated that computing objects610,612, etc. and computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc. may comprise different devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), audio/video devices, mobile phones, MP3 players, personal computers, laptops, tablets, etc.

Each computing object610,612, etc. and computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc. can communicate with one or more other computing objects610,612, etc. and computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc. by way of the communications network640, either directly or indirectly. Even though illustrated as a single element inFIG. 6, network640may comprise other computing objects and computing devices that provide services to the system ofFIG. 6, and/or may represent multiple interconnected networks, which are not shown. Each computing object610,612, etc. or computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc. can also contain an application, such as applications630,632,634,636,638, that might make use of an API, or other object, software, firmware and/or hardware, suitable for communication with or implementation of various embodiments of this disclosure.

Thus, a host of network topologies and network infrastructures, such as client/server, peer-to-peer, or hybrid architectures, can be utilized. The “client” is a member of a class or group that uses the services of another class or group. A client can be a computer process, e.g., roughly a set of instructions or tasks, that requests a service provided by another program or process. A client process may utilize the requested service without having to “know” all working details about the other program or the service itself.

In a client/server architecture, particularly a networked system, a client can be a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer, e.g., a server. In the illustration ofFIG. 6, as a non-limiting example, computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc. can be thought of as clients and computing objects610,612, etc. can be thought of as servers where computing objects610,612, etc. provide data services, such as receiving data from client computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc., storing of data, processing of data, transmitting data to client computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc., although any computer can be considered a client, a server, or both, depending on the circumstances. Any of these computing devices may be processing data, or requesting transaction services or tasks that may implicate the techniques for systems as described herein for one or more embodiments.

In a network environment in which the communications network/bus640is the Internet, for example, the computing objects610,612, etc. can be Web servers, file servers, media servers, etc. with which the client computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc. communicate via any of a number of known protocols, such as the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Objects610,612, etc. may also serve as client computing objects or devices620,622,624,626,628, etc., as may be characteristic of a distributed computing environment.

Exemplary Computing Device

As mentioned, advantageously, the techniques described herein can be applied to any suitable device. It is to be understood, therefore, that handheld, portable and other computing devices and computing objects of all kinds are contemplated for use in connection with the various embodiments. Accordingly, the computer described below inFIG. 7is but one example of a computing device that can be employed with implementing one or more of the systems or methods shown and described in connection withFIGS. 1-7Additionally, a suitable server can include one or more aspects of the below computer, such as a media server or other media management server components.

FIG. 7thus illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment700in which one or aspects of the embodiments described herein can be implemented, although as made clear above, the computing system environment700is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to scope of use or functionality. Neither is the computing environment700be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment700.

With reference toFIG. 7, an exemplary computing device for implementing one or more embodiments in the form of a computer710is depicted. Components of computer710may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit720, a system memory730, and a system bus722that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit720.

Computer710typically includes a variety of computer readable media and can be any available media that can be accessed by computer710. The system memory730may include computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM). By way of example, and not limitation, system memory730may also include an operating system, application programs, other program modules, and program data.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer710through input devices740, non-limiting examples of which can include a keyboard, keypad, a pointing device, a mouse, stylus, touchpad, touchscreen, trackball, motion detector, camera, microphone, joystick, game pad, scanner, or any other device that allows the user to interact with computer710. A monitor or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus722via an interface, such as output interface750. In addition to a monitor, computers can also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers and a printer, which may be connected through output interface750.

The computer710may operate in a networked or distributed environment using logical connections to one or more other remote computers, such as remote computer760. The remote computer760may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, or any other remote media consumption or transmission device, and may include any or all of the elements described above relative to the computer710. The logical connections depicted inFIG. 7include a network762, such local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), but may also include other networks/buses e.g., cellular networks.

As mentioned above, while exemplary embodiments have been described in connection with various computing devices and network architectures, the underlying concepts may be applied to any network system and any computing device or system in which it is desirable to publish or consume media in a flexible way.

Also, there are multiple ways to implement the same or similar functionality, e.g., an appropriate API, tool kit, driver code, operating system, control, standalone or downloadable software object, etc. which enables applications and services to take advantage of the techniques described herein. Thus, embodiments herein are contemplated from the standpoint of an API (or other software object), as well as from a software or hardware object that implements one or more aspects described herein. Thus, various embodiments described herein can have aspects that are wholly in hardware, partly in hardware and partly in software, as well as in software.

As mentioned, the various techniques described herein may be implemented in connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with a combination of both. As used herein, the terms “component,” “system” and the like are likewise intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on computer and the computer can be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Further, a “device” can come in the form of specially designed hardware; generalized hardware made specialized by the execution of software thereon that enables the hardware to perform specific function (e.g., coding and/or decoding); software stored on a computer readable medium; or a combination thereof.

In order to provide for or aid in the numerous inferences described herein (e.g. inferring relationships between metadata or inferring topics of interest to users), components described herein can examine the entirety or a subset of the data to which it is granted access and can provide for reasoning about or infer states of the system, environment, etc. from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data.

Such inference can result in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources. Various classification (explicitly and/or implicitly trained) schemes and/or systems (e.g., support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems, Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines, etc.) can be employed in connection with performing automatic and/or inferred action in connection with the claimed subject matter.