Method and Appartus to Perform Real-Time Audience Estimation and Commercial Selection Suitable for Targeted Advertising

摘要

Input measurements from a measurement device are processed as a Markov chain whose transitions depend upon the signal. The desired information related to the device can then be obtained by estimating the state of the signal at a time of interest. A nonlinear filter system can be used to provide an estimate of the signal based on the observation model. The nonlinear filter system may involve a nonlinear filter model and an approximation filter for approximating an optimal nonlinear filter solution. The approximation filter may be a particle filter or a discrete state filter for enabling substantially real-time estimates of the signal based on the observation model. In one application, a click stream entered with respect to a digital set top box of a cable television network is analyzed to determine information regarding users of the digital set top box so that ads can be targeted to the users.