1. A beacon comprising:
a location device operable to determine a beacon location of the beacon; and
one or more transmitters operable to transmit the beacon location to a sensor, the sensor operable to determine a sensor location of the sensor and determine a target location of a target according to the beacon location and the sensor location, the target location distinct from the beacon location.
2. The beacon of claim 1, the beacon configured to be deployed at the beacon location by a deployment mechanism.
3. The beacon of claim 1, the location device comprising a global positioning system (GPS) device operable to receive information from one or more GPS satellites to determine the beacon location.
4. The beacon of claim 1, the one or more transmitters comprising a radio transmitter operable to transmit the beacon location using a radio frequency signal.
5. The beacon of claim 1, the one or more transmitters comprising a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag operable to transmit the beacon location using a radio frequency signal.
6. The beacon of claim 1, the one or more transmitters comprising a laser transmitter operable to transmit the beacon location using a laser signal.
7. The beacon of claim 1, the one or more transmitters comprising a corner reflector operable to transmit the beacon location using a laser signal.
8. The beacon of claim 1, the one or more transmitters comprising an infrared transmitter operable to transmit the beacon location using an infrared signal.
9. The beacon of claim 1, the one or more transmitters comprising an identification friend-or-foeselective identification feature (IFFSIF) device.
10. The beacon of claim 1, at least one of the one or more transmitters operable to transmit the beacon location independently of a request for the beacon to transmit the beacon location.
11. The beacon of claim 1, at least one of the one or more transmitters operable to transmit the beacon location in response to a request for the beacon to transmit the beacon location.
12. The beacon of claim 1, the sensor operable to determine the target location by:
determining a b-s range from the sensor to the beacon;
determining a t-s range from the sensor to the target;
determining a b-s-t angle between the target and the beacon with respect to the sensor; and
determining the target location from the b-s range, the t-s range, the b-s-t angle, the sensor location, and the beacon location transmitted by the beacon.
13. The beacon of claim 1, the sensor operable to determine the target location by:
measuring a location of the beacon; and
determining a correction factor from a difference in the measured location of the beacon and the beacon location transmitted by the beacon.
14. The beacon of claim 1, the sensor operable to determine the target location by:
calculating a correction factor from the beacon location; and
applying the correction factor to a target location measurement.
15. The beacon of claim 1, the sensor operable to use the beacon location transmitted by the beacon to calculate a reference point in an image.
16. A method comprising:
determining a beacon location of the beacon; and
transmitting the beacon location to a sensor, the sensor operable to determine a sensor location of the sensor and determine a target location of a target according to the beacon location and the sensor location, the target location distinct from the beacon location.
17. The method of claim 16, deploying the beacon at the beacon location by a deployment mechanism.
18. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising receiving information from one or more GPS satellites to determine the beacon location.
19. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising transmitting the beacon location using a radio frequency signal.
20. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising transmitting the beacon location using a laser signal.
21. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising transmitting the beacon location using an infrared signal.
22. The beacon of claim 16, the method further comprising transmitting the beacon location independently of a request for the beacon to transmit the beacon location.
23. The method of claim 16, the method further comprising transmitting the beacon location in response to a request for the beacon to transmit the beacon location.
24. The method of claim 16, the sensor operable to determine the target location by:
measuring a location of the beacon; and
determining a correction factor from a difference in the measured location of the beacon and the beacon location transmitted by the beacon.
25. A beacon comprising:
a location device operable to determine a beacon location of the beacon; and
one or more transmitters operable to transmit the beacon location to a sensor as a light signal, the sensor operable to determine a sensor location of the sensor and determine a target location of a target according to the beacon location and the sensor location, the target location distinct from the beacon location.
26. The beacon of claim 25, at least one of the one or more transmitters configured to transmit the light signal as an ultraviolet, visible, or infrared light signal.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An audience measurement architecture comprising:
a first data collection server at a first panelist location, the first data collection server to receive and store first audience measurement data from a first portable measurement device associated with the first panelist location and to transmit the first audience measurement data to a central facility; and
a second data collection server at a second location different from the first panelist location to:
automatically establish a connection with the first portable measurement device when the first portable measurement device is within a communication range of the second data collection server,
receive second audience measurement data from the first portable measurement device associated with the first panelist location,
receive third audience measurement data from a second portable measurement device associated with a second panelist location different from the first panelist location,
store the second and third audience measurement data, and
transmit the second and third audience measurement data to the central facility, the central facility to receive and process the first, second, and third audience measurement data.
2. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first data collection server and the second data collection server are networked with the central facility.
3. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first data collection server and the second data collection server are structured to publish their capabilities to receive audience measurement data.
4. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 3, wherein the first portable measurement device is to publish a capability to at least one of collect audience measurement data or upload audience measurement data.
5. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first portable measurement device is to transmit the first audience measurement data to the second data collection server via a wireless connection.
6. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first portable measurement device is to transmit the first audience measurement data to the first data collection server after the first portable measurement device has collected a threshold amount of audience measurement data and after the first data collection server is detected.
7. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first audience measurement data comprises at least one of (1) a signature of a broadcast program detected by the first portable measurement device and (2) a code broadcast with the broadcast program and collected by the portable measurement device.
8. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first portable measurement device is to transmit the first audience measurement data to the first data collection server using an extensible markup language message.
9. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first portable measurement device is to receive the first audience measurement data from a third portable measurement device.
10. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first portable measurement device is to automatically detect the second data collection server when the first portable measurement device is within a communication range of the second data collection server.
11. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the first data collection server is further to receive and store fourth audience measurement data from the second portable measurement device and to transmit the fourth audience measurement data to the central facility.
12. An audience measurement architecture as defined in claim 1, wherein the second data collection server is stationary.
13. A method comprising:
receiving and storing first audience measurement data from a first portable measurement device associated with a first panelist location at a first data collection server at the first panelist location;
transmitting the first audience measurement data from the first panelist location to a central facility;
automatically establishing a connection between a second data collection server and the first portable measurement device when the first portable measurement device is within a communication range of the second data collection server, the second data collection server being at a second location different from the first panelist location;
receiving second audience measurement data from the first portable measurement device at the second data collection server;
receiving third audience measurement data from a second portable measurement device associated with a second panelist location different from the first panelist location at the second data collection server;
storing the second and third audience measurement data at the second data collection server; and
transmitting the second and third audience measurement data from the second data collection server to the central facility, wherein the central facility is to receive and process the first, second, and third audience measurement data.
14. A method as defined in claim 13 further comprising publishing the capabilities of the second data collection server to the first audience measurement device.
15. A method as defined in claim 13 wherein the connection is at least one of a Wifi connection or a Bluetooth connection.
16. A method as defined in claim 13 wherein the first audience measurement data comprises at least one of (1) a signature of a broadcast program collected by the first portable measurement device and (2) a code broadcast with the broadcast program and collected by the portable measurement device.
17. A method as defined in claim 13 further comprising:
receiving and storing fourth audience measurement data from the second portable measurement device at the first data collection server; and
transmitting the fourth audience measurement data to the central facility.
18. An method as defined in claim 13, wherein the second data collection server is stationary.