Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Pace Micro Technology Plc

Nuance Communications, Inc.

S.i.s.v.el. Societa' Italiana Per Lo Sviluppo Dell'elettronica S.p.a.

Fabio Vignoli

Mauro Barbieri

Tatiana Aleksandrovna Lashina

Steffen Clarence Pauws

Gertjan Leendert Wijnalda

Vincentius Paulus Buil

Aweke Negash Lemma

Vicentius Paulus Buil

Yasmina Priniastuti Haryono

Gertjan L Wijnalda

The method of reproducing a human perceptual signal comprises the steps of selecting () a human perceptual signal in dependency of a pace of a person (), adapting () the human perceptual signal in dependency of a physical state of the person (), and reproducing () the human perceptual signal. An adaptation of the human perceptual signal is limited to a certain maximum. The electronic device of the invention comprises electronic circuitry operative to perform the method of the invention. The software of the invention enables a programmable device to perform the method of the invention.

Electronic device and method for reproducing a human perceptual signal

Techniques are presented for selecting one or more items from a collection of items. To select the one or more items, an interface is provided that is adapted to allow a user to define one or more weights. Each weight corresponds to one of a number of similarity criteria. Each item also corresponds to the number of similarity criteria. The one or more weights define a similarity function. The similarity function is applied to the one or more similarity criteria corresponding to the one or more weights and to each of the items in order to select one or more items from the collection of items. The interface can comprise movable markers corresponding to similarity criteria. Locations of the movable markers can be used to weight similarity criteria when creating the similarity function.

Method and apparatus for selecting items from a number of items

A method and apparatus for processing audio for playback to provide a smooth transition between a beginning region of an audio track and an end region of a previous audio track is disclosed. A quantity representative of a chromagram is calculated for each of the audio tracks and the mixing points for the beginning and end regions of each audio track are identified. A quantity representative of a chromagram at the mixing point of the beginning region of the audio track and a quantity representative of a chromagram at the mixing point of the end region of the previous audio track are correlated to determine an order of audio tracks for playback and/or to determine the duration of the mix transition.

Method and apparatus for processing audio for playback

An apparatus with a speech control unit includes a microphone array having multiple microphones for receiving respective audio signals, and a beam forming module for extracting a speech signal of a user, from the audio signals. A keyword recognition system recognizes a predetermined keyword that is spoken by the user and which is represented by a particular audio signal and is arranged to control the beam forming module, on basis of tie recognition. A speech recognition unit creates an instruction for the apparatus based on recognized speech items of the speech signal. As a consequence, the speech control unit is more selective for those parts of the audio signals for speech recognition which correspond to speech items spoken by the user.

Controlling an apparatus based on speech

A media system interface () includes a display () that provides a play list () of media items to be played, such as songs or broadcast television or radio programs. A user input device () such as buttons on the interface allows the user to highlight a selected media item (T) which is not desired, and to request that the media item be replaced by an alternative media item (T-A). The user may further indicate if the undesired item should be replaced by a similar or dissimilar item. The alternative media item is automatically selected, such as based on user preference data (), and the list is displayed in an updated form () with the alternative media item. A layout of the play list is adjusted to accommodate the alternative media item. The display may be provided, e.g., on a portable media player or a remote control to a home media system.

Method and system for refining a media program item by item

A playlist generator implements a net-based playlist generation process that comprises a multi-stage, hierarchical process. At a highest hierarchical level, the playlist generator applies parameters corresponding to a user's 'general' preferences, wherein the parameters are relatively constant. At a lower level of the hierarchy, the playlist generator applies parameters corresponding to the user's 'specific' preferences, wherein the parameters are dynamic time-dependent or event-dependent. The playlist generator uses the high-level parameters to generate a subset of material from a global collection of material, and applies the lower-level preferences to this subset of material in response to a change in the user's immediate preferences.

Hierarchical playlist generator

Multi-user playlist generation is provided. Users submit their playlists; a pie chart (-) is displayed (S) representing the multi-user playlist generated from the plurality of playlists, such that m the pie chart each user playlist is represented as a piece of the pie (--); a first piece of the pie is selected as the user playlist from which a selection is next chosen by displaying (S) a spinning effect with respect to the pie for a random or a pseudorandom period of time; and choosing (S) the selection from the determined user playlist and playing the selection chosen. The selection may include a song, a piece of music, a picture, a video, a film, or a TV program. The user playlists may be provided by a user as a list of songs, a genre, an artist, or a user preference profile.

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Veldhoven, Netherlands

Fabio Vignoli