Methods and apparatus to monitor media exposure in vehicles

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to monitor media exposure in vehicles are disclosed. An example implementation includes collecting audience measurement data with a media monitoring device fixed in a vehicle and transmitting the audience measurement data from the media monitoring device to a shuttle located within the vehicle, the shuttle being incapable of collecting audience measurement data independent of the media monitoring device.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of monitoring media exposure in an automobile, the method comprising:
 collecting audience measurement data with a media monitoring device fixed in an automobile, the audience measurement data based on audio received within the automobile by the media monitoring device; 
 storing the audience measurement data in a memory of the media monitoring device; 
 detecting the presence of a shuttle located within the automobile, the shuttle being incapable of collecting audience measurement data independent of the media monitoring device; 
 transmitting the audience measurement data from the media monitoring device to the shuttle; 
 moving the shuttle from the automobile and into proximity of an audience measurement data aggregator; 
 transmitting the audience measurement data from the shuttle to the audience measurement data aggregator; and 
 transmitting the audience measurement data from the audience measurement data aggregator to an audience measurement data collection server. 
 
     
     
       2. The method as described in  claim 1 , wherein the media monitoring device collects further including collecting audio via at least one of a microphone or a line input connection of the media monitoring device. 
     
     
       3. The method as described in  claim 2 , wherein the media monitoring device provides further including providing audio to an audio system of the automobile with the media monitoring device. 
     
     
       4. The method as described in  claim 1 , wherein the media monitoring device is communicatively coupled with a computer system of the automobile. 
     
     
       5. The method as described in  claim 4 , wherein the audience measurement data includes local computer data from the computer system of the automobile. 
     
     
       6. The method as described in  claim 1 , wherein the shuttle includes a wireless transmitter and a memory. 
     
     
       7. The method as described in  claim 1 , further comprising including deleting the audience measurement data from the memory of the media monitoring device after the audience measurement data is transmitted to the shuttle. 
     
     
       8. The method as described in  claim 1 , further comprising including determining if a communication link is available to the shuttle. 
     
     
       9. A system to monitor media exposure in an automobile, the system comprising:
 a media monitoring device fixed in an automobile to, the media monitoring device including:
 an audience measurement data collector to collect audience measurement data based on audio presented within the automobile; 
 an audience measurement data storer to store the audience measurement data in a memory of the media monitoring device; 
 a wireless communicator structured to detect the presence of a shuttle located within the automobile, the shuttle being incapable of collecting audience measurement data independent of the media monitoring device; 
 when the shuttle is detected, the wireless communicator structured to transmit the audience measurement data from the media monitoring device to the shuttle; 
 
 an audience measurement data shuttle to receive the audience measurement data, the shuttle being incapable of collecting audience measurement data independent of the media monitoring device; and 
 an audience measurement data aggregator to receive the audience measurement data when transmitted by the shuttle, to store the audience measurement data in a tangible memory, and to transmit the audience measurement data to a media monitoring collection server. 
 
     
     
       10. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the media monitoring device is to receive power from a power system of the automobile. 
     
     
       11. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the media monitoring device is to receive the audio via at least one of a microphone or a line input connector. 
     
     
       12. The system as described in  claim 11 , wherein the media monitoring device is to transmit audio to an audio system of the automobile. 
     
     
       13. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the media monitoring device is to add first data to the audience measurement data, the first data being derived from a computer system of the automobile. 
     
     
       14. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the shuttle is a key fob. 
     
     
       15. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the transmission between the media monitor and the shuttle is implemented according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.15.4 standard. 
     
     
       16. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the transmission between the shuttle and the aggregator is implemented according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.15.4 standard. 
     
     
       17. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the aggregator is to receive the audience measurement data from multiple shuttles. 
     
     
       18. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the media monitoring device is communicatively coupled with a computer system of the automobile via an On Board Diagnostics (OBD-II) connector. 
     
     
       19. The system as described in  claim 9 , wherein the media monitoring device adds is to add first data to the audience measurement data, the first data being derived from a physical selector switch located on the media monitoring device. 
     
     
       20. A tangible machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a media monitoring device fixed in an automobile to at least:
 collect audience measurement data based on audio detected within the automobile;   store the audience measurement data in a memory;   detect the presence of a shuttle located within the automobile, the shuttle being incapable of collecting audience measurement data independent of the media monitoring device; and   in response to detecting the presence of the shuttle, transmit the audience measurement data from the media monitoring device to the shuttle, the shuttle to transmit the audience measurement data from the shuttle to an audience measurement data aggregator when the shuttle is moved from the automobile and into proximity of the audience measurement data aggregator, the audience measurement data aggregator to transmit the audience measurement data to an audience measurement data collection server.   
     
     
       21. The machine-readable storage medium as described in claim 20, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the media monitoring device to collect the audience measurement data based on audio received via at least one of a microphone or a line input connection. 
     
     
       22. The machine-readable storage medium as described in claim 21, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the media monitoring device to provide audio to an audio system of the automobile. 
     
     
       23. The machine-readable storage medium as described in claim 20, wherein the audience measurement data includes local computer data from a computer system of the automobile. 
     
     
       24. The machine-readable storage medium as described in claim 20, wherein the shuttle includes a wireless transmitter and a memory. 
     
     
       25. The machine-readable storage medium as described in claim 20, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the media monitoring device to delete the audience measurement data from the memory after the audience measurement data is transmitted to the shuttle. 
     
     
       26. The machine-readable storage medium as described in claim 20, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the media monitoring device to determine if a communication link is available to the shuttle. 
     
     
       27. The machine-readable storage medium as described in claim 22, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the media monitoring device to provide audio to an audio system of the automobile via at least one of a radio frequency transmission or a line input connector. 
     
     
       28. The machine-readable storage medium as described in claim 23, wherein the local computer data includes at least one of: global positioning data, radio tuning data, or vehicle data.