Automatic image content analysis method and system

• US 10,147,004 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2016
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iOnRoad Technologies Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: iOnRoad Technologies Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Atsmon, Alon, Atsmon, Dan, Dayan, Ram, Bass, Hilla
• Primary Examiner(s): AYNALEM, NATHNAEL B
• Application Number:
  US15/256,389
• Publication Number:
  US 20160371551A1
• Time in Patent Office: 823 Days
• Field of Search: 348148, 340901, 3409322, 340933
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/582 of traffic signs
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/586 of parking space
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/59 inside of a vehicle, e.g. relating to seat occupancy, driver state or inner lighting conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 : Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 : where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 : where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 : where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 : where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/14 : indicating individual free spaces in parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 : inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 : on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 : where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 : Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 : for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 : Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 : Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 : Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2146 : located in mass transportation means, e.g. aircraft, train or bus flight-deck installations for entertainment or communications B64D11/0015; arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62; moving wireless networks H04W84/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 : Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 : from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

A system and method for analyzing and wirelessly transmitting information in real-time, comprising capturing snapshots and videos, by utilizing for example a smartphone. The images are analyzed in conjunction with other system data to provide the user: 3 dimensional images, GPS coordinates, safety alerts, etc. In particular, the system is mountable within a vehicle interior to provide: road conditions, dangerous driving situations, the make/model/manufacturer of surrounding cars, GPS coordinates, and the identity of local businesses. The user may also share the information via wireless transmissions with surrounding users possessing the same system, such as for real-time video gaming systems. And the system may also be detached from the vehicle for use in other scenarios, such as searching a merchant database for matching items and wirelessly sending the information to other system users.

Claims

1. A computerized method for identifying parking spaces by image analysis and forwarding, via a computer network, information about the parking spaces to client devices, comprising:

capturing a plurality of images by a plurality of cameras of a plurality of mobile devices mounted in a plurality of moving vehicles, said plurality of images depicting a surrounding of each of said plurality of moving vehicles respectively; and

using at least one processing unit installed in each of said plurality of moving vehicles to execute a program code for;

analyzing said plurality of images to identify a plurality of available parking spots;

storing data indicative of a plurality of locations of said plurality of available parking spots in a geographic based database;

forwarding, via the computer network, information about a current available parking spot, identified in real-time by said analyzing, to at least one client device of a vehicle currently driving in a vicinity of said current available parking spot for displaying said information to a driver of said vehicle; and

generating an alert for indicating said current available parking spot to said driver of said vehicle.

2. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of images is received from a plurality of applications installed in said plurality of mobile devices.

3. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein said forwarding is performed in response to a query received from said at least one client device and used for querying said geographic based database for said current available parking spot.

4. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of available parking spots is detected by an image recognition process adapted for detecting blue and white pavement stones.

5. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of available parking spots is detected by an image recognition process adapted for detecting parking traffic signs.

6. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising calculating a route for guiding the driver to arrive to said current available parking spot.

7. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising presenting at least one coupon to a business place geographically related to a location of said current available parking spot.

8. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising creating a report of vacant parking places from data extracted from said geographic based database.

9. The computerized method of claim 8, wherein said report comprises images of said vacant parking places.

10. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising identifying when a vehicle comprising said at least one client device is parked in said current available parking spot and updating a report mapping business activity accordingly.

11. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of images is captured while said plurality of moving vehicles are traveling along roads.

12. A system for identifying parking spaces by image analysis and forwarding, via a computer network, information about the parking spaces to client devices, comprising:

a plurality of cameras of a plurality of mobile devices mounted in a plurality of moving vehicles, where said plurality of cameras capture a plurality of images depicting a surrounding of each of said plurality of moving vehicles respectively;

a geographic based database; and

at least one processing unit installed in each of said plurality of moving vehicles, where said at least one processing unit is adapted to execute a program code for;

analyzing said plurality of images to identify a plurality of available parking spots;

storing data indicative of a plurality of locations of said plurality of available parking spots in said geographic based database; and

forwarding, via the computer network, information about a current available parking spot, identified in real-time by said analyzing, to at least one client device of a vehicle currently driving in a vicinity of said current available parking spot for displaying said information to a driver of said vehicle; and

generating an alert for indicating said current available parking spot to said driver of said vehicle.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said at least one processing unit is adapted to execute said forwarding in response to a query received from said at least one client device and used for querying said geographic based database for said current available parking spot.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said plurality of available parking spots is detected by an image recognition process adapted for detecting blue and white pavement stones.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein said plurality of available parking spots is detected by an image recognition process adapted for detecting parking traffic signs.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein said at least one processing unit is further adapted to execute a code for calculating a route for guiding the driver to arrive to said current available parking spot.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein said at least one processing unit is further adapted to execute a code for presenting at least one coupon to a business place geographically related to a location of said current available parking spot.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein said at least one processing unit is further adapted to execute a code for creating a report of vacant parking places from data extracted from said geographic based database.

19. A computer program product for executing a computer code stored in a memory using one or more processing units for identifying parking spaces by image analysis and forwarding, via a computer network, information about the parking spaces to client devices comprising:

a computer readable non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith and adapted to be executed by the one or more processing units installed in each of a plurality of moving vehicles, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code for identifying a plurality of available parking spots by analyzing a plurality of images captured by a plurality of cameras of a plurality of mobile devices located in said plurality of moving vehicles, said plurality of images depicting a surrounding of each of said plurality of moving vehicles respectively;

computer readable program code for storing data indicative of a plurality of locations of said plurality of available parking spots in a geographic based database;

computer readable program code for forwarding, via the computer network, information about a current available parking spot, identified in real-time by said analyzing, to at least one client device of a vehicle currently driving in a vicinity of said current available parking spot for displaying said information to a driver of said vehicle; and

computer readable program code for generating an alert for indicating said current available parking spot to said driver of said vehicle.