Image quality management

• US 10,148,964 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2016
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ujet, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ujet, Inc.
• Inventors: Chen, Eli, Janefalkar, Anand
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US15/342,489
• Publication Number:
  US 20180124409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/13 Adaptive entropy coding, e.g. adaptive variable length coding [AVLC] or context adaptive binary arithmetic coding [CABAC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/132 Sampling, masking or truncation of coding units, e.g. adaptive resampling, frame skipping, frame interpolation or high-frequency transform coefficient masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/137 Motion inside a coding unit, e.g. average field, frame or block difference
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/172 the region being a picture, frame or field
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/43 Hardware specially adapted for motion estimation or compensation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/86 involving reduction of coding artifacts, e.g. of blockiness
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234381 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. decreasing the frame rate by frame skipping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64738 Monitoring network characteristics, e.g. bandwidth, congestion level data switched network analysis H04L41/14; monitoring functioning in data switched networks H04L43/0817; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10

Abstract

A communication system is configured to automatically adapt an image sequence in response to movement of a camera used to capture the image sequence. The adaptation includes a reduction in the data size of the image sequence and can occur in real-time as the image sequence is captured. The adaptation further includes restoration of the data size of the image in response to a reduction in movement of the camera. This approach allows for the communication of quality images shortly after movement of the has been reduced.

Claims

1. A mobile video recording device comprising:

a camera configured to record video;

a motion sensor configured to detect movement of the video recording device;

a wireless output including an antenna and configured to communicate the video;

video transmission logic configured to reduce a data size of the video communicated via the wireless output, the reduction being in response to an output of the motion sensor and proportional to the output of the motion sensor, the output of the motion sensor being indicative that the video recording device is being moved; and

a microprocessor configured to execute at least the video transmission logic.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by reducing a frame rate of the video.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by reducing a resolution of the video.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by changing a compression of the video.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by changing frame types of the video.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by changing a pixel depth of the video.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the video transmission logic is configured to restore the data size of the video to a prior value in response to detecting that the video recording device has stopped moving.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the reduction in data size of the video is of a magnitude configured to avoid a reduction of image quality according to protocols of a communication standard.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the reduction in the data size of the video is further in response to an identity of a destination of the video.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the destination is a customer relationship management system.

11. The device of claim 1, further comprising test logic configured to test a communication channel to detect a modification of the video at a bandwidth threshold of the communication channel.

12. A mobile video recording device comprising:

a camera configured to record video;

a motion sensor configured to detect movement of the video recording device;

a wireless output including an antenna and configured to communicate the video;

video transmission logic configured to reduce a data size of the video communicated via the wireless output, the reduction being in response to an output of the motion sensor, the output of the motion sensor being indicative that the video recording device is being moved,

wherein the video transmission logic is further configured to communicate the video to a customer relationship management system such that a quality of the video following the detected movement is not reduced by the detected movement for more than 0.5 second; and

a microprocessor configured to execute at least the video transmission logic.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by reducing a frame rate of the video.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by reducing a resolution of the video.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by changing a compression of the video.

16. The device of claim 12, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by changing frame types of the video.

17. The device of claim 12, wherein the data size of the video is reduced by changing a pixel depth of the video.

18. The device of claim 12, wherein the reduction is proportional to the output of the motion sensor.

19. The device of claim 12, wherein the video transmission logic is configured to restore the data size of the video to a prior value in response to detecting that the video recording device has stopped moving.

20. The device of claim 12, wherein the reduction in data size of the video is of a magnitude configured to avoid a reduction of image quality according to protocols of a communication standard.

21. The device of claim 12, wherein the reduction in the data size of the video is further in response to an identity of a destination of the video.

22. The device of claim 12, further comprising test logic configured to test a communication channel to detect a modification of the video at a bandwidth threshold of the communication channel.

23. A method of communicating video, the method comprising:

capturing a sequence of images using a camera;

communicating the sequence of images to a remote destination via a wireless output;

detecting an increased movement of the camera while communicating the sequence of images;

reducing a data size of the sequence of images in response to the detected increased movement;

detecting a reduced movement of the camera while communicating the sequence of images; and

increasing the data size of the sequence of images in response to the detected decreased movement, wherein increasing the data size of the sequence of images is performed within two seconds of detecting the reduced movement.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising testing the response of a communication channel to an increase in data size communicated to the remote destination, the testing resulting in detection of modification of the sequence of images at a bandwidth threshold, wherein the step of reducing the data size is performed to keep the data size of the sequence of images below the bandwidth threshold.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the data size of the sequence of images is reduced by reducing a frame rate at which the sequence of images is communicated.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the data size of the sequence of images is reduced by reducing a resolution of images within the sequence of images is reduced.