Apparatus and method for providing virtual advertisement

• US 10,332,159 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2014
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eleven Street Co., Ltd., SK Planet Co., Ltd. (SK Telecom Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Eleven Street Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Han, Ju-Hyeun, Shin, Hyoung-Chul, Lee, Su-Bin, Jeon, Byoung-Ki
• Primary Examiner(s): Reagan, James A
• Application Number:
  US14/896,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20160132941A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23 Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234 Processing of video elementary streams, e.g. splicing of video streams or manipulating encoded video stream scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing a virtual advertisement, and more particularly to an apparatus and method that can determine the size of a virtual advertisement image to be inserted into a moving image while taking into account the size of an advertising region included in the moving image, that can select an appropriate virtual advertisement image based on the determined size of the virtual advertisement image, and that can measure the objective exposure level of a virtual indirect advertisement and calculate advertising expenses based on the measured objective exposure level. Furthermore, there are provided an apparatus and method that select a virtual advertisement image to be inserted into an advertising region while taking into account the size of a virtual advertising region that varies depending on the angle of a camera or the posture of a virtual advertisement object.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing a virtual advertisement, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory and to;

receive an original image;

select a virtual advertisement image appropriate for insertion into the original image based on a resolution;

process the virtual advertisement image;

insert the virtual advertisement image into the original image;

calculate advertising expenses by measuring an exposure level of the virtual advertisement image;

generate a selection criteria based on a size of a virtual advertising region included in the original image, wherein the selection criteria comprises a resolution criteria for the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into the virtual advertising region;

select the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into an advertising region included in the original image based on the generated selection criteria;

cluster a plurality of frames including the advertising region included in the original image; and

select any frame of the plurality of frames based on a size of the advertising region included in the clustered frames,

wherein, when generating the selection criteria, the processor is further configured to;

receive the original image on a per frame basis;

determine whether a current frame of the original image includes a virtual advertising region;

cluster the current frame of the original image as a frame having the virtual advertising region after the current frame of the original image is determined to include the virtual advertising region;

determine whether the current frame of the original image is a last frame of the received original image after clustering the current frame of the original image;

determine whether the current frame of the original image is the last frame of the received original image after the current frame of the original image is determined not to include the virtual advertising region; and

receive a next frame of the original image after the current frame of the original frame is determined not to be the last frame of the received original image.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

calculate the size of the advertising region included in each of the clustered frames; and

select a frame having a size, which is the largest in the calculated sizes of the advertising regions, as any frame of the plurality of frames.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to calculate a number of pixels of the advertising region included in the selected frame when the any one frame has been selected by the frame selection unit.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to generate the selection criteria for the virtual advertisement image based on the calculated number of pixels.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to:

generate the resolution criterion so the resolution criterion has a resolution larger than the calculated number of pixels; and

limit the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into the original image to only a virtual advertisement image that satisfies the resolution criterion.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to select one or more virtual advertisement images, to be inserted into the advertising region of each of the clustered frames, from candidate virtual advertisement images that satisfy the selection criteria.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to select the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into the advertising region of each of the frames so that a resolution of the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into the advertising region is proportional to a size of the advertising region of the corresponding frame.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

process the virtual advertisement image based on a preliminary processing characteristic so that the virtual advertisement image can be inserted into the original image;

insert the processed virtual advertisement image into the original image;

measure the exposure level of the virtual advertisement image based on exposure characteristics in which the virtual advertisement image is exposed in the original image; and

calculate the advertising expenses of the virtual advertisement image based on the exposure level.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the exposure characteristics comprise a real-time characteristic, measured in real time while the virtual advertisement image is being exposed in the original image, and the preliminary processing characteristic.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to insert a new advertisement at each location where the virtual advertisement image is exposed when the exposure level reaches a preset criterion.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to:

measure the exposure level in proportion to a ratio of a size of an exposed region of the virtual advertisement image, which is exposed in the original image, to a size of the overall screen;

measure the exposure level in proportion to a time during which the virtual advertisement image is exposed in the original image;

a deformation measurement unit configured to measure the exposure level in inverse proportion to a difference between an angle at which the virtual advertisement image is exposed in the original image and a preset reference angle;

measure the exposure level in inverse proportion to a size of a region of the virtual advertisement image that is covered with another object while the virtual advertisement image is being exposed in the original image;

measure the exposure level in inverse proportion to a frequency at which the virtual advertisement image is covered with another object while the virtual advertisement image is being exposed in the original image;

measure the exposure level in proportion to a proximity of the virtual advertisement image to a center of the screen;

measure the exposure level in inverse proportion to a speed at which the virtual advertisement image moves within the screen while the virtual advertisement image is being exposed in the original image;

calculate a total exposure level by collecting exposure levels measured based on the exposure characteristics; and

measure the advertising expenses in proportion to the total exposure level.

12. A method of providing a virtual advertisement, comprising:

receiving an original image;

selecting a virtual advertisement image appropriate for insertion into the original image based on a resolution;

processing the virtual advertisement image;

inserting the virtual advertisement image into the original image; and

calculating advertising expenses by measuring an exposure level of the virtual advertisement image,

wherein selecting the virtual advertisement image comprises;

receiving the original image;

generating a selection criteria including a resolution criteria for the virtual advertisement image based on a size of a virtual advertising region included in the original image; and

selecting the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into the original image based on the generated selection criteria,

wherein calculating the advertising expenses comprises;

selecting the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into the original image;

processing the virtual advertisement image based on a preliminary processing characteristic such that the virtual advertisement image is inserted into the original image;

inserting the processed virtual advertisement image into the original image;

measuring an exposure level of the virtual advertisement image based on exposure characteristics in which the virtual advertisement image is exposed in the original image; and

calculating an advertising expenses of the virtual advertisement image based on the exposure level, and

wherein generating the selection criteria comprises;

receiving the original image on a per frame basis;

determining whether a current frame of the original image includes a virtual advertising region;

clustering the current frame of the original image as a frame having the virtual advertising region after the current frame of the original image is determined to include the virtual advertising region;

determining whether the current frame of the original image is a last frame of the received original image after clustering the current frame of the original image;

determining whether the current frame of the original image is the last frame of the received original image after the current frame of the original image is determined not to include the virtual advertising region; and

receiving a next frame of the original image after the current frame of the original frame is determined not to be the last frame of the received original image.

13. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a program for executing a method of providing a virtual advertisement, the method comprising:

receiving an original image; and

selecting a virtual advertisement image appropriate for insertion into the original image based on a resolution;

processing the virtual advertisement image;

inserting the virtual advertisement image into the original image; and

calculating advertising expenses by measuring an exposure level of the virtual advertisement image,

wherein selecting the virtual advertisement image comprises;

receiving the original image;

generating a selection criteria including a resolution criteria for the virtual advertisement image based on a size of a virtual advertising region included in the original image; and

selecting the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into the original image based on the generated selection criteria,

wherein calculating the advertising expenses comprises;

selecting the virtual advertisement image to be inserted into the original image;

processing the virtual advertisement image based on a preliminary processing characteristic such that the virtual advertisement image is inserted into the original image;

inserting the processed virtual advertisement image into the original image;

measuring an exposure level of the virtual advertisement image based on exposure characteristics in which the virtual advertisement image is exposed in the original image; and

calculating an advertising expenses of the virtual advertisement image based on the exposure level, and

wherein generating the selection criteria comprises;

receiving the original image on a per frame basis;

determining whether a current frame of the original image includes a virtual advertising region;

clustering the current frame of the original image as a frame having the virtual advertising region after the current frame of the original image is determined to include the virtual advertising region;

determining whether the current frame of the original image is a last frame of the received original image after clustering the current frame of the original image;

determining whether the current frame of the original image is the last frame of the received original image after the current frame of the original image is determined not to include the virtual advertising region; and

receiving a next frame of the original image after the current frame of the original frame is determined not to be the last frame of the received original image.