Image base inquiry system for search engines for mobile telephones with integrated camera

• US 20050185060A1
• Filed: 02/20/2004
• Published: 08/25/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Neven, Hartmut Sr.
• Granted Patent: US 8,421,872 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/211.200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/70 Labelling scene content, e.g. deriving syntactic or semantic representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32112 in a separate computer file, document page or paper sheet, e.g. a fax cover sheet H04N1/32122 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3225 of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices

Abstract

An increasing number of mobile telephones and computers are being equipped with a camera. Thus, instead of simple text strings, it is also possible to send images as queries to search engines or databases. Moreover, advances in image recognition allow a greater degree of automated recognition of objects, strings of letters, or symbols in digital images. This makes it possible to convert the graphical information into a symbolic format, for example, plain text, in order to then access information about the object shown.

Claims

1. A system for image-based information retrieval from search engines or databases, characterized by a) a terminal with a built-in camera that is connected to a remote data transmission network;

b) a server computer on which an object recognition program is running, which analyses images sent to it and provides them with a symbolic indexing;

c) a search engine that uses the indexed image to find information about the image and sends it back to the terminal.

2. The system as described under 1) that is designed for mobile telephones or portable computers that have a built-in camera.

3. A city or museum guide that uses the system described under 2) to provide a user with information about objects of which he or she has previously taken a picture.

4. The system as described under 3) in which positioning information is also used to appropriately limit the image recognition system.

5. The system as described under 2) that provides product information about products that have been previously photographed with the mobile camera.

6. The system as described under 2) in which the image recognition system is also able to recognize text characters or symbols.

7. The system as described under 2) in which the system is, in particular, able to recognize faces.

8. The system as described under 2) that is used to provide the user with additional information about advertising billboards.

9. An electronic user handbook that uses a system as described under 2) to quickly navigate access to corresponding sections of the handbook.

10. The system as described under 2) that allows providers of information to independently make new entries in the image processing system for the purpose of allowing their data to be retrieved by means of image entry.