System and method for automated production of personalized videos on digital media of individual participants in large events

• US 20060064731A1
• Filed: 09/20/2004
• Published: 03/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Holly Huber, Mitch Kahle
• Original Assignee: Holly Huber, Mitch Kahle
• Inventors: Huber, Holly, Kahle, Mitch
• Application Number:
  US10/945,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20060064731A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/105
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8233 the additional signal being a character code signal

Abstract

A system for automated production of personalized videos of individuals participating in large events employs a time synchronization method for correlating the time at which a participant wearing an ID marker is detected passing through a station at the event to the video time for the video data recorded at the station for participants passing through the station. A differential is calculated between the detection time of a reference (first) participant at the station and the video time at which the reference participant appears in the video as passing through the station. The differential is used to correlate detection times to video times in the video data for all other participants passing through the station. The system can thus automatically retrieve the video clips for any individual participant appearing at the stations of a large event, and automatically assemble them in a personalized video. The system can be applied to the stations along a long-distance race course, such as a marathon or triathlon, as well as to other environments such as parties, weddings, graduations, conferences, or even for security applications such as monitoring individuals with ID badges in large facilities or over large areas.

Claims

1. A system for automated production of personalized videos for individuals participating in a large event comprising:

(a) a plurality of participant ID markers each borne or worn by a respective one of a corresponding plurality of participants in a large event for uniquely identifying each participant in the large event;

(b) a plurality of stations distributed in a physical space encompassed by the large event, wherein each station has a detector for detecting the presence of ID markers on participants passing through the station and providing detection time data corresponding to the detection time at which each participant is detected as passing through the station, and at least one digital video camera positioned at the station for continuously recording video of participants passing through the station, wherein the video is recorded as data indexed with video time denoted by a sequential video time code;

(c) a system database for storing the detection time data for the participants detected passing through the stations at the large event, and the video data recorded by the digital video cameras positioned at the stations at the large event;

(d) a time synchronization module operable with said system database for correlating the detection time for each participant passing through each station with video clips corresponding to the video time of the video taken by each digital video camera corresponding to that participant passing through that station; and

(e) a video production module operable with said system database and said time synchronization module and having means for;

(i) identifying the video clips of an individual participant passing through the stations at the large event based upon the detection times of that participant'"'"'s marker ID at the stations, and (ii) assembling the video clips for the individual participant in a personalized video.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said time synchronization module includes means for detecting the detection time of a reference participant passing through a station, means for identifying the video time at which that participant appears in the video as passing through the station, and means for calculating the differential between the detection time and the video time for the reference participant, and means for applying the differential to correlate the detection times of other participants passing through the station with the video times at which those participants appear in the video as passing through the station.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein said reference participant is the first participant at the large event to pass through the station and be detected by the detector.

4. A system according to claim 2, wherein said reference participant is used to synchronize detection time to video time for all the stations at the large event.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said personalized video is recorded on a DVD storage and playback medium.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein said personalized video is recorded on a recording medium selected from the group consisting of:

CD, DVD, flash memory, memory stick, and memory card.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said personalized video is recorded in a format to be displayed on a TV.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein said personalized video is recorded in a format to be displayed on a display selected from the group consisting of:

TV, computer monitor, broadcast channel, video-on-demand system, webcast, mobile display, or video phone.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein said personalized video is assembled with video clips from video data recorded at stations on a long-distance race course.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein said personalized video is assembled with video clips from video data recorded at a large event selected from the group consisting of:

long-distance race, party, wedding, graduation, and conference.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein said personalized video is assembled with video clips from video data recorded at stations passed by participants at random.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein said personalized video is assembled with video clips from video data recorded at stations defined in a large facility or over a large area.

13. A system according to claim 1, wherein said participant ID markers are ID markers selected from the group consisting of:

electromagnetically transmitting chips, electromagnetically transmitting transmitters, magnetically readable cards, electronically readable cards, electronically readable probes, optically readable barcode, optically readable graphic indicia, biometric markers, and GPS transponders.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein said video data from the digital video cameras are transmitted into the system database by a transmission method selected from the group consisting of:

manual transmission, wiring connection, Internet connection, wireless transmission, microwave transmission, and video phone transmission.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein said video production module includes means for combining standard event video, audio, graphics, and other assets into the personalized video.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein said video production module pre-records the standard event assets on predetermined tracks of a recording disc, and records the personalized video clips on other predetermined tracks of the recording disc.

17. A system according to claim 1, wherein said video production module includes means for combining personalized messages recorded on video data into the personalized video.

18. A method for automated production of personalized videos for individuals participating in a large event comprising:

(a) providing participant ID markers each to be borne or worn by a respective one of a corresponding plurality of participants in a large event for uniquely identifying each participant in the large event;

(b) providing detection time data of the times at which the ID markers on participants are detected at a station at the large event;

(c) continuously recording video data of participants passing through the station, wherein the video is recorded as video data indexed with video time denoted by a sequential video time code;

(d) detecting the detection time of a reference participant passing through the station, identifying the video time at which the reference participant appears in the video passing through the station, and calculating the differential between detection time and the video time for the reference participant;

(e) applying the calculated differential to correlate the detection times with the video times of the other participants passing through the station; and

(f) identifying the video clip of any individual participant passing through the station based upon the detection time of that participant'"'"'s marker ID correlated to the video time of the video data using the calculated differential of the reference participant.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein said reference participant is the first participant at the large event to pass through the station and be detected by the detector.

20. A method according to claim 18, wherein said reference participant is used to synchronize detection time to video time for all the stations at the large event.