Method and device for collection and application of photographic images related to geographic location

• US 20080079808A1
• Filed: 09/29/2006
• Published: 04/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: David Brian Moore, Jeffery Joseph Bradford, Jeffrey Michael Ashlock, Richard Noel Brown
• Original Assignee: David Brian Moore, Jeffery Joseph Bradford, Jeffrey Michael Ashlock, Richard Noel Brown
• Inventors: Bradford, Jeffery Joseph, Moore, David Brian, Ashlock, Jeffrey Michael, Brown, Richard Noel
• Application Number:
  US11/541,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20080079808A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/118
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/583 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models

Abstract

A system and method for providing visual images of real property are provided. A 360-degree panoramic digital camera generates instances of photographic image data that are each recorded in a separate digital document. Each digital document further contains a location indicator of where the image data was captured. The documents may be organized into segments, wherein endpoints of each segment are associated with endpoints of other segments.

Claims

1. In an information technology system having a 360 digital degree camera, a method for collecting photographic data, the method comprising:

a. Collecting a plurality of individual digitized 360 degree images;

b. Associating a geographic location data with each digitized image;

c. Storing the plurality of digitized 360-degree images and associated geographic location data in an accessible data structure.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data structure is stored within a unified database.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the unified database is stored in a unitary memory device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data structure is distributed within an electronic communications network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data structure is distributed at least partially within the Internet.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location data comprises GPS data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information technology system further includes an inertial change detection device, and the inertial change detection device output is integrated with the GPS data to estimate at least one geographic location data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least two of the plurality of digitized 360-degree images are captured within 2 meters of at least one other digitized 360-degree image.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least two of the plurality of digitized 360 degree images are captured within 1 seconds of the capturing of at least one other digitized 360 degree image.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one visual image is integrated within at least one digitized 360 degree image for simultaneous presentation with the at least one digitized 360 degree image.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one visual image contains information content related to a geographic location data associated with the at least one digitized 360 degree image.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one visual image contains information content describing a real property related to a geographic location data associated with the at least one digitized 360 degree image.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one visual image comprises an advertisement.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the advertisement relates to a real property transaction service.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location data is associated with a postal address.

16. A device for capturing photographic images of real property, the device comprising:

a. a 360 degree digital camera;

b. a computational engine, the computational engine coupled with the 360 degree digital camera and for receiving digitized image documents from the 360 degree digital camera; and

c. a motorized platform, the motorized platform for transporting the 360 degree camera and the computational engine while the 360 degree digital camera generates digitized image documents

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the device further comprises a GPS receiver, the GPS receiver coupled with the computational engine and the GPS receiver for providing GPS data associated with each digitized image document.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the device further comprises an inertial change detection device, the inertial change detection device for providing data describing inertial change of the device substantially simultaneous with a time of generation of at least one digitized image document.

19. The device of claim 16, the device further comprising a light source, the light source coupled with the 360 degree digital camera and the light source configured to increase the quality of digitized image documents generated by the 360 degree digital camera.

20. The device of claim 16, wherein the 360 degree camera is configured to generate 360 degree by 180 degree digitized images.

21. A data structure, the data structure comprising:

a. A plurality of 360 degree image documents, and each image document associated with a GPS data; and

b. An endpoint document, each endpoint document associated with a GPS data and each endpoint document comprising a 360 degree image document and at least one identifier of at least one additional data structure, whereby the data structure is associated with the at least one additional data structure.

22. The data structure of claim 21, wherein the data structure further comprises a video data and a street element identifier, wherein the video segment records a portion of a street that is associated with the street element identifier.