Pop-Up PIP for People Not in Picture

• US 20090256901A1
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Friel, Joseph T., Tian, Dihong, Mauchly, J. William
• Granted Patent: US 8,390,667 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.70
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A system and method for alerting participants in a videoconference that one or more participants are improperly framed by the videoconference camera is provided. An embodiment comprises a temporary self-view picture-in-picture image appearing when the number of faces detected by the videoconference camera changes. A face detection algorithm is used to determine when the number of faces being detected by the videoconference camera has changed. The self-view picture-in-picture image displays, for a duration of time, a representation of the image being captured by the videoconference camera, allowing participants who are not properly framed by the videoconference camera to adjust their position to that their faces are captured by the videoconference camera.

Claims

1. A method for notifying a videoconference participant comprising:

determining, in a videoconference comprising a plurality of participants at a plurality of endpoints, that a number of participants being captured in a video image at an endpoint has changed; and

alerting at least one of the plurality of participants at the endpoint that a change has occurred.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the number of participants being captured in the video image at the endpoint has changed comprises:

determining a count of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or a portion of the participant'"'"'s body in the video image captured by the videoconference camera; and

comparing the count of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body in the current video image with a stored value.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the stored value comprises a participant defined value.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the stored value comprises a count of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body from a recent video image captured by the videoconference camera.

5. The method claim of 2, wherein the portion of the participant'"'"'s body in the video image captured by the videoconference camera comprises a participant'"'"'s face.

6. The method claim of 2, wherein the portion of the participant'"'"'s body in the video image captured by the videoconference camera comprises a participant'"'"'s face and torso.

7. The method claim of 2, wherein determining the count of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body in the video image captured by the videoconference camera comprises using a face detection algorithm.

8. The method claim of 1, wherein alerting at least one of the plurality of participants at the endpoint that the change has occurred comprises:

displaying a representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body currently captured by the videoconference camera to each respective plurality of participants; and

removing the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body currently captured by the videoconference camera at the occurrence of an event.

9. The method claim of 8, wherein displaying the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body currently captured by the videoconference camera to each respective plurality of participants comprises overlaying the representative self-view picture-in-picture image on top of a portion of a videoconference image provided by another of the plurality of endpoints.

10. The method claim of 8, wherein removing the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body currently captured by the videoconference camera at the occurrence of the event comprises removing the representative self-view picture-in-picture image on expiration of a timer.

11. The method claim of 8, wherein removing the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of faces currently captured by the videoconference camera at the occurrence of the event comprises removing the representative self-view picture-in-picture image when the number of participants detected by the face detection algorithm equals the stored value.

12. The method claim of 8, wherein removing the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body currently captured by the videoconference camera at the occurrence of the event comprises removing the representative self-view picture-in-picture image at expiration of a timer after the face detection algorithm detects an expected number of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body.

13. The method claim of 8, wherein the representative self-view picture-in-picture image further comprises a video image being captured by the videoconference camera.

14. The method claim of 8, wherein the representative self-view picture-in-picture image further comprises a computer generated rendition of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body being captured by the videoconference camera.

15. A system for notifying a participant in a videoconference comprising:

a plurality of endpoints operably connected by a network, wherein each endpoint comprises at least one videoconference camera and at least one display; and

a processor, wherein the processor is configured to

determine in a videoconference comprising a plurality of participants at the plurality of endpoints that the number of participants being captured in a video image at an endpoint has changed; and

alert at least one of the plurality of participants at the endpoint that a change has occurred.

16. The system claim of 15, wherein the processor is configured to determine that the number of participants being captured in the video image at the endpoint has changed comprises the processor being further configured to:

use a face detection algorithm to determine a count of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or a portion of the participant'"'"'s body in a video image captured by the videoconference camera; and

compare the count of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the participant'"'"'s body in the video image with a stored count.

17. The system claim of 16, wherein the processor is configured to compare the count of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the body in the video image with the stored count comprises the processor being further configured to save a count by the face detection algorithm of a recent video image as the stored count.

18. The system claim of 16, wherein the processor is configured to compare the count of the plurality of participant'"'"'s body or portion of the body in the video image with the stored count comprises the processor being further configured use as the stored count a value selected by the participant through a user input.

19. The system claim of 15, wherein the processor is configured to alert at least one of the plurality of participants at the endpoint that the change has occurred comprises the processor being further configured to:

display a representative self-view picture-in-picture image of a plurality of participants currently captured by the videoconference camera; and

remove the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participants currently captured by the videoconference camera at the occurrence of an event.

20. The system claim of 19, wherein the processor is configured to display the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of a plurality of participants currently captured by the videoconference camera comprises the processor being further configured to overlay the self-view picture-in-picture image on top of a portion of a videoconference image sourced by another of the plurality of endpoints.

21. The system claim of 19, wherein the processor is configured to remove the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participants currently captured by the videoconference camera at the occurrence of the event comprises the processor being further configured to remove the representative self-view picture-in-picture image at the expiration of a time period.

22. The system claim of 19, wherein the processor is configured to remove the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participants currently captured by the videoconference camera at the occurrence of the event comprises the processor being further configured to remove the representative self-view picture-in-picture image when the face detection algorithm detects the same number of participants as the stored value.

23. The system claim of 19, wherein the processor is configured to remove the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participants currently captured by the videoconference camera at the occurrence of an event comprises the processor being further configured to remove the representative self-view picture-in-picture image at the expiration of a time period after the face detection algorithm detects the same number of participants as the stored value.

24. The system claim of 19, wherein the processor is configured to display the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participants currently captured by the videoconference camera comprises the processor being configured to display the image captured by the videoconference camera as the self-view picture-in-picture image.

25. The system claim of 19, wherein the processor is configured to display the representative self-view picture-in-picture image of the plurality of participants currently captured by the videoconference camera comprises the processor being configured to display in the self-view picture-in-picture image a computer generated rendition of the plurality of faces being captured by the videoconference camera.