System and Method for Remote Data Acquisition and Distribution

• US 20090319904A1
• Filed: 06/22/2009
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Reality Mobile LLC
• Original Assignee: Reality Mobile LLC
• Inventors: Rensin, David Kallett, Hirata, Tasuki, Winters, Kevin John, Kramer, David Joshua, Geoghegan, Brian Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 8,041,829 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/733
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/103 applying security measure for protecting copyright
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/148 Migration or transfer of sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25816 involving client authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42202 environmental sensors, e.g. for detecting temperature, luminosity, pressure, earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17327 with deferred transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

Methods and systems for remote data collection and distribution include components and operations for receiving, at a server, data transmitted by a first client device via a communication network. The method may also include selecting, by one or more client devices associated with the communication network, a second device to receive the data. The method may further include establishing a connection between the server and the selected second device via the communication network. The method may also include automatically transmitting the received data to the second device using the connection via the communication network. The method may further include causing, by the one or more client devices, the second device to execute a predefined operation.

Claims

1. Software embodied in one or more computer-readable storage media comprising one or more instructions that when executed by one or more processors are operable to:

receive a selection of a remote image source, the image source operative to transmit image frames;

determine an address corresponding to the remote image source;

receive one or more of the image frames from the remote image source;

receive a selection of one or more remote second mobile client devices to receive ones of the image frames;

distribute or cause to be distributed the ones of the image frames to the one or more remote second mobile client devices for viewing at the remote second mobile client devices.

2. The software of claim 1, wherein the image frames are video frames and wherein the image source is a live video source and wherein the image frames are received in approximately real-time.

3. The software of claim 1, wherein the image source is a fixed camera at a remote location.

4. The software of claim 1, wherein the image source is a camera integrated within a third mobile client device.

5. The software of claim 1, wherein the software is embodied in one or more computer-readable media physically located within a first mobile client device.

6. The software of claim 5, wherein the image source is a camera integrated within the first mobile client device, wherein the address corresponding to the image source is memory within the first client device, and wherein the image frames are received from the memory.

7. The software of claim 5, further operable to display the one or more image frames received at a display of the first mobile client device.

8. The software of claim 1, wherein the image source is an image buffer, image database, or other image store at a central server communicatively coupled to the first and second mobile client devices.

9. The software of claim 1, wherein the address is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or an internet protocol (IP) address.

10. The software of claim 1, wherein the software operable to distribute or cause to be distributed the ones of the image frames to the one or more second client devices comprises software operable to:

route a distribute command to the one or more second client devices, the distribute command causing each of the one or more second client devices to open a viewing window displaying the ones of the image frames on a display of the second client device automatically without requiring intervention from a user of the second client device.

11. The software of claim 10, wherein the software is further operable to upload one or more of the image frames to a central server for storage in an image buffer, image database, or other image store.

12. The software of claim 10, wherein the distribute command causes the second client device to establish a connection with a central server that comprises an image buffer, image database, or image store storing the ones of the image frames and wherein the distribute command causes the second client device to retrieve the ones of the image frames from the image buffer.

13. Software embodied in one or more computer-readable storage media comprising one or more instructions that when executed by one or more processors are operable to:

receive image frames from one or more image sources;

receive a first selection from a first client application, the first selection specifying a first image source;

receive a second selection from the first client application, the second selection specifying one or more selected second mobile client devices;

distribute ones of the image frames from the first image source to the one or more selected second mobile client devices for viewing at the second mobile client devices without requiring intervention at the second mobile client devices.

14. The software of claim 13, wherein the image frames are video frames and wherein the image source is a live video source and wherein the image frames are received in approximately real-time.

15. The software of claim 13, wherein the image source is a fixed camera at a remote location.

16. The software of claim 13, wherein the image source is a camera integrated within a third mobile client device.

17. The software of claim 13, wherein the software operable to distribute the ones of the image frames from the first image source to the one or more second client devices comprises software operable to:

route a distribute command to the one or more second client devices, the distribute command causing each of the one or more second client devices to open a viewing window displaying the ones of the image frames on a display of the second client device automatically without requiring intervention from a user of the second client device.

18. A method comprising:

receiving, by a client device, a selection of a remote image source, the image source operative to transmit image frames;

determining, by the client device, an address corresponding to the image source;

receiving, by the client device, one or more of the image frames from the address corresponding to the image source;

receiving, by the client device, a selection of one or more second mobile client devices to receive ones of the image frames;

distributing or causing to be distributed, by the client device, the ones of the image frames to the one or more second mobile client devices for viewing at the second mobile client devices without requiring intervention at the second mobile client devices.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the image frames are video frames and wherein the image source is a live video source and wherein the image frames are received in approximately real-time.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the image source is a fixed camera at a remote location or a camera integrated within a third mobile client device.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the image source is an image buffer, image database, or other image store at a central server communicatively coupled to the first and second mobile client devices.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein distributing or causing to be distributed, by the client device, the ones of the image frames to the one or more second mobile client devices comprises:

routing a distribute command to the one or more second client devices, the distribute command causing each of the one or more second client devices to open a viewing window displaying the ones of the image frames on a display of the second client device automatically without requiring intervention from a user of the second client device.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising uploading one or more of the image frames to a central server for storage in an image buffer, image database, or other image store.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the distribute command causes the second client device to establish a connection with a central server that comprises an image buffer, image database, or image store storing the ones of the image frames and wherein the distribute command causes the second client device to retrieve the ones of the image frames from the image buffer.

25. A method comprising:

receiving, at one or more servers, image frames from one or more image sources;

receiving, at the one or more servers, a first selection from a first client, the first selection specifying a first image source;

receiving, at the one or more servers, a second selection from the first client, the second selection specifying one or more selected second mobile client devices;

distributing ones of the image frames from the first image source to the one or more selected second mobile client devices for viewing at the second mobile client devices without requiring intervention at the second mobile client devices.