METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY RECOGNIZING INPUT AUDIO AND/OR VIDEO STREAMS

• US 20110078719A1
• Filed: 12/02/2010
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iceberg Industries LLC
• Original Assignee: Iceberg Industries LLC
• Inventors: Simkins, Laura, Kenyon, Stephen C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,715,626 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/16 by matching signal segments
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/48 specially adapted for particular use

Abstract

A method and system for the automatic identification of audio, video, multimedia, and/or data recordings based on immutable characteristics of these works. The invention does not require the insertion of identifying codes or signals into the recording. This allows the system to be used to identify existing recordings that have not been through a coding process at the time that they were generated. Instead, each work to be recognized is “played” into the system where it is subjected to an automatic signal analysis process that locates salient features and computes a statistical representation of these properties. These features are then stored as patterns for later recognition of live input signal streams. A different set of features is derived for each audio or video work to be identified and stored. During real-time monitoring of a signal stream, a similar automatic signal analysis process is carried out, and many features are computed for comparison with the patterns stored in a large feature database. For each particular pattern stored in the database, only the relevant characteristics are compared with the real-time feature set. Preferably, during analysis and generation of reference patterns, data are extracted from all time intervals of a recording. This allows a work to be recognized from a single sample taken from any part of the recording.

Claims

1. Apparatus for recognizing an input data stream, comprising:

a receiver for receiving the input data stream;

an interface for randomly selecting any one portion of the received data stream, and forming a plurality of feature time series waveforms respectively corresponding to distinct portions of the received data stream;

a memory for storing a plurality of feature distinctiveness maps of stored candidate patterns; and

processor structure for;

(i) computing distinctiveness of each feature of the input stream and constructing a map of the rank ordering of said distinctiveness, (ii) computing a distance metric between the input feature distinctiveness map and the plurality of feature distinctiveness maps of stored candidate patterns, (iii) correlating the plurality of feature time series waveforms with the plurality of feature distinctiveness maps of stored candidate patterns in an order determined by the computed distance metrics, (iv) designating a recognition when a feature correlation joint probability between the plurality of feature time series waveforms and at least one of the plurality of feature distinctiveness maps of stored candidate patterns reaches a predetermined value, and outputting a recognition signal after the feature correlation joint probability reaches the predetermined value.