INDOOR/OUTDOOR SCENE DETECTION USING GPS

• US 20110267492A1
• Filed: 04/29/2010
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Fund 83 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Prentice, Wayne E., Guidash, Robert M., Razavi, Frank
• Granted Patent: US 8,665,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/223.1
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/18 Signals indicating condition of a camera member or suitability of light indicating depth of field G03B13/30
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 7/08 Control effected solely on the basis of the response, to the intensity of the light received by the camera, of a built-in light-sensitive device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/88 for colour balance, e.g. white-balance circuits or colour temperature control

Abstract

A digital camera system, comprising: a digital image sensor; an optical system for forming an image of a scene onto the digital image sensor; a global positioning system sensor; a processor-accessible memory system; and a processor. The processor performs the steps of analyzing a signal from the global positioning system sensor to determine whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors; capturing an input digital image of the scene using the digital image sensor; processing the input digital image responsive to whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors; and storing the processed digital image in the processor-accessible memory system.

Claims

1. A digital camera system, comprising:

a digital image sensor;

an optical system for forming an image of a scene onto the digital image sensor;

a global positioning system sensor;

a processor-accessible memory system;

a processor for performing the steps of;

analyzing a signal from the global positioning system sensor to determine whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors;

capturing an input digital image of the scene using the digital image sensor;

processing the input digital image responsive to whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors; and

storing the processed digital image in the processor-accessible memory system.

2. The digital camera system of claim 1, wherein the signal from the global positioning system sensor is analyzed to determine a signal strength for signals from one or more GPS satellites, and wherein the digital camera system is determined to be indoors when the signal strength falls below a predetermined threshold.

3. The digital camera system of claim 1, wherein the signal from the global positioning system sensor is analyzed by determining a geographic location and an altitude, and wherein the digital camera system is determined to be indoors when the difference between the determined altitude and a known ground level altitude at the determined geographic location exceeds a predetermined threshold.

4. The digital camera system of claim 1, wherein the signal from the global positioning system sensor is analyzed by determining a geographic location and comparing the determined geographic location to a database indicating the geographic location of known buildings, and wherein the digital camera system is determined to be indoors when the determined geographic location corresponds to the location of a known building.

5. The digital camera system of claim 4, further including the step of determining a type of lighting associated with the known building.

6. The digital camera system of claim 4, further including the step of setting a non-flash photography mode when the known building is determined to be inappropriate for flash photography.

7. The digital camera system of claim 1, further including the step of setting an outdoor photography mode when it is determined that the digital camera system is outdoors.

8. The digital camera system of claim 1, wherein the signal from the global positioning system sensor is analyzed by determining a geographic location, and further including the steps of:

determining an image capture date and time;

determining a type of lighting responsive to the determined geographic location and the determined image capture date and time.

9. The digital camera system of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the input digital image includes adjusting at least one parameter of an image processing operation responsive to whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors.

10. The digital camera system of claim 9 wherein a parameter for a white balance operation is adjusted responsive to whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors.

11. The digital camera system of claim 9 wherein a parameter for a color correction operation is adjusted responsive to whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors.

12. The digital camera system of claim 1, wherein the step of processing the input digital image includes determining metadata to be associated with the stored digital image providing an indication of whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors.

13. The digital camera system of claim 1 wherein one or more image capture settings used in the process of capturing the input digital image are adjusted responsive to whether the digital camera system is indoors or outdoors.

14. The digital camera system of claim 1 wherein the processor further performs the step of analyzing a signal from the global positioning system sensor to determine whether the digital camera system is moving, and wherein one or camera settings are adjusted responsive to whether the digital camera is moving.