Methods and Systems for Content Processing

• US 20120258776A1
• Filed: 04/11/2012
• Published: 10/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brian T. Maclntosh, Geoffrey B. Rhoads, John D. Lord, Tony F. Rodriguez
• Original Assignee: Brian T. Maclntosh, Geoffrey B. Rhoads, John D. Lord, Tony F. Rodriguez
• Inventors: Lord, John D., Maclntosh, Brian T., Rhoads, Geoffrey B., Rodriguez, Tony F.
• Granted Patent: US 9,008,724 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/40 Software arrangements specially adapted for pattern recognition, e.g. user interfaces or toolboxes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/945 User interactive design; Environments; Toolboxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/96 Management of image or video recognition tasks
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/142 using hand-held instruments; Constructional details of the instruments
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0264 for a camera module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3225 of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/10 for generating image signals from different wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/26 Resource reservation

Abstract

Disclosed are technologies are useful in enabling a smart phone to respond to a user'"'"'s environment, e.g., so it can serve as an intuitive hearing and seeing device. Some of the detailed arrangements involve using radio base station SDR equipment (e.g., at a cell tower) to perform image recognition operations for phones; forecasting service needs from remote processors delegating a remote execution task to a service provider chosen in a competitive process; using nearby processors, e.g., in an automobile, another phone, or set-top box, for remote execution tasks; phones with separable camera and/or illumination components; phone camera illumination using different colors of light; using search tree methods with image frames captured at different focuses; using a phone'"'"'s microprojector to aid in object identification; correcting lens aberrations by texture mapping captured imagery onto a corrective polygon surface using a phone GPU; etc. A great variety of other features are also detailed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

characterizing an optical distortion function associated with a lens;

defining geometry of a correction surface corresponding to the optical distortion function; and

texture-mapping an image onto the correction surface using a GPU, after receiving the image through the lens, or before projecting the image through the lens;

wherein tilts and/or elevations in the correction surface serve to compensate for the optical distortion function associated with the lens.

2. A method of correcting lens distortion in an image, characterized by projecting the image onto a virtual surface whose topology is shaped to counteract the lens distortion.

3. A cell phone including an image sensor with a thermoelectric cooling device coupled thereto, a processor, and a memory, instructions in the memory configuring the processor to control a camera function of the cell phone as follows:

capture image data;

assess noise in the captured image data; and

if the noise exceeds a threshold, activate the thermoelectric cooling device and capture further image data after the sensor has cooled.

4. A cell phone apparatus comprising:

a first portion comprising an optical sensor and lens assembly, the first portion being adapted for carrying by a user in a first location relative to a body of the user; and

a second portion comprising a display, a user interface, and a cellular radio transceiver, the second portion being adapted for carrying by the user in a second, different, location relative to the body of the user; and

a wireless communication system linking the first and second portions.

5. A method comprising:

(a) using a camera sub-system of a mobile phone, capturing and buffering plural frames of image data, while the camera sub-system is changing a parameter that varies a camera focal distance from a first focal distance to a second focal distance, thereby yielding frames of image data at a variety of focal distance settings;

(b) performing a first analysis on one or more of said frames of image data, to assess a focus parameter;

(c) based on said first analysis, selecting a frame of image data, not analyzed in act (b), as having a desired focus parameter; and

(d) taking a further action with the selected frame of image data.

6. A method comprising:

using a camera sub-system of a mobile phone, capturing a first frame of image data;

assessing the captured image data;

setting a parameter of the camera sub-system based on said assessment; and

capturing a second frame of image data using said set parameter;

wherein the assessing includes assessing the content of the first frame of image data in a particular color channel, and the setting includes setting said parameter to maximize a dynamic range of the second frame of image data in said particular color channel, wherein the particular color channel is selected from blue, yellow, red, and green.

7. A method comprising:

receiving one or more packets of data, the packet(s) including first data relating to image content captured by a mobile phone, and also indicating an operation to be performed using the first data;

contacting plural computer-based service providers, to solicit interest in performing the operation, and providing results of said operation for use by the mobile phone on a competitive basis;

receiving responses from one or more of said service providers; and

deciding a winner from among said plural computer-based service providers;

wherein the method further includes providing at least some of the first data to at least some of said plural service providers before deciding the winner.

8. A method of processing image data captured using an image sensor in a cell phone, comprising:

performing a first image processing operation on the captured image data using a processing module in the cell phone, yielding internally-processed image data;

evaluating a competition between two or more external service providers, and sending the internally-processed image data to a winner of said competition for further processing, the winning service provider delivering externally-processed image data; and

taking an action based on the externally-processed image data.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein a module in the cell phone generates plural sets of visual keyvector data, and wherein the method further includes:

routing one of said sets of keyvector data to the winning service provider; and

routing another of said sets of keyvector data to a different external service provider, identified without reference to a competition.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the competition comprises a reverse auction.

11. A method of operating a camera-equipped mobile phone to image a printed subject, the method comprising the acts:

activating only a first LED light source of a first visible light color, for a first interval, while capturing image data from a printed subject using said mobile phone;

activating only a second LED light source of a second visible light color different than the first, for a second interval different than the first, while capturing image data from said printed subject using said mobile phone; and

taking an action using said captured image data.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein both said activating acts occur during a single frame exposure.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said activating acts occur during different frame exposures.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said action comprises decoding machine readable data from the captured image data.

15. A method of operating a mobile phone equipped with a camera and a projector, the method comprising the acts:

capturing first and second frames of image data from a subject using the camera, and illuminating the subject—

during one of said frames—

with a first pattern of collimated light from the projector;

by reference to a difference between said frames, identifying said pattern; and

adjusting a camera parameter by reference to said identified pattern.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the camera parameter comprises a parameter relating to focal depth.

17. A method practiced using a mobile phone, comprising the acts:

projecting at least one pattern onto a subject from a projector portion included in the mobile phone;

using a camera portion in the mobile phone, capturing image data from the subject including said pattern(s);

by reference to the captured image data including the pattern(s), discerning 3D information about the subject; and

using said 3D information in connection with a recognition operation involving said subject.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the mobile phone projects two patterns onto the subject, from two projector portions of said mobile phone.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the mobile phone captures image data from the subject using two camera portions of said mobile phone.