METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMAGE CAPTURE AND FACILITATED ANNOTATION

• US 20140104441A1
• Filed: 10/16/2012
• Published: 04/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BigTinCan Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Vidinoti SA (BigTinCan Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: Rime, Laurent, Monney, Mathieu, Ayer, Serge
• Granted Patent: US 9,094,616 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/207.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• 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 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2621 Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects during image pickup, e.g. digital cameras, camcorders, video cameras having integrated special effects capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera

Abstract

A method for capturing and processing an image, comprising: capturing a captured image with an image sensor; retrieving steganographic marks hidden in said captured image; processing said captured image based on said hidden marks, so as to generate a processed image; matching the processed image with a reference image from a set of reference images and superimposing elements on the captured image, depending on said reference image. A user device, comprising an image sensor suitable for capturing at least one image and a processor configured to at retrieve hidden marks in said captured image and generating a processed image based on said hidden marks retrieval and annotations processed remotely; the user device is part of a system with a remote server matching the image.

Claims

1. A method for capturing and processing an image, comprising:

capturing data representing a captured image with an image sensor;

retrieving steganographic marks hidden in said captured data;

image-processing said captured data based on said hidden marks, so as to generate image-processed data representing a modified image;

matching said image-processed data with reference data from a set of reference data representing different images;

rendering an annotated image based on said image-processed data.

2. The method of claim 1, said captured image being a video image.

3. The method of claim 1, said captured image being a still image.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said steganographic marks include alignment marks defining limits of an interesting portion to capture, said step of image-processing including a step of cropping and/or resizing said image so as to align said processed image depending on said marks.

5. The method of claim 1, said step of image processing including correcting geometrical or optical distortions based on said hidden marks.

6. The method of claim 1, said step of image-processing including adapting colours based on said hidden marks.

7. The method of claim 1, said step of image-processing including adapting a contrast and/or saturation and/or brightness based on said hidden marks.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising the capture of data representing a plurality of captured images until a hidden mark is retrieved in one of said captured images, and trying to match only data said image-processed data that contain hidden marks with said reference images.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said image is captured with an user device, wherein said steps of retrieving steganographic marks and processing said captured image are performed in said user device, and wherein said matching is performed remotely.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising computing descriptors of local features of said captured image in said user device.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising a step of using said hidden marks for determining instructions given to a user.

12. The method of claim 11, said instructions comprising instructions to move said image sensor.

13. The method of claim 1, comprising a selection of one method among a plurality of methods for retrieving said steganographic marks, wherein said selection depends on at least one of the following condition:

focusing distance of an image sensor,

scene/mode either selected by the user or automatically detected

radio signals received from one element of the scene;

location.

14. The method of claim 1, comprising a selection of one method among a plurality of methods for matching said image-processed data with reference data, wherein said selection depends on information retrieved from one said steganographic mark.

27. A computer program product, stored on a non-transitory media support and comprising instructions causing at least one data processor to execute the steps of the method according to claim 1.

15. A method for capturing and processing an image, comprising:

capturing data representing a captured image with an image sensor;

retrieving steganographic marks hidden in said captured data;

image-processing said captured data based on said hidden marks, so as to generate image-processed data representing a modified image;

sending the image-processed image to a remote server;

receiving from said remote server either an annotated image or a set of annotations;

displaying said annotated image or the image-processed image with said annotations.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising computing descriptors of local features of said captured image.

17. The method of claim 15, comprising a step of using said hidden marks for determining instructions given to a user.

18. The method of claim 17, said instructions comprising instructions to move said image sensor.

19. The method of claim 15, comprising a selection of one method among a plurality of methods for retrieving said steganographic marks, wherein said selection depends on at least one of the following condition:

focusing distance of an image sensor,

scene/mode either selected by the user or automatically detected

radio signals received from one element of the scene;

location.

20. A device comprising an image sensor suitable for capturing data representing at least one image and a processor programmed to at least partially retrieve hidden marks in the captured data and generating image-processed data based on said hidden marks retrieval and including annotations received from a remote server.

21. The device of claim 20, comprising a transceiving stage suitable for transmitting either said captured data or features retrieved from said captured to a remote server, and for receiving said annotations from said server.

22. The device of claim 20, wherein the processing comprises one or several among focusing, zooming, cropping, white balancing, contrasting or colouring said data.

23. The device of claim 20, comprising a display suitable for showing images and wherein said processor is programmed to aid a user in the hidden marks retrieval by making aiding signs appear onto the display.

24. The device of claim 20, wherein said aiding signs are made appear onto the display when some required hidden marks are outside the image, so as to indicate to the user how to move the device.

25. The device of claim 20, wherein said aiding signs are made appear onto the display to outline the border of the image of the border of an element.

26. A system comprising:

at least one device with an image sensor suitable for capturing images and for identifying hidden marks in said image; and

a remote server for receiving and transmitting data to said at least one device, to process at least a part of a captured image transmitted from said device and to send annotations or annotated images to said device.