OPTIMIZED IMAGE DELIVERY OVER LIMITED BANDWIDTH COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

• US 20160112486A1
• Filed: 12/15/2015
• Published: 04/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bradium Technologies LLC (General Patent Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bradium Technologies LLC (General Patent Corporation)
• Inventors: Levanon, Isaac, Lavi, Yonatan
• Granted Patent: US 9,641,644 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/04 Texture mapping
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10032 Satellite or aerial image; Remote sensing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4092 Image resolution transcoding, e.g. by using client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/02 Handling of images in compressed format, e.g. JPEG, MPEG
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2350/00 Solving problems of bandwidth in display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/02 Networking aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

Large-scale images are retrieved over network communications channels for display on a client device by selecting an update image parcel relative to an operator controlled image viewpoint to display via the client device. A request is prepared for the update image parcel and associated with a request queue for subsequent issuance over a communications channel. The update image parcel is received from the communications channel and displayed as a discrete portion of the predetermined image. The update image parcel optimally has a fixed pixel array size, is received in a single and or plurality of network data packets, and were the fixed pixel array may be constrained to a resolution less than or equal to the resolution of the client device display.

Claims

1. A method of providing images over one or more network communication channels for display on a user computing device, the method comprising steps of:

receiving at one or more servers a first request from the user computing device, over the one or more network communication channels, the first request being for a first update data parcel corresponding to a first derivative image of a predetermined image, the predetermined image corresponding to source image data, the first update data parcel uniquely forming a first discrete portion of the predetermined image, wherein the first update data parcel is selected based on a first user-controlled image viewpoint on the user computing device relative to the predetermined image;

sending the first update data parcel from the one or more servers to the user computing device over the one or more network communication channels, the step of sending the first update data parcel being performed in response to the first request;

receiving at the one or more servers a second request from the user computing device, over the one or more network communication channels, the second request being for a second update data parcel corresponding to a second derivative image of the predetermined image, the second update data parcel uniquely forming a second discrete portion of the predetermined image, wherein the second update data parcel is selected based on a second user-controlled image viewpoint on the user computing device relative to the predetermined image, the second user-controlled image viewpoint being different from the first user-controlled image viewpoint;

sending the second update data parcel from the one or more servers to the user computing device over the one or more network communication channels, the step of sending the second update data parcel being performed in response to the second request;

processing the source image data to obtain a series of K_1-N derivative images of progressively lower image resolution, the series of K_1-N derivative images comprising the first derivative image and the second derivative image, wherein series image K₀ of the series of K_1-N derivative images is subdivided into a regular array wherein each resulting image parcel of the array has a predetermined pixel resolution and a predetermined color or bit per pixel depth, resolution of the series K_1-N of derivative images being related to resolution of the source image data or predecessor image in the series by a factor of two, and the array subdivision being related by a factor of two.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein the user computing device comprises a mobile device connected to the one or more servers by the one or more network communication channels.

3. A method as in claim 2, wherein the first user-controlled image viewpoint is determined based at least in part on first navigational input of the user computing device, and the first request is prepared by a processing control block of the user computing device based at least in part on the first user-controlled image viewpoint.

4. A method as in claim 3, wherein the first request is prepared based at least in part on altitude and attitude of the first viewpoint relative to the predetermined image.

5. A method as in claim 3, wherein the second user-controlled image viewpoint is determined based at least in part on second navigational input of the user computing device, and the second request is prepared by the processing control block of the user computing device based at least in part on the second user-controlled image viewpoint.

6. A method as in claim 5, wherein the first request is prepared based at least in part on altitude and attitude of the first viewpoint relative to the predetermined image, and the second request is prepared based at least in part on altitude and attitude of the second viewpoint relative to the predetermined image.

7. A method as in claim 6, wherein the predetermined image is an image of a geographic area.

8. A method as in claim 6, wherein the first navigational input comprises first three-dimensional coordinate position data and first rotational position data, and the second navigational input comprises second three-dimensional position data and second rotational position data.

9. A method as in claim 5, wherein the first navigational input comprises first lateral x dimension position data, first lateral y dimension position data, and first rotational position data, and the second navigational input comprises second lateral x dimension position data, second lateral y dimension position data, and second rotational position data.

10. A method as in claim 2, wherein the first derivative image includes the second derivative image, the second derivative image has a higher level of detail than the first derivative image, and the first request is received before the second request by the one or more servers.

11. A method as in claim 2, wherein the second derivative image includes the first derivative image, the second derivative image has a lower level of detail than the first derivative image, and the first request is received before the second request by the one or more servers.

12. A method as in claim 2, wherein the first derivative image does not include the second derivative image, and the second derivative image does not include the first derivative image.

13. A method as in claim 3, wherein the first update data parcel comprises first overlay data for the first derivative image.

14. A method as in claim 13, wherein the first overlay data comprises first text annotation relating to at least one selected from the group consisting of:

one or more street names, one or more building names, and one or more landmarks.

15. A method as in claim 13, wherein the first overlay data comprises graphic data representing a three-dimensional object.

16. A method as in claim 13, wherein the first overlay data comprises graphics data describing at least one object in more than two dimensions.

17. A method as in claim 13, wherein the first overlay data comprises one or more graphical icons.

18. A method as in claim 13, wherein the second update data parcel comprises second overlay data for the second derivative image.

19. A method as in claim 18, wherein the first overlay data and the second overlay data are in a resolution-independent format.

20. A method as in claim 13, wherein the first overlay data comprises first text annotation relating to at least one item selected from the group consisting of:

one or more street names, one or more building names, and one or more landmarks.

21. A method as in claim 2, wherein the one or more servers comprise at least two servers.

22. A method as in claim 2, wherein each image parcel is of a fixed byte size.

23. A computing system for providing images over one or more network communication channels for display on a user mobile device, wherein the computing system is configured to

receive a first request from the user mobile device, over the one or more network communication channels, the first request being for a first update data parcel corresponding to a first derivative image of a predetermined image, the predetermined image corresponding to source image data, the first update data parcel uniquely forming a first discrete portion of the predetermined image, wherein the first update data parcel is selected based on a first user-controlled image viewpoint on the user mobile device relative to the predetermined image;

send the first update data parcel to the user mobile device over the one or more network communication channels, the step of sending the first update data parcel being performed in response to the first request;

receive a second request from the user mobile device, over the one or more network communication channels, the second request being for a second update data parcel corresponding to a second derivative image of the predetermined image, the second update data parcel uniquely forming a second discrete portion of the predetermined image, wherein the second update data parcel is selected based on a second user-controlled image viewpoint on the user mobile device relative to the predetermined image, the second user-controlled image viewpoint being different from the first user-controlled image viewpoint;

send the second update data parcel to the user mobile device over the one or more network communication channels, in response to the second request;

process the source image data to obtain a series of K_1-N derivative images of progressively lower image resolution, the series of K_1-N derivative images comprising the first derivative image and the second derivative image, wherein series image K₀ of the series of K_1-N derivative images is subdivided into a regular array wherein each resulting image parcel of the array has a predetermined pixel resolution and a predetermined color or bit per pixel depth, resolution of the series K_1-N of derivative images being related to resolution of the source image data or predecessor image in the series by a factor of two, and the array subdivision being related by a factor of two.