System and method for creating personalized image collections from multiple locations by using a communication network

• US 5,694,514 A
• Filed: 02/23/1996
• Issued: 12/02/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Singer, Howard M., Janow, Richard H., Strahs, Lee B., Evans, James Gifford
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thai
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US08/606,255
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 358/335, 358/342, 358/906, 360/35.1, 360/33.1, 360/5, 348/157, 348/159, 348/152, 348/153, 386/46, 386/107, 386/117, 386/95, 386/60, 386/125
• US Class Current: 386/240
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/028 with computer assistance
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 358/906 Hand-held camera with recorder in a single unit

Abstract

A system for creating still image or video collections for guests of amusement parks and the like a) identifies individuals by a unique tag assigned to the individual, b) automatically records the images of the individuals while they are at various attractions, c) collects the images over a communications network, d) arranges the images in a collection, and e) presents a personal set of collected images to the guest. For example, cameras may be located throughout an amusement park. Each guest is associated with a unique identifier. This identifier may be contained within a readable tag, e.g., a card, badge or pendant. Tag readers identify guest when they are at a particular location and provide identification and location information to a control system. A communications network is used to interconnect the cameras, tag readers, control system and image recording devices. The control system controls the recording and storage of the appropriate image(s) associated with that guest. The images of the guest may be associated with prerecorded images of the amusement park. Advantageously, a reporting system captures information on guest traffic patterns throughout their visit.

Claims

1. An apparatus for use in image collection at a plurality of geographically diverse locations comprising:

a plurality of image capture means, each being located at one of the plurality of geographically diverse locations;

image recording means;

a plurality of detecting means, each of said detecting means (i) having a detection range, (ii) being located substantially at one of the plurality of geographically diverse locations and being associated with at least one of said image capture means located at the same location and (iii) being responsive to the presence, within said detection range, of any guest, of a plurality of guests that are each individually identifiable, to generate an indication that indicates which at least one of said guests is presently to be found within said detection range at the one of the plurality of geographically diverse locations;

a communications network through which said plurality of image capture means and said plurality of detecting means communicate to control means, the control means being responsive to each indication generated by any of said plurality of detecting means for operating said communications network and said plurality of image capture means in such a way that (i) images from each of said at least one image capture means associated with each of said plurality of detecting means generating an indication are recorded, and (ii) said recorded images are segregable by the identity of each of said identifiable guests.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said control means causes said image recording means to mark each of said recorded images with the identity of the guests whose images are recorded in such a way that said images are segregable by the identity of each of said guests according to the mark on each of said recorded images.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said control means causes each image for each of said guests to be recorded on a separate physical medium in such a way that said recorded images are segregable by the identity of each of said guests based on the medium on which they are recorded.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said control means operates said image recording means to combine at least one recorded image of at least one of said guests with at least one prerecorded image of the environs in which said image capture means recording said at least one of said guests is located.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further including means for combining at least one recorded image of at least one of said guests with at least one prerecorded image of the environs in which said image capture means recording said at least one of said guests is located.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further including means for capturing information on traffic patterns of said guests as they move between the locations of said detecting means, said information being developed from said indications generated by said detecting means.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further including means for editing at least one image recorded by said recording means.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said image recording means includes a plurality of image recording units, one unit being designated for each of said guests.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said image recording means includes a plurality of recording media, each being of the same format, one unit being designated for each of said guests, said image recording means being shared among said recording media.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said image recording means is a single integrated unit storing all the images of said guests.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said communications network includes a cross-connect system.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the one of said detecting means generating a particular indication is identified by the arrangement of the connection of said detecting means to said communications network.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the one of said detecting means generating a particular indication is identified by said detecting means transmitting a predefined message.

14. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one recorded image is a video image.

15. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said recorded images are still images.

16. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further including means for indicating that the image being captured by a particular image capture means is being recorded.

17. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, including an auxiliary trigger means associated with one of said image capture means for controlling the start of recording from said associated image capture means.

18. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said image capture means is a camera.

19. A method of capturing images of guests in an amusement park at prestored, preselected locations out of a plurality of geographically diverse locations, comprising the steps of:

reading a guest'"'"'s identification;

transmitting said guest'"'"'s identification and an indication of a particular location of said guest out of the plurality of geographically diverse locations to a control system;

retrieving from within said control system the prestored preselected locations of said guest;

connecting an image capture means at the particular location to image storage means over a communications network; and

activating said image storage means to record images from said image capture means in response to a selection by said guest indicating that his image should be recorded at the particular location.

20. The method as defined in 19, further including the step of activating, for the duration of image recording, an indicator to show that image recordation is in profess from the particular location.

21. The method as defined in 19, further including the step of waiting for an auxiliary trigger prior to activating said image storage means.

22. The method as defined in 19, further including the step of storing information relevant to the image recordation.

23. The method as defined in claim 22, wherein said stored information includes the guest'"'"'s identification and location, as well as an indication of the particular image capture means activated and the time recordation began.

24. An apparatus for use in an amusement park, comprising:

a plurality of cameras, a camera being located at each one of a plurality of geographically diverse locations;

a plurality of tag readers, each tag reader being located substantially at one of the plurality of geographically diverse locations and being associated with at least one of said plurality of cameras for identifying an amusement park guest that has a unique tag and for supplying information as to the location of the amusement park guest that has a unique tag;

a communications network for transporting at least images captured by said plurality of cameras; and

an image storage system for storing images captured by said plurality of cameras that is responsive to information supplied from said plurality of tag readers to produce for each guest a personal image collection reflecting his visit to the amusement park.

25. The apparatus as defined in claim 24, further including means for indicating that the image from a particular camera is being recorded.

26. The apparatus as defined in claim 24, further including auxiliary trigger means for controlling the initiation of recording from an associated one of said cameras.

27. The apparatus as defined in claim 24, wherein images are recorded for a particular guest only from selected ones of said cameras in response to prestored selections made by said particular guest.

28. An apparatus for use in an amusement park, comprising:

a plurality of video cameras, each being located at one of a plurality of geographically diverse locations;

a plurality of tag readers, each tag reader being located substantially at one of the plurality of geographically diverse locations and being associated with at least one of said plurality of video cameras, for identifying an amusement park guest that has a unique tag and for supplying information as to the location of the amusement park guest that has a unique tag;

a cross-connect network for transporting control information and images;

a plurality of video recording units, one unit being assigned to each tagged guest and each unit receiving video signals from said plurality of video cameras via said cross-connect network; and

a control system responsive to information from said plurality of tag readers for controlling the storage of images captured by said plurality of video cameras at each of said video recording units to produce personal image collections each reflecting a different one of said guests'"'"' visit to the amusement park.

29. The apparatus as defined in claim 28, wherein, prior to recording of any images captured by said plurality of video cameras in response to said plurality of tag readers, the media of recording in said plurality of video recording units is prerecorded with stock footage of said amusement park.

30. The apparatus as defined in claim 28, wherein said tags are passive radio devices.

31. The apparatus as defined in claim 28, including camera active indicating means associated with one of said video cameras for indicating that the image supplied from said video camera is being recorded at the guest'"'"'s video recording unit.

32. The apparatus as defined in claim 28, further including auxiliary trigger means associated with one of said plurality of video cameras for controlling the starting of recording of the image from said associated video camera.