Information processing system for audio and visual transmission system

• US 6,307,948 B1
• Filed: 07/24/1995
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Koyama, Jun, Yamazaki, Shunpei, Kawasaki, Yuji, Ishi, Futoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jayanti K.
• Application Number:
  US08/505,947
• Time in Patent Office: 2,283 Days
• Field of Search: 340/575, 340/576, 351/209, 382/100, 382/103, 382/104, 382/107, 382/294, 382/117, 128/745, 348/14-17
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/2726 for simulating a person's appearance, e.g. hair style, glasses, clothes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• 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 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8146 involving graphical data, e.g. 3D object, 2D graphics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/157 defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827

Abstract

In an information processing system provided with a camera and a microphone, for transmitting and receiving information of a user to and from another information processing system through a transmission lime, image data of the user obtained by a camera is stored in a memory in advance. When one user communicates another user, image data of the one user is obtained by the camera and is synthesized with the image data stored in the memory in advance by image-processing. The clothes, hair, background, make-up etc. of the one user are made different to reality and the image data are transmitted to the another user in the communication.

Claims

1. A videophone system comprising:

a camera for obtaining first image data representing an expression of a face of a user of said system and second image data representing a movement of a mouth of the user;

a microphone for obtaining voice data of the user;

means for storing the first image data in advance;

means for detecting a degree of tiredness of the user by image-processing the stored first image data, and changing the stored first image data for synthesizing image data in accordance with the degree of tiredness of the user, wherein the synthesizing image data is obtained by synthesizing the stored first image data with the second image data; and

means for transmitting the voice data and one of the stored first image data and the synthesizing image data to another videophone system remote from said system.

2. A videophone system comprising:

a camera for obtaining first image data representing an expression of a face of a user of said system and second image data representing a movement of a mouth of the user;

a microphone for obtaining voice data of the user;

means for storing the first image data in advance;

means for detecting a degree of tiredness of the user by image-processing the stored first image data, and changing the stored first image data for synthesizing image data in accordance with the degree of tiredness of the user, wherein the synthesizing image data is obtained by synthesizing the stored first image data with the second image data; and

means for transmitting the voice data and one of the stored first image data and the synthesizing image data to another videophone system remote from said system,

wherein the degree of tiredness of the user is obtained by measuring the number of blinks of the user per unit time in accordance with the first image data, and comparing the number of the blinks of the user with a reference blink value.

3. A videophone system comprising:

a camera for obtaining first image data representing an expression of a face of a user of said system and second image data representing a movement of a mouth of the user;

a microphone for obtaining voice data of the user;

means for storing the first image data in advance;

means for detecting a degree of tiredness of the user by image-processing the stored first image data, and changing the stored first image data for synthesizing image data in accordance with the degree of tiredness of the user, wherein the synthesizing image data is obtained by synthesizing the stored first image data with the second image data; and

means for transmitting the voice data and one of the stored first image data and the synthesizing image data to another videophone system remote from said system,

wherein the degree of tiredness of the user is obtained by measuring the number of blinks of the user per unit time and identifying the user in accordance with the first image data, referring to a reference blink value of the user in accordance with the identification, and comparing the number of the blinks of the user with the reference blink value of the user.

4. A videophone system comprising:

a camera for obtaining first image data representing an expression of a face of a user of said system and second image data representing a movement of a mouth of the user;

a microphone for obtaining voice data of the user;

means for storing the first image data in advance;

means for detecting a degree of tiredness of the user by image-processing the stored first image data, and changing the stored first image data for synthesizing image data in accordance with the degree of tiredness of the user, wherein the synthesizing image data is obtained by synthesizing the stored first image data with the second image data; and

means for transmitting the voice data and one of the stored first image data and the synthesizing image data to another videophone system remote from said system,

wherein the degree of tiredness of the user is obtained by measuring the number of blinks of the user per unit time and identifying the user with an ID number, referring to a reference blink value of the user in accordance with the identification, and comparing the number of the blinks of the user with the reference blink value of the user.

5. A videophone system comprising:

a camera for obtaining first image data representing an expression of a face of a user of said system and second image data representing a movement of a mouth of the user;

a microphone for obtaining voice data of the user;

means for storing the first image data in advance;

means for detecting a degree of tiredness of the user by image-processing the stored first image data, and changing the stored first image data for synthesizing image data in accordance with the degree of tiredness of the user, wherein the synthesizing image data is obtained by synthesizing the stored first image data with the second image data; and

means for transmitting the voice data and one of the stored first image data and the synthesizing image data to another videophone system remote from said system,

wherein the degree of tiredness of the user is obtained by measuring a bloodshot degree of eyeballs of the user in accordance with the first image data.

6. A videophone system comprising:

a camera for obtaining first image data representing an expression of a face of a user of said system and second image data representing a movement of a mouth of the user;

a microphone for obtaining voice data of the user;

means for storing the first image data in advance;

means for detecting a degree of tiredness of the user by image-processing the stored first image data, and changing the stored first image data for synthesizing image data in accordance with the degree of tiredness of the user, wherein the synthesizing image data is obtained by synthesizing the stored first image data with the second image data; and

means for transmitting the voice data and one of the stored first image data and the synthesizing image data to another videophone system remote from said system,

wherein the degree of tiredness of the user is obtained by measuring a current bloodshot degree of eyeballs of the user and identifying the user in accordance with the first image data, referring to a reference bloodshot degree in accordance with the identification, and comparing the current bloodshot degree of the eyeballs of the user with the reference bloodshot degree.

7. A videophone system comprising:

a camera for obtaining first image data representing an expression of a face of a user of said system and second image data representing a movement of a mouth of the user;

a microphone for obtaining voice data of the user;

means for storing the first image data in advance;

means for detecting a degree of tiredness of the user by image-processing the stored first image data, and changing the stored first image data for synthesizing image data in accordance with the degree of tiredness of the user, wherein the synthesizing image data is obtained by synthesizing the stored first image data with the second image data; and

means for transmitting the voice data and one of the stored first image data and the synthesizing image data to another videophone system remote from said system,

wherein the degree of tiredness of the user is obtained by measuring a current bloodshot degree of eyeballs of the user and identifying the user with an ID number, referring to a reference bloodshot degree in accordance with the identification, and comparing the current blood shot degree of the eyeballs of the user with the reference bloodshot degree.

8. A personal computer comprising:

a micro processing unit;

a memory operationally connected to said micro processing unit;

a camera for picking an image of a user of said personal computer wherein said image is converted into a binary data and stored in said memory; and

a display operationally connected to said micro processing unit for displaying an image;

wherein a tiredness of said user is determined by said micro processing unit based on said binary data stored in said memory, wherein said tiredness is determined by a current bloodshot degree of an eyeball of said user.

9. A personal computer according to claim 8 wherein said camera is a CCD camera.

10. A personal computer according to claim 8 wherein said image is converted into the binary data by a digital signal processor.

11. A personal computer comprising:

a micro processing unit;

a main memory operationally connected to said micro processing unit;

a second memory operationally connected to said micro processing unit;

a camera for picking an image of a user of said personal computer wherein said image is converted into a binary data and stored in said second memory;

a memory controller for transferring the binary data stored in said second memory to said main memory; and

a display operationally connected to said micro processing unit for displaying an image;

wherein a tiredness of said user is determined by said micro processing unit based on said binary data, and wherein said tiredness is determined by a current bloodshot degree of an eyeball of said user.

12. A personal computer comprising:

a micro processing unit;

a memory operationally connected to said micro processing unit;

a camera for picking an image of a user of said personal computer wherein said image is converted into a binary data and stored in said memory;

means for transferring a data processed by said micro processing unit to another system through a line;

a display operationally connected to said micro processing unit for displaying an image obtained by said personal computer through said line;

wherein a tiredness of said user is determined by said micro processing unit based on said binary data stored in said memory, and wherein said tiredness is determined by a current bloodshot degree of an eyeball of said user.

13. A communication system comprising:

a micro processing unit;

a memory operationally connected to said micro processing unit;

a camera for picking an image of a user of said personal computer wherein said image is converted into a binary data and stored in said memory;

means for transferring a data processed by said micro processing unit to another communication system in said memory to another communication system; and

a display operationally connected to said micro processing unit for displaying an image received from said another communication system;

wherein a tiredness of said user is determined by said micro processing unit based on said binary data stored in said memory, and wherein said tiredness is determined by a current bloodshot degree of an eyeball of said user.

14. A communication system comprising:

a micro processing unit;

a main memory operationally connected to said micro processing unit;

a second memory operationally connected to said micro processing unit;

a camera for picking an image of a user of said personal computer wherein said image is converted into a binary data and stored in said second memory;

a memory controller for transferring the binary data stored in said second memory to said main memory;

means for transferring an image processed by said micro processing unit to another communication system through a phone line;

a display operationally connected to said micro processing unit for displaying an image received from said another system,

wherein a tiredness of said user is determined by said micro processing unit based on said binary data, and wherein said tiredness is determined by a current bloodshot degree of an eyeball of said user.