Correlating captured images and timed event data

• US 7,158,689 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2002
• Issued: 01/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kodak Alaris Inc (KPP (no. 2) Trustees Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Valleriano, Michael A., Marshall, Christopher I., Bobb, Mark A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns; Andrew W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alavi; Amir
• Application Number:
  US10/303,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20040100566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,499 Days
• Field of Search: 382/278, 382/300, 382/294, 707/102, 707/2, 348/169, 348/231.5
• US Class Current: 382/278
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/22 in connection with sports or games
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 11/00 Arrangements, systems or apparatus for checking, e.g. the occurrence of a condition, not provided for elsewhere
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/04 related to queuing systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9201 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the video signal

Abstract

A method for correlating asynchronously captured event data associated with a timed activity and images associated with the events comprises the steps of: (a) capturing a plurality of images and storing the images and data corresponding to the images, including a time of image capture for each image, in an image database; (b) gathering data from one or more events associated with the timed activity and storing event data, including a time of occurrence of each event, in an event database; and (c) correlating the images and the event data in the databases by generating a time-based window that interrelates event data in the event database having a time of occurrence within the window with images in the image database having a time of capture within the window.

Claims

1. A method for correlating asynchronously captured event data associated with a timed activity and images associated with the events, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) capturing a plurality of images;

(a₁) assigning a timestamp at time of capture to each image;

(a₂) storing images and the assigned timestamp in a first database;

(b) gathering time data and identifying data from a timed activity for a specific occurrence within the timed activity and storing the identifying data and the time data, in a second database, wherein the time data for the timed activity is independent of the timestamp associated with image capture and stored in the first database; and

(c) correlating the images and the identifying data in the first and second databases by choosing an image from the first database and generating a time-based window that interrelates that image to identifying data in the second database that are within the same time-based window as the chosen image.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the time-based window comprises a target time and a window size.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the target time corresponds to the time of occurrence of an event and wherein step (c) comprises aligning the target time with the time of occurrence of an event in the second database such that any images within the window in the first database are correlated with the event.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the step of previewing the images within the window and adjusting the size of the window so that it encompasses a different group of images.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the target time corresponds to the time of image capture of an image and wherein step (c) comprises aligning the target time with an image in the first database such that any events within the window in the second database are correlated with the images.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 further comprising the step of previewing the images within the window and adjusting the size of the window so that it encompasses a different group of events.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the identifying data includes an identifier for a person appearing in an image and wherein step (c) further comprises correlating the images and the identifying data to identify one or more of the persons appearing in the images.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the identifier for a person appearing in an image is used to identify another person appearing in the image for whom there is insufficient data in the databases to enable correlation.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the timed activity is a foot race and the identifying data includes the identifiers for one or more race contestants appearing in an image and wherein step (c) further comprises correlating the images and the identifying data to identify one or more of the contestants appearing in the images.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (c) further comprises interpolating either the time of image capture of images in the first database or the time of occurrence of events in the second database in order to correlate the images and the images and the identifying data in the databases.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the time-based window includes a target time corresponding to the time of occurrence of an event and the method further comprises the step of previewing the images within the window, wherein the preview of the images is ordered according to the closeness of the times of capture of the images to the event.

12. A system for capturing images and correlating asynchronously captured event data associated with a timed activity and images associated with the events, said system comprising:

a camera system for capturing a plurality of images and recording data corresponding to the images, including a time of image capture for each image as a timestamp;

an image database for storing the images and the data corresponding to the images;

a data recording system for recording time data and identifying data from a timed activity for a specific occurrence within the timed activity, wherein the time data is independent of the timestamp, stored in the image database, for each image captured;

an event database for storing the time data and identifying data; and

a processor for correlating the images and the identifying data in the image and event databases by choosing an image from the image database and generating a time-based window that interrelates that image to identifying data in the event database that are within the same time-based window as the chosen image.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the identifying data includes an identifier for one or more persons in the captured images.

14. The system as claimed in claim 13 wherein the data associated with the plurality of events includes identification of the persons placed in the images and the processor, which correlates the images with the identifying data, also relates the captured images with the identification of the persons in the images.

15. The system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the time-based window utilized by the processor comprises a target time and a window size.

16. The system as claimed in claim 15 wherein the target time corresponds to the time of occurrence of an event and wherein the processor aligns the target time with the time of occurrence of an event in the event database such that any images within the window in the image database are correlated with the event.

17. The system as claimed in claim 16 further comprising a display device for previewing the images within the window, whereby the processor adjusts the size of the window so that it encompasses a different group of events.

18. The system as claimed in claim 15 wherein the target time corresponds to the time of image capture of an image and wherein the processor aligns the target time with an image in the image database such that any events within the window in the event database are correlated with the images.

19. The system as claimed in claim 18 further comprising a display device for previewing the images within the window, whereby the processor adjusts the size of the window so that it encompasses a different group of images.

20. The system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the processor further includes an interpolation algorithm for interpolating either the time of image capture of images in the image database or the time of occurrence of events in the event database in order to correlate the images and the identifying data in the databases.

21. The system as claimed in claim 12 further comprising a display device for previewing the images within the window, wherein the time-based window includes a target time corresponding to the time of occurrence of an event and the display of the images provided by the display device is ordered according to the closeness of the times of capture of the images to the event.