Generation of metadata for acquired images

• US 7,162,053 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2005
• Issued: 01/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Yuan, Po, Ivory, Andrew S., Sadovsky, Vlad, Camara, Franc J.
• Primary Examiner(s): DESIRE, GREGORY M
• Application Number:
  US11/273,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20060077461A1
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 348/231.2, 348/222.1, 348/231.3, 348/333.02, 382/190, 382/218, 382/224, 382/229, 382/100, 382/306, 707/102, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/40 Extraction of image or video features
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method and image data acquisition service arrangement are disclosed that facilitate standardizing the process of adding metadata to acquired image information downloaded from a connected image capture device to a computer system. An image acquisition service analyzes image information downloaded from the image capture device and renders new metadata values based upon applied analytical algorithms/filters. Thereafter, the image information and new metadata are rendered available to other processes that use the image information and new metadata.

Claims

1. A method, in a computer system, for generating metadata based upon data contained within image information provided by an image capture device, the image information including image data suitable for processing by an image display application program to render a displayed image, the method comprising:

acquiring, by a data transfer interface, image information responsive to a request to acquire image data;

analyzing, by an image data analysis component associated with an image acquisition service, the acquired image information to render at least one new metadata value for the image information;

integrating the at least one new metadata value with the acquired image information, wherein integrating comprises adding the at least one new metadata value to an acquired image file;

receiving a request to acquire image data, wherein the image data is rendered by an image capture device; and

forwarding the request to acquire image data to the data transfer interface.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the integrating step is carried out prior to providing the image information to a user-mode process that issued the request to acquire image data.

3. A tangible computer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions for facilitating the generation of metadata based upon data contained within image information provided by an image capture device, the image information including image data suitable for processing by an image display application program to render a displayed image, the computer executable instructions facilitating performing a set of steps comprising:

invoking acquisition, by a data transfer interface, of image information in response to a request to acquire image data;

analyzing, by an image data analysis component associated with an image acquisition service, the acquired image information to render at least one new metadata value for the image information, wherein it the at least one new metadata value can be associated with one of a number of different property types;

integrating the at least one new metadata value with the acquired image information;

receiving a request to acquire image data, wherein the image data is rendered by an image capture device; and

forwarding the request to acquire image data to the data transfer interface.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 3 wherein the executable instructions are arranged such that the integrating step is carried out prior to providing the image information to a user-mode process that issued the request to acquire image data.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 3 wherein the image data analysis component resides within an operating system of the computer system.