Method for providing affective information in an imaging system

• US 7,327,505 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2002
• Issued: 02/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Mir, Jose M., Fedorovskaya, Elena A., Parulski, Kenneth A., Matraszek, Tomasz A., Endrikhovski, Serguei
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): SINGH, SATWANT K
• Application Number:
  US10/079,646
• Publication Number:
  US 20030156304A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,177 Days
• Field of Search: 382/190, 382/118, 382/239, 382/115, 382/100, 382/199, 705/16, 705/10, 345/748, 345/581, 706/45, 706/28, 706/14, 725/10, 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 358/527, 351/210, 715/706, 715/863, 715/727, 704/275, 386/52
• US Class Current: 358/527
• 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: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/176 Dynamic expression

Abstract

A method for collecting and associating affective information for at least one image in an imaging system includes displaying a digital image for viewing by a particular user; automatically collecting affective information for the digital image as the particular user views the image; and associating the affective information with the particular user.

Claims

1. A method for storing and retrieving important digital images, comprising:

a) storing a plurality of digital images;

b) displaying the plurality of stored digital images for viewing by a particular user;

c) measuring the reaction of the particular user as each of the plurality of stored digital images is displayed;

d) determining, from the measured reaction of the particular user to each of the plurality of displayed images, a degree of importance for each of the plurality of stored digital images;

e) storing metadata indicating the degree of importance of each of the plurality of stored digital images to the particular user; and

f) using the stored degree of importance metadata to retrieve at least one stored digital image of importance to the particular user.

2. The method of claim 1 further includes the particular user providing a personal identifier.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the user identifier and the degree of importance metadata are stored with each of the digital images in a plurality of digital image files.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein each of the digital image files includes user identifiers and degree of importance metadata for a plurality of users.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the measuring the reaction of a particular user includes monitoring the physiology of the particular user.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the measuring the reaction of a particular user uses a video camera.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the measuring the reaction of a particular user includes determining the duration of time the particular user views each of the plurality of images.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the measuring the reaction of a particular user for the plurality of digital images includes monitoring the gaze of the particular user.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the degree of importance is selected from a determined degree of preference, degree of interest or degree of excitement or combinations thereof.