Information processing apparatus and method, program, and recording medium

• US 7,499,918 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2005
• Issued: 03/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ogikubo, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CAM LINH T
• Application Number:
  US11/131,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20050278618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,385 Days
• Field of Search: 707 1- 3, 707/6, 707/10, 707/100, 707/104.1, 382/276
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/854 Content authoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9205 the additional signal being at least another television signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9206 the additional signal being a character code signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An information processing apparatus for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing devices by capturing an object includes a storing device, an obtaining device, and a searching device. The storing device stores additional information in association with the content data. The additional information includes address information for linking the content data obtained from the plurality of capturing devices that are grouped. The obtaining device obtains the additional information stored by the storing device. When content data corresponding to a specified capturing device in the plurality of capturing devices is read from the storing device, the searching device automatically searches for the content data to be linked to the read content data.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing means by capturing an object, the information processing apparatus including a server, comprising:

storing means for storing simultaneously with capturing, additional information in association with the content data, the additional information including address information for linking the content data obtained from grouped ones of the plurality of capturing means the additional information includes time information and position information about capturing performed by the grouped capturing means, the time information of the grouped capturing means matching each other;

obtaining means for obtaining and organizing the additional information stored by the storing means;

searching means for, when content data corresponding to specified capturing means in the plurality of capturing means is read from the storing means, automatically searching for the content data and the additional information to be linked to the read content data, and

identifying means for identifying a relative positional relationship or a relative time relationship between the capturing means corresponding to the content data based on the additional information obtained by the obtaining means.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the address information is grouped address information in association with a relationship between the plurality of capturing means.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the relationship includes master-slave relation which is formed of one master and a plurality of slaves.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the storing means stores the relative positional relationship or the relative time relationship between the capturing means identified by the identifying means in association with the content data corresponding to the capturing means.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising converting means for converting a current position of each of the capturing means that is measured in each of the capturing means into a relative position with respect to specified capturing means in the plurality of capturing means or the object.

6. An information processing method for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing means by capturing an object, the information processing method comprising the steps of:

storing in a server simultaneously with capturing an object additional information in association with the content data, the additional information including address information for linking the content data obtained from grouped ones of the plurality of capturing means the additional information includes time information and position information about capturing performed by the grouped capturing means, the time information of the grouped capturing means matching each other;

obtaining and organizing within the server the additional information stored by the step of storing;

when content data corresponding to specified capturing means in the plurality of capturing means is read, automatically searching within the server for the content data and the additional information to be linked to the read content data, and

identifying a relative positional relationship or a relative time relationship between the capturing means corresponding to the content data based on the additional information obtained by the obtaining step.

7. A recording medium recording a program causing a computer to execute an information process for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing means by capturing an object, the information process comprising the steps of:

storing in a server simultaneously with capturing an object additional information in association with the content data, the additional information including address information for linking the content data obtained from grouped ones of the plurality of capturing means the additional information includes time information and position information about capturing performed by the grouped capturing means, the time information of the grouped capturing means matching each other;

obtaining and organizing within the server the additional information stored by the step of storing;

when content data corresponding to specified capturing means in the plurality of capturing means is read, automatically searching within the server for the content data and the additional information to be linked to the read content data, and

identifying a relative positional relationship or a relative time relationship between the capturing means corresponding to the content data based on the additional information obtained by the obtaining step.

8. An information processing apparatus for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing means by capturing an object, the information processing apparatus including a server, comprising:

obtaining means for obtaining and organizing additional information including address information for linking the content data obtained from grouped ones of the capturing means the additional information to be added to the content data includes time information and position information about capturing performed by the capturing means;

searching means for, when content data corresponding to specified capturing means in the plurality of capturing means is specified, automatically searching for the content data and the additional information to be linked to the specified content data based on the additional information obtained by the obtaining means;

display control means for displaying the content data in a linked manner using the additional information obtained by the obtaining means and the content data searched for by the searching means, and

identifying means for identifying a relative positional relationship and a relative time relationship between the capturing means corresponding to the content data based on the additional information obtained from the content data by the obtaining means.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the display control means displays the content data based on the relative positional relationship and the relative time relationship identified by the identifying means.

10. An information processing method utilizing a recording medium within a server recording a program causing a computer to execute an information process for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing means by capturing an object, the information processing method comprising the steps of:

storing simultaneously with capturing, additional information in association with the content data, the additional information including address information for linking the content data obtained from grouped ones of the plurality of capturing means the additional information includes time information and position information about capturing performed by the grouped capturing means, the time information of the grouped capturing means matching each other;

obtaining and organizing the additional information stored by the step of storing;

when content data corresponding to specified capturing means in the plurality of capturing means is read, automatically searching for the content data and the additional information to be linked to the read content data, and

identifying a relative positional relationship or a relative time relationship between the capturing means corresponding to the content data based on the additional information obtained by the obtaining step.

11. An information processing method for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing means by capturing an object, the information processing method comprising the steps of:

obtaining and organizing within a server additional information including address information for linking the content data obtained from the captured object the additional information includes time information and position information about capturing performed by the grouped capturing means, the time information of the grouped capturing means matching each other;

when content data corresponding to specified capturing means in the plurality of capturing means is specified, automatically searching within the server for the content data and the additional information to be linked to the specified content data based on the additional information obtained during the obtaining step;

displaying the content data in a linked manner using the additional information obtained during the obtaining step and the content data searched for, and

identifying a relative positional relationship or a relative time relationship between the capturing means corresponding to the content data based on the additional information obtained by the obtaining step.

12. An information processing apparatus for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing devices by capturing an object, the information processing apparatus including a server, comprising:

a storing device configured to store simultaneously with capturing additional information in association with the content data, the additional information including address information for linking the content data obtained from grouped ones of the plurality of capturing devices;

an obtaining device configured to obtain and organize the additional information stored by the storing device;

a searching device, when content data corresponding to specified capturing device in the plurality of capturing devices is read from the storing device, configured to automatically search for the content data and the additional information to be linked to the read content data,

wherein the additional information includes time information and position information about capturing performed by the grouped capturing devices, the time information of the grouped capturing devices matching each other, and

the information processing apparatus further comprises an identifying device configured to identify a relative positional relationship or a relative time relationship between the capturing devices corresponding to the content data based on the additional information obtained by the obtaining device.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the address information is grouped address information in association with a relationship between the plurality of capturing devices.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the relationship includes master-slave relation which is formed of one master and a plurality of slaves.

15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the storing device stores the relative positional relationship or the relative time relationship between the capturing devices identified by the identifying device in association with the content data corresponding to the capturing devices.

16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a converting device configured to convert a current position of each of the capturing devices that is measured in each of the capturing devices into a relative position with respect to specified capturing devices in the plurality of capturing devices or the object.

17. An information processing apparatus for processing content data obtained from a plurality of capturing devices by capturing an object, the information processing apparatus including a server, comprising:

an obtaining device configured to obtain and organize additional information including address information for linking the content data obtained from grouped ones of the capturing devices, the additional information to be added to the content data includes time information and position information about capturing performed by the capturing devices;

a searching device when content data corresponding to specified capturing devices in the plurality of capturing devices is specified, configured to automatically search for the content data and the additional information to be linked to the specified content data based on the additional information obtained by the obtaining device;

a display control device configured to display the content data in a linked manner using the additional information obtained by the obtaining device and the content data searched for by the searching device, and

an identifying device configured to identify a relative positional relationship and a relative time relationship between the capturing devices corresponding to the content data based on the additional information obtained from the content data by the obtaining device.

18. The information processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein

the display control device displays the content data based on the relative positional relationship and the relative time relationship identified by the identifying device.