System and method for generating a work of communication with supplemental context

• US 7,694,226 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2006
• Issued: 04/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Manico, Joseph A., Covannon, Edward, Cosgrove, Patrick A., Allen, Loretta E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson; Greta L
• Application Number:
  US11/324,681
• Publication Number:
  US 20070168315A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,554 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/102, 707/104.1, 707/2, 707/100, 707/8, 434/365, 715/200, 715/700, 715/707, 715/708, 715/731, 715/202
• US Class Current: 715/731
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

A system for selecting, managing, sharing and displaying content data files in a manner that takes into account the contextual significance of said content data files to a narrative, an author(s) and an audience. A system that is able to place an absolute and relative value upon the significance of a media object is able to assist in stimulating the recollection of the author and audience, thus making every aspect more memorable and enhancing by improving the ease of use and the quality of the final result of the use of the system of this invention.

Claims

1. A method for operating an electronic system adapted to process content data files to form a work of communication;

receiving instructions from an author of the work of communication including a designation of a set of content data files and a selection of an output form for the work of communication;

accessing the designated content data files;

determining narrative content from the content data files based upon the selected output form;

determining context indicators from the content data files based upon a contextual framework of rules for identifying context indicators;

determining inference queries based upon the context indicators and a knowledge base for a person associated with the work of communication;

obtaining context data files from a source of content data files using the inference queries; and

,

prioritizing obtained context data files based upon the significance of the context data file relative to the associated person and providing content data files that have an assigned priority that is greater than a threshold priority for integration with the determined narrative content to form a work of communication;

wherein said context data files comprise content data files that are not limited to the designated set of content data files.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said contextual framework comprises rules for identifying chronological indicators in content data files, environmental indicators in the content data files, social indicators in the content data files, a cultural indicators in the content data files;

a political context indicators in the content data files, technological indicators in the content data files, athletic indicators in the content data files, educational indicators in the content data files, the type of work of communication that is selected, or geographical indicators in the content data files.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining narrative content comprises determining narrative content from the set of content data files based upon the type of work of communication that has been designated.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining narrative content comprises identifying a plurality of nodes.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the knowledge base is used to form inference queries that are based upon at least two levels of relative significance with respect to the associated person.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the knowledge base for the associated person includes at least one of biographical, social, and professional information regarding the associated person.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step providing context data files that have an assigned priority that is greater than a threshold priority for integration with the determined narrative content to form a work of communication comprises presenting representations of the obtained context data files to an author, detecting the author'"'"'s selection of representations of the presented context data files and incorporating only the selected context data files associated with the representations into the work of communication.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of integrating context data files comprises determining context data files that can be used to modify the determined narrative content.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of integrating context data files with the derived narrative content comprises generating a computer simulation or animation of a narrative event combining elements of the contextual content data files and elements of the derived narrative content.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said content data files comprises any form of visual content including video streams, sequences of still images, still images, text, graphics, animations and computer simulation and/or audio data comprising any form of data that can be converted into a human audible form.

11. A method for generating a work of communication on an electronic system adapted to process content data files, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving an input from an author of the work of communication including a designation of a set of content data files and a selection of an output form for the work of communication;

accessing the designated content data files;

determining narrative content from the work of communication based upon the designated set of content data files;

determining context indicators from the designated content data files based upon a contextual framework of rules for identifying context indicators;

constructing inference queries for locating context data files that can be used as context data files to supply context to the determined narrative content, said construction being performed by identifying types of potentially useful context based upon the context indicators and by defining such inference queries to locate content data files that depict content the potentially useful context and that have a high relative level of significance to the associated person;

obtaining context data files by using the constructed inference queries to locate content data files other than the designated content data files;

providing context data files for use in a work of communication, wherein the relative significance of content data files sought in the inference queries is a product of the absolute significance of the content data files and a range of degrees of separation between the associated person and the type of content data file being sought.

12. A method for generating a work of communication on an electronic system adapted to process content data files, the method comprising the steps of:

determining an output product defining a nature of the work of communication to be generated;

receiving a designation of a set of content data files defining narrative content of the work of communication for use in the work of communication;

accessing the designated content data files;

locating content indicators in the content data files said content indicators being suggestive of content data files that depict a type of content associated with the context indicator to the narrative content of the work of communication,

accessing a knowledgebase of information relevant to a person associated with the work of communication said knowledgebase providing information that can be used to determine the relative significance of particular content to the associated person;

generating inference queries for context data files, said context data files comprising content data files other than the designated content data files that depict a type of content associated with the context indicator and that are intended to obtain content data files that have content that is within a range of relative significance relative to the associated person as determined based upon information in the knowledge base;

obtaining context data files using the generated reference inquiries, and providing obtained context data files having at least a minimum relative significance for use in a work of communication.

13. An electronic system for generating a work of communication, the system comprising:

a user input system having user input controls adapted to receive instructions from an author including a designation of a set of content data files and a selection an output form for the work of communication; and

,

a processor adapted to receive the designated content data files and to determine context indicators from the context data files based upon a contextual framework of rules for identifying context indicators in the content data files, said processor further adapted to determine inference queries based upon the context indicators and a knowledge base for a person associated with the work of communication;

to obtain context data files from a source of content data files using the inference queries; and

, to prioritize obtained context data files based upon the significance of the context data file relative to the associated person

said processor further being adapted to provide context data files that have an assigned priority that is greater than a threshold priority for integration into the work of communication;

wherein said context data files comprise content data files other than the designated set of content data files.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising an output system adapted to generate a product useful in providing a work of communication in printed form, in electronic form, in an interactive form or in the form of a live performance.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the system is a self-contained system.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the system comprises an output system having a printer adapted to generate a printed work of communication, an electronic memory writer adapted to record data representing a work of communication on a memory device, or some other circuit or system that is adapted to allow recording of data that can be used to represent, to recreate, or to enable a work product in the form of a simulation, interactive or live performance experience.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising a display system for presenting a work product or portion thereof at a remote location.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein said processor is further adapted to determine a narrative content of the work of communication based upon the type of work of communication and the designated set of content data files provided by the user.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein said processor is further adapted to determine the narrative content of the designated set of content data files by way of input made at a user input system.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is further adapted to determine nodes of the narrative content of the content data files, to further determine additional inference queries that are produced by calculating the relative significance of content data files to the nodes of the narrative content, said to combine these additional inference queries reiteratively and recursively with said inference queries to form combined inference queries and wherein said processor is adapted to search for context data files using the combined inference queries.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein said processor is adapted to generate inference queries that stimulate recollection through presentation of context relevant content data files to a user.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the associated person comprises at least one of an author, a performer, or an audience and wherein said system further comprises sensors for monitoring the response of at least one of the author, the performer and the audience, said processor further being adapted to dynamically adjust inferential queries based upon signals from the sensors.