Information processing apparatus and method, program, and recording medium

• US 7,904,490 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2009
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• 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
• Application Number:
  US12/357,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20090138829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 776 Days
• Field of Search: 707/736, 707/737, 707/740, 707/795, 707/800, 707/803, 382/276
• US Class Current: 707/803
• 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 devices by capturing an object, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a generating device configured to generate additional information of content data;

a controlling device configured to determine and link address information used for storing the content data based on additional information of the content data obtained from the plurality of the capturing devices that are grouped; and

a storing device configured to store the additional information in association with the content data according to the determined address information,

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, 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, and 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.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

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

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is grouped in association with a relationship between the plurality of capturing devices.

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

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, 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.

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

generating additional information of content data;

determining and linking address information used for storing the content data based on additional information of the content data obtained from the plurality of the capturing devices that are grouped;

storing the additional information in association with the content data according to the determined address information, the additional information including time information and position information about capturing performed by the grouped capturing devices, the time information of the grouped capturing devices matching each other;

identifying a relative positional relationship or a relative time relationship between the capturing devices corresponding to the content data based on the additional information; and

storing, by a processor, the relative positional relationship or the relative time relationship between the capturing devices identified in association with the content data corresponding to the capturing devices.

7. The information processing method according to claim 6, further comprising:

searching for the content data to be linked to read content data when content data corresponding to specified capturing device in the plurality of capturing devices is read from the storing.

8. The information processing method according to claim 6, wherein the additional information is grouped in association with a relationship between the plurality of capturing devices.

9. The information processing method according to claim 8, wherein the relationship includes master-slave relation which is formed of one master and a plurality of slaves.

10. The information processing method according to claim 6, further comprising converting 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.