Identifying a photographer

• US 8,180,208 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2010
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Gallagher, Andrew C., Deever, Aaron T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Laballe, Clayton E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fenwick, Warren
• Application Number:
  US12/782,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20110286729A1
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: 396/53, 396/54, 396/55, 396/52, 382/122, 382/123, 348/208.4, 348/208.14, 348/208.12
• US Class Current: 396/52
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/00 Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor lens hoods or caps G03B11/04

Abstract

A method of identifying a photographer includes determining a steadiness signal related to movement of a camera held by a first photographer while capturing an image or video, wherein the steadiness signal identifies the motion of the camera in at least two dimensions as a function of time and storing a set of steadiness signals where each steadiness signal has an associated known photographer. The method further includes using a processor to compare the steadiness signal to the set of steadiness signals to produce a set of similarity scores between the first photographer and each of the known photographers; and using the set of similarity scores to identify the photographer that has captured the image or video.

Claims

1. A method of identifying a photographer, comprising:

(a) determining a steadiness signal related to hand tremor movement of a camera held by a first photographer while capturing an image or video, wherein the steadiness signal identifies a motion of the camera in at least two dimensions as a function of time, further including providing at least two flames from a video, and storing the flames in memory and comparing corresponding pixel values of the frames for determining the steadiness signal;

(b) storing a set of steadiness signals where each steadiness signal has an associated known photographer;

(c) using a processor to compare the steadiness signal to the set of steadiness signals to produce a set of similarity scores between the first photographer and each of the known photographers; and

(d) using the set of similarity scores to identify the photographer that has captured the image or video.

2. The method of claim 1, further including an accelerometer integral with the camera responsive to camera movement for determining the steadiness signal and for applying such signal to the processor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the compared pixel values are from two adjacent frames.

4. The method of claim 1, further including providing a single image and using pixels from the single image to perform a deconvolution operation to determine the steadiness signal.