Estimating gender or age of a photographer

• US 8,200,076 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2010
• Issued: 06/12/2012
• 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:
  US12/782,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20110286730A1
• Time in Patent Office: 755 Days
• Field of Search: 396/53, 396/54, 396/52, 382/122, 382/123, 348/208.4, 348/208.14
• US Class Current: 396/53
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/00 Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor lens hoods or caps G03B11/04
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands

Abstract

A method of estimating the gender or approximate age of a photographer, includes: determining a steadiness signal related to movement of a camera held by a 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. Then using a processor for determining a demographic classification for the photographer based on an analysis of the steadiness signal, wherein the demographic classification includes the approximate age or the gender of the photographer.

Claims

1. A method of estimating the gender or approximate age of a photographer, comprising:

(a) determining a steadiness signal related to hand tremor movement of a camera held by a 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, further including providing at least two frames from a video, and storing the frames in memory and comparing corresponding pixel values of the frames for determining the steadiness signal; and

(b) a processor for determining a demographic classification for the photographer based on an analysis of the steadiness signal, wherein the demographic classification includes the approximate age or the gender of the photographer.

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.

5. The method of claim 1, including using the processor to respond to a hand tremor signal derived from the steadiness signal and wherein the demographic classification for the photographer is related to a magnitude of the hand tremor signal.

6. The method of claim 1, further including storing a set of steadiness signals each having an associated known demographic identity and using the processor to compare the steadiness signal to each steadiness signal from the set to produce a set of similarity scores between the photographer and each of the known demographic identities, and producing the demographic classification from the set of similarity scores.