Video playing device, video playing method, and video playing program having automatic video selections based upon user concentration

• US 8,290,341 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2007
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Hirata, Kyoji, Kasutani, Eiji, Okumura, Masumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey, David
• Application Number:
  US12/226,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20090097822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,981 Days
• Field of Search: 386/248, 386/239, 386/278, 386/343
• US Class Current: 386/248
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/745 the internal structure of a single video sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4665 involving classification methods, e.g. Decision trees
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A video playing device includes a classification unit classifying a video or a video section to be played according to a degree of user'"'"'s necessary concentration on a video. A user'"'"'s concentration derivation unit calculates a degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video. A video selection unit selects the video or the video section to be played based on a classification result and the degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video. A video playing unit plays the video or the video section selected by the video selection unit, and operates so as to preferentially play videos or video sections which the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary to watch each video or video section is lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration.

Claims

1. A video playing device for playing a video, said video playing device comprising:

a classification unit classifying a video or a video section to be played, by calculating a number indicative of a complexity of said video or video section, said number being associated with said video or video section as representing a degree of a user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video;

a user'"'"'s concentration calculation unit calculating a current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video; and

a video playing unit comparing said current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video with the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video for each of a video or video section selectively to be played, according to a classification result of the classification unit, and determining which videos or video sections have degrees of user'"'"'s concentration necessary—

for watching video which are lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video.

2. The video playing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage unit storing relations between the video or video sections to be played and the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video,

wherein said classification unit classifies the video or video section to be played while referring to said storage unit.

3. The video playing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a video storage unit storing video to be played;

a video metadata storage unit storing metadata of the video, including at least information about the video sections; and

a video selection unit selecting the video or video section to be played based on a comparison of the calculation of the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video by the user'"'"' concentration calculation unit and classification results of the classification unit for the video or the video section to be played,

wherein the classification unit classifies each video or video section stored in said video storage unit based on the degree of the user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video or video section, and

wherein the video playing unit plays the video or the video section selected by said video selection unit.

4. The video playing device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a video storage unit storing video to be played;

a video metadata storage unit storing metadata of the video, including at least information about video sections; and

a video selection unit selecting the video or video section to be played based on a comparison of the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video by the user'"'"' concentration calculation unit and classification results of the classification unit for the video or the video section to be played,

wherein the classification unit classifies each of the video or video section stored in said video storage unit based on a user'"'"'s concentration ratio necessary for watching the video or video section, and

wherein the video playing unit plays the video or the video section selected by said video selection unit.

5. The video playing device according to claim 3,

wherein the video selection unit selects the video or video section which the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video or video section is lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video if the current degree of the user'"'"'s concentration on a video is lower than a threshold value.

6. The video playing device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a video playing history storage unit storing previously played videos or video sections as history information,

wherein the video selection unit selects the video or video section to be played based on the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video calculated by the user'"'"'s concentration calculation unit, the classification result of the classification unit for the video or video section to be played, and the history information stored in said video playing history storage unit.

7. The video playing device according to claim 6,

wherein the video selection unit selects a video or video section for which the degree of a user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video is lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video other than previously produced videos or video sections indicated by the history information stored in the video playing history storage unit.

8. The video playing device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a relational information storage unit storing relational information indicating a subordination among each of videos or video sections of the videos,

wherein the video selection unit selects the video or video section which is in subordination to videos or video sections played so far, and for which the degree of a user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video is lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video calculated by the user'"'"'s concentration calculation unit, the classification result of the classification unit for the video or the video section to be played, and the relational information stored in said relational information storage unit.

9. The video playing device according to claim 8,

wherein the video selection unit selects a video section to be played from video sections belonging to a same video as a video section being played.

10. The video playing device according to claim 8,

wherein the relational information storage unit stores the relational information including at least information indicating a temporal continuity among each of the videos or each of the video sections of the videos or information indicating a semantical subordination.

11. The video playing device according to claim 8,

wherein the video selection unit selects the video section for which a degree necessary for watching the video is lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video and being in no subordination to a video section being played if a degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary to watch a video section temporally continuous to the video section being played is higher than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video.

12. The video playing device according to claim 3, further comprising:

an interrupt detection unit detecting a change in the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video, and interrupting a playing if a degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video for a video or video section being played is lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video.

13. The video playing device according to claim 12,

wherein the interrupt detection unit detects the change in the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video, and, if the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video or video section being played is lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video, interrupts playing after playing up to an end of the video section being played;

and

the playing video selection unit selects a video section to be played based on the degree of user'"'"'s concentration detected at said end of the video section.

14. The video playing device according to claim 12, further comprising an interrupt point storage unit storing information indicating an interrupt point, the interrupt point being a position at which the playing is interrupted,

wherein the interrupt detection unit stores an interrupt point to said interrupt point storage unit when the replay is interrupted, and

the video selection unit selects a video section to restart playing a video from said interrupt point if the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video is higher than a degree of concentration necessary for watching a video for a video section temporally continuous to the interrupt point after the interrupt detection unit interrupts playing.

15. The video playing device according to claim 12,

wherein the video selection unit selects a video section so as to restart playing a video from an interrupt point after finishing playing all video sections in subordination to the video section currently being played after interrupting replay.

16. The video playing device according to claim 12,

wherein the interrupt detection unit interrupts a replay and stores an interrupt point at which the replay is interrupted in an interrupt point storage unit if the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video is higher than a degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching a video for a video section temporally continuous to the video section being played;

and

the video selection unit selects a video section being in semantically no subordination to a video section being played among video sections necessary to watch at a concentration ratio lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video detected at which the replay is interrupted if replay is interrupted by the interrupt detection unit and, moreover, selects a video section so as to restart the replay of a video from an interrupt point if the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video is higher than the user'"'"'s concentration ratio necessary for watching a video for a video section temporally continuous to the interrupt point when a replay of a video section being in semantically no subordination ends.

17. The video playing device according to claim 3,

wherein the classification unit calculates the degree of a user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video for a video or a video section to be played based on one or more pieces of information out of information indicating a genre, an importance level, a difficulty level, and a coincidence with a user'"'"'s preference, and classifies the video or the video section to be played according to the calculated degree of a user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video.

18. The video playing device according to claim 17,

wherein the classification unit uses, as the difficulty level, one or more pieces of information out of a quantity of voices per unit time included in the video or the video section and a number of characters presented per unit time.

19. The video playing device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a user information acquisition unit acquiring user information including one or more pieces of information out of information indicating a user'"'"'s ability, a user'"'"'s preference, and a user'"'"'s intention of video watching,

wherein the classification unit changes the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video for a video or video section based on the user information acquired by said user information acquisition unit.

20. The video playing device according to claim 3,

wherein the user'"'"'s concentration calculation unit calculates the degree of a user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video by estimating a degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video based on one or more pieces of information out of information indicating a video playing situation, indicating a degree of concentration of a concentration on an other operation performed in parallel, and a video watching environment.

21. The video playing device according to claim 20,

wherein the degree of user'"'"'s concentration calculation unit uses, as the video playing situation, one or more pieces of information out of a screen size of a video being played, a screen position, and a volume of a played voice.

22. The video playing device according to claim 20,

wherein the user'"'"'s video concentration calculation unit uses, as the degree of concentration on the other operation performed in parallel, one or more pieces of information out of a type of each application being run, a screen size, a screen position, and an information input amount per unit time.

23. The video playing device according to claim 20,

wherein the user'"'"'s concentration calculation unit uses, as the degree of concentration on the other operation performed in parallel, a number of key strokes per unit time.

24. The video playing device according to claim 20,

wherein the user'"'"'s concentration calculation unit uses, as the video watching environment, one or more pieces of information out of a time at which a video replay is performed, a position information, and a noise amount at a playing location.

25. The video playing device according to claim 20,

wherein the user'"'"'s concentration calculation unit estimates the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video based on a user'"'"'s line of sight information.

26. The video playing device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a stop and start control unit controlling a stop and a restart of a video playing,

wherein the stop and start control unit stops playing the video until the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video becomes equal to the degree of concentration necessary for watching the video if the video or the video section to be played is not present as a result of a determination based on a predetermined condition.

27. The video playing device according to claim 26, further comprising:

an input unit inputting information indicating an instruction to stop or restart replay according to a user'"'"'s operation,

wherein the stop and start control unit stops playing and reselects a video or a video section if the stop and start control unit detects information indicating a user'"'"'s stop instruction input from said input unit.

28. The video playing device according to claim 27, further comprising:

a selection unit permitting a user to select a video or video section to be played,

wherein the stop and start control unit stops playing and controls said selection unit to reselect the video or video section if detecting information indicating the user'"'"'s stop instruction input from said input unit.

29. The video playing device according to claim 27,

wherein the stop and start control unit stops playing and controls the playing video selection unit to reselect the video or video section if the information indicating the user'"'"'s stop instruction is input via the input unit;

and

the playing video selection unit receives instruction from the stop and start control unit and performs a selection from among the videos or the video sections other than the stopped videos or the video sections based on the predetermined condition.

30. The video playing device according to claim 27, further comprising:

a classification result update unit updating the classification result for the video or the video section for which the user'"'"'s stop instruction is transmitted if the information indicating the user'"'"'s stop instruction is input via the input unit.

31. A video playing method for playing a video, said method comprising:

classifying, using a processor, a video or a video section to be played according to a degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching a video, by calculating a number indicative of a complexity of said video or video section;

calculating a degree of a user'"'"'s concentration indicating a current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video; and

comparing the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video with the degree of concentration necessary for watching a video for each video or video section to be played according to a classification result of the classifying processing; and

determining which videos or video sections have a lower degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary—

for watching a video than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video.

32. The video playing method according to claim 31, further comprising:

storing, in a storage unit, a relation between the video or the video section to be played and the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video,

wherein said classifying processing classifies the video or the video section to be played while referring to said storage unit.

33. The video playing method according to claim 31, further comprising:

storing the video to be played;

storing metadata of the video, including at least information about the video sections;

classifying each of the video or each of the video section stored based on the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video;

calculating a degree of user'"'"'s concentration indicating a current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video;

selecting the video or the video section to be played based on the degree of user'"'"'s concentration and a classification result for the video or the video section to be played; and

playing the selected video or the selected video section.

34. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium, tangibly embodying a video playing program for playing a video and causing a computer to execute:

a processing for classifying a video or a video section to be played according to a degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video, by calculating a number indicative of a complexity of said video or video section;

a processing for calculating a degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video; and

a processing for comparing a current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video with the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video for each video or each video section to be played according to a classification result of the classifying processing, and determining videos or video sections for which the degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video is lower than the current degree of user'"'"'s concentration on a video.

35. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium according to claim 34, the program further comprising instructions for:

storing, in a storage unit, a relation between the video or the video section to be played and the degree of user'"'"'s concentration,

wherein said classifying processing classifies the video or the video section to be played while referring to said storage unit.

36. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium according to claim 34, tangibly embodying a set of machine-readable instructions causing a computer comprising a storage device storing the video to be played and metadata of the video, including at least information about the video sections, the instructions further causing the computer to execute:

a processing for classifying each video or video section to be played based on a degree of user'"'"'s concentration necessary for watching the video or the video section;

a processing for calculating a degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video;

a processing for selecting the video or the video section to be played based on the calculated degree of user'"'"'s concentration on the video and a classification result for the video or the video section to be played; and

a processing for playing the selected video or the selected video section.