Method and apparatus for photograph finding

• US 8,315,483 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2012
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Hoshiko LLC (Raoul Management LLC)
• Inventors: Shuster, Gary Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Kassa, Yosef
• Application Number:
  US13/407,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20120155720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 266 Days
• Field of Search: 382/209, 382/219, 382/305, 358/403, 358/404
• US Class Current: 382/305
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/38 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/583 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5838 using colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5854 using shape and object relationship
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/587 using geographical or spatial information, e.g. location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/75 Organisation of the matching processes, e.g. simultaneous or sequential comparisons of image or video features; Coarse-fine approaches, e.g. multi-scale approaches; using context analysis; Selection of dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

Digital image data including discrete photographic images of a variety of different subjects, times, and so forth, are collected and analyzed to identify specific features in the photographs. In an embodiment of the invention, distinctive markers are distributed to aid in the identification of particular subject matter. Facial recognition may also be employed. The digital image data is maintained in a database and quarried in response to search requests. The search requests include criteria specifying any feature category or other identifying information, such as date, time, and location that each photograph was taken, associated with each photograph. Candidate images are provided for review by requesters, who may select desired images for purchase or downloading.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a computer system including computer hardware, the method comprising:

receiving, at a web site, a first digital image selected by a user of the web site;

receiving, from a facial recognition process, first information that represents at least one facial feature appearing within the first digital image;

comparing the first information to at least second information that represents at least a second facial feature appearing within at least a second digital image;

based on the comparing, identifying at least the second digital image from among a plurality of digital images; and

causing presentation of at least the second digital image to the user via the web site, wherein the presentation identifies at least one target person having facial features that at least partially match the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from a facial recognition process, the second information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing the facial recognition process.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the first digital image to generate the first information.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the second digital image to generate the second information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second digital image is submitted by another user of the web site.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein causing presentation of at least the second digital image to the user via the web site includes causing the web site to present at least the second digital image to the user via a personal computer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein causing presentation of at least the second digital image to the user via the web site includes causing the web site to present at least the second digital image to the user via a wireless connected network device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the first information includes comparing the first information to second information that is generated from the second digital image before the first information is received from the facial recognition process.

10. A method implemented by a computer system including computer hardware, the method comprising:

storing a first digital image uploaded via a web browser to a web site, wherein the first digital image contains a visual representation of at least a first human facial feature;

receiving, from a facial recognition process, first information that represents the first human facial feature;

storing a second digital image that contains a visual representation of at least a second human facial feature;

receiving, from the facial recognition process, second information that represents the second human facial feature;

comparing the first information to at least the second information;

based on the comparing, identifying at least the second digital image from among a plurality of digital images; and

causing presentation of at least the second digital image via the web site, wherein the presentation identifies at least one target person having facial features that at least partially match the first information.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

performing the facial recognition process.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

analyzing the first digital image to generate the first information.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

analyzing the second digital image to generate the second information.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein causing presentation of at least the second digital image via the web site includes causing a presentation of a web page that identifies the at least one target person.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein causing presentation of at least the second digital image via the web site includes causing a presentation of a universal resource locator (URL) indicative of the second digital image.

16. A method, comprising:

a computer system receiving a first image selected by a user of a web site, wherein the first image depicts at least a first face;

the computer system comparing facial recognition information for the first face with facial recognition information for faces in a plurality of images, wherein the plurality of images includes a second image depicting at least a second face;

based on the comparing, the computer system determining that a match exists between the first face and the second face.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

in response to the determining, the computer system providing an indication of the match to the user via the web site.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication includes presentation of a web page that includes the second image.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication includes presentation of a thumbnail version of the second image.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the computer system performing a facial recognition process that extracts the facial recognition information for the first face from the first image.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the facial recognition information for the first face includes information indicative of distances between facial features.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the computer system storing location information identifying where the second image was taken.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the computer system storing a value indicative of a number of times that the second image has been viewed.

24. A method, comprising:

a computer system receiving an image uploaded via a web browser to a web site; and

in response to receiving the uploaded image, the computer system searching a data store to determine whether a face depicted in the uploaded image is present within one or more other images stored in the data store.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the searching includes the computer system comparing facial recognition information for the uploaded image to facial recognition information for other images present in the data store.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

in response to the searching, determining that a match exists between the face depicted in the uploaded image and a face depicted in at least one other image in the data store, the computer system providing an electronic page with information indicative of the at least one other image.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the information indicative of the at least one other image is a thumbnail image.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

the computer system storing the uploaded image in the data store along with the facial recognition information for the uploaded image.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

the computer system performing a facial recognition process to determine the facial recognition information for the uploaded image.