Tagging content with metadata pre-filtered by context

• US 8,370,358 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2009
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lin, Jyh-Han, Wu, Vanessa Tieh-Su
• Primary Examiner(s): Kerzhner, Aleksandr
• Application Number:
  US12/562,632
• Publication Number:
  US 20110072015A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 707/999.5, 707/737, 707/999.005
• US Class Current: 707/737
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

Generate tags for content from metadata pre-filtered based on context. A plurality of data items is accessed. Each of the data items has metadata. A context for a user is determined (e.g., at a moment of content capture). One or more of the data items are selected based on the determined context. Upon receipt of content, the received content is compared with the selected data items to identify matches. Metadata is selected from the metadata associated with the matching data items. The selected metadata is associated with the captured content.

Claims

1. A system for context-enriched automatic tagging, said system comprising:

a memory area for storing a plurality of data items of a user of a mobile computing device, each of the plurality of data items having metadata associated therewith, said memory area being associated with the mobile computing device; and

a processor programmed to;

determine a context for the user when capturing content, said determined context including a location of the mobile computing device and user-specific data including one or more messages;

pre-filter the plurality of data items by the determined context, the pre-filtered data items representing data items having metadata identified using the determined context, the pre-filtered data items indicating that the metadata includes one or more images from an address book of the user and one or more events corresponding to a current time from one or more calendar entries for the user;

select one or more of the pre-filtered data items stored in the memory area based on the determined context;

capture the content;

compare the captured content with one or more of the selected data items;

identify one or more of the selected data items based on the comparison;

define metadata for the captured content based on the metadata associated with one or more of the identified data items; and

store the captured content with the defined metadata in the memory area as a data item in the plurality of data items.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of data items comprises one or more of the following:

calendar entries, task entries, contacts, image files, video files, audio files, objects within the image files, and objects within the video files.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to determine the context based on the location associated with the mobile computing device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to determine the context based on one or more of the following:

user behavior, user activity, user purchase history, search query history, and an application program being executed to capture the content.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to transmit the plurality of data items to a data storage area accessible by the mobile computing device via a network.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to present the defined metadata for the captured content to the user for confirmation before storing the captured content with the defined metadata in the memory area.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for context-enriched automatic tagging of the captured content based on the determined context and one or more of the selected data items.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for inferring metadata for the captured content at the moment of capture.

9. A method comprising:

accessing a plurality of data items on at least a computing device associated with a user, each of the plurality of data items having metadata associated therewith;

determining a context for the user, said determined context including a location of the computing device and user-specific data including one or more messages;

pre-filtering the plurality of data items by the determined context, the pre-filtered data items indicating that the metadata includes one or more images from an address book of the user and one or more events corresponding to a current time from one or more calendar entries for the user;

selecting one or more of the pre-filtered data items based on the determined context;

receiving content;

comparing the received content with one or more of the selected data items;

identifying one or more of the selected data items based on said comparing;

selecting metadata from the metadata associated with one or more of the identified data items; and

associating the selected metadata with the received content.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising storing the received content with the associated metadata as a data item in the plurality of data items, the metadata associated with one or more of the identified data items being applicable until the determined context for the user changes.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the context for the user comprises identifying keywords, and wherein comparing the received content comprises searching the received content for the identified keywords.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein accessing the plurality of data items comprises accessing the address book and a social networking website associated with the user.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

presenting the selected metadata to the user, wherein the user edits the presented metadata; and

receiving edited metadata from the user, wherein associating the selected metadata includes associating the edited metadata with the received content.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein selecting the one or more of the plurality of data items comprises selecting a first image, wherein receiving content comprises receiving a second image, and wherein comparing the received content with the selected data item comprises identifying at least a portion of the first image within the second image.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein determining a context for the user comprises determining the location of the computing device, and wherein selecting one or more of the plurality of data items comprises selecting one or more data items having metadata associated with the location.

16. One or more computer storage media storing computer-executable components, said components comprising:

a context component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to determine a context for a user;

a fingerprint component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to search on at least a computing device associated with the user for one or more data items based on the determined context, each of the data items having metadata associated therewith, the searching comprising pre-filtering the one or more data items based on the determined context, said determined context including a location of the computing device associated with the user and user-specific data including one or more messages, the pre-filtered data items indicating that the metadata includes one or more images from an address book of the user and one or more events corresponding to a current time from one or more calendar entries for the user;

a recognition component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to compare captured content with one or more of the pre-filtered data items from the fingerprint component and to identify one or more of the pre-filtered data items based on the comparison; and

a tag component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to define metadata for the captured content based on the metadata associated with the data items identified by the recognition component and to associate the defined metadata with the captured content.

17. The computer storage media of claim 16, wherein the fingerprint component searches for one or more of the data items on social networking websites.

18. The computer storage media of claim 16, wherein the tag component prompts the user to accept the defined metadata before associating the defined metadata with the captured content.

19. The computer storage media of claim 16, wherein the captured content comprises an image of one or more people, and wherein the recognition component compares the captured content with one or more of the data items from the fingerprint component by performing a facial recognition analysis.