System, apparatus, software and process for integrating video images

• US 8,482,635 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2008
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PopNoggins LLC
• Original Assignee: PopNoggins LLC
• Inventors: Peters, David S., Zellner, Scott, Duckett, Dedrick
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, TUAN V
• Application Number:
  US12/301,117
• Publication Number:
  US 20100171848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,758 Days
• Field of Search: 348/239, 345/473, 386/244
• US Class Current: 348/239
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/165 using facial parts and geometric relationships
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41415 involving a public display, viewable by several users in a public space outside their home, e.g. movie theatre, information kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8715 involving the mixing of the reproduced video signal with a non-recorded signal, e.g. a text signal

Abstract

A process for integrating video images includes generating a dancer video with a dancer and identifying a dancer head position of the dancer in the dancer video. A participant head location is identified and a cropped area is generated based on the participant head location. A participant video is generated of cropped area contents and a composite video is generated by overlaying the cropped area contents onto the dancer head position. A video image integration system includes a video camera for capturing participant videos and a processor. The processor has a processor database module storing pre-recorded dancer videos, a face recognition module configured to identify participant head locations from the video camera and generated cropped areas based thereon, and a blender module configured to overlay the cropped areas onto the dancer videos to generate composite videos.

Claims

1. A process for integrating video images comprising:

generating a dancer video with a dancer;

identifying a dancer head position of the dancer in the dancer video;

identifying a participant head location;

generating a cropped area based on the participant head location;

generating a participant video of cropped area contents; and

generating a composite video by overlaying the cropped area contents onto the dancer head position;

wherein the process further comprises generating a background video and generating a composite video further includes overlaying the dancer body and cropped area contents onto the background video;

wherein a plurality of dancer videos are generated including a plurality of dancers; and

wherein a plurality of participant head locations are identified and a plurality of cropped areas are generated, and generating the composite video includes overlaying contents of the plurality of cropped areas over respective head locations of the plurality of dancers.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the dancer head position is used to pin the dancer head in a fixed position in the composite video.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein the participant head location is determined using eigenface detection.

4. The process of claim 3, wherein the cropped area is generated based on eigenfeature comparison.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein the locations of the plurality of dancers in the composite video are individually selected.

6. The process of claim 2, wherein a shape of the cropped area is customized.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein the composite video includes audio content.

8. The process of claim 7, wherein the audio content is selected.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein a record of the selected audio content is stored.

10. A process for integrating video images comprising:

generating a dancer video with a dancer;

identifying a dancer head position of the dancer in the dancer video;

identifying a participant head location;

generating a cropped area based on the participant head location;

generating a participant video of cropped area contents; and

generating a composite video by overlaying the cropped area contents onto the dancer head position;

wherein identifying the dancer head position includes employing eigenface detection to frames of the dancer video; and

wherein interpolation is used to identify dancer head position in frames where eigenface detection is unsuccessful.

11. A process for integrating video images comprising:

generating a dancer video with a dancer;

identifying a dancer head position of the dancer in the dancer video;

identifying a participant head location;

generating a cropped area based on the participant head location;

generating a participant video of cropped area contents; and

generating a composite video by overlaying the cropped area contents onto the dancer head position;

wherein the participant head location is determined by scanning for non-chromascreen-colored pixels.

12. The process of claim 11, wherein the scanning is performed in an x-direction over a predetermined y-axis range.

13. A process for integrating video images comprising:

generating a dancer video with a dancer;

identifying a dancer head position of the dancer in the dancer video;

identifying a participant head location;

generating a cropped area based on the participant head location;

generating a participant video of cropped area contents; and

generating a composite video by overlaying the cropped area contents onto the dancer head position;

wherein the cropped area contents are scaled based on a size of the dancer.

14. A process for integrating video images comprising:

generating a dancer video with a dancer;

identifying a dancer head position of the dancer in the dancer video;

identifying a participant head location;

generating a cropped area based on the participant head location;

generating a participant video of cropped area contents; and

generating a composite video by overlaying the cropped area contents onto the dancer head position;

wherein a plurality of dancer videos are generated including a plurality of dancers;

wherein a plurality of participant head locations are identified and a plurality of cropped areas are generated, and generating the composite video includes overlaying contents of the plurality of cropped areas over respective head locations of the plurality of dancers; and

wherein the sizes of the plurality of dancers in the composite video are individually selected.

15. A process for integrating video images comprising:

generating a dancer video with a dancer;

identifying a dancer head position of the dancer in the dancer video;

identifying a participant head location;

generating a cropped area based on the participant head location;

generating a participant video of cropped area contents; and

generating a composite video by overlaying the cropped area contents onto the dancer head position;

wherein a plurality of dancer videos are generated including a plurality of dancers;

wherein a plurality of participant head locations are identified and a plurality of cropped areas are generated, and generating the composite video includes overlaying contents of the plurality of cropped areas over respective head locations of the plurality of dancers; and

wherein the associations between the plurality of dancers and the plurality of cropped areas are individually selected.

16. A video image integration system comprising:

a video camera for capturing participant videos; and

a processor including;

a processor database module storing pre-recorded dancer videos;

a face recognition module configured to identify participant head locations from the video camera and generated cropped areas based thereon; and

a blender module configured to overlay the cropped areas onto the dancer videos to generate composite videos;

wherein the processor is further configured to replicate the contents of a given cropped area such that the contents of the given cropped area can be overlayed onto a plurality of dancer videos; and

wherein the processor is further configured to automatically replicated the contents of a given cropped area and overlay the contents of the given cropped area onto a plurality of dancer videos when a number of participants selected is less than a number of identified participant head locations.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a digital video disc (DVD) recorder for recording composite videos onto DVDs.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising a hardware key, wherein the processor is configured to be fully utilizable only upon interface with the hardware key.

19. The system of claim 16, further comprising a server remote from the processor and configured for communication therewith.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to be fully utilizable only if communication with the server occurs within a predetermined interval.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the database module is further configured to store composite video information and the processor is further configured to communicate the composite video information to the server.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the composite video information includes at least one of:

associated audio content selection information and dancer video selection information.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the composite video information includes associated audio content selection information and the server is configured to calculate royalty payment amounts based on the audio content selection information.

24. The system of claim 16, wherein the video camera and the processor are contained within a booth.