Methods and devices employing content identifiers

• US 8,489,598 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2007
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B., Rodriguez, Tony F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis, Cheryl
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoffler, Raheem
• Application Number:
  US11/671,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20070276841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,352 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

Content identifiers are associated with respective metadata. Through use of the metadata, a user'"'"'s experience with the content can be enhanced. A variety of other arrangements are also detailed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

discerning, using a processor, a plural-bit identifier from first content, wherein the first content comprises audio or video represented by content data values, wherein the discerning comprises applying a series of operations on the content data values to produce the plural-bit identifier, and wherein the plural-bit identifier is based on the content data values;

determining if a data structure contains information corresponding to the discerned content identification data;

based upon the determining, sending data related to the discerned content identification data to a first remote computer;

based upon the sending of data to the first remote computer, receiving, at a portable device, from a second remote computer, information that corresponds to the discerned content identification data;

based upon the sending of data to the first remote computer, receiving at the portable device, from the second remote computer, information identifying resources associated with second content, wherein the first content is distinct from the second content; and

taking action, at the portable device, based on the received information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the discerning comprises applying a mathematic algorithm to the content data values to produce the content identification data.

3. A method comprising:

capturing content from an environment, using a sensor in a portable device;

producing a series of digital values from the content, wherein the content comprises human-perceptible audio features or visual features;

deriving a plural-bit identifier corresponding to the captured content, based on the series of digital values;

applying at least some of the content identification data to a first data structure to yield first response data;

based at least upon the first response data, applying at least some of the content identification data to a second data structure, to yield second response data;

identifying a remote computer based at least in part on the first response data or the second response data; and

obtaining response information from the remote computer for presentation to the user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first data structure resides in a data store of the portable device, and wherein the second data structure resides in a data store remote from the portable device.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

in response to the first response data being of a second type, applying the content identification data to the second data structure, to yield second response data; and

in response to the second response data being of the second type, applying the content identification data to a third data structure, to yield third response data.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the response data of the first type comprises a URL.

7. A method comprising:

capturing content from an environment, using a sensor in a portable user device;

producing a series of digital values from the content, wherein the content comprises human-perceptible visual or audio features;

deriving, based on the series of digital values, a plural-bit identifier corresponding to the captured content;

checking, by reference to at least some of the plural-bit identifier, a first data store, in the portable device, for information about how the portable device should respond to the captured visual or audio content;

based at least upon the checking of the first data store, checking a second data store, associated with a first computer network, for the information about how the portable device should respond to the captured visual or audio content;

based at least upon the checking of the second data store, checking a further data store for the information about how the portable device should respond to the captured content; and

taking an action at the portable device in accordance with the information about how the portable device should respond to the captured content, wherein different actions to the same content can be specified in different data stores having different priority to the user device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first computer network comprises a corporate computer network.

9. A method comprising:

capturing, using a camera of a portable computing device, visual content data from a physical article, wherein the physical article is distinct from a user;

applying a digital watermark decoding process to discern steganographically encoded plural bit content identification data found in the visual content data;

checking whether a data structure in the portable computing device has information corresponding to the content identification data and, if so, taking action based on the information, wherein the action comprises presenting a graphical menu from which one of plural actions relating to the article is selectable; and

based at least upon the checking of the data structure in the portable computing device;

sending data related to the content identification data to a remote computer, wherein one or more successive remote computers receive at least part of the sent data from the remote computer;

receiving, at the portable device, a list of resources with the content identification data from one of the successive remote computers that corresponds to the article;

presenting the list of resources on a screen of the portable computer device;

receiving a selection of a resource from the list of resources; and

initiating a link to the selected resource.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

discerning a plural-bit identifier from first content, wherein the first content comprises audio or video represented by content data values, wherein the discerning comprises applying a series of operations on the content data values to produce the plural-bit identifier, and wherein the plural-bit identifier is based on the content data values;

determining if a data structure contains information corresponding to the discerned content identification data;

based upon the determining, sending data related to the discerned content identification data to a first remote computer;

based upon the sending of data to the first remote computer, receiving from a second remote computer, information that corresponds to the discerned content identification data;

based upon the sending of data to the first remote computer, receiving from the second remote computer, information identifying resources associated with second content, wherein the first content is distinct from the second content; and

taking action based on the received information.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the discerning comprises applying a mathematic algorithm to the content data values to produce the content identification data.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving content captured from an environment;

producing a series of digital values from the content, wherein the content comprises human-perceptible audio features or visual features;

deriving a plural-bit identifier corresponding to the captured content, based on the series of digital values;

applying at least some of the content identification data to a first data structure to yield first response data;

based upon the first response data, applying at least some of the content identification data to a further data structure, to yield second response data;

identifying a remote computer based at least in part on the first response data or the second response data; and

obtaining response information from the remote computer for presentation to the user.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to the first response data being of a second type, applying the content identification data to the second data structure, to yield second response data; and

in response to the second response data being of the second type, applying the content identification data to a third data structure, to yield third response data.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the response data of the first type comprises a URL.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a sensor configured to capture content from an environment;

a processor configured to;

receive the content captured from an environment by the sensor;

produce a series of digital values from the content, wherein the content comprises human-perceptible audio features or visual features;

derive a plural-bit identifier corresponding to the captured content, based on the series of digital values;

apply at least some of the content identification data to a first data structure to yield first response data;

based at least upon the first response data, apply at least some of the content identification data to a second data structure, to yield second response data;

identify a remote computer based at least in part on the first response data or the second response data; and

obtaining response information from the remote computer; and

a display configured to present the response information.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:

in response to the first response data being of a second type, apply the content identification data to the second data structure, to yield second response data; and

in response to the second response data being of the second type, apply the content identification data to a third data structure, to yield third response data.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the response data of the first type comprises a URL.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving content captured from an environment;

producing a series of digital values from the content, wherein the content comprises human-perceptible visual or audio features;

deriving, based on the series of digital values, a plural-bit identifier corresponding to the captured content;

checking, by reference to at least some of the plural-bit identifier, a first data store, for information about how the computing device should respond to the captured visual or audio content;

based at least upon the checking of the first data store, checking a second data store, associated with a first computer network, for the information about how the computing device should respond to the captured visual or audio content;

based at least upon the checking of the second data store, checking a further data store for the information about how the computing device should respond to the captured content; and

taking an action at the computing device in accordance with the information about how the computing device should respond to the captured content, wherein different actions to the same content can be specified in different data stores having different priority to the user device.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving visual content data from a physical article, wherein the physical article is distinct from a user;

applying a digital watermark decoding process to discern steganographically encoded plural bit content identification data found in the visual content data;

checking whether a data structure has information corresponding to the content identification data and, if so, taking action based on the information, wherein the action comprises presenting a graphical menu from which one of plural actions relating to the article is selectable; and

based at least upon the checking of the data structure;

sending data related to the content identification data to a second remote computer, wherein one or more successive remote computers receive at least part of the sent data from the second computer;

receiving a list of resources with the content identification data from one of the successive remote computers that corresponds to the article;

presenting a graphical display of the list of resources;

receiving a selection of a resource from the list of resources; and

initiating a link to the selected resource.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a camera configured to capture visual content data from a physical article, wherein the physical article is distinct from a user;

a processor configured to;

apply a digital watermark decoding process to discern steganographically encoded plural bit content identification data found in the visual content data;

check whether a data structure has information corresponding to the content identification data and, if so, taking action based on the information, wherein the action comprises presenting a graphical menu from which one of plural actions relating to the article is selectable; and

based at least upon the checking of the data structure;

send data related to the content identification data to a second remote computer, wherein one or more successive remote computers receive at least part of the sent data from the second computer;

receive a list of resources with the content identification data from one of the successive remote computers that corresponds to the article;

receive a selection of a resource from the list of resources; and

initiate a link to the selected resource; and

a screen configured to present a graphical display of the list of resources.