System, method and computer program product for dynamically identifying, selecting and extracting graphical and media objects in frames or scenes rendered by a software application

• US 8,629,885 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2006
• Issued: 01/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Exent Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Exent Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Tzruya, Yoav, Nave, Itay
• Primary Examiner(s): Brier, Jeffery A
• Application Number:
  US11/588,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20070126749A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,636 Days
• Field of Search: 345/619, 717/113
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/61 using advertising information
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5506 using advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6009 for importing or creating game content, e.g. authoring tools during game development, adapting content to different platforms, use of a scripting language to create content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4486 Formation of subprogram jump address
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A technique is described herein for dynamically enhancing and measuring a software application without having to change and recompile the original application code. A system includes a staging environment that monitors the application and indexes items of graphical and/or audio information into a first database. A second database is then populated with business rules that are associated with the objects indexed. The system further includes a run-time environment that identifies items of graphics and/or audio information generated during run-time, and upon determining that an identified item is associated with a business rule, applies the business rule, measures the object and its related attributes and optionally report the data back to a third database. Also described herein are techniques for dynamically measuring attributes of objects rendered and/or referenced by software applications, for dynamically serving advertisements to a computer game, and for pre-processing software applications to identify spots desirable for advertisement placement.

Claims

1. A method for storing information about objects appearing in frames rendered by a software application while said software application is executing in a computer, comprising:

performing by an interception component installed on said computer that is not part of said software application;

identifying objects in a frame as said frame is rendered by said software application wherein said identifying step includes intercepting function calls directed to a graphics application programming interface (API) generated by said software application;

enabling a user to browse through at least a subset of said identified objects while said objects appear in said frame by hooking at least one input device connected to said computer, said hooking comprising overriding an interpretation by said software application of user input provided via said at least one input device;

determining whether said user selected one or more of said identified objects while browsing; and

if said user selected one or more of said identified objects, then storing information pertaining to said selected object;

wherein said identifying, enabling, determining and storing steps are performed by at least one processor included in said computer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said software application is a computer game.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said selected object is a graphical object.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said identifying step comprises:

identifying said selected graphical object by its texture.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said identifying step comprises:

identifying said selected graphical object by its vertex set.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein said identifying step comprises:

identifying said selected graphical object by its location in a scene.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein said identifying step comprises:

identifying said selected graphical object by rendering order.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said identifying step comprises:

identifying and tagging objects referenced by said intercepted function calls.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said enabling step comprises:

hooking the at least one input device to detect user actions; and

sequencing through at least a subset of said identified objects in response to said detected user actions.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said sequencing step comprises:

highlighting a current object, wherein said highlighting comprises one or more of;

(i) displaying a box around said current object;

(ii) shading said current object;

(iii) coloring said current object; and

(iv) modifying a display attribute of said current object.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said enabling step comprises:

enabling a user to browse through identified objects that satisfy pre-determined criteria.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said pre-determined criteria comprise one or more of object size, object angle, distance to viewport, and object coverage.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said storing step comprises:

gathering said information pertaining to said selected object.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said gathering step comprises one or more of:

(i) obtaining information from a computer operating system;

(ii) obtaining information by making function calls to graphics functions; and

(iii) retrieving information from intercepted function calls to graphics functions.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein said information pertaining to said selected object comprises one or more of:

(i) a texture associated with said selected object;

(ii) a spot definition;

(iii) a screenshot of said frame;

(iv) a video sequence of said software application;

(v) a vertex set of said selected object;

(vi) highlighting information;

(vii) size information; and

(viii) angle information.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information pertaining to said identified objects in a current frame database, wherein said storing step comprises:

transferring information pertaining to said selected object from said current frame database to a staging environment information database.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said identifying step comprises:

gathering information on said identified object; and

storing said gathered information in said current frame database;

wherein said current frame database is constructed on a frame-by-frame basis.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein information pertaining to objects selected by said user is transferred from said current frame database to a staging environment information database.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(i) enabling users to edit existing information on objects;

(ii) enabling users to provide additional information on objects; and

(iii) storing said edited and additional information.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein steps (i)-(iii) are performed in real-time or off-line.

21. A computer system configured to store information about objects appearing in frames rendered by a software application while the software application is executing thereon, comprising:

a processor configured to execute computer control logic;

a memory communicatively connected to the processor that stores an interception component that is not part of said software application, the interception component comprising;

first computer control logic that is executed by the processor to identify objects in a frame as said frame is rendered by said software application by intercepting function calls directed to a graphics application programming interface (API) generated by said software application,

second computer control logic that is executed by the processor to enable a user to browse through at least a subset of said identified objects while said identified objects appear in said frame by hooking at least one input device connected to the computer, said hooking comprising overriding an interpretation by said software application of user input provided via said at least one input device,

third computer control logic that is executed by the processor to determine whether said user selected one or more of said identified objects while browsing, and

fourth computer control logic that is executed by the processor to store information pertaining to said selected object if said user selected one or more of said identified objects.

22. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage unit having computer control logic recorded thereon for enabling a processor to store information about objects appearing in frames rendered by a software application while said software application is executing in a computer, the computer control logic, when executed by a processor, enabling the processor to perform steps comprising:

identifying objects in a frame as said frame is rendered by said software application by intercepting function calls directed to a graphics application programming interface (API) generated by said software application;

enabling a user to browse through at least a subset of said identified objects while said objects appear in said frame by hooking at least one input device connected to the computer, said hooking comprising overriding an interpretation by said software application of user input provided via said at least one input device;

determining whether said user selected one or more of said identified objects while browsing; and

storing information pertaining to said selected object if said user selected one or more of said identified objects;

wherein the computer control logic comprise an interception component that is not part of said software application.