Method and apparatus for peer-to-peer capturing and sharing of visual information based on incentives

• US 8,676,925 B1
• Filed: 06/25/2009
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jiawei Liu, Shuhan Jin
• Original Assignee: Jiawei Liu, Shuhan Jin
• Inventors: Liu, Jiawei, Jin, Shuhan
• Primary Examiner(s): LI, SUN M
• Application Number:
  US12/492,122
• Time in Patent Office: 1,727 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 725 1- 30, 348200-300, 709/217, 709/223, 709/227
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/266 Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for capturing and sharing of visual information on a peer-to-peer basis are disclosed. Examples of visual information captured and shared from one peer to another include real-world events, people, and/or landscapes. In one embodiment of the invention, an incentive plan motivates a peer subject to capture and share desired visual information with other peers. In a preferred embodiment, a peer subject can use an image-capturing device to create visual information associated with specific metadata. In another embodiment of the invention, a peer subject can create an incentive plan for a specific set of desired metadata for visual information to motivate other peer subjects to provide visual information that satisfies the specific set of desired metadata. In one example, a metadata set can include information related to geographical location, time stamp, focal length, aperture value, shutter speed, exposure compensation, lens angle, and/or lens orientation.

Claims

1. A computerized system for peer-to-peer capturing and sharing of real-time visual information based on incentives, the computerized system comprising:

a visual-information-capturing device which captures, creates, or produces the real-time visual information incorporating rich visual information metadata;

a visual-information-displaying device which receives the real-time visual information from the visual-information-capturing device, generates a visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request to adjust a current position, a lens direction, a lens orientation, a lens angle, a moving direction, or a moving speed of the visual-information-capturing device, creates an incentive credit for complying with the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request, and requests an incentive plan from an incentive service platform;

the incentive service platform for providing and modifying the incentive plan with the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request and the incentive credit embedded in the rich visual information metadata for capturing and adjusting the real-time visual information by a visual information producer, wherein the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request in the incentive plan motivates a change in the current position, the lens direction, the lens orientation, the lens angle, the moving direction, or the moving speed of the visual-information-capturing device relative to the real-time visual information being captured by the visual information producer by providing the incentive credit for making the change, and wherein the incentive plan is transmitted to the visual-information-capturing device;

a computer-readable medium or a memory unit to store the incentive service platform; and

a CPU operatively connected to the computer-readable medium or the memory unit to execute the incentive service platform.

2. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the visual-information-capturing device is a mobile phone embedded with a camcorder or a camera, a mobile camera with a wireless connection, a fixed position camera with a network connection, or a mobile camcorder with a wireless connection.

3. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the visual-information-capturing device further comprises a network interface block, an incentive plan display and selection interface block, a metadata display unit, a visual metadata block, and a visual-information-capturing block.

4. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the incentive service platform further comprises an incentive plan creation and listing module, an incentive plan matching module, a visual information summary and metadata posting and listing module, and an incentive credit processing module.

5. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the visual-information-displaying device is a personal computer (PC), a television, or a video phone (e.g. a mobile phone capable of playing videos).

6. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the incentive plan specifies desired, proposed, or requested rich visual metadata from the visual information viewer who requests a creation of the incentive plan to the incentive service platform via the visual-information-displaying device.

7. The computerized system of claim 6, wherein the desired, proposed, or requested rich visual metadata formulated in the incentive plan is transmitted to a visual information producer who use the visual-information-capturing device to provide visual information conforming to the desired, proposed, or requested rich visual metadata.

8. The computerized system of claim 7, wherein the visual information producer is allowed to adjust at least some of the desired, proposed, or requested rich visual metadata.

9. The computerized system of claim 1, further comprising a visual information hosting service which is capable of storing a plurality of visual information associated with a plurality of incentive plans.

10. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the rich visual metadata comprises viewpoint description data, optimal parameter and commentary data, or identification data.

11. A method for peer-to-peer capturing and sharing of visual information based on incentives, the method comprising:

generating a visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request to adjust a current position, a lens direction, a lens orientation, a lens angle, a moving direction, or a moving speed of a visual-information-capturing device controlled by a visual information producer, wherein the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request is generated from a visual-information-displaying device;

creating an incentive credit for complying with the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request, wherein the incentive credit is controlled by the visual information viewer via the visual-information-displaying device;

transmitting the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request and the incentive credit to an incentive service platform from the visual-information-displaying device;

requesting creation of an incentive plan from the incentive service platform;

generating the incentive plan from the incentive service platform executed on a CPU and a memory unit of a computer server, wherein the incentive plan embeds the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request and the incentive credit in rich visual information metadata, and wherein the information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request in the incentive plan motivates a change in the current position, the lens direction, the lens orientation, the lens angle, the moving direction, or the moving speed of the visual-information-capturing device relative to the real-time visual information being captured by the visual information producer by providing the incentive credit for making the change;

transmitting the incentive plan to the visual information producer who is capable of capturing, creating, or producing the real-time visual information;

transmitting an acceptance of the incentive plan or a negotiation offer from the visual information producer to the visual information viewer;

capturing, creating, or producing the real-time visual information with the visual-information-capturing device by the visual information producer to comply with the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request of the lens direction, the lens orientation, the lens angle, the moving direction, or the moving speed of the visual-information-capturing device, wherein the visual information viewer'"'"'s adjustment request is embedded in the rich visual information metadata displayed on a menu screen of the visual-information-capturing device; and

transmitting the real-time visual information to a visual information hosting service or the visual information viewer.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising a step of sending an incentive credit to the visual information producer when the real-time visual information is satisfactory to the visual information viewer.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the rich visual information metadata comprises specific visual information-related requirements to be fulfilled by the visual information producer during capturing, creating, or producing the real-time visual information.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the incentive plan includes one or more follow-up incentive plans representing a negotiated incentive plan with the visual information producer, wherein the one or more follow-up incentive plans incorporate visual adjustment requests by the visual information requestor or viewer to the real-time visual information provided by the visual information producer.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the incentive plan includes a follow-up incentive plan representing a second visual information viewer'"'"'s request to access the real-time visual information, wherein the one or more follow-up incentive plans include their own incentive credits.