Linking captured images using short range communications

• US 8,743,223 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2008
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Harper, Richard, Gosset, Philip, Banks, Richard M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Velez, Roberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kao, Yih-Sien
• Application Number:
  US12/035,004
• Publication Number:
  US 20090213245A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,294 Days
• Field of Search: 348/211.2, 348/211.3, 4554561-4563, 455 411- 412
• US Class Current: 348/211.2
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for linking captured images using short range communications or a personal area network are described. In an embodiment, an image capture device is described which detects devices in proximity to the device and stores data identifying the devices and the times when they were in proximity. In another embodiment, a computing-based device is described which uses the data stored by an image capture device to identify sequences of images which were captured by a group of devices in proximity to each other and to present these sequences to a viewer concurrently and in temporal alignment.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage devices, with device-executable instructions for performing acts comprising:

receiving a plurality of images and associated data from a plurality of image capture devices, wherein the associated data comprises;

a capture time for each image;

an identifier of a first image capture device that captured the image;

for at least one particular image of the plurality of images, an identifier of a second image capture device that was in proximity to the first image capture device when the particular image was captured; and

an authentication key associated with the second image capture device, the authentication key being usable to grant access to a second image captured by the second image capture device, the capture time of the image, the identifier of the second image capture device, and the authentication key being received from the first image capture device;

identifying a plurality of sequences of images captured by a set of image capture devices whilst in proximity to each other based on the associated data; and

presenting the plurality of sequences of images concurrently and in temporal alignment, wherein each sequence of images is displayed in a distinct region of a display window and each sequence of images is displayed with an identifier associated with a user of the image capture device through which the sequence of images was captured.

2. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 1, wherein the associated data further comprises location data, the location data comprises a capture location associated with each image.

3. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 2, wherein the display window comprises a plurality of distinct regions;

and relative locations of the distinct regions in the display are indicative of the relative capture locations associated with each sequence of images displayed in the plurality of distinct regions, the relative capture locations including at least two different capture locations.

4. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 1, wherein identifying a plurality of sequences of images captured by a set of image capture devices whilst in proximity to each other based on the associated data comprises:

searching stored data to identify a set of image capture devices n proximity to each other for a period of time;

identifying sequences of images captured by each identified device in the set during said period of time; and

linking the identified sequences of images.

5. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 4, wherein searching stored data to identify a set of image capture devices in proximity to each other for a period of time comprises:

searching stored data to identify a set of image capture devices in proximity to each other for a period of time; and

filtering the set of image capture devices based on defined criteria to generate a filtered set of image capture devices.

6. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 5, wherein the defined criteria comprises a device group to which one or more of the plurality of image capture devices may belong.

7. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 6, wherein a particular image capture device is associated with a plurality of device groups.

8. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 1, wherein presenting the plurality of sequences of images concurrently and in temporal alignment comprises:

identifying a plurality of sequences for display; and

generating a display comprising the plurality of sequences in temporal alignment.

9. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 8, wherein generating a display comprising the plurality of sequences in temporal alignment comprises:

outputting each of the plurality of sequences to a different address, wherein each said address is associated with a region on a display, each address being either an e-mail address, an IP address or a telephone number.

10. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 8, wherein generating a display comprising the plurality of sequences in temporal alignment comprises:

displaying each of a plurality of sequences in temporal alignment in a different region of a display window.

11. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 8, wherein the display comprising the plurality of sequences in temporal alignment is generated in response to receiving a request.

12. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 1, wherein the identifier associated with the user of the image capture device through which the sequence of images was captured is an image of the user.

13. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of sequences of images are presented on a situated display.

14. The one or more computer-readable storage devices according to claim 13, wherein the situated display is located at an event at which the plurality of sequences of images were captured.

15. A method comprising:

receiving a plurality of images and associated data from a plurality of image capture devices, wherein the associated data comprises;

a capture time for each image;

an identifier of a first image capture device that captured the image;

for at least one particular image of the plurality of images, an identifier of a second image capture device that was in proximity to the first image capture device when the particular image was captured; and

a second image capture device time, the second image capture device time indicating a time according to the second image capture device, the capture time of the image, the identifier of the second image capture device, and the second image capture device time being received from the first image capture device;

identifying a plurality of sequences of images captured by a set of image capture devices whilst in proximity to each other based on the associated data;

determining, for each of the plurality of image capture devices, one or more groups to which a user of the image capture device belongs;

receiving a user request to view the plurality of images;

determining one or more groups to which the user requesting to view the plurality of images belongs;

selecting for display, one or more sequences of images from the plurality of sequences of images, wherein the one or more sequences of images that are selected were captured by a user belonging to a group to which the user requesting to view the plurality of images also belongs; and

displaying the selected one or more sequences of images concurrently and in temporal alignment.

16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein displaying the selected one or more sequences of images comprises:

generating display having a plurality of distinct regions; and

displaying each sequences of images of the one or more sequences of images in different region of the plurality of distinct regions.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein relative positions of the distinct regions within the display correspond to relative geographic locations at which the sequences of images displayed in the distinct regions were captured.