Product identification using mobile device

• US 8,848,088 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2013
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Fan, Zhigang, Zhao, Yonghui, Wang, Shen-ge, Ding, Hengzhou
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, CHIA WEI A
• Application Number:
  US14/070,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20140056478A1
• Time in Patent Office: 330 Days
• Field of Search: 348/135, 348/222.1, 34833301-33313, 382/181, 382209-223
• US Class Current: 348/333.02
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/235 based on user input or interaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes

Abstract

A method and apparatus for obtaining an image and providing one or more document files to a user is disclosed. The method may include receiving an image of a target object using an imaging device, analyzing the image to identify one or more features, and accessing a model database to identify an object model having features that match the identified features from the image. When the system determines that more than one model may be a match, the method looks for distinguishing features of the target object and selects a model that includes the distinguishing features. The method then includes, retrieving a document file that corresponds to the identified model from a file database, and providing the document file to a user.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, from an imaging device of an electronic device, a first image of a target object, wherein the receiving comprises;

receiving a series of images of the target object, and

selecting, from the series of images, the first image;

analyzing, by one or more processors using an image recognition application, the first image to identify a first feature of the target object, wherein the analyzing comprises;

comparing information from the first image with information from a model database to identify a subset of objects containing similar features,

obtaining information from the database regarding one or more locations of one or more specific features, and

analyzing the first image to seek the one or more locations and determine whether the target object as shown in the first image matches any of the objects in the subset;

accessing, by one or more of the processors, the database to identify one or more models of objects that include the first feature; and

in response to identifying more than one model;

identifying, by one or more of the processors, that one of the identified models includes a distinguishing point,

determining, by one or more of the processors by analyzing a second image of the target object, that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, and

in response to determining that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, retrieving one or more document files that correspond to the identified model that contains the distinguishing point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprises:

generating an instruction to make one or more adjustments to the imaging device;

receiving the second image after the one or more adjustments have been made; and

analyzing the second image to determine whether the second image includes the distinguishing point.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprises:

identifying a location on the target object where the distinguishing point may appear;

displaying the target object on a display of the electronic device;

when an area that contains the location appears on the display, causing the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators;

receiving the second image; and

analyzing the second image to determine whether the second image includes the distinguishing point.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

causing the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators comprises displaying a variable boundary indicator and a stationary boundary indicator, such that the stationary boundary indicator represents an optimal focal distance and the variable boundary indicator has a size that is adjusted when a zoom factor of the imaging device is altered; and

when the variable boundary indicator matches the stationary boundary indicator, the method also includes capturing the second image.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each model in the database is an appliance model.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

determining whether the target object as shown in the first image matches any of the objects in the subset comprises that the target object as shown matches more than one model; and

determining whether the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprises;

selecting the second image from the series of images; and

determining whether the second image contains the distinguishing point in the one or more locations.

7. An electronic device, comprising:

an imaging device;

a processor;

a display; and

a computer-readable memory containing a model identifying application comprising programming instructions that, when executed, instruct the processor to;

cause the imaging device to receive a first image of a target object;

analyze the first image to identify a first feature of the target object;

access a model database to identify one or more models of objects that include the first feature;

in response to identifying more than one model;

identify that one of the identified models includes a distinguishing point,

determine, by analyzing a second image of the target object, that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, and

in response to determining that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, retrieve one or more document files that correspond to the identified model that contains the distinguishing point,

wherein the instructions that cause the imaging device to receive the first image of the target object and that cause the processor to analyze the first image comprise instructions to;

receive a series of images of the target object,

select, from the series of images, the first image,

compare information from the first image with information from the database to identify a subset of objects containing similar features,

obtain information from the database regarding one or more locations of one or more specific features, and

analyze the first image to seek the one or more locations and determine whether the target object as shown in the first image matches any of the objects in the subset.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein:

the device further comprises a display; and

the instructions that cause the processor to determine that the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprise instructions to;

generate an instruction to make one or more adjustments to the imaging device;

receive the second image after the one or more adjustments have been made; and

analyze the second image to determine whether the second image includes the distinguishing point.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine that the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprise instructions to:

identify a location on the target object where the distinguishing point may appear;

display the target object on a display of the electronic device;

when an area that contains the location appears on the display, cause the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators;

receive the second image; and

analyze the second image to determine whether the second image includes the distinguishing point.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein:

the instructions that cause the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators comprise instructions to display a variable boundary indicator and a stationary boundary indicator, such that the stationary boundary indicator represents an optimal focal distance and the variable boundary indicator has a size that is adjusted when a zoom factor of the imaging device is altered; and

the device comprises additional instructions that, when executed, cause the imaging device to automatically capture the second image when the variable boundary indicator matches the stationary boundary indicator.

11. The device of claim 7, wherein:

when the processor determines that the target object as shown matches any of the objects in the subset, the instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprise instructions to;

select the second image from the series of images; and

determine whether the second image contains the distinguishing point in the one or more locations.

12. A non-transitory computer program product containing instructions that, when executed, instruct one or more processors to implement a method, the method comprising:

receiving a first image of a target object;

analyzing the first image to identify a first feature of the target object;

accessing an appliance model database to identify one or more models of appliances that include the first feature; and

in response to identifying more than one model;

identifying that one of the identified models includes a distinguishing point,

determining, by analyzing a second image of the target object, that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, and

in response to determining that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, retrieving one or more document files that correspond to the identified model that contains the distinguishing point,

wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to receive the first image of the target object and analyze the first image comprise instructions to;

receive a series of images of the target object;

select the first image from the series of images;

compare information from the first image with information from the appliance model database to identify a subset of objects containing similar features;

obtain information from the database regarding one or more locations of one or more specific features; and

analyze the first image to seek the one or more locations and determine whether the target object as shown in the first image matches any of the objects in the subset.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine that the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprise instructions to:

generate an instruction to make one or more adjustments to an imaging device;

cause the imaging device to capture the second image after the one or more adjustments have been made; and

analyze the second image to determine whether the second image includes the distinguishing point.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine that the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprise instructions to:

identify a location on the target object where the distinguishing point may appear;

display the target object on a display of the electronic device;

when an area that contains the location appears on the display, cause the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators;

receive the second image; and

analyze the second image to determine whether the second image includes the distinguishing point.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein:

the instructions that cause the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators comprise instructions to display a variable boundary indicator and a stationary boundary indicator, such that the stationary boundary indicator represents an optimal focal distance and the variable boundary indicator has a size that is adjusted when a zoom factor of the imaging device is altered; and

the instructions comprise additional instructions that, when executed, cause an imaging device to automatically capture the second image when the variable boundary indicator matches the stationary boundary indicator.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein:

when the processor determines that the target object as shown matches any of the objects in the subset, the instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine whether the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprise instructions to;

select the second image from the series of images; and

determine whether the second image contains the distinguishing point in the one or more locations.

17. A method, comprising:

receiving, from an imaging device of an electronic device, a first image of a target object;

analyzing, by one or more processors using an image recognition application, the first image to identify a first feature of the target object;

accessing, by one or more of the processors, a model database to identify one or more models of objects that include the first feature;

in response to identifying more than one model;

identifying, by one or more of the processors, that one of the identified models includes a distinguishing point,

determining, by one or more of the processors by analyzing a second image of the target object, that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, wherein determining that the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprises;

identifying a location on the target object where the distinguishing point may appear;

displaying the target object on a display of the electronic device;

when an area that contains the location appears on the display, causing the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators;

receiving the second image; and

analyzing the second image to determine whether the second image includes the distinguishing point, and

in response to determining that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, retrieving one or more document files that correspond to the identified model that contains the distinguishing point.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

causing the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators comprises displaying a variable boundary indicator and a stationary boundary indicator, such that the stationary boundary indicator represents an optimal focal distance and the variable boundary indicator has a size that is adjusted when a zoom factor of the imaging device is altered; and

when the variable boundary indicator matches the stationary boundary indicator, the method also includes capturing the second image.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein each model in the database is an appliance model.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving the first image of the target object and analyzing the first image comprise:

receiving a series of images of the target object;

selecting, from the series of images, the first image;

comparing information from the first image with information from the database to identify a subset of objects containing similar features;

obtaining information from the database regarding one or more locations of one or more specific features; and

analyzing the first image to seek the one or more locations and determine whether the target object as shown in the first image matches any of the objects in the subset.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein:

determining whether the target object as shown in the first image matches more than one model in the subset comprises that the target object as shown matches more than one model; and

determining whether the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprises;

selecting the second image from the series of images, and

determining whether the second image contains the distinguishing point in the one or more locations.

22. An electronic device, comprising:

an imaging device;

a processor;

a display; and

a computer-readable memory containing a model identifying application comprising programming instructions that, when executed, instruct the processor to;

cause the imaging device to receive a first image of a target object,

analyze the first image to identify a first feature of the target object,

access a model database to identify one or more models of objects that include the first feature, and

in response to identifying more than one model;

identify that one of the identified models includes a distinguishing point,

determine, by analyzing a second image of the target object, that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, and

in response to determining that the target object comprises the distinguishing point, retrieve one or more document files that correspond to the identified model that contains the distinguishing point,

wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine that the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprise instructions to;

identify a location on the target object where the distinguishing point may appear,

display the target object on a display of the electronic device,

when an area that contains the location appears on the display, cause the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators,

receive the second image, and

analyze the second image to determine whether the second image includes the distinguishing point.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein:

the instructions that cause the display to indicate the location by displaying one or more boundary indicators comprise instructions to display a variable boundary indicator and a stationary boundary indicator, such that the stationary boundary indicator represents an optimal focal distance and the variable boundary indicator has a size that is adjusted when a zoom factor of the imaging device is altered; and

the device comprises additional instructions that, when executed, cause the imaging device to automatically capture the second image when the variable boundary indicator matches the stationary boundary indicator.

24. The device of claim 22, wherein the instructions that cause the imaging device to receive the first image of the target object and that cause the processor to analyze the first image comprise instructions to:

receive a series of images of the target object;

select, from the series of images, the first image;

compare information from the first image with information from the database to identify a subset of objects containing similar features;

obtain information from the database regarding one or more locations of one or more specific features; and

analyze the first image to seek the one or more locations and determine whether the target object as shown in the first image matches any of the objects in the subset.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein:

when the processor determines that the target object as shown matches more than one model, the instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the target object comprises the distinguishing point comprise instructions to;

select the second image from the series of images; and

determine whether the second image contains the distinguishing point in the one or more locations.