Pictures using voice commands and automatic upload

• US 8,923,692 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2014
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cutting Edge Vision LLC
• Original Assignee: Cutting Edge Vision LLC
• Inventors: Konicek, Jeffrey C.
• Primary Examiner(s): FULLER, RODNEY EVAN
• Application Number:
  US14/453,511
• Publication Number:
  US 20140347504A1
• Time in Patent Office: 146 Days
• Field of Search: 396/56
• US Class Current: 396/56
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 13/02 Viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/02 Bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 29/00 Combinations of cameras, projectors or photographic printing apparatus with non-photographic non-optical apparatus, e.g. clocks or weapons; Cameras having the shape of other objects combinations with flash apparatus G03B15/03
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 31/06 in which sound track is associated with successively-shown still pictures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/22 Interactive procedures; Man-machine interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42204 Arrangements at the exchange for service or number selection by voice at the terminal H04M1/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00095 Systems or arrangements for the transmission of the picture signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00212 Attaching image data to computer messages, e.g. to e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/57 Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 : Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 : Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 : Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet

Abstract

A system and method is disclosed for enabling user friendly interaction with a camera system. Specifically, the inventive system and method has several aspects to improve the interaction with a camera system, including voice recognition, gaze tracking, touch sensitive inputs and others. The voice recognition unit is operable for, among other things, receiving multiple different voice commands, recognizing the vocal commands, associating the different voice commands to one camera command and controlling at least some aspect of the digital camera operation in response to these voice commands. The gaze tracking unit is operable for, among other things, determining the location on the viewfinder image that the user is gazing upon. One aspect of the touch sensitive inputs provides that the touch sensitive pad is mouse-like and is operable for, among other things, receiving user touch inputs to control at least some aspect of the camera operation. Another aspect of the disclosed invention provides for gesture recognition to be used to interface with and control the camera system.

Claims

1. A camera system comprising:

(a) a camera that is operable to take and store pictures, and includes;

(i) a lens, (ii) an image sensor, (iii) at least one microphone, (iv) a voice recognizer, (v) a controller, (vi) a WIFI interface, and (vii) a touch sensitive display;

(b) the controller including a control program having instructions to control and respond to the voice recognizer;

(c) the voice recognizer coupled to, and configured to receive and process sounds transduced by, the at least one microphone to recognize human spoken words as words associated with a specified command to be performed by the controller;

(d) the controller configured to;

(i) cause the camera to perform the specific command associated with the spoken word recognized by the voice recognizer;

(ii) cause the system to take a plurality of pictures by collecting data from the image sensor and storing the pictures in a local memory of the camera; and

(iii) automatically upload pictures stored in the local memory of the camera via the WIFI interface to a location at an internet picture hosting website as instructed by a user of the camera, but only if defined predetermined conditions are met, the predetermined conditions including at least the controller receiving;

(1) an indication from the WIFI interface that the system can make an internet connection via the WIFI interface; and

(2) an indication that some of the pictures stored in local memory are designated by a user to be uploaded to the internet picture hosting website.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to take a picture as a result of input received from the touch sensitive display.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to execute an internet browser program and display the internet picture hosting website on the touch sensitive display.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to accept input from the user indicating which of the plurality pictures should be automatically backed up to the internet picture hosting website upon receiving an indication from the WIFI interface that the system can make an internet connection via the WIFI interface.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to receive input regarding focus of the lens from the touch sensitive display.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the system is further configured to capture a movie by storing, in local memory, a series of sequential frames of information corresponding to data received from the image sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to integrate with the captured movie information accessed and downloaded from the internet via the WIFI interface.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising a touch-sensitive camera shutter control coupled to the controller.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a zoom lens coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to accept user input from the touch sensitive display to determine the amount of zoom to be imparted to the zoom lens.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to enable the user to select specific pictures stored in the local memory to be uploaded to the internet picture hosting website.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

(e) first and second microphones that are oriented differently on the camera and configured to receive and detect sound emanating from around the camera; and

(f) a selector configured to process the sound received from the microphones and determine which microphone to use for input to the voice recognizer based on sound levels received by the first and second microphones.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

(e) first and second microphones oriented differently on the camera and configured to receive and detect sounds emanating from different locations around the camera;

(f) a detector coupled to the microphones and configured to receive and process the sounds detected at the microphones for input to the voice recognizer; and

(g) the voice recognizer including at least two voice recognition algorithms configured to analyze signals input from the detector and recognize sounds to be used as a command by the controller.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein each microphone is associated with a corresponding voice recognition algorithm.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein each voice recognition algorithm can be applied to either the first or second microphone.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the voice recognition algorithms are human selectable.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the voice recognition algorithms are configured to generate multiple inputs to the controller, and the controller is configured to select one of the inputs to control the camera.

16. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

(e) first and second microphones oriented differently on the camera and configured to receive sounds emanating from different locations around the camera;

(f) a detector coupled to the microphones and configured to detect the energy at each of the two microphones.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the controller is further configured to determine the relative position of the user to the system based on the energy detected at each of the two microphones.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the first microphone is located proximate the front of the camera and the second microphone is located proximate the back of the camera.

19. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

(e) the camera configured to maintain and store a plurality of recognizable words having different plain meanings and commonly associated with taking a picture, the recognition of any of which will cause the camera to take a picture;

(f) wherein the voice recognizer is operable to receive a first and a second human sound spoken by the same person, and to recognize;

(i) the first human sound as a first word from among the plurality that is assigned by the control program to be a command for the camera to take a picture; and

(ii) the second human sound as a second word from among the plurality that is different from the first word and is also assigned by the control program to be the same camera command for the camera to take a picture.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein one of the recognizable words is “

snap.”

21. The system of claim 19 wherein one of the recognizable words is “

cheese.”

22. The system of claim 19 wherein one of the recognizable words is “

shoot.”

23. The system of claim 19 wherein one of the recognizable words is “

click.”

24. The system of claim 19 wherein the first and second recognizable words are different but are selected from a group of words including “

snap,”

“

cheese,”

“

shoot” and

“

click.”

25. The system of claim 19 wherein the controller is configured with predefined words that are stored in memory and may be spoken by a camera user and recognized by the voice recognizer to perform a command.

26. The system of claim 19 wherein the controller is configured to allow a user of the camera to teach the system words for the voice recognizer to recognize and for the controller to associate with specific camera commands.

27. The system of claim 19 wherein the controller includes an indicator that is activated if the voice recognizer is unable to recognize a command from the sounds received at the microphone.

28. The system of claim 19 wherein the voice recognizer is configured to receive and process a third human sound to be recognized as a third word that is different from the first and second words and is used by the control program to perform a second camera command.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the controller is configured to delay the second camera command for an intentional period of time after the voice recognizer recognizes the third word.

30. The system of claim 29 further wherein the selected delay period depends on the defined command associated with the recognized human sound.

31. The system of claim 28 configured to selectively implement a delay before executing the second camera command conditioned on the approximate direction of the source of the recognized voice command.

32. The system of claim 1 wherein the touch sensitive display is detachable and coupled to the controller via a wireless technology.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the wireless technology comprises Bluetooth.

34. The system of claim 1 wherein the touch sensitive display can be physically remote from the device.