Image capture

• US 8,941,561 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Issued: 01/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Starner, Thad Eugene
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jansen, II, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US13/631,438
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• Field of Search: 345/7, 345/8, 345/9
• US Class Current: 345/8
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing 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 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• 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

Abstract

Methods and systems for capturing and storing an image are provided. In one example, eye-movement data associated with a head-mountable device (HMD) may be received. The HMD may include an image-capture device arranged to capture image data corresponding to a wearer-view associated with the HMD. In one case, the received eye-movement data may indicate sustained gaze. In this case, a location of the sustained gaze may be determined, and an image including a view of the location of the sustained gaze may be captured. At least one indication of a context of the captured image, such as time and/or geographic location of the HMD when the image was captured may be determined and stored in a data-item attribute database as part of a record of the captured image. In a further example, movements associated with the HMD may also be determined and based on to determine sustained gaze and the location of the sustained gaze.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving movement data associated with a head-mountable device (HMD), and determining movements of the HMD based on the movement data;

receiving eye-movement data associated with the HMD, wherein the HMD comprises an image-capture device, and wherein the image-capture device is arranged to capture image data that corresponds to a wearer-view that is associated with the HMD;

determining that the eye-movement data corresponds to sustained gaze and responsively;

determining a location of the sustained gaze in the wearer-view;

causing the image-capture device to capture an image that includes a view of the location of the sustained gaze;

determining at least one indication of a context of the captured image; and

causing a record for the captured image to be stored in a data item-attribute database, wherein the record includes the at least one indication of the context of the captured image, and wherein determining that the eye-movement data corresponds to sustained gaze comprises determining that the eye-movement data indicates a series of gaze points shifting in substantially an opposite direction as the movements of the HMD.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a notification indicating that the record for the captured image has been stored.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein providing a notification comprises providing on a display, a visual indication that the captured image has been stored.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein providing a notification comprises causing an audio signal to be generated, the audio signal indicating that the captured image has been stored.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the image-capture device to capture an image that includes a view of the location of the sustained gaze comprises causing the image-capture device to focus on the location of the sustained gaze.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining at least one indication of a context of the captured image comprises acquiring a geographic location associated with the captured image.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining at least one indication of a context of the captured image comprises acquiring a time associated with the captured image.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein causing a record for the captured image to be stored in a data item-attribute database comprises sending the record for the captured image to a server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the record for the captured image further includes a wearer-identification data indicating an identity of a user wearing the HMD when the image was captured.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the data item-attribute database for storing the record of the captured image is associated with the wearer-identification data.

11. A head-mountable device (HMD) comprising:

a motion detection system configured to acquire movement data associated with the HMD;

an image-capture device arranged to capture image data that corresponds to a wearer-view associated with the HMD;

an eye-tracking system configured to acquire eye-movement data; and

a controller configured to;

receive the movement data

determine movements of the HMD based on the movement data

receive the eye-movement data;

determine that the eye-movement data corresponds to sustained gaze based on the eye-movement data indicating a series of gaze points shifting in substantially an opposite direction as the movements of the HMD and responsively;

determine a location of the sustained gaze in the wearer-view;

cause the image-capture device to capture an image that includes a view of the location of the sustained gaze;

determine at least one indication of a context of the captured image; and

cause a record for the captured image to be stored in a data item-attribute database, wherein the record includes the at least one indication of the context of the captured image.

12. The HMD of claim 11, further comprising a data storage medium configured to store at least the data-item attribute database, wherein the controller is configured to cause the record for the captured image to be stored on the data storage medium.

13. The HMD of claim 12, further comprising a global positioning system configured to determine a geographic location associated with the HMD, wherein the controller is configured to determine at least one indication of a context of the captured image by receiving the geographic location when the image is captured and associating the geographic location with the captured image.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:

receiving eye-movement data associated with a head-mountable device (HMD), wherein the HMD comprises an image-capture device, and wherein the image-capture device is arranged to capture image data that corresponds to a wearer-view that is associated with the HMD;

receiving movement data associated with the HMD;

determining movements of the HMD based on the movement data;

determining that the eye-movement data corresponds to sustained gaze based on the eye-movement data indicating a series of gaze points shifting in substantially an opposite direction as the movements of the HMD and responsively;

determining a location of the sustained gaze in the wearer-view;

causing the image-capture device to capture an image that includes a view of the location of the sustained gaze;

determining at least one indication of a context of the captured image; and

causing a record for the captured image to be stored in a data item-attribute database, wherein the record includes the at least one indication of the context of the captured image.