Methods, systems, and products for recalling and retrieving documentary evidence

• US 9,110,989 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2012
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Miller, Robert Raymond, Li, Kevin A., Meuninck, Troy C., Pratt, James H., Schroeter, Horst J., Shahraray, Behzad
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBINSON, GRETA LEE
• Application Number:
  US13/693,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20140156697A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 707/609, 707/640, 707/748, 707/653, 707/661, 707/665, 707/672, 707/673, 707/674, 707/680, 707/687, 707/688, 707/693, 707/696, 707/721, 707/736, 707/751, 707/766, 707/768, 707/771, 707/780, 707/781, 707/912, 707/914, 707/915, 707/916, 707/942, 707/767, 707/769, 713/156, 713/160, 713/161, 713/165, 713/167, 713/170, 713/173, 709/206, 709/207, 709/213
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5866 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/73 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90328 using search space presentation or visualization, e.g. category or range presentation and selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

Methods, systems, and products help users recall memories and search for content of those memories. When a user cannot recall a memory, the user is prompted with questions to help recall the memory. As the user answers the questions, a virtual recollection of the memory is synthesized from the answers to the questions. When the user is satisfied with the virtual recollection of the memory, a database of content may be searched for the virtual recollection of the memory. Video data, for example, may be retrieved that matches the virtual recollection of the memory. The video data is thus historical data documenting past events.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sending, from a server to a client device, questions retrieved from a database to recreate a digital image of desired video content;

receiving, at the server, answers to the questions sent from the client device;

retrieving, by the server, digital objects that correspond to the answers;

incorporating, by the server, the digital objects as feedback into the digital image of the desired video content;

querying, by the server, a database of content for the digital image of the desired video content; and

retrieving, by the server, the desired video content from the database of content that matches the digital image.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising synthesizing the digital image into video data.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a different image object into the digital image with each one of the answers.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving video data of a gesture as one of the answers.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising querying the database of content for the video data of the gesture.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving audio content from the database of content associated with the digital image of the desired video content.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting the client device to approve the digital image of the desired video content.

8. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

posing questions retrieved from a database to recreate a digital image of desired video content;

receiving answers to the questions from a user;

retrieving digital objects that correspond to each one of the answers;

incorporating each one of the digital objects as feedback into the digital image of the desired video content;

querying a database of content for the digital image of the desired video content; and

retrieving the desired video content from the database of content that matches the digital image.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise synthesizing the digital image as video data.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving the digital objects from historical images associated with the user.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving video data of a gesture as one of the answers.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise querying the database of content for the video data of the gesture.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving audio content from the database of content associated with the digital image of the desired video content.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise prompting for an approval of the digital image of the desired video content.

15. A memory storing instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

posing questions regarding desired video content stored in a database of content;

receiving answers to the questions input by a user;

displaying a digital image of the desired video content synthesized from the answers to the questions;

retrieving digital objects that correspond to each one of the answers;

incorporating each one of the digital objects as feedback into the digital image of the desired video content;

querying the database of content for the digital image of the desired video content; and

retrieving the desired video content from the database of content that matches the digital image.

16. The memory of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise synthesizing the digital image into video data.

17. The memory of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving the digital objects from historical images associated with the user.

18. The memory of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise receiving video data of a gesture as one of the answers.

19. The memory of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise querying the database of content for the video data of the gesture.

20. The memory of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving audio content from the database of content associated with the digital image of the desired video content.