Touch control of a camera at a remote video device

• US 9,172,911 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2013
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kristiansen, Ivan Marius, Hammer, Vegard, Bjune, Geir
• Primary Examiner(s): El-Zoobi, Maria
• Application Number:
  US14/085,441
• Publication Number:
  US 20140146125A1
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A device, computer program product, and method control the operation of one or more cameras associated with a video conference endpoint in a video conference call. A camera control unit (remote control) includes a touch enabled end user component that presents to the user graphical objects representing video conference endpoints currently connected in a conference call, and/or one or more live video feeds currently captured by the video conference endpoint'"'"'s cameras, and allows the user to manipulate a camera'"'"'s pan, tilt and zoom using a touch screen display embedded in said camera control unit.

Claims

1. A remote control device comprising:

a touch screen display; and

a processor communicatively connected to the touch screen display and configured to;

communicate with a remote video device having a camera;

receive a device ID from the remote video device;

receive a live video feed from the remote video device;

display, on the touch screen display, a graphical user interface including a graphical object to control a setting of the camera, the graphical object including the live video feed;

display the graphical user interface including the graphical object to control the setting on the camera in response to receiving the device ID;

receive an input applied to the touch screen display; and

transmit a camera control instruction to the remote video device based on said input to remotely control the camera while receiving and displaying the live video feed from the remote video device.

2. The remote control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a coder/decoder (CODEC), said CODEC including a video converter that receives streams of video from at least two remote video devices, processes said streams, and outputs a corresponding set of video streams with reduced resolution and/or frame rate, wherein

said processor is configured to receive said set of video streams and display said streams of video in said graphical user interface.

3. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said processor is configured to:

display a control area of the graphical user interface that includes a virtual control interface; and

transmit the camera control instruction to the remote video device based on a manipulation of the virtual control interface.

4. The remote control device according to claim 3, wherein said control area of the graphical user interface is included over the live video feed of the graphical object.

5. The remote control device according to claim 3, wherein said virtual control interface includes a virtual joystick, and the processor is configured to transmit the camera control instruction to the remote video device based on a position and a distance of the virtual joystick relative to an initial default position of the virtual joystick.

6. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said processor is configured to transmit a camera control instruction to the remote video device based on a finger gesture as said input applied to said touch screen display over the graphical object.

7. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said processor is configured to transmit a camera control instruction to zoom in on or crop a subject included in the live video feed that is identified based on said input applied to said touch screen display over the graphical object.

8. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said processor is configured to transmit the camera control instruction to zoom in on or crop the subject included in the live video feed that is identified based on said input applied to said touch screen display over the graphical object when said input encircles at least a portion of the subject.

9. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said camera control instruction includes at least one of a zoom-in camera control instruction and a zoom-out camera control instruction generated in response to a pinch-in or pinch-out gesture respectively applied on said touch screen.

10. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said camera control instruction includes a move up and/or down and/or left and/or right camera control instruction for a touch and drag gesture applied on said touch screen in an up and/or down and/or left and/or right direction.

11. The remote control device according to claim 10, wherein the camera control instruction includes respectively a zoom-in camera control instruction or a zoom-out camera control instruction for a pinch in gesture or pinch out gesture applied to said touch screen.

12. The remote control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a face detector that localizes faces in a video stream, wherein

said processor is configured to transmit camera control instructions to zoom-in on a participant identifiable via said graphical user interface and said touch screen display based on said input applied to said touch screen display and said at least one face localized by said face detector.

13. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said camera control instruction is to cause the camera of the remote video device to change the setting of the camera to a preset setting, which is one of a plurality or preset settings stored by the camera or the remote video device.

14. The remote control device according to claim 13, wherein the preset setting includes a plurality of stepwise changes to one or more of the pan, tilt, and zoom of the camera.

15. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said camera control instruction is to cause the camera of the remote video device to change the setting of the camera to a fixed setting that corresponds to one or more of a camera pan, tilt, and zoom setting of the camera.

16. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

establish communication links with plural remote video devices each having a camera;

receive live video feeds from the remote video devices;

display, on the touch screen display, the graphical user interface including graphical objects respectively including the live video feeds, the graphical objects to control a setting of a respective camera of one of the remote video devices.

17. The remote control device according to claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to overlay a virtual controller on one of the live video feeds that corresponds to the camera of the one of the remote video devices that is to be controlled.

18. A method comprising:

communicating with a remote video device having a camera with a remote control device;

receiving a device ID from the remote video device;

receiving, by the remote control device, a live video feed from the remote video device;

displaying, on a touch screen display of the remote control device, a graphical user interface including a graphical object to control a setting of the camera, the graphical object including the live video feed;

display the graphical user interface including the graphical object to control the setting on the camera in response to receiving the device ID;

receiving an input applied to the touch screen display; and

transmitting a camera control instruction to the remote video device based on said input to remotely control the camera while receiving and displaying, by the remote control device, the live video feed from the remote video device.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium including executable instructions, which when executed by circuitry, causes the circuitry to perform a method comprising:

communicating with a remote video device having a camera with a remote control device;

receiving, by the remote control device, a live video feed from the remote video device;

receiving a device ID from the remote video device;

displaying, on a touch screen display of the remote control device, a graphical user interface including a graphical object to control a setting of the camera, the graphical object including the live video feed, wherein the graphical user interface the graphical object to control the setting on the camera in response to receiving the device ID;

receiving an input applied to the touch screen display; and

transmitting a camera control instruction to the remote video device based on said input to remotely control the camera while receiving and displaying, by the remote control device, the live video feed from the remote video device.