Camera system for determining pose quality and providing feedback to a user

• US 9,282,238 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2010
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Staudacher, David, Bloom, Daniel, Dalton, Dan L.
• Primary Examiner(s): KHAN, USMAN A
• Application Number:
  US12/915,725
• Publication Number:
  US 20120105662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,957 Days
• Field of Search: 348/222.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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

A camera system may include an image sensor to generate real-time image data of a scene having a subject. A pose evaluator can generate a pose metric signal having a pose value that provides a variable measure of a pose quality for the subject in the scene. A pose feedback indicator can provide user-perceptible feedback demonstrating the value of the pose metric signal, such that the variable measure of the pose quality is provided.

Claims

1. A camera system comprising:

an image sensor to generate image data of a scene having one or more subjects; and

a processor coupled to the image sensor to implement;

a pose evaluator to (i) analyze the image data to determine a pose value for each of a plurality of pose metrics that corresponds to different pose-related characteristics for the one or more subjects in the scene, and (ii) combine the determined pose values for each of the plurality of pose metrics to generate a pose metric signal having a combined pose value, the combined pose value providing a variable measure of a pose quality for the one or more subjects in the scene; and

a pose feedback indicator to provide a user-perceptible feedback demonstrating the combined pose value of the pose metric signal, the user-perceptible feedback representing the variable measure of the pose quality for the one or more subjects in the scene.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further implements a metric calculator to determine the combined pose value of the pose metric signal based, at least in part, on a predetermined pose metric that is configurable by a user via a user interface provided by the camera system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the user-perceptible feedback comprises an audible indication, a visual indication or both an audible and visual indication.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further implements an image capture control, wherein the pose metric signal is provided to the image capture control that compares the pose metric signal with a predetermined threshold, and wherein in response to the combined pose value of the pose metric signal substantially meeting a value of the predetermined threshold, the image capture control activates a signal to (i) capture a photograph of the scene, or (ii) indicate readiness to capture the photograph of the scene.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the predetermined threshold is configurable by a user.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising a timer, wherein the predetermined threshold is a time-based parameter that is enabled in response to activation of the timer.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a memory resource storing metric weights for each of the plurality of pose metrics, and wherein the pose evaluator applies a respective metric weight to the pose value of each of the plurality of pose metrics in order to generate the combined value of the pose metric signal.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the metric weights are individually configurable by a user.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the pose feedback indicator provides the user-perceptible feedback by providing a first type of user-perceptible feedback based on a value of at least one of the plurality of pose metrics and a second type of user-perceptible feedback based on a value of another of the plurality of pose metrics.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pose metrics comprises a prohibitive pose characteristic to prevent the camera system from capturing an image of the scene upon detecting that the image data includes the prohibitive pose characteristic.

11. A camera system comprising:

an image sensor to generate image data of a scene in real time, the scene having one or more subjects;

a memory resource; and

a processor coupled to the image sensor and the memory resource, the processor to;

receive image data from the image sensor;

analyze the image data to determine a pose value for each of a plurality of pose metrics that corresponds to different pose-related characteristics for the one or more subjects in the scene;

apply metric weights to determine weighted pose values for each of the plurality of pose metrics, the metric weights defining a relative importance of the different pose-related characteristics;

combine the weighted pose values for each of the plurality of pose metrics to generate a pose metric signal having a combined pose value, the combined pose value providing a variable measure of a pose quality for the one or more subjects in the scene.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor further provides a user-perceptible feedback indicating the combined pose value of the pose metric signal.

13. A method for capturing an image of a scene having one or more subjects, the method being performed by a processor and comprising:

receiving image data of the scene in real time from an image sensor;

analyzing the image data of the scene to determine a pose value for each of a plurality of pose metrics that corresponds to different pose-related characteristics for the one or more subjects in the scene;

combine the pose values for each of the plurality of pose metrics to generate a pose metric signal having a combined pose value, the combined pose value providing a variable measure of a pose quality for the one or more subjects in the scene; and

generating a user-perceptible feedback indication that demonstrates the combined pose value of the pose metric signal to a user.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising weighting each of the plurality of pose metrics based on respective assigned metric weights to control what each of the plurality of pose metrics contributes to the variable measure of the pose quality.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein generating the user-perceptible feedback indication includes generating at least one of an audible indication or a visual indication.