Recognition system for sharing information

• US 9,491,226 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2014
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Buban, Garret J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Du, Haixia
• Application Number:
  US14/449,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20140344408A1
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10028 Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/251 involving models
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/23 Recognition of whole body movements, e.g. for sport training
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4061 Push-to services, e.g. push-to-talk or push-to-video
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A system and method for sharing information between users based on recognition of the users and their associated processing devices in a scene. Interactions can be physical, verbal or a combination of physical and verbal gestures. Movements of the user and other users are tracked and interactions detected between them. User processing devices are connected by detecting users within view of a capture device, the capture device detecting motion tracking data for the user, such as a skeletal model. Information sharing may be controlled by the processing devices directly, by an intermediary server, or by a combination of the processing device and an intermediary server.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for sharing information between users, comprising:

monitoring a location bounding a scene, the scene including at least a first user having a first processing device associated with the first user and a second user having a second processing device associated with the second user;

tracking movements of the first user in the scene and generating movement tracking information; and

providing the movement tracking information to an information sharing application, the information sharing application adapted to enable information transfer between the first processing device and the second processing device based on detection of a predefined physical interaction of the first user with the second user.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring includes detecting depth information for each user and recognition information for each user.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising tracking movements of the second user.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 3 wherein the information sharing application is provided on the first processing device.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 3 wherein the information sharing application is provided on a third processing device.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further including:

transferring user information stored on the first processing device to the second processing device responsive to the interaction in the movement tracking information.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 6 wherein the detection of the predefined physical interaction includes detecting a sound between the first user and the second user.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the method further includes providing the movement tracking information for a skeletal model of the first user and a skeletal model of the second user to at least the first processing device.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the method further includes associating a skeletal model with each said user, and said associating includes:

receiving a request from one of the first processing device, the second processing device, and a third processing device for an identification of an unknown user in the scene;

providing skeletal data and recognition information associated with a skeletal model of the unknown user to the one of the first processing device, the second processing device, and the third processing device responsive to the request;

receiving a request for ownership of the skeletal model of the unknown user; and

linking the one of the first processing device, the second processing device, and the third processing device and the skeletal model of the unknown user.

10. A device adapted to share information between at least two users, comprising:

a capture device having a field of view;

a processor coupled to the capture device adapted to determine users in the field of view, the users each having associated user data stored on a user-associated processing device, the device adapted to associate each user detected by the capture device with the user-associated processing device for the user;

the processor adapted to determine a physical interaction between at least two users based on motion information provided by the capture device; and

the processor adapted to initiate a sharing of information between the user-associated processing devices based on the interaction.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein to determine users in the field of view, the processor is adapted to create one or more skeletal models of the users in the field of view, derive skeletal model tracking information for each of the users in the field of view, wherein the capture device provides tracking information comprising image data associated with each of the skeletal models.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein to associate each user detected by the capture device with the user associated processing device for the user, the processor is adapted to request ownership of the one or more skeletal models, and wherein to determine a physical interaction the processor is adapted to:

receive tracking information on the one or more skeletal models of each of the users in a the field of view; and

detect an interaction between the users comprising one of;

a gesture indicating a relationship between the users, a proximal interaction between two skeletal models, a proximal interaction between two skeletal models accompanied by a sound, or an audible command.

13. The device of claim 12 further adapted to associate a sharing action of user-defined information based on the interaction detected.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the sharing of information includes creating a connection between a first user-associated processing device and a second user-associated processing device associated with a second skeletal model of the one or more skeletal models.

15. A computer storage device including instructions causing a processor to perform a process, the process comprising:

tracking movements of targets in a scene including creating skeletal models for at least a first user and a second user in the scene;

associating the first user in the scene with a first skeletal model and a first user processing device;

associating the second user in the scene with a second skeletal model and a second user processing device; and

upon detecting predefined introduction interaction between the first skeletal model and the second skeletal model, initiating a transfer of user information from the first user processing device with the second user processing device, the information that is transferred being based on the predefined introduction interaction detected.

16. The computer storage device of claim 15 wherein the first and the second user processing devices include defined transfer information, and the initiating a transfer includes initiating a transfer of the defined transfer information.

17. The computer storage device of claim 15 further including initiating a transfer of one of a plurality of user-defined information based on the interaction detected.

18. The computer storage device of claim 17 wherein the user-defined information includes user contact information shared automatically upon detecting the interaction.

19. The computer storage device of claim 15 wherein the interaction comprises detecting a physical contact between the first skeletal model and the second skeletal model.

20. The computer storage device of claim 15 wherein associating includes:

receiving a request for ownership of one of the first skeletal model and the second skeletal model; and

linking the processing device and the skeletal model.