Systems and methods for detecting a tilt angle from a depth image

• US 9,519,970 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2015
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Mathe, Zsolt, Marais, Charles Claudius
• Primary Examiner(s): MARIAM, DANIEL G
• Application Number:
  US14/879,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20160035095A1
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/20 Image preprocessing
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/40 Extraction of image or video features
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/103 Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body

Abstract

A depth image of a scene may be received, observed, or captured by a device. A human target in the depth image may then be scanned for one or more body parts such as shoulders, hips, knees, or the like. A tilt angle may then be calculated based on the body parts. For example, a first portion of pixels associated with an upper body part such as the shoulders and a second portion of pixels associated with a lower body part such as a midpoint between the hips and knees may be selected. The tilt angle may then be calculated using the first and second portions of pixels.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a camera;

a processor; and

memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory bearing computer-readable instructions that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising;

determining, using relative position of pixels in an image captured by the camera, a tilt angle indicating an angle the camera is tilted upward or downward; and

modifying, based at least in part on the determined tilt angle, data captured by the camera.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions cause the system to perform operations further comprising:

modifying a position of the camera based at least in part on the tilt angle.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein modifying a position of the camera based at least in part on the tilt angle comprises:

rotating the camera in an upward direction in response to determining that the camera is angled downward.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein modifying a position of the camera based at least in part on the tilt angle comprises:

rotating the camera in a downward direction in response to determining that the camera is angled upward.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein modifying, based at least in part on the determined tilt angle, data captured by the camera comprises:

modifying depth data received by the camera based at least in part on the tilt angle.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein modifying, based at least in part on the determined tilt angle, data captured by the camera comprises:

determining a depth value of a plurality of depth values in the data of a capture area to be modified based on the tilt angle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein modifying, based at least in part on the determined tilt angle, data captured by the camera comprises:

modifying a color or infrared image of a capture area received by the camera based on the tilt angle.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein modifying, based at least in part on the determined tilt angle, data captured by the camera comprises:

rotating a color or depth image of a capture area received by the camera based on the tilt angle.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions cause the system to perform operations further comprising:

adjusting a computer model that represents a person depicted in an image of a capture area received by the camera component based on the tilt angle.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein adjusting a computer model that represents a person depicted in an image of a capture area received by the camera component based on the tilt angle comprises:

rotating the computer model forward or backward by a number of degrees equal to a number of degrees in the tilt angle.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions cause the system to perform operations further comprising:

determining a background depicted in an image of the capture area received by the camera component based on the tilt angle.

12. A method, comprising:

determining, by one or more computers, using relative position of pixels in an image captured by a camera, a tilt angle that indicates an angle that the camera is tilted upward or downward; and

modifying, by the one or more computers, based at least in part on the determined tilt angle, data captured by the camera.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

modifying a position of the camera based at least in part on the determined tilt angle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein modifying the position of the camera based at least in part on the determined tilt angle further comprises:

rotating the camera in an upward direction in response to determining that the camera is angled downward, and rotating the camera in a downward direction in response to determining that the camera component is angled upward.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

adjusting a computer model that represents a person depicted in an image of the capture area received by the camera based on the tilt angle.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein adjusting the computer model that represents the person further comprises:

rotating the computer model forward or backward by a number of degrees equal to a number of degrees in the tilt angle.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining a background depicted in an image of the capture area received by the camera component based on the tilt angle.

18. A computer-readable storage device, bearing computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution on a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

determining, using relative position of pixels in an image captured by a camera, a tilt angle that indicates an angle that the camera is tilted upward or downward; and

modifying, based at least in part on the determined tilt angle, data captured by the camera.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein modifying data captured by the camera comprises modifying the image captured by the camera.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 19, wherein modifying data captured by the camera comprises determining a depth value of a plurality of depth values in the data captured by the camera.