Personal augmented reality

• US 9,530,059 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2015
• Issued: 12/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Zises, Matthew Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Nirav G
• Application Number:
  US14/963,706
• Publication Number:
  US 20160171305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 384 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes

Abstract

Image data comprising an image of an environment is received from a mobile video device located at the environment. An image of a marker is extracted from the received image for use in identifying the location of the mobile video device. A location associated with the marker is extracted from a database and the extracted location is sent as the location of the mobile video device. Also received is a request for information about an item in the environment that is of interest to a user of the mobile video device. A location in the environment associated with the item of interest is identified, and the information indicating the location of the item is transmitted to the mobile device for display within an image of the environment on the mobile video device. The item of interest may be displayed as an augmented reality within an image of the environment.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a mobile video device located in an environment, the mobile video device operated by a user who is viewing locations in the environment, image data containing an image of a marker in the environment that has not been placed in the environment for electronic navigation purposes;

receiving a request from the mobile video device for information that locates a place in the environment, the request generated in accordance with locations in the environment that the mobile video device is focused on as the user moves in the environment and focuses the mobile video device on locations in the environment;

responsive to receiving the request, accessing a database to retrieve the requested information;

generating a scaled image of the requested information based on dimensions of the environment and the location of the place in the environment; and

transmitting the scaled image of the requested information that locates the place in the environment, for placement into the image of the environment on the mobile video device to generate an augmented reality image, the scaled image of the requested information changing in accordance with user movement and the locations of the environment that the mobile video device is focused on.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing additional information with the requested information in conjunction with the augmented reality image.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the additional information comprises an image of a direction indicator.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the image of the direction indicator comprises further image information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the image of the environment comprises recognizable objects, and identity of at least one of the objects is recognized by one of RFID detection, GPS, triangulation, or facial recognition.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the environment is a ball park, and the requested information comprises the location in the ball park of a seat, a person, a selected vendor store, a desired facility, a desired path to a parking area, or a route from the ballpark to a desired location separate from the ball park.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising targeting an advertisement to the mobile video device based on the user'"'"'s purchase history, interest, or location.

8. One or more computer-readable hardware storage device having embedded therein a set of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, causes the computer to execute operations comprising:

receiving, from a mobile video device located in an environment, the mobile video device operated by a user who is viewing locations in the environment, image data containing an image of a marker in the environment that has not been placed in the environment for electronic navigation purposes;

receiving a request from the mobile video device for information that locates a place in the environment, the request generated in accordance with locations in the environment that the mobile video device is focused on as the user moves in the environment and focuses the mobile video device on locations in the environment;

responsive to receiving the request, accessing a database to retrieve the requested information;

generating a scaled image of the requested information based on dimensions of the environment and the location of the place in the environment; and

transmitting the scaled image of the requested information that locates the place in the environment, for placement into the image of the environment on the mobile video device to generate an augmented reality image, the scaled image of the requested information changing in accordance with user movement and the locations of the environment that the mobile video device is focused on.

9. The one or more computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 8, the operations further comprising providing additional information with the information in conjunction with the augmented reality image.

10. The one or more computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 9, wherein the additional information comprises an image of a direction indicator.

11. The one or more computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 10, wherein the image of the direction indicator comprises further image information.

12. The one or more computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 8, wherein the image of the environment comprises recognizable objects, and identity of at least one of the objects is recognized by one of RFID detection, GPS, triangulation, or facial recognition.

13. The one or more computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 8, wherein the environment is a ball park, and the requested information comprises the location in the ball park of a seat, a person, a selected vendor store, a desired facility, a desired path to a parking area, or a route from the ballpark to a desired location separate from the ball park.

14. The one or more computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 8, the operations further comprising targeting an advertisement to the mobile video device based on the user'"'"'s purchase history, interest, or location.

15. A system comprising one or more hardware processors configured to include:

a receiver module to receive, from a mobile video device located in an environment, the mobile video device operated by a user who is viewing locations in the environment, image data containing an image of a marker in the environment that has not been placed in the environment for electronic navigation purposes;

the receiver module further to receive a request from the mobile video device for information that locates a place in the environment, the request generated in accordance with locations in the environment that the mobile video device is focused on as the user moves in the environment and focuses the mobile video device on locations in the environment;

a database accessing module, responsive to reception of the request, to access a database to retrieve the requested information;

one or more computer processors to generate a scaled image of the requested information based on dimensions of the environment and the location of the place in the environment; and

a transmitter module to transmit the scaled image of the requested information that locates the place in the environment, for placement into the image of the environment on the mobile video device to generate an augmented reality image, the scaled image of the requested information changing in accordance with user movement and the locations of the environment that the mobile video device is focused on.

16. The system of claim 15, the transmitter module further to transmit additional information with the information in conjunction with the augmented reality image.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the additional information comprises an image of a direction indicator.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the image of the environment comprises recognizable objects, the one or more hardware processors further configured to include a location identification module to identify at least one of the recognizable objects by RFID detection, GPS, triangulation, or facial recognition.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the environment is a ball park, and the requested information comprises the location in the ball park of a seat, a person, a selected vendor store, a desired facility, a desired path to a parking area, or a route from the ballpark to a desired location separate from the ball park.

20. The system of claim 15, the one or more hardware processors further configured to include an incentive module to target an advertisement to the mobile video device based on the user'"'"'s purchase history, interest, or location.