Facilitating wide view video conferencing through a drone network

• US 9,955,115 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2016
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wellen Sham
• Original Assignee: Wellen Sham
• Inventors: Sham, Wellen
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US15/341,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20170195627A1
• Time in Patent Office: 538 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401- 1416, 348 47, 348 46, 701 2
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/08 Arrangements of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/20 for use as communications relays, e.g. high-altitude platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18506 Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

Embodiments are provided for facilitating a wide-view video conference through a UAV network. For facilitating the wide-view video conference, UAVs can be employed to capture and transmit video data at locations of parties involved in the wide-view video conference. One or more UAVs in the UAV network can be instructed to locate the party'"'"'s location and zoom-in onto the party'"'"'s location. In some examples, the UAV(s) can be equipped with a 360 degree video camera such that a wide-area covered by the 360 degree video can be captured. The video data can be transmitted to a video data processing center in real-time or substantially in real-time. The video data transmission by the given UAV to the video data processing center can be through a UAV network. The video stream can be output at a location of a given party in the video conference.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating a wide-view video conference via an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) network, the method being implemented in one or more of a processor configured to execute programmed components, the method comprising:

receiving, from a computing device, a request to initiate a wide-view conference involving a first transportation apparatus and a second transportation apparatus;

communicating with a first UAV controller to capture a wide-view video of the first transportation apparatus in response to receiving the request;

communicating with a second UAV controller to capture a wide-view video of the second transportation apparatus in response to receiving the request;

receiving the wide-view video from the first and second UAV controllers;

processing the wide-view video data by combining the wide-view video from the first and second UAV controllers; and

transmitting the combined wide-view data to the computing device for presentation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first or the second transportation apparatus includes a vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the wide-view video of the first or the second transportation apparatus include video images of an interior of the first or the second transportation apparatus.

4. The method of claim 1, further generating a control instruction to instruct the first UAV controller to terminate the video capturing of the first transportation apparatus and transmitting the control instruction to the first UAV controller.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is received from the computing device via the wireless and/or wired network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the wide-view video data from the first and second UAV controllers includes different channels and combining the wide-view video data includes combining the different channels.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a message indicating a status of the video processing and transmitting the message to the first or the second UAV controller via a wired and/or a wireless network.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating an instruction to instruct the first or the second UAV controller to improve a quality of the wide-view video of the first or the second transportation apparatus.