Voice activated device

• US 20050128311A1
• Filed: 09/10/2004
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Europa N.V. (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Europa N.V. (Canon Inc.), Canon Research Centre Europe Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Saito, Takashi, Fraser, Robert Anthony Walkinshaw, Rees, David Llewellyn
• Granted Patent: US 7,525,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/211.990
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/00 Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor lens hoods or caps G03B11/04
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/38 Releasing-devices separate from shutter integral with shutter G03B9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices

Abstract

An image capture device is described having a remote photograph mode in which images can be captured without physical contact with the device. The device activated by the user speaking a keyword. The image capturing device is arranged so that after being initialised in the remote capture mode of operation, it enters a standby state for a period of time in which it is unresponsive to utterances and, after a period of time sets itself into a listening state in which it can capture images in response to detecting spoken keywords.

Claims

1. An image capture device comprising:

a first receiver operable to receive a user input for initiating a remote image capture operation of the image capture device;

a second receiver operable to receive a speech signal representative of an utterance of the user;

a processor operable to process the received speech signal to detect a keyword in the user'"'"'s utterance;

an image capture operable to capture an image; and

a controller responsive to said first receiver and said processor and operable to control said image capture;

wherein said controller is operable, in response to said user input, to set the image capture device into a standby state for a period of time in which said image capture device is unresponsive to utterances of the user and, after said period of time, is operable to set the image capture devise listening state in which the controller is operable to cause said image capture to capture an image when said processor detects said spoken keyword.

2. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said controller is operable to cause said image capture device to capture an image a user defined period after said processor has detected said spoken keyword.

3. An image capture device according to claim 2, wherein said first receiver is operable to receive a user input defining said user defined period.

4. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said controller is operable, after said processor detects said spoken keyword, to set the image capture device into said standby state for a predetermined period of time before returning the image capture device to said listening state.

5. An image capture device according to claim 4, wherein said controller is operable to cause said image capture device to cycle between said standby and listening states during a current remote image capture operation.

6. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said controller is operable to cause said image capture to capture an image in response to said processor detecting plural successive keywords spoken by the user.

7. An image capture device according to claim 6, wherein said controller is operable to cause said image capture to capture an image in response to said processor detecting a plurality of different keywords successively spoken by the user.

8. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said controller is operable to output an indication to the user when the image capture device is in said listening state and listening for a spoken keyword.

9. An image capture device according to claim 8, wherein said controller is operable to output a visible indication to said user when the image capture device is in said listening state.

10. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said controller includes a counter for counting the number of images captured by said image capture during the current remote image capture operation.

11. An image capture device according to claim 10, wherein said controller is operable to use the counter to limit the number of images that can be captured during a current image capture operation.

12. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein if no keyword is detected by said processor during a predetermined period of time after the user has initiated a remote capturing operation, said controller is operable to cause said image capture to capture an image and to terminate the current image capture operation.

13. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said controller is operable to terminate a current remote image capture operation a predetermined period of time after said user initiates the remote image capture operation via said first receiver

14. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said second receiver comprises a microphone.

15. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said processor comprises a word model store for storing word models for one or more keywords, and wherein said processor is operable to detect a keyword spoken by the user by comparing the received speech signal with said word models.

16. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said controller is operable to set the image capture device into said listening state by switching on the second receiver.

17. An image capture device according to claim 1, wherein said controller is operable to set the image capture device into said listening state by switching on said processor.

18. An image capturing method carried out in an image capturing device, the method comprising:

receiving a user input for initiating a remote image capture operation of the image capture device;

receiving a speech signal representative of an utterance of the user;

processing the received speech signal to detect a keyword in the user'"'"'s utterance; and

controlling the image capture device to capture an image in response to the user input and a detected keyword;

wherein said controlling step sets, in response to said user input, the image capture device into a standby state for a period of time in which said image capture device is unresponsive to utterances of the user and, after said period of time, sets the image capture device into a listening state in which the controlling step causes the image capture device to capture an image when said processing step detects said spoken keyword.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein said controlling step causes said image capturing step to capture an image a user defined period after said speech processing step has detected said spoken keyword.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein said user input receiving step receives a user input defining said user defined period.

21. A method according to claim 18, wherein said controlling step sets, after said speech processing step detects said spoken keyword, the image capture device into said standby state for a predetermined period of time before returning the image capture device to said listening state.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein said controlling step causes said image capture device to cycle between said standby and listening states during a current remote image capture operation.

23. A method according to claim 18, wherein said controlling step causes said image capturing step to capture an image in response to said speech processing step detecting plural successive keywords spoken by the user.

24. A method according to claim 23, wherein said controlling step causes said image capturing step to capture an image in response to said speech processing step detecting a plurality of different keywords successively spoken by the user.

25. A method according to claim 18, wherein said controlling step outputs an indication to the user when the image capture device is in said listening state and listening for a spoken keyword.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein said controlling step outputs a visible indication to said user then the image capture device is in said listening state.

27. A method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of counting the number of images captured in said image capturing step during the current remote image capture operation.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein said controlling step uses the count from said counting step to limit the number of images that can be captured during a current image capture operation.

29. A method according to claim 18, wherein if no keyword is detected in said processing step during a predetermined period of time after the user has initiated a remote capturing operation, said controlling step causes said image capturing step to capture an image and to terminate the current image capture operation.

30. A method according to claim 18, therein said controlling step terminates a current remote image capture operation a predetermined period of time after said user initiates the remote image capture operation in said user input receiving step.

31. A method according to claim 18, wherein said speech signal is received from a microphone.

32. A method according to claim 18, wherein said processing step detects a keyword spoken by the user by comparing the received speech signal with stored word models representative of one or more keywords.

33. A method according to claim 18, wherein said controlling step sets the image capture device into said listening state by activating the speech signal receiving step.

34. A method according to claim 18, wherein said controlling step sets the image capture device into said listening state by activating said processing step.

35. A computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions for causing a programmable image capturing device to carry out an image capturing method, the computer executable instructions comprising instructions for:

receiving a user input for initiating a remote image capture operation of the image capture device;

receiving a speech signal representative of an utterance of the user;

processing the received speech signal to detect a keyword in the user'"'"'s utterance; and

controlling the image capture device to capture an image in response to the user input and a detected keyword;

wherein said controlling step sets, in response to said user input, the image capture device into a standby state for a period of time in which said image capture device is unresponsive to utterances of the user and, after said period of time, sets the image capture device into a listening state in which the controlling step causes the image capture device to capture an image when said processing step detects said spoken keyword.

36. Computer executable instructions for causing a programmable image capturing device to carry out an image capturing method, the computer executable instructions comprising instructions for:

receiving a user input for initiating a remote image capture operation of the image capture device;

receiving a speech signal representative of an utterance of the user;

processing the received speech signal to detect a keyword in the user'"'"'s utterance; and

controlling the image capture device to capture an image in response to the user input and a detected keyword;

wherein said controlling step sets, in response to said user input, the image capture device into a standby state for a period of time in which said image capture device is unresponsive to utterances of the user and, after said period of time, sets the image capture device into a listening state in which the controlling step causes the image capture device to capture an image when said processing step detects said spoken keyword.

37. An image capture device comprising:

means for receving a user input for initiating a remote image capture operation of the image capture device;

means for receiving a speech signal representative of an utterance of the user;

means for processing the received speech signal to detect a keyword in the user'"'"'s utterance;

means for capturing an image; and

a controller responsive to said user input receiving means and said speech processing means and operable to control said image capture means;

wherein said controller is operable, in response to said user input, to set the image capture device into a standby state for a period of time in which said image capture device is unresponsive to utterances of the user and, after said period of time, is operable to set the image capture device into a listening state in which the controller is operable to cause said image capture means to capture an image when said speech processing means detects said spoken keyword.

38. An image capture device comprising:

a first receiver operable to receive a user input for initiating a remote image capture operation of the image capture device;

a second receiver operable to receive a speech signal representative of an utterance of the user;

a processor operable to process the received speech signal to detect a keyword in the user'"'"'s utterance;

an image capture operable to capture an image; and

a controller responsive to said first receiver and said processor and operable to control said image capture;

wherein said controller is operable, in response to said user input, to set the image capture device into a standby state for a period of time in which said image capture device is unresponsive to utterances of the user and, after said period of time, is operable to set the image capture device into an active state.