Anonymization pursuant to a broadcasted policy

• US 20080180459A1
• Filed: 01/31/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Mangione-Smith, William Henry, Lord, Robert W., Jung, Edward K.Y., Levien, Royce A., Malamud, Mark A., Rinaldo, John D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,203,609 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/647
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0084 Determining the necessity for prevention
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00864 Modifying the reproduction, e.g. outputting a modified copy of a scanned original details of composing or otherwise geometrically modifying originals H04N1/387
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00872 by image quality reduction, e.g. distortion or blacking out
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image

Abstract

Embodiments include a system, a device, an apparatus, a method, and a computer program product. An embodiment provides a system that includes an imaging device operable to capture an image depicting a member of a class of subjects that may have a temporal presence in an area. The system also includes an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy. The anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image. The system further includes a broadcast device operable to display a human-perceivable indication of the selected anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area. The system also includes an anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an imaging device operable to capture an image depicting a class of subjects that may have a temporal presence in an area;

an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image;

a broadcast device operable to display a human-perceivable indication of the selected anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area; and

an anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging device operable to capture an image depicting a class of subjects that may have a temporal presence in an area further includes:

an imaging device operable to capture an image depicting at least one instance of a class of subjects that may have a temporal presence in an area.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging device operable to capture an image depicting a class of subjects that may have a temporal presence in an area further includes:

an imaging device operable to capture an image depicting a member of a class of humans, adults, children, patrons, animals, objects, inanimate objects, cars, boats, airplanes, and/or vessels that may have a temporal presence in an area.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging device operable to capture an image depicting a class of subjects that may have a temporal presence in an area further includes:

an imaging device operable to capture an image depicting a class of subjects that may have a temporal presence in a room, a building, a geographic locale, a mall, a park, an intersection, two or more spaced apart intersections, and/or a stadium.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy further includes:

an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select the anonymization policy from at least two anonymization policies.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy further includes:

an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy in response to a received human originated input, and/or a selection methodology.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image, further includes:

an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes decreasing a fidelity of a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image, further includes:

an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring at least one of a variable, a recognizable, a distinguishable, and/or a unique aspect of a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image, further includes:

an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring at least one of a variable, a recognizable, a distinguishable, and/or a unique aspect of a property of each instance of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image, further includes:

an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring at least one of a face, age, and/or a racial aspect of at least one person depicted in the captured image.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image, further includes:

an anonymization device having a selector circuit operable to select an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of the class of subjects depicted in the captured image before at least one of a persistent storage of the captured image, and/or a transmission of the captured image.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging device further includes the anonymization circuit.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device further includes the anonymization circuit.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the broadcast device operable to display a human-perceivable indication of the selected anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area further includes:

a broadcast device operable to display at least one of an audio, a visual, and/or a tactile human-perceivable indication of the selected anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging device further includes the broadcast device operable to display a human-perceivable indication of the selected anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device further includes the broadcast device operable to display a human-perceivable indication of the selected anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects further includes:

an anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects, the anonymization policy being applied before the image is persistently saved.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects further includes:

an anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects, the anonymization policy being applied after the image is persistently saved.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects further includes:

an anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects, the anonymization policy being applied contemporaneously with a saving the image in a persistently storage.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects further includes:

an anonymization circuit operable to generate an anonymized image by applying the selected anonymization policy to a semi-permanently or permanently saved image captured by the imaging device and depicting a member of the class of subjects.

21. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a persistent storage media configurable by a digital file representative of the anonymized image.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging device further includes a persistent storage media configurable by a digital file representative of the anonymized image.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the anonymization device further includes a persistent storage media configurable by a digital file representative of the anonymized image.

24. A method comprising:

receiving an anonymization policy in an image capture device operable to capture an image of a class of subjects having a temporal presence in an area, the anonymization policy including obscuring a property of a class of subjects depicted in an image;

broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area; and

generating an obscured image of a member of the class of subjects by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the image capture device and depicting the member of the class of subjects.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the receiving an anonymization policy in an image capture device operable to capture an image of a class of subjects having a temporal presence in an area further includes:

receiving an anonymization policy in at least two image capture devices each operable to capture an image of a class of subjects having a temporal presence in an area.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the receiving an anonymization policy in an image capture device operable to capture an image of a class of subjects having a temporal presence in an area further includes:

wirelessly receiving an anonymization policy in an image capture device operable to capture an image of a class of subjects having a temporal presence in an area.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area further includes:

broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area from a display coupled with the image capture device.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the privacy anonymization to at least a portion of the area further includes:

broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area from a display not coupled with the image capture device.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein the generating an obscured image of a member of the class of subjects by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the image capture device and depicting the member of the class of subjects further includes:

generating using a processor associated with the image capture device an obscured image of a member of the class of subjects by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image depicting the member of the class of subjects and captured by the image capture device.

30. The method of claim 24, wherein the generating an obscured image of a member of the class of subjects by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the image capture device and depicting the member of the class of subjects further includes:

receiving an image depicting a member of a class of subjects captured by the image capture device and generating an obscured image of the member of the class of subjects by applying the selected anonymization policy to the received image depicting a member of the class of subjects.

31. The method of claim 24, wherein the generating an obscured image of a member of the class of subjects by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the image capture device and depicting the member of the class of subjects further includes:

generating an obscured image of a member of the class of subjects by obscuring at least one of a person, an article, an object, a face, a license plate, and/or a label in an image captured by the image capture device and depicting the member of the class of subjects.

32. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

selecting the anonymization policy.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the selecting the anonymization policy further includes:

selecting the anonymization policy from at least two anonymization policies.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the selecting an anonymization policy further includes:

selecting the anonymization policy from at least two anonymization policies in response to at least one of a received human-initiated input, in response to a signal received from a remote device, and/or a selection algorithm.

35. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

configuring a persistent computer-readable storage media with data representative of the obscured image.

36. A system comprising:

means for wirelessly receiving an anonymization policy in an image capture device operable to capture an image of a class of subjects having a temporal presence in an area, the anonymization policy includes obscuring a property of a class of subjects depicted in an image;

means for broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of the area; and

means for generating an obscured image of a member of the class of subjects by applying the selected anonymization policy to an image captured by the image capture device and depicting the member of the class of subjects.

37. The system of claim 36, further comprising:

means for selecting the anonymization policy from at least two anonymization policies.

38. The system of claim 36, further comprising:

means for configuring a persistent computer-readable storage media with a file representative of the obscured image.

39. A method comprising:

receiving a signal corresponding to an anonymization policy, the anonymization policy including obscuring a property of a class of subjects depicted in an image;

broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of an area;

capturing an image depicting a member of the class of subjects having a presence in an area; and

generating an obscured image of the member of the class of subjects by applying the anonymization policy to the captured image depicting the member of the class of subjects.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the receiving a signal corresponding to an anonymization policy further includes:

wirelessly receiving a signal corresponding to an anonymization policy.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein the receiving a signal corresponding to an anonymization policy further includes:

receiving a signal corresponding to an anonymization policy in a communications device operable to broadcast the human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of an area.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of an area further includes:

broadcasting a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy to at least a portion of an area from a communications device.