APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FINDING A MISPLACED OBJECT USING A DATABASE AND INSTRUCTIONS GENERATED BY A PORTABLE DEVICE

• US 20120230544A1
• Filed: 05/25/2012
• Published: 09/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 2, LLC
• Original Assignee: TrackThings LLC
• Inventors: Gabara, Constance
• Granted Patent: US 8,410,927 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/255 Detecting or recognising potential candidate objects based on visual cues, e.g. shapes

Abstract

The basic invention uses a portable device that can contain a camera, a database, and a text, voice or visual entry to control the storage of an image into a database. Furthermore, the stored image can be associated with text, color, visual or audio. The stored images can be used to guide the user towards a target that the user does not recall its current location. The user'"'"'s commands can be issued verbally, textually or by scrolling through the target images in the database until the desired one is found. This target can be shoes, pink sneakers, a toy or some comparable items that the user needs to find.

Claims

1. A portable device apparatus comprising:

a database storing desired objects;

a camera that scans a region of space producing a first image;

the camera is moved to scan an adjacent region of space to produce additional images;

all of the images are stored in the database;

the first and the additional images are combined together forming a composite image; and

a recognition unit that matches objects within the composite image to the desired objects, thereby forming matched objects.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein

a location of the matched objects can be determined.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein

the location of the matched objects are updated in the database if these objects are moved.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the database can be distributed over different physically distinct memories, wherein each memory can be individually queried.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein

a latest timestamp on the matched objects in the queried database indicates a current location of the matched object.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein

a search engine can be used to locate the matched object.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a textual, visual, colored screen, or audio instruction generated by the device to aid in locating the matched object.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

the portable device embedded in a pair of glasses that views an environment to obtain other images and updates the database with the other images.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a continuous scanning of the regions of space.

10. A method of locating positions of desired objects in an image comprising the steps of:

storing the desired objects into a database;

scanning the image using a camera in a portable device;

storing the image into the database;

comparing portions of the image on a display screen of the portable device with a search and recognition algorithm;

identifying at least one desired object within the image; and

locating the position of the desired object in the image.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

embedding the portable device in a pair of glasses;

viewing an environment to obtain other images; and

continuously updating the database with the other images.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

moving the portable device to scan additional images; and

combining the image with the additional images into a composite image.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

storing the additional images into memory.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

continuously scanning the composite image.

15. A portable device apparatus comprising:

a database containing stored objects;

a camera scrolls an image of a region of space on a display screen; and

a recognition unit matching an object in the image to one of the stored objects, whereby the object is identified as one of the stored objects in the, database forming a matched object.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein

a location of the matched object can be determined.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein

when the recognition unit fails to recognize the image in the database, a user issues a verbal command to store the image into the database.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

a wireless access to a second database;

the second database is in another portable device, a personal computer or a server; and

a search engine that matches the stored object in all databases to the image.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

the recognition unit using the image to locate the matched object; and

a display screen that issues instructions to move a user towards the matched object.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:

the portable device embedded in a pair of glasses that views an environment to obtain other images and updates the database with the other images.