Generating effects in a webcam application

• US 8,073,203 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cyberlink Corporation
• Original Assignee: Cyberlink Corporation
• Inventors: Tang, Shih-Min (Stanley), Chen, Ming-Jun, Cheng, Chih-Yu
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns, Andrew W
• Application Number:
  US12/103,133
• Publication Number:
  US 20090257623A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/103, 382/107, 382/284, 345/629, 345/632, 345/633, 345/638, 348/584, 348/601
• US Class Current: 382/107
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A system and a method for generating effects in a webcam application are provided. The method includes identifying a first object and a second object in a video image. The method also includes adding a first user-created object to the video image to create an altered video image and adding a second user-created object to the altered video image to further alter the altered video image. Other steps included are associating the second user-created object with the second object; identifying a movement of the second object; and moving the second user-created object in the altered video image in accordance with the association of the second user-created object with the second object. The first object is a static object, and the first user-created object is manually movable. The movement of the second user-created object in association with the second object is independent of a movement of the first user-created object.

Claims

1. A method of generating effects for a webcam application, comprising the steps of:

identifying a first object in a video image;

identifying a second object in the video image;

adding a first user-created object to the video image to create an altered video image;

adding a second user-created object to the altered video image to further alter the altered video image;

associating the second user-created object with the second object; and

identifying a movement of the second object;

moving the second user-created object in the altered video image in accordance with the association of the second user-created object with the second object; and

wherein the first object is a static object, wherein the first user-created object is manually movable, and wherein the movement of the second user-created object in association with the second object is independent of a movement of the first user-created object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first object is a background region.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating the first user-created object with the first object.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user-created object and the second user-created object are selected from a group consisting of:

a user-drawn object, a user-selected object, a copied object and text.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user-created object and the second user-created object are deformable, respectively.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user-created object and the second user-created object are responsive to a stimulus, respectively.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user-created object and the second user-created object morph temporally, respectively.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising scaling the second user-created object.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the scaling of the second user-created object is dependent upon the scale of the second object.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising shading the second user-created object.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the shading of the second user-created object is dependent upon the shade of the second object.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying movement step further comprises defining a second object motion vector based on the movement of the second object.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

modifying the second user-created object depending on the second object motion vector.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the movement step further comprises finding difference of the first object and the second object using a technique selected from a group consisting of frame comparison analysis, motion detection, object identification technique, or edge detection analysis.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying the first user-created object depending on a user input.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying the second user-created object depending on a user input.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a collision between the first user-created object and the second user-created object, wherein a collision occurs when the first user-created object and the second user-created object are at least contiguous.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting an overlapping region where the first user-created object is overlapped with the second object; and

modifying the first user-created object responsive to an overlapping region detection.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking the second object;

removing the second user-created object responsive to a disappearance of the tracked second object from the video image; and

reinstating the second user-created object responsive to a reappearance of the tracked second object in the video image.

20. A method of generating effects for a webcam application, comprising the steps of:

identifying a first object and a second object in a video image;

adding a first user-created object to the first object to create an altered video image;

adding a second user-created object to the second object to further alter the altered video image;

associating the first user-created object with the first object;

associating the second user-created object with the second object;

identifying a movement of the first object and a movement of the second object, respectively; and

moving the first user-created object in accordance with the association of the first user-created object with the first object.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

moving the second user-created object in accordance with the association of the second user-created object with the second object, wherein the movement of the second user-created object is independent of the movement of the first user-created object.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein an effect generated is a sound.

23. The method of claim 21, where in an effect generated is shaking the first user-created object.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein an effect generated is deformation of the first user-created object and the second user-created object.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

detecting a collision between the first user-created object and the first object, wherein a collision occurs when the first user-created object and the first object are at least contiguous.

26. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

detecting a collision between the first user-created object and the second user-created object, wherein a collision occurs when the first user-created object and the second user-created object are at least contiguous.

27. The method of claim 20, further comprising generating an effect in response to detecting a collision.

28. The method of claim 20, wherein the movement of second object is independent of the movement of the first object.

29. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

tracking the first object;

removing the first user-created object from the altered video image responsive to the disappearance of the tracked first object from the video image; and

reinstating the first user-created object responsive to the reappearance of the first object in the video image.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

tracking the second object;

removing the second user-created object responsive to a disappearance of the tracked second object from the video image; and

reinstating the second user-created object responsive to a reappearance of the tracked second object in the video image.

31. A system for generating effects for a webcam application, comprising:

an identification module for identifying a first object and a second object in a video image;

an addition module for adding at least one user-created object to the video image to create an altered video image;

an association module associating the at least one user-created object with the first object;

a motion detection module for identifying a movement of the first object;

a movement module for moving the at least one user-created object in accordance with the association of the at least one user-created object with the first object in the altered video image; and

a display module for displaying the altered video image.

32. The system of claim 31, further comprising:

an effects generation module for generating effects for the at least one user-created object.

33. The system of claim 32, further comprising a collision detection module for detecting a collision between the first object and the at least one user-created object and triggering the effects generation module for generating effects.

34. The system of claim 31, further comprising a database comprising a plurality of user-created objects.

35. The system of claim 31, further comprising a user-drawing module for creating the at least one user-created object.

36. The system of claim 31, further comprising a communication system interface for sending the altered video image to another communication system interface via the Internet.

37. The system of claim 31, further comprising a tracking module for tracking the first object, removing the first user-created object when the tracked first object disappears from the video image, and reinstating the first user-created object when the tracked first object reappears in the video image.