Image anonymization

• US 9,426,387 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2007
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Jung, Edward K. Y., Levien, Royce A., Lord, Robert W., Malamud, Mark A., Mangione-Smith, William Henry, Rinaldo, John D. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): DAILEY, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US11/701,527
• Publication Number:
  US 20080180538A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,492 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/255 Detecting or recognising potential candidate objects based on visual cues, e.g. shapes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay

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 acquire an image of a subject. The system also includes an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes a decreased fidelity of a property of a subject of the acquired image in response to an anonymization policy. The system further includes a display operable to provide a human-perceivable indication of the anonymization policy.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

capturing an image of a subject located in a particular area, wherein the particular area includes at least an intersection for vehicles, wherein the subject includes at least a vehicle, a license plate on the vehicle, and at least one face of a driver in the vehicle;

indicating a selection of an anonymization policy, wherein the indication of the selection is shown by a green, yellow, or red optical display;

applying the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized; and

transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for display operable to provide a human-perceivable image.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein capturing an image of a subject located in a particular area includes:

automatically causing a capture of an image of a subject located in a particular area.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein capturing an image of a subject located in a particular area includes:

acquiring an image of a subject located in a particular area.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

producing an obscured digital image of the subject by reducing a fidelity of a feature of the driver of the vehicle in response to a selected ambiguity policy.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

producing an obscured digital image of the subject by reducing a fidelity of a feature of the driver of the vehicle in response to an ambiguity policy, a property being at least one of substantially anonymized, obscured, and/or incomprehensible.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

producing an obscured digital image of the subject by reducing a fidelity of a feature of the driver of the vehicle in response to an ambiguity policy, the reducing a fidelity of the feature includes at least one of substantially anonymizing a property, substantially obscuring the property, and/or making the property incomprehensible.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for display operable to provide a human-perceivable image includes:

broadcasting a human perceivable indication of an ambiguity policy.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for display operable to provide a human-perceivable image includes:

broadcasting a signal indicative of an ambiguity policy.

36. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

saving at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein saving at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image includes:

configuring a digital storage information with data representative of at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein saving at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image includes:

configuring a computer-readable medium with data representative of at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image.

2. One or more non-transitory media comprising one or more computer-readable instructions for executing a process comprising:

capturing an image of a subject located in a particular area, wherein the particular area includes at least an intersection for vehicles, wherein the subject includes at least a vehicle, a license plate on the vehicle, and at least one face of a driver in the vehicle;

indicating a selection of an anonymization policy, wherein the indication of the selection is shown by a green, yellow, or red optical display;

applying the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized; and

transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for display operable to provide a human-perceivable image.

39. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 2, wherein the process further includes:

saving data representative of at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image.

40. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 2, wherein the one or more non-transitory media includes:

a computer storage medium.

41. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 2, wherein the one or more non-transitory media includes:

a communications medium.

3. A system comprising:

one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area, wherein the particular area includes at least an intersection for vehicles, wherein the subject includes at least a vehicle, a license plate on the vehicle, and at least one face of a driver in the vehicle;

a selector circuit operable to indicate a selection of an anonymization policy, wherein the indication of the selection is shown by a green, yellow, or red optical display;

an anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized; and

circuitry for transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for a display operable to provide a human-perceivable image.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

a digital imaging device operable to acquire the image of the subject.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

a digital camera operable to acquire the image of the subject.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

an imaging device operable to capture the image of the subject.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

an imaging device operable to receive the image of the subject.

8. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

an imaging device operable to acquire at least one of a digital and/or an analog image of the subject.

9. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

an imaging device operable to acquire a digital image of the subject, the digital image including a representation of a dimensional image as a finite set of digital values called picture elements or pixels.

10. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

an imaging device operable to acquire at least one of a still and/or a video of the subject.

11. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

an imaging device operable to acquire an image of at least one of a person, a patron, a shopper, a spectator, a car, a truck, a ship, and/or an aircraft.

12. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more imaging devices operable to acquire an image of a subject located in a particular area further includes:

an imaging device operable to capture an image of a subject and to create a digital signal representative of the acquired image.

13. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to at least

restrict a dissemination of the acquired image.

14. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized digital image that includes at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy.

15. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes at least a decreased at least one of accuracy in describing or reporting facts or details, and/or faithfulness in a depiction of the driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy.

16. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes at least one of a decreased resolution, an obscuring, a blackout, and/or a removal of the feature of the driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy.

17. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes at least a decreased fidelity of an aspect, a property, and/or an attribute of the driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy.

18. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes at least a decreased fidelity of at least one of a face, a license plate, a label, and/or a recognizable property associated with the driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy.

19. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes at least a decreased fidelity of a feature of the driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy, the anonymization policy selected from among at least two anonymization policies.

20. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes at least a decreased fidelity of the feature of a driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy, the anonymization policy selected 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.

21. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes at least a decreased fidelity of a feature of the driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy, the anonymization policy persisting for a predetermined time.

22. The system of claim 3, wherein the anonymizer circuit operable to apply the selected anonymization policy to the acquired image based on the green, the yellow, or the red optical display, wherein the indication of the green optical display or the yellow optical display causes generation of a resulting first image with at least a decreased fidelity of the driver of the vehicle, and wherein the indication of the red optical display causes generation of a resulting second image with the at least one face of the driver in the vehicle not being anonymized includes:

an anonymizer circuit operable to generate an anonymized image that includes at least a decreased fidelity of a feature of the driver of the vehicle in response to the anonymization policy, the decreased fidelity including a non-storage, a temporary storage, and/or other rule or behavior that results in a property not being savable or transmittable.

23. The system of claim 3, wherein the circuitry for transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for a display operable to provide a human-perceivable image includes:

the display operable to provide the human-perceivable visual indication of at least one of an anonymized image or the anonymization policy.

24. The system of claim 3, wherein the circuitry for transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for a display operable to provide a human-perceivable image includes:

the display operable to provide the human-perceivable indication of at least one of an anonymized image or the anonymization policy at least close in time to the acquisition of the image.

25. The system of claim 3, wherein the circuitry for transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for a display operable to provide a human-perceivable image includes:

the display operable to provide a color-based visual indication of the anonymization policy.

26. The system of claim 3, wherein the circuitry for transmitting at least one of the resulting first image or the resulting second image for a display operable to provide a human-perceivable image includes:

the display operable to provide a human-perceivable audio indication of the anonymization policy.

27. The system of claim 3, further comprising:

a storage media configurable by data corresponding to the anonymized image.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the storage media configurable by data corresponding to the anonymized image further includes:

at least one of a quantum, an atomic, a magnetic, and/or an optical storage media configurable by digital data corresponding to an anonymized image.