U.S. patent application number 13/782167 was filed with the patent office on 2013-11-14 for apparatus and method of video cueing.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sony Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is SONY CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Mark Grinyer, Michael Williams.
Application Number | 20130303248 13/782167 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46458753 |
Filed Date | 2013-11-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130303248 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Williams; Michael ; et
al. |
November 14, 2013 |
APPARATUS AND METHOD OF VIDEO CUEING
Abstract
A video cueing system for a sporting event comprises receiving
means operable to receive a universal clock signal, receiving means
operable to receive telemetry data for one or more participants in
the sporting event, processing means operable to estimate the
location of the or each participant along a predetermined route
based upon their respective telemetry data, detection means
operable to detect, with reference to the universal clock signal,
the respective time at which the or each participant reaches a
predetermined location along the route, as estimated from their
respective telemetry data, and video requesting means operable to
request, for video streams associated with one or more
participants, a position of a plurality of respective video frames
having a timing referenced to the universal clock signal that
corresponds to a detected respective time at which the or each
participant reached the predetermined location.
Inventors: |
Williams; Michael;
(Winchester, GB) ; Grinyer; Mark; (Southampton,
GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SONY CORPORATION |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Sony Corporation
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
46458753 |
Appl. No.: |
13/782167 |
Filed: |
March 1, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/8547 20130101;
H04N 21/2187 20130101; A63F 9/143 20130101; H04N 21/21805
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/6 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/14 20060101
A63F009/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 14, 2012 |
GB |
1208399.4 |
Claims
1. A video cueing system for a sporting event, comprising: a clock
receiver circuitry configured to receive a universal clock signal;
a telemetry receiver circuitry configured to receive telemetry data
for one or more participants in the sporting event; a processor
circuitry configured to estimate the location of the or each
participant along a predetermined route based upon their respective
telemetry data; a detector circuitry configured to detect, with
reference to the universal clock signal, the respective time at
which the or each participant reaches a predetermined location
along the route, as estimated from their respective telemetry data;
and video requester circuitry configured to request, for video
streams associated with one or more participants, a position of a
plurality of respective video frames having a timing referenced to
the universal clock signal that corresponds to a detected
respective time at which the or each participant reached the
predetermined location.
2. The video cueing system according to claim 1, in which the
processor circuitry is configured to estimate the location of a
participant with respect to a reference position along the
predetermined route based upon data from one or more selected from
the list consisting of: i. GPS data from the participant, ii. speed
data from the participant, iii. directional data from the
participant, and iv. identification of the participant by a sensor
at a predetermined position along the route.
3. The video cueing system according to claim 1, in which a video
stream from a mobile camera is associated with a participant for
the duration of the sporting event if the participant has the
mobile camera.
4. The video cueing system according to claim 1, in which a video
stream from a fixed location camera is associated with a
participant if the participant occupies a predetermined location
relative to the fixed location camera.
5. The video cueing system according to claim 2, in which the
processor circuitry is configured to associate location data for
participants with a lap count, and to store location data for the
or each participant for a plurality of laps of the predetermined
route.
6. The video cueing system according to claim 5, in which the video
requester circuitry is configured to request, for video streams
associated with one participant, a position of a plurality of
respective video frames having a timing referenced to the universal
clock signal that corresponds to a detected respective time at
which the participant reached the predetermined location for a
selection of laps.
7. The video cueing system according to claim 5, in which the video
requester circuitry is configured to request, for video streams
associated with a plurality of participants, a position of a
plurality of respective video frames having a timing referenced to
the universal clock signal that corresponds to a detected
respective time at which each participant reached the predetermined
location for the same lap.
8. The video cueing system according to claim 1, comprising: a
graphical user interface operable to display participant IDs and a
representation of the predetermined route, and operable to receive
a selection of one or more participants and a selection of a
position with respect to the representation of the predetermined
route; and in which the detector circuitry is configured to detect,
with reference to the universal clock signal, the respective time
at which the or each selected participant reached a location along
the route corresponding to the selected position; and the video
requester circuitry is configured to request, for video streams
associated with the one or more selected participants, a position
of a plurality of respective video frames having a timing
referenced to the universal clock signal that corresponds to the
detected respective time at which the or each participant reached
the selected location.
9. The video cueing system according to claim 1, comprising a
telemetry analyser arranged in operation to detect changes in
telemetry that exceed respective predetermined thresholds, and
which in response to such detected changes, logs the universal
clock signal at the time of the change.
10. A video system, comprising: the video cueing system according
to claim 1 a video server circuitry configured to store a plurality
of video streams from one or more cameras associated with one or
more participants; and in which the video requester circuitry is
configured to transmit a position request to the video server for
the position of a video frame corresponding to a participant at a
specified time defined with reference to the universal clock
signal.
11. The video system according to claim 10, in which the video
requester circuitry is configured to transmit a playback request to
the video server to output a video stream starting at the position
of a video frame corresponding to a participant at a specified time
defined with reference to the universal clock signal.
12. A racing system, comprising: the video cueing system according
to claim 1; one or more mobile cameras for association with one or
more race participants; one or more telemetry sensors for
association with a predetermined location on a race course; a
wireless receiver circuitry configured to receive telemetry and
output telemetry data to the video cueing system; and a wireless
receiver circuitry configured to receive video streams from the or
each mobile camera.
13. A client device connectable to network video system comprising
a video cueing system according to claim 1; the client device
circuitry configured in operation to display participant IDs and a
representation of the predetermined route, and operable to receive
a selection of one or more participants and a selection of a
position with respect to the representation of the predetermined
route; and the client device being arranged in operation to connect
to the internet and to send the participant and route selection
data to the video cueing system, and to receive corresponding
video.
14. A method of video cueing, comprising the steps of: receiving a
universal clock signal; receiving telemetry data for one or more
participants in a sporting event; estimating the location of the or
each participant along a predetermined route based upon their
respective telemetry data; detecting, with reference to the
universal clock signal, the respective time at which the or each
participant reaches a predetermined location along the route, as
estimated from their respective telemetry data; and requesting, for
video streams associated with one or more participants, a position
of a plurality of respective video frames having a timing
referenced to the universal clock signal that corresponds to a
detected respective time at which the or each participant reached
the predetermined location.
15. The method according to claim 14, comprising the steps of:
associating location data for participants with a lap count;
storing location data for the or each participant for a plurality
of laps of the predetermined route; and in which the step of
requesting comprises requesting, for video streams associated with
one participant, a position of a plurality of respective video
frames having a timing referenced to the universal clock signal
that corresponds to a detected respective time at which the
participant reached the predetermined location for a selection of
laps.
16. The method according to claim 14, comprising the steps of:
associating location data for participants with a lap count;
storing location data for a plurality of participants for a at
least one lap of the predetermined route; and in which the step of
requesting comprises requesting, for video streams associated with
a plurality of participants, a position of a plurality of
respective video frames having a timing referenced to the universal
clock signal that corresponds to a detected respective time at
which each participant reached the predetermined location for the
same lap.
17. The method according to claim 14, comprising the steps of:
displaying participant IDs and a representation of the
predetermined route; receiving a selection of one or more
participants and a selection of a position with respect to the
representation of the predetermined route; and in which the
detecting step comprises detecting, with reference to the universal
clock signal, the respective time at which the or each selected
participant reached a location along the route corresponding to the
selected position; and the requesting step comprises requesting,
for video streams associated with the one or more selected
participants, a position of a plurality of respective video frames
having a timing referenced to the universal clock signal that
corresponds to the detected respective time at which the or each
participant reached the selected location.
18. The method according to claim 14, comprising the step of:
requesting from a video server the position of a video frame
corresponding to a participant at a specified time defined with
reference to the universal clock signal.
19. The method according to claim 14, comprising the step of:
requesting that a video server outputs a video stream starting at
the position of a video frame corresponding to a participant at a
specified time defined with reference to the universal clock
signal.
20. A non-transitory computer readable medium including computer
program instructions, which when executed by a computer causes the
computer to perform the method of claim 14.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of the Disclosure
[0002] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method of
video cueing.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Conventional sports coverage frequently comprises a
combination of fixed and mobile camera viewpoints, and a director
selects from among these viewpoints to illustrate the most salient
or exciting progression of the sport for broadcast.
[0005] Occasionally, a controversial or unusual event occurs at a
camera viewpoint that was not currently selected for broadcast,
necessitating a quick cueing of the relevant video stream in order
to show the event at a later moment.
[0006] However, it would be preferable to improve the ease with
which such cueing was managed for multiple camera viewpoints, at
least for certain sports.
SUMMARY
[0007] A video cueing system for a sporting event, comprising a
clock receiver circuitry configured to receive a universal clock
signal, a telemetry receiver circuitry configured to receive
telemetry data for one or more participants in the sporting event,
a processor circuitry configured to estimate the location of the or
each participant along a predetermined route based upon their
respective telemetry data, a detector circuitry configured to
detect, with reference to the universal clock signal, the
respective time at which the or each participant reaches a
predetermined location along the route, as estimated from their
respective telemetry data and video requester circuitry configured
to request, for video streams associated with one or more
participants, a position of a plurality of respective video frames
having a timing referenced to the universal clock signal that
corresponds to a detected respective time at which the or each
participant reached the predetermined location.
[0008] A client device connectable to network video system
comprising a video cueing system, the client device circuitry
configured in operation to display participant IDs and a
representation of the predetermined route, and operable to receive
a selection of one or more participants and a selection of a
position with respect to the representation of the predetermined
route and the client device circuitry configured in operation to
connect to the interne and to send the participant and route
selection data to the video cueing system, and to receive
corresponding video.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described
by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a racing track, video
cameras and sensors, in accordance with an embodiment of the
present disclosure.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a video system, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a video camera and
effective placements of a virtual video camera.
[0013] FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a video camera and
effective placements of a virtual video camera.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a general purpose computer,
operable as a pre-processor, a cueing unit and/or a video
comparator, in accordance with an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of video cueing, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a projection onto a virtual
image plane, in accordance with an embodiment of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0017] An apparatus and method of video cueing are disclosed. In
the following description, a number of specific details are
presented in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent,
however, to a person skilled in the art that these specific details
need not be employed to practice the present disclosure.
Conversely, specific details known to the person skilled in the art
are omitted for the purposes of clarity where appropriate.
[0018] Referring now to FIG. 1, in an embodiment of the present
disclosure a plurality of camera viewpoints (10A-D) are provided
for a Formula One race, or more generally any race or sport
following a predetermined path, such as a horse race, a cycle race
in a velodrome, a ski slalom or the like. Optionally the path may
be discretely defined, for example by a series of waypoints such as
buoys in a yacht race.
[0019] The camera viewpoints may be a combination of fixed points,
for example trackside at the starting grid (10A) or at important
corners of a track (10B), and also mobile points, for example on
some or all of the cars (10C,D) (or for other races, on the jockey,
skier, bicycle, yacht etc.).
[0020] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more
Formula One cars are equipped with one or more video cameras, and
wireless streams from these cameras include a respective ID that
can be associated with the particular car and/or driver, enabling
the camera and hence viewpoint of a particular driver's vehicle to
be readily selected by a director.
[0021] Separately, the cars and optionally the race track comprise
a plurality of sensors.
[0022] The sensors for the race track may include timing units at
predetermined positions (20A-D) that provide accurate timing of the
racing cars at these predetermined positions, and hence information
about the race order and the time separation between cars. These
timing units may be placed on, under or by the track to detect one
or more of near-field transponders, radio transponders, infra-red
transponders, optical patterns (such as barcode or QR code
patterns), or any other suitable remote identification means
positioned on a racing car to identify it at the moment it reaches
that predetermined position.
[0023] This timing data is measured in (or subsequently referenced
to) a universal clock signal generated by a universal clock (not
shown).
[0024] Similarly, the racing car itself collects telemetry data
such as one or more of GPS position data, axle speed data and
steering data.
[0025] Referring now also to FIG. 2, this in-car telemetry, and if
present the track-side position and timing telemetry, are
transmitted to an information pre-processor 100.
[0026] The information pre-processor 100 comprises a model of the
race track. This model may be an accurate and detailed geometry of
the race track, or a simple line and curve representation of the
track, or it may simply model the track's mean length, using real
or arbitrary units. More generally, the pre-processor model is
operable to represent a location on the race track as a function of
distance from a predetermined reference point (such as a starting
line). The distance may be expressed in real units (such as meters)
or arbitrary units (such as a percentage of the mean track
length).
[0027] The information pre-processor then estimates from the
received telemetry the current location of a racing car on the race
track. To a first approximation, the current location of the racing
car is thus the distance from the predetermined reference point
along the track at the current time.
[0028] The current time is defined by the current (most recently
issued) universal clock signal from the universal clock 110.
[0029] In the event that a telemetry source is able to receive the
universal clock signal (for example, the track-side timing unit may
receive the universal clock signal), then the telemetry data
received by the pre-processor may have a universal time stamp
already associated with it. Alternatively or in addition, the
pre-processor may associate the telemetry data with a universal
time signal upon its receipt. Optionally it may apply a time offset
if there are known delays in receiving or extracting such telemetry
data.
[0030] The result is that telemetry data received by the
pre-processor 100 is associated with respective times from the
universal clock that specify when that telemetry data was
current.
[0031] It will be appreciated that the above described telemetry
data may be received at different times and with different
frequencies. Thus for example the accurate track-side timing and
position data may occur at only 4 or 5 irregularly spaced intervals
(20A-D). Meanwhile GPS data may be received more regularly, for
example every second. Finally, information such as axel speed may
be received every 1/10th of a second. It will be appreciated that
these values are exemplary only and are non-limiting.
[0032] Hence for example, if accurate position and time data is
received from a trackside sensor at a universal time of 1.000
seconds, and a GPS signal is received from the car at 1.010
seconds, and axle speed data is received at both 1.005 and 1.015
seconds, then it is possible to estimate the position of the car
along the track at each thousandth of a second between 1.000 and
1.010 seconds based upon the known position at 1.000 seconds and
the extrapolated/interpolated axle speed of the car between 1.000
and 1.010 seconds, and optionally also to validate and possibly
correct the GPS position received at 1.010 seconds.
[0033] Moreover, if for example the current time is 1.018 seconds,
it is possible to use a combination of the trackside data, GPS data
and extrapolated axle speed data (and hence elapsed distance) to
estimate the location of the racing car along the track at this
time. Again it will be appreciated that the timing values used
above are exemplary only and non-limiting.
[0034] This estimated location is then stored as data in
association with the corresponding time from the universal clock
(for example 1.018 seconds), typically also in association with an
ID of the respective racing car and optionally a lap counter.
[0035] Hence over the course of the race, it is possible to
estimate and store the location of the racing car along the track
for any selected time.
[0036] More generally therefore, the pre-processor 100 is operable
to analyse telemetry data from a car (and where available, from the
track side), in order to estimate the current location of the car
along the track, as referenced to the universal clock. By storing
this information, the position of the car at each moment in the
race can be subsequently accessed.
[0037] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a video server
200 (or alternatively the pre-processor 100) is operable to
associate the current universal time signal with a current video
frame as it is received from each camera. These time-stamped video
frames are archived to the video server 200, and frames from one of
more video streams may also be mirrored to form a live feed at the
director's discretion. It will be appreciated that optionally not
every video frame in a respective video stream may be time stamped
if it is still possible to reliably estimate the universal time for
unstamped video frames by interpolation or frame counting. For
example, only the frame at the start of a group of frames (or some
other frame sequence structure) may be time stamped.
[0038] Other metadata may be associated as desired with the video
frames, or a group of frames, or a video stream. These may include
but are not limited to the driver name, the car number, the racing
team, and/or the lap number.
[0039] Moreover, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, for
the car-mounted cameras it is also possible to associate a
respective frame of the video stream with the corresponding
location of the car along the track (or vice-versa), based upon the
common reference of the universal clock. Thus the location data
whose car ID and universal time matches the video frame with the
same car ID and universal time can be associated together.
[0040] It will be appreciated that where video frames are recorded
at 25, 50, 60 or some other number of frames per second, this may
represent a sub-sampling of the available universal time signals.
Hence in an embodiment of the present disclosure, for a particular
car the location data is only estimated for those time signals that
are associated with a video frame from that car. In this case, if
the video server applies the time stamps then it can communicate
the relevant times to the pre-processor.
[0041] Meanwhile, for fixed position cameras it is possible to
associate with a particular video frame the car or driver ID for a
car that is at a predetermined location relative to the camera for
that frame--for example exactly at the same location (within a
predetermined margin) for a camera located at the finish line, or
200 meters short of the camera for a camera covering a sharp
corner.
[0042] However if it is not desirable to store such location data
in association with the video frames directly (for example if the
video format does not accommodate sufficiently large metadata
fields, or to preserve video server capacity, or maintain
compatibility with other devices) then the location data may be
separately stored (for example in the pre-processor 100 or a cueing
unit 300), associated with the universal time code and/or frame
number, and the stream ID of the relevant video frame.
[0043] Alternatively, the location data may not be explicitly
associated with the video frames, either by the video server 200,
the pre-processor 100 or the cueing unit 300. In this case, the
video frame corresponding to a location on the race track may be
accessed as required, again by virtue of their common reference to
the universal clock signals.
[0044] Consequently, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, it
is possible to select a video frame corresponding to the particular
location of a particular car on the track for a particular lap, by
selecting the appropriate video stream and the appropriate location
and lap, obtaining the universal time stamp associated with the
location and lap and using this to obtain the relevant video frame
in the selected video stream that has the corresponding time
stamp.
[0045] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cueing unit
300 is operable to perform such a selection. When a lap, location
and camera are selected, the cueing unit accesses the associated
time stamp (recorded either in the cueing unit, pre-processor or
video server as described previously) and then accesses the
corresponding video frame in the selected camera stream from the
video server.
[0046] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the video
frames have been encoded (for example using MPEG 2 or a similar
scheme employing inter-frame prediction) then if the relevant frame
is a so-called P or B frame or equivalent, then the cueing unit is
operable to access the preceding or following frames necessary to
reconstruct the selected video frame and commence playback from
that frame.
[0047] Referring now again to FIG. 1, in an embodiment of the
present disclosure the pre-processor or alternatively the cueing
unit may be pre-set with event locations 30A-C. These locations may
be defined simply as distances along the track from the reference
position, which happen to correspond with positions of interest on
the physical track (such as the start/finish line 30A, or difficult
bends 30B, C). If the pre-processor comprises a more complex
geometric model, then the event locations may be defined with
respect to the positions of interest on such a model, as long as
these can be correlated with the location data estimated from the
telemetry as described previously.
[0048] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the
pre-processor or the cueing unit is operable to log the universal
time and the driver or car ID for a car when the location data
indicates that it has reached an event location. It will be
appreciated that if the event location coincides with a track side
sensor (such as the starting line 20A, 30A) then the event location
will typically be very precisely defined. Meanwhile for other event
locations 30B, 30C, the physical accuracy may not be so precise.
Nevertheless, to within an accuracy of a few meters or less
(depending in part on vehicle speed, wheel slippage and the like),
the universal time at which a car reached an event location can be
logged for each lap of the race.
[0049] Consequently, for respective video streams (and hence
respective cars/drivers) the cueing unit can cue the video frames
for these event locations by reference to the associated universal
time stamp.
[0050] To facilitate this, the cueing unit may present a selectable
array of cue-points via a graphical user interface. Hence for
example a director may select an event location via the interface,
and then select to display one driver's video at that location for
a subset of prior laps, or select to display a subset of drivers'
videos at that location for one lap. Alternatively the director may
cue their own set of videos, for example to provide coverage of a
notable incident taken from several drivers' viewpoints over
several laps.
[0051] As a result, using such an interface a director can quickly
select, for example, the in-car camera view for a particular driver
at an event location 30C (a tight bend) for laps 10, 20, 30 and 40,
and broadcast these as a 4-way split screen to provide a
side-by-side comparison of the driver's performance at the same
event location over the course of the race. More generally, the
director may also be able to select video from pre-race laps or any
archived lap in a similar manner, such as for example the lap with
the driver's fastest practice time, or the fastest ever lap time on
that course.
[0052] Likewise, the director can quickly select for example the
in-car camera view for that bend for the current lap for those
camera-equipped cars that have passed the bend, to compare driving
styles or vehicle performance for different racers at the same
point in the race.
[0053] The cueing unit may also be able to suggest or trigger cues
in response to events. Hence for example, the director can set the
cueing unit to trigger footage of the last three drivers that
tackled the bend to appear when the currently viewed (live view)
driver reaches the event location, enabling exact comparisons to be
synchronised with a live feed.
[0054] In a similar vein, the pre-processor and/or the cueing unit
may log the universal time codes for notable changes in telemetry
or other in-car data for a particular car. For example, a sudden
change in speed or steering may indicate a crash or near-miss,
whilst a loss of tire temperature data may indicate a puncture.
[0055] Hence the pre-processor may comprise a telemetry analyser
arranged in operation to detect changes in telemetry that exceed
respective predetermined thresholds, and which in response to such
detected changes, is operable to log the universal clock signal
(and if not already done, also the car ID) at the time of the
change. The logged universal clock time and car ID can then be used
to access the relevant frame in the video stream.
[0056] The cueing unit may then present to the director the
opportunity to cue video from the car, for example from 3 seconds
prior to the event. In addition, optionally the cueing unit may
evaluate whether another camera-equipped car was within a
predetermined distance behind the first car, and offer to also or
alternatively cue video from the trailing car from the same
moment.
[0057] As noted previously, the location of the car at a particular
time may be approximate to within a few meters. Consequently, when
cueing multiple video streams, the cueing unit may select the cued
frame from one stream (for example that of the most recent lap, or
the first driver), and optionally for each of the other streams to
be displayed, compare neighbouring frames to their default cue
points in order to detect whether one of these frames more closely
matches the appearance of the selected frame, and consequently may
use a better matching frame as the initial cue point instead, in
order to reduce any spatial disparity in the separate feeds.
[0058] As noted previously, more generally the director can also
cue the view from any camera equipped car, for any lap, at any
position along the track. Again this can quickly be achieved by
selecting the driver and the lap, and then for example selecting a
position on a graphical representation of the race track in order
to cue the corresponding video from the server.
[0059] It will be appreciated that the pre-processor and the cueing
unit may be separate or may be integrated into a single unit. It
will also be appreciated that the wireless reception and extraction
of video data and/or telemetry data may be performed by a separate
device to which the pre-processor is operably coupled. It will be
further appreciated that the video server may be separate or may be
integrated with the pre-processor and/or the cueing unit.
[0060] Notably, some or all of the functionality of the cueing unit
may be implemented remotely, for example via the internet. In this
embodiment, whilst the director may have a studio based or
track-side version of the cueing unit that is used to control a
primary broadcast signal, individual client subscribers may
implement features of the cueing unit on their own general purpose
computer (such as a PC, iPhone.RTM. or a suitable domestic IPTV
set-top box) that enable them to select for example, one or more
drivers, a lap (or by default the current lap) and a position on
the race track (or one or several preselected position), and then
receive footage of the or each viewpoint in a similar manner to the
director. In this case the footage may be supplied by a web server
that mirrors the video streams from the video server at a
resolution suitable for IPTV or similar webcasting techniques.
[0061] Hence more generally a subscribing end user may have access
to some or all of the cueing functions described herein via a
(preferably encrypted) internet connection.
[0062] Referring now to FIG. 1 and also FIG. 3A, in an embodiment
of the present disclosure one or more of the fixed location cameras
is a high resolution camera (or a set of cameras arranged to
generate together a composite or `stitched` high resolution image),
such as for example a 3840.times.2160 pixel image, or a
7680.times.4320 pixel image. In FIG. 3, camera 10B of FIG. 1 is
illustrated as such a high resolution camera viewing its respective
bend of the race track. As such it will be understood that herein
`high resolution` is typically 2 or more times the resolution of
high definition (HD) video, which operates at 1920.times.1080
pixels.
[0063] Hence it will be appreciated that such high resolution
images can be subsampled or otherwise re-sized to provide
conventional HD resolution images. Moreover, a conventional HD
image can be extracted as a region of the stitched high resolution
image at the high resolution image's native resolution. Between
these extremes, different sized regions of the stitched high
resolution image can be extracted as conventional HD images by
applying appropriate resampling ratios to the high resolution
image.
[0064] Consequently, it is possible to pan and zoom within the
stitched high resolution image at conventional HD (or for that
matter SD) resolutions.
[0065] However, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is
possible to provide a superior and more realistic rotational pan,
tilt and/or zoom.
[0066] Preferably, the high resolution camera is locked-off so that
its view remains static. The camera (or the cameras combining to
form the high resolution camera) may have fish-eye, ultra wide
angle or wide angle lenses as appropriate in order to capture a
wide view, for example so as to capture the approach to a bend, the
bend itself and the exit from the bend (or for example to capture
the full width of a football pitch).
[0067] Optionally, the video comparator 400 is then operable to
substantially correct distortions in the image from the high
definition camera, such as any known lens distortion for the
current zoom and focal settings, and similarly any curvilinear
distortion from a fish-eye, ultra-wide angle or wide angle lens may
be substantially rectified.
[0068] Referring then to FIG. 6, the high resolution image 50 is
captured in a first image plane perpendicular to the camera 10B
(i.e. along the camera's optical axis). As a result, objects within
the image that are not on the optical axis will be seen within the
image at a different angle. As a result, when panning and zooming
in the manner described above, the resulting image can look
unnatural because the viewer expects to see an image with a
viewpoint consistent with having an optical axis at the centre of
the image. However, as shown in FIG. 6, a conventional selection of
a region of the high resolution image 52 will not look natural as
the optical centre of the image is not present.
[0069] In order to improve on this, in an embodiment of the present
disclosure for a virtual panning angle theta, a virtual image plane
54 is created, and the pixels 60A from the high resolution image
are back-projected to the camera position through to the virtual
image plane to form re-positioned pixels 60B.
[0070] The resulting image 54 has a more natural look to it than
the straightforward selection of a region within the high
resolution image, and resembles the output of an actual pan or tilt
by a freely pivotable camera system if it occupied the same
location as camera 10B.
[0071] Hence more generally, a video comparator 400 is operable to
generate the view from a virtual camera positioned with an angle of
rotation (horizontally and/or vertically) offset from the optical
axis of the real camera, thereby generating a more natural pan or
tilt. In addition, the image may be zoomed by the same transform,
the position (radius) of the virtual image plane along the axis for
the virtual panning angle can be used to determine the level of
zoom. Hence any zoom can be achieved by the same transformation
mapping as the pan and/or tilt.
[0072] In addition to virtual rotation of the camera at the same
position as the high resolution camera 10B, in principle it is
possible to generate limited virtual movement away from the
position of the high resolution virtual camera.
[0073] Hence in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the video
comparator 400 comprises an accurate model of the geometry of the
race track, at least for that part of the track viewed by the high
resolution camera (for another sport such as football, the geometry
would be of a football pitch, for example). It will be appreciated
that this geometry model can be the same as that held by the
pre-processor, if as described previously it holds such an accurate
model, and optionally the pre-processor 100 is operable as the
video comparator 400.
[0074] The video comparator 400 is then operable to match features
of the captured image to the geometric model of the race track. For
example, features such as chevrons, track edging and stadium
structures may be used to identify where pixels of the high
definition image project onto the geometric model. Hence the
features of the scene may be treated as a (large) augmented reality
marker (AR marker or fiduciary marker), whose position, scale and
orientation are estimated with respect to a reference model of the
marker (i.e. the race track geometry model) using known techniques.
Hence the position of pixels within the high resolution image can
be mapped to the reference geometry, for example using one or more
affine transforms, based upon the estimated differences in
position, scale and orientation with respect to the model.
[0075] Optionally, if the camera is locked off, then calibration
objects may be used in the real environment in advance of the
sporting event in order to facilitate this matching process.
[0076] Once mapped, the live video feed from the high resolution
camera can be treated as a projection to be applied onto the
geometric model of the race track. Given the geometry and the
current video frame, a virtual camera viewpoint may then be
generated by appropriately rendering the geometric model with that
video frame projection applied.
[0077] In this way, the panning and zooming of the high resolution
image is not limited to a planar panning within the image. Instead,
different viewpoints may be selected by the virtual camera. Hence
for example in FIG. 3A, the virtual camera is choreographed to
follow a pre-set path through positions 11B, 12B, 13B, 14B, 15B and
16B, to give the impression of a camera on a boom being placed
above the race track facing down the road, then pulling back to
rotationally pan around the corner before moving back to look down
the road exiting the bend. It will be appreciated that the virtual
motion of the camera can be limited to select view points for which
geometry is available, and/or to bound the geometry in a box or
sphere so that pixels falling outside the available model are
projected onto a distant surface.
[0078] Notably, because the real high resolution camera is locked
off and the virtual camera is software controlled, such changes of
viewpoint can be exactly repeated many times. Notably, the ability
to consistently repeat a change in viewpoint also applies to the
case of rotating the virtual camera about a fixed position.
[0079] Hence in an embodiment of the present disclosure, as an
example a first race participant passes a timing unit 20D or
`checkpoint` near the entrance to the bend covered by the high
definition video camera 10B. In response to this location trigger
(i.e. in response to the participant's car passing the checkpoint),
the video feed from the high definition camera is used to generate
the choreographed coverage of the car passing the bend by the
virtual camera. The choreography may include virtual motion of the
camera as shown in FIG. 3A, or it may be a combination of pan, tilt
and zoom of a virtual camera at the position of the real camera 10B
as described previously.
[0080] In any event, this coverage may be used by the director in a
live feed, but is also stored on the video server with universal
time stamping as described previously.
[0081] When the first race participant passes the timing unit 20D
again on the next lap, again the virtual camera can be used to
execute exactly the same choreographed coverage.
[0082] Notably however, in addition the video stream for the
virtual camera at the time the participant previously passed the
checkpoint can also be requested (using the techniques described
above). Now, exactly matching coverage of the first participant can
also be shown, either side by side or, because the track and
background will perfectly synchronise in both sets of coverage, as
overlaid images.
[0083] For example, the first participant's car may be identified
in the earlier video stream, and transposed to the current video
stream with a semi-transparent alpha-value, to create a so-called
ghost-car for easy comparison with the current driving position.
Because the virtual viewpoints exactly match between video streams,
the ghost car always appears at the correct position when
transposed to the more recent video.
[0084] This enables a time-independent like-for-like comparison of
the driver's performance for a track-side camera. It will be
appreciated that this complements the multiple-view comparisons
possible using the camera on the driver's car, as discussed
previously.
[0085] For the purposes of extracting the first participant's car
from the earlier video stream, the identification of the pixels
corresponding to the car may use one or more of colour regions
(distinguishing the car from the background tarmac), motion
(identifying the changing edge positions of regions in the
otherwise locked-off image), 3D models of the vehicle (to predict
from the angle of view where pixels of the car should be), and/or
the location data for the car at the relevant video frame, which
can be similarly mapped to the geometric model (or may already use
the geometric model) and hence predicts a relatively accurate
region of the virtually generated video image in which the car
should be found.
[0086] The alpha value (the apparent transparency) of the ghost car
may change as appropriate. For example if the two images of the
driver's car overlap, then the ghost car may become more
transparent for the duration that this occurs. Similarly the cueing
unit may monitor the contrast and brightness levels in the area of
the ghost car and for example adapt the transparency depending on
whether the track appears bright or dark at that point.
[0087] Alternatively or in addition to alpha values, other visual
effects may be applied. For example, residual images of a car may
be retained a fixed-viewpoint image to show a trace (if continuous)
or a strobe-like series of snapshots, if discrete. The alpha values
for these images may be a function of time from the current image
so that they successively fade. For a virtual, moving viewpoint,
then such additional residual images may be re-computed per frame
if desired.
[0088] Hence in summary the above provides a position-aligned
coverage of event participants with virtual camera
choreography.
[0089] As noted above, it will be appreciated that this principle
also applies to the virtual rotation and zoom of a virtual camera
at the same position as the real high resolution camera 10B to
provide a position-aligned coverage of event participants for a
fixed position.
[0090] By contrast, in another embodiment of the present
disclosure, a time-aligned coverage of event participants (as
opposed to position-aligned) is provided with a fixed camera
viewpoint (whether real and subsampled or virtual).
[0091] In this embodiment, as an illustrative example, the first
race participant has their time t0 at the start/finish line
recorded with respect to the universal clock, and subsequently
passes the timing unit 20D near the entrance to the bend at a
universal time t1. As the car passes the bend, the video feed from
the high definition camera is used to generate a static viewpoint
of the car passing.
[0092] This coverage may be used by the director in a live feed,
but is also stored on the video server with universal time stamping
as described previously.
[0093] The first race participant then has their time t2 recorded
again at the reference position of the start/finish line as they
start a new lap. On this subsequent lap of the race track, the
first race participant again passes the checkpoint 20D, this time
at universal time t3. Again as the car passes the bend, the video
feed from the high definition camera is used to generate a matching
static viewpoint of the car passing.
[0094] However, in addition, the video stream for the camera at a
time t0+(t3-t2) is cued by requesting the relevant frame for the
resulting universal time. This second video stream is the video for
the corresponding elapsed time in the previous lap.
[0095] Thus again the earlier car image can be extracted and used
as a ghost car, this time providing a time-dependent visual
comparison of the difference in position of the driver on the two
laps.
[0096] However, in this case the video images are static, because
the location triggered choreographed panning of the cars would
almost certainly occur at different times (as the car will approach
the bend at different times on different laps), and consequently a
time-dependent comparison of the footage would not share the same
viewpoint at the same time, making the creation of a ghost car
impractical.
[0097] One option is to perform the choreographed coverage of the
bend at a fixed time, or repeatedly at fixed intervals, so that two
choreographed shots for the same elapsed time can be used. However,
this cannot be relied upon to capture both cars (or both instances
of the same car), if the time difference between them is large
enough that they would not be in frame together during the
choreographed moves of the virtual camera.
[0098] Consequently, in an embodiment of the present disclosure,
the high resolution video images from the video camera are stored
in the video server. When it is desired to compare a current
instance of a car rounding the bend with an earlier instance, the
high resolution video images for both instances are accessed,
together with the position information for both cars (or both
instances of the same car). The virtual camera choreography may
then be adapted to select modified paths, viewpoints and/or fields
of view that capture both cars in their respective video streams at
the same time.
[0099] Hence in a first instance, with respect to the virtual pan,
tilt and zoom of a camera at a fixed position corresponding to the
real camera, the pan, tilt and zoom may be selected where possible
to capture both cars in their respective video streams at the same
time.
[0100] With regard to a virtual camera having motion with respect
to the position of the real camera, then referring now also to FIG.
3B, in an adaptation of the choreography described previously the
virtual camera follows the pre-set path through positions 11B, 12B,
13B, 14B, but alters the direction of view and field of view to
accommodate one instance of the car reaching the corner first. The
choreography is then modified to pull position 15B back further
than before in order to accommodate a wide shot encompassing both
cars at the bend, before following the trailing instance of the car
out of the curve at the final position 16B.
[0101] It will be appreciated that with access to the location
information for both cars (or both instances of a car) it is
possible to pre-compute the alterations to the choreography (or
simply to compute a new choreography) that places both cars on
screen for as much of the time as possible.
[0102] For comparison with a live feed of a driver rounding the
bend, the choreography can use either live location estimates for
the current car, and/or image detection methods to identify the
position of the car in the high definition video image, and then
alter the position, direction and field of view to accommodate the
ghost car in a similar manner to when both sets of location data
are known, although in this case the choreography may have to adapt
on a frame-by-frame basis.
[0103] Hence by storing the high definition video stream, it is
possible to recompose choreographed coverage by a virtual camera to
accommodate a ghost car arriving at the coverage point at a
different time to a reference car (e.g. either a live car or a more
recent recording of a car).
[0104] It will be appreciated that whilst the above examples have
used successive laps and the same driver, they can of course apply
to different drivers on the same lap, or different drivers on
different laps (for example, comparing each driver to the video
from the best lap time).
[0105] Similarly whilst the choreography has been described as
pre-defined, it may be that the first pan, tilt, zoom and/or
positional movement of the virtual camera is performed by the
director and captured for subsequent re-use.
[0106] Similarly, the director may over-ride the choreographed
coverage sequence with a new sequence (either pre-set from a
library, or newly captured). In this case, prior coverage can be
recomposed according the new sequence in the manner described above
if the high resolution video image is stored on the video server,
and/or the new sequence can be automatically modified as described
above to accommodate the presence of multiple car images.
[0107] Hence more generally the virtual camera may take a
calculated path; i.e. one either pre-set as a parametric curve or a
series of waypoints, with field of view settings, direction
settings and/or and relative timings, or as a recording of a
directors' control of the virtual camera, possibly smoothed, or one
of these with additional corrections to accommodate the positions
of two or possibly more overlaid cars as respective videos of them
are each projected onto the race track geometry.
[0108] Referring now to FIG. 4, in an embodiment of the present
disclosure the pre-processor, the cueing unit and the video
comparator are each a general-purpose computer operating under
suitable software instruction, or if the pre-processor and cueing
unit are integrated, or the pre-processor and video comparator are
integrated, or the cueing unit and video comparator are integrated,
or all three units are integrated, may be a common general-purpose
computer operating under suitable software instruction, to
implement a method of video cueing. In each case, the general
purpose computer 100, 300, 400 comprises a CPU 310, memory such as
RAM 320 and a hard disk 330, operably connected via a common bus
340. The CPU is thus able to operate under software instruction
from software from the HDD and/or RAM. In addition, a UI I/O 350 is
operable to receive user inputs from, for example, a mouse,
keyboard or touch screen. In conjunction with a graphics generator
360 operable to generate an image for display by a screen (not
shown), this provides the user interface by which the director can
view and select cued video streams or control the virtual camera.
The data I/O 370 is operable to pass requests to a video server, or
receive video image data, or frame position data from the video
server, or receive participant location data from the pre-processor
(if separate), or receive the universal clock signal.
[0109] It will thus be appreciated that using the fixed viewpoint
high definition camera, it is possible firstly to perform
position-aligned coverage of event participants with virtual camera
choreography; secondly to perform time-aligned coverage of event
participants with a fixed camera viewpoint (whether real and
subsampled or virtual); and/or thirdly to perform time-aligned
coverage of event participants with adaptive virtual camera
choreography if the high definition video used to generate the
virtual camera viewpoint is stored by the video server.
[0110] Returning now to the cueing unit, then in a summary
embodiment of the present disclosure, a director is able to cue up
multiple video streams based upon a geographic location (i.e. a
particular bend on a race track), in order to provide comparative
views of the race at that location either as a function of time for
one racer, or for a plurality of racers, or a combination of
both.
[0111] To facilitate this, in the summary embodiment a video cueing
system for a sporting event comprises receiving means operable to
receive a universal clock signal (such as the data I/O 370);
receiving means operable to receive telemetry data for one or more
participants in the sporting event (such as again the data I/O
370); processing means (CPU 310) operable to estimate the location
of the or each participant along a predetermined route based upon
their respective telemetry data; detection means (CPU 310) operable
to detect, with reference to the universal clock signal, the
respective time at which the or each participant reaches a
predetermined location along the route, as estimated from their
respective telemetry data; and video requesting means (e.g. the CPU
in conjunction with the data I/O) operable to request, for video
streams associated with one or more participants, a position of a
plurality of respective video frames having a timing referenced to
the universal clock signal that corresponds to a detected
respective time at which the or each participant reached the
predetermined location.
[0112] In an instance of the summary embodiment, the processing
means is operable to estimate the location of a participant with
respect to a reference position along the predetermined route based
upon GPS data from the participant, speed data from the
participant, directional data from the participant, and/or
identification of the participant by a sensor at a predetermined
position along the route.
[0113] Similarly, in an instance of the summary embodiment, a video
stream from a mobile camera is associated with a participant for
the duration of the sporting event if the participant has the
mobile camera (e.g. if the mobile camera is mounted on the
participant's vehicle or person, depending on the event).
[0114] Alternatively in an instance of the summary embodiment for a
fixed location camera, a video stream is associated with a
participant if the participant occupies a predetermined location
relative to the fixed location camera. For example as noted above,
the participant may be associated with a camera at the start/finish
line if they are exactly at the line, or similarly may be
associated with the camera whilst they are within .+-.100 meters of
the camera.
[0115] In an instance of the summary embodiment, the processing
means is operable to associate location data for a participant with
a lap count, and to store location data for a participant for a
plurality of laps of the predetermined route.
[0116] Consequently, the video requesting means is operable to
request, for video streams associated with one participant, a
position of a plurality of respective video frames having a timing
referenced to the universal clock signal that corresponds to a
detected respective time at which the participant reached the
predetermined location for a selection of laps. Hence for example
as noted previously, the system could cue up video for a particular
bend from laps 5, 10, 15 and 20 (or fewer or more) for a particular
driver.
[0117] Similarly, consequently the video requesting means is
operable to request, for video streams associated with a plurality
of participants, a position of a plurality of respective video
frames having a timing referenced to the universal clock signal
that corresponds to a detected respective time at which each
participant reached the predetermined location for the same
specified lap. Hence for example as noted previously, the system
could cue up video for a particular bend for the top 4 drivers (or
fewer or more) for a particular lap. In the case of the current
lap, this may be triggered when the 4.sup.th driver reaches the
predetermined location, enabling a live comparison.
[0118] In an instance of the summary embodiment, the video cueing
system comprises a graphical user interface (e.g. UI I/O 350 and
graphics unit 360) operable to display participant IDs and a
representation of the predetermined route, and operable to receive
a selection of one or more participants and a selection of a
position with respect to the representation of the predetermined
route. The detection means is then operable to detect, with
reference to the universal clock signal, the respective time at
which the or each selected participant reached a location along the
route corresponding to the selected position, and the video
requesting means is operable to request, for video streams
associated with the one or more selected participants, a position
of a plurality of respective video frames having a timing
referenced to the universal clock signal that corresponds to the
detected respective time at which the or each participant reached
the selected location. In this way the director can access the
viewpoint of any camera equipped participant at a particular
location. With the addition of a lap selection, the viewpoint at
that location for a particular lap may be selected (by default or
in the absence of lap selection, the most recent time that the
participant was at that location may be selected).
[0119] In an instance of the summary embodiment, a telemetry
analyser (e.g. CPU 310) is arranged in operation to detect changes
in telemetry that exceed respective predetermined thresholds, and
which in response to such detected changes, logs the universal
clock signal at the time of the change. In this way potentially
significant events in the race (which the director may otherwise be
unaware of, or unaware of the precise timing of) may be suggested
by the system to the director for cueing.
[0120] The video cueing system as described above will typically be
installed as part of a broader video system comprising a video
server, and optionally RF transceiver equipment operable to receive
and extract wireless telemetry data. In an instance of the summary
embodiment, the video server is operable to store a plurality of
video streams from one or more cameras associated with one or more
participants; and the video requesting means of the video cueing
system is operable to transmit a position request to the video
server for the position of a video frame corresponding to a
participant at a specified time defined with reference to the
universal clock signal. In response, the video server may provide
the position (for example a frame number or other pointer to the
relevant frame) and may also provide a copy of the frame or a
thumbnail version of the frame so that this can be displayed to the
director.
[0121] Subsequently, the video requesting means is operable to
transmit a playback request to the video server to output a video
stream starting at the position of a video frame corresponding to a
participant at a specified time defined with reference to the
universal clock signal. It will be appreciated that when showing
multiple views (such as four views in the examples given
previously) then either four requests may be sent to the video
server, or a single request stipulating which four streams are to
be output. The server may acknowledge the video cueing system, and
may provide a thumbnail view of the outputs to it for ease of
reference by the director, but the video server need not output the
video streams via the video cueing system (although clearly this is
also possible).
[0122] The video cueing system as described above will typically
also be installed as part of the infrastructure of a racing track,
and thus in an instance of the summary embodiment forms a racing
system comprising the video cueing system, one or more mobile
cameras for association with one or more race participants, one or
more telemetry sensors for association with a predetermined
location on a race course, wireless receiver means (not shown)
operable to receive telemetry and output telemetry data to the
video cueing system, and wireless receiver means (not shown)
operable to receive video streams from the or each mobile
camera.
[0123] Alternatively or in addition, as described above the video
cueing system may be part of a networked video system. Consequently
a remotely connected client device is arranged in operation to
display some or all of the user interface of the video cueing
system, such as for example participant IDs and a representation of
the predetermined route. The client device (which as noted above
may be a general purpose computer under suitable software
instruction as per FIG. 4, such as for example a PC, smartphone,
videogame console or set-top box), is then able to receive a
selection of one or more participants and a selection of a position
with respect to the representation of the predetermined route. The
client device is operable to connect to the internet and to send
the participant and route selection data via the internet to the
video cueing system, and to receive corresponding video. As noted
previously this may be sent by a web server mirroring the video
server.
[0124] Referring now to FIG. 5, in an embodiment of the present
disclosure a method of video cueing comprises: [0125] in a first
step s10, receiving a universal clock signal; [0126] in a second
step s20, receiving telemetry data for one or more participants in
a sporting event; [0127] in a third step s30, estimating the
location of the or each participant along a predetermined route
based upon their respective telemetry data; [0128] in a fourth step
s40, detecting, with reference to the universal clock signal, the
respective time at which the or each participant reaches a
predetermined location along the route, as estimated from their
respective telemetry data; and [0129] in a fifth step s50,
requesting, for video streams associated with one or more
participants, a position of a plurality of respective video frames
having a timing referenced to the universal clock signal that
corresponds to a detected respective time at which the or each
participant reached the predetermined location.
[0130] It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that
variations in the above method corresponding to operation of the
various embodiments of the apparatus as described and claimed
herein are considered within the scope of the present disclosure,
including but not limited to: [0131] associating location data for
participants with a lap count, storing location data for the or
each participant for a plurality of laps of the predetermined
route, then when requesting, requesting for video streams
associated with one participant a position of a plurality of
respective video frames having a timing referenced to the universal
clock signal that corresponds to a detected respective time at
which the participant reached the predetermined location for a
selection of laps; [0132] associating location data for
participants with a lap count, storing location data for a
plurality of participants for a at least one lap of the
predetermined route, then when requesting, requesting for video
streams associated with a plurality of participants a position of a
plurality of respective video frames having a timing referenced to
the universal clock signal that corresponds to a detected
respective time at which each participant reached the predetermined
location for the same lap; [0133] displaying participant IDs and a
representation of the predetermined route, receiving a selection of
one or more participants and a selection of a position with respect
to the representation of the predetermined route, and then when
detecting, detecting with reference to the universal clock signal
the respective time at which the or each selected participant
reached a location along the route corresponding to the selected
position, and when requesting, requesting for video streams
associated with the one or more selected participants a position of
a plurality of respective video frames having a timing referenced
to the universal clock signal that corresponds to the detected
respective time at which the or each participant reached the
selected location; [0134] requesting from a video server the
position of a video frame corresponding to a participant at a
specified time defined with reference to the universal clock
signal; or [0135] requesting that a video server outputs a video
stream starting at the position of a video frame corresponding to a
participant at a specified time defined with reference to the
universal clock signal.
[0136] As noted above, a general purpose computer operating under
suitable software instruction may operate either as the
pre-processor, the cueing unit, or both, and hence implement the
above methods.
[0137] Consequently, it will be appreciated that the methods
disclosed herein may be carried out on conventional hardware
suitably adapted as applicable by software instruction or by the
inclusion or substitution of dedicated hardware.
[0138] Thus the required adaptation to existing parts of a
conventional equivalent device may be implemented in the form of a
non-transitory computer program product or similar object of
manufacture comprising processor implementable instructions stored
on a data carrier such as a floppy disk, optical disk, hard disk,
PROM, RAM, flash memory or any combination of these or other
storage media, or in the form of a transmission via data signals on
a network such as an Ethernet, a wireless network, the Internet, or
any combination of these of other networks, or realised in hardware
as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or an FPGA
(field programmable gate array) or other configurable circuit
suitable to use in adapting the conventional equivalent device.
[0139] It will be appreciated that the above description for
clarity has described embodiments with reference to different
functional units, circuitry and/or processors. However, it will be
apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between
different functional units, circuitry and/or processors may be used
without detracting from the embodiments.
[0140] Described embodiments may be implemented in any suitable
form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of
these. Described embodiments may optionally be implemented at least
partly as computer software running on one or more data processors
and/or digital signal processors. The elements and components of
any embodiment may be physically, functionally and logically
implemented in any suitable way. Indeed the functionality may be
implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of
other functional units. As such, the disclosed embodiments may be
implemented in a single unit or may be physically and functionally
distributed between different units, circuitry and/or
processors.
[0141] Although the present disclosure has been described in
connection with some embodiments, it is not intended to be limited
to the specific form set forth herein. Additionally, although a
feature may appear to be described in connection with particular
embodiments, one skilled in the art would recognize that various
features of the described embodiments may be combined in any manner
suitable to implement the technique.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0142] The present application claims priority to United Kingdom
Application GB1208399.4 filed on 14 May 2012, the contents of which
being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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