U.S. patent application number 13/833991 was filed with the patent office on 2016-12-01 for systems and methods for event networking and media sharing.
The applicant listed for this patent is Shanmugapriyan Devaraj, Wolfram K. Gauglitz, Joshua M. LeBeau, Paul A. McDonald. Invention is credited to Shanmugapriyan Devaraj, Wolfram K. Gauglitz, Joshua M. LeBeau, Paul A. McDonald.
Application Number | 20160352846 13/833991 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49326059 |
Filed Date | 2016-12-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160352846 |
Kind Code |
A9 |
Gauglitz; Wolfram K. ; et
al. |
December 1, 2016 |
Systems and Methods for Event Networking and Media Sharing
Abstract
The present invention relates generally to photography and
imaging, telecommunications, social media, and event networking in
a variety of fields including sports and other community events,
personal events, and other occasions in which the sharing of
information and media is desirable. More particularly, the
invention relates to the use of various communications protocols
and platforms in order to distribute information through a network
to enable users to interact and communicate with like-minded users,
as well as to enable the creation and purchasing of items and
customized products.
Inventors: |
Gauglitz; Wolfram K.;
(Austin, TX) ; LeBeau; Joshua M.; (Albany, CA)
; McDonald; Paul A.; (Staten Island, NY) ;
Devaraj; Shanmugapriyan; (Portland, OR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Gauglitz; Wolfram K.
LeBeau; Joshua M.
McDonald; Paul A.
Devaraj; Shanmugapriyan |
Austin
Albany
Staten Island
Portland |
TX
CA
NY
OR |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Prior
Publication: |
|
Document Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20130275505 A1 |
October 17, 2013 |
|
|
Family ID: |
49326059 |
Appl. No.: |
13/833991 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12849780 |
Aug 3, 2010 |
|
|
|
13833991 |
|
|
|
|
61231008 |
Aug 3, 2009 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20130101;
G06Q 50/01 20130101; G06Q 30/0641 20130101; G06Q 30/06 20130101;
G06Q 30/0621 20130101; G06F 3/0482 20130101; G06Q 30/0255 20130101;
H04W 4/021 20130101; H04L 67/22 20130101; H04W 4/21 20180201 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/08 20060101
H04L029/08 |
Claims
1. A system for event networking comprising: a) a server having an
event database of events, the events having a time window and a GPS
location; and b) a plurality of users having access to the event
database, wherein the system aggregates media uploaded by the users
at an event into an event page, and the event is controllably
accessible to users such that the images in an event page are
viewable by all users having access thereto.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the system aggregates media based
on parameters including the time window and the GPS location of the
media.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the media is selected from the
group consisting of images, video, and audio.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the time window is specified with
a start time and an end time, or with a start time and duration, or
with an end time and duration.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the GPS location comprises GPS
coordinates and a proximity envelope around the GPS coordinates,
whereby the GPS location encompasses all GPS coordinates within the
envelope.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein the proximity envelope is a circle
with a radius having a specified length.
7. The system of claim 5 wherein the proximity envelope is
irregular.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein events are selected from the group
consisting of: events entered into the event database by an
operator of the system, and events created by the users.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the system provides users the
ability to customize a home page, the home page comprising at least
one event.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 12/849,780, filed Aug. 3, 2010. The entire
teachings of the above application(s) are incorporated herein by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to photography and
imaging, telecommunications, social media, and event networking in
a variety of fields including sports and other community events,
personal events, and other occasions in which the sharing of
information and media is desirable. More particularly, the
invention relates to the use of various communications protocols
and platforms in order to distribute information through a network
to enable users to interact and communicate with like-minded users,
as well as to enable the creation and purchasing of items and
customized products.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Social networking through the internet has exploded of late
due to the internet's inherent ability to permit communication
among users. Various standard protocols have allowed for
information and resource exchange through email, bulletin boards,
chat rooms, and the like, for many years, however, more recent
advances in mobile technology now permit people to exchange
information via their mobile phones and tablets that heretofore
could take place only while sitting at a desktop, laptop, or
notebook computer.
[0004] Web-based networking now exists in the form of such sites as
MySpace.RTM., Facebook.RTM., LinkedIn.RTM., Twitter.RTM.,
Pinterest.RTM., Instagram.RTM., and many others. In such networking
sites, users generally join, provide such details as contact
information, and optionally include information related to a
variety of interests. The sites maintain all information of all
users in central servers operably connected to databases, such that
users can find each other, establish links to each other, and
establish communities of users.
[0005] Some social networking sites provide the ability to search
for friends, i.e., other users which may already be known to a
particular user, or other users who share some commonality in
education, employment, or other fields of interest. Users may
interact with such friends by posting information to each other's
pages maintained on the site, by joining in community interactions
such as those provided by applications on sites such as
Facebook.RTM. or through direct message services and email clients
such as those offered by both Facebook and Twitter.
[0006] Some online services offer forums for communication between
communities of users or in a one to many broadcast format. These
services include message boards, email lists, chat rooms, personal
home pages, web logs or blogs and tweets. See, for example, U.S.
Pat. Nos. 6,366,962 and 6,363,427. These services provide a forum
where profiles or messages are viewed by a specific individual, the
general public, or the entire membership of a specific defined
group.
[0007] These types of forums allow visibility to multiple members
of a group; however, they typically are not based on events or
social networks, but rather on broader interests, such as a
particular hobby or sport.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,629 discloses, among other things, a
system designed to distribute, initiate and allow interaction and
communication within like-minded communities of users.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,593 discloses a system designed to
"match" users using their mobile phones, which may use location and
other information to determine such matching.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,202 discloses, among other things, a
method and apparatus for users to search networks, both their own
network and their peers' networks, all under the umbrella of what
the inventors therein call a "multiple level access" security
system.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 7,069,308 discloses, among other things, a
networking system wherein descriptive data and relationship data
are integrated and processed to reveal a series of social
relationships connecting any two users within a social network.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 7,305,233 discloses, among other things, a
system wherein images are uploaded to a central server, which
system permits printing and delivery of such images.
[0013] US Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0065741
discloses, among other things, a system wherein images selected by
a user may be uploaded, and cards with selected images may be
distributed to selected recipients.
[0014] In the general field of sports, for example, there are many
websites of general interest, such as news organizations, and there
are those dedicated to the field, which provide a variety of
information, such as scores, text descriptions, video clips, photos
of games, etc. There are also sites which provide users with games,
such as fantasy football, hosted by the site and existing only in
cyberspace. Information on local events may be found on the
websites for local municipalities, news organizations, sports
leagues, etc.
[0015] Notwithstanding the myriad sites available for accessing
information, none to date provide the ability for users to share
media obtained at a sporting event, in real time, such that all
users participating in a live event, and those who only take
interest at some later time, have access to the combined media from
all participants in a customizable manner. The advent of mobile
devices capable of reaching the internet, GPS, and audiovisual
recording has made it possible to record information at an event
and have it be uploaded to a server in essentially real-time. The
newest mobile devices, such as the iPhone.RTM., Android.RTM., and
Blackberry.RTM., are particularly suitable for the purposes of the
present invention because they are capable of having applications
installed which directly interface with the website servers
contemplated by the invention.
[0016] No existing methods take advantage of this ability to
provide all similarly situated users a shared, continuously updated
community view of an event. Nor do they provide the ability to
create hard-copy records and images of such events including images
originally captured by other users, obtainable merely by ordering
same, whether during the event, immediately thereafter, or any time
after the event has completed. Nor do they provide an ability to
offer or suggest products or advertising to these same users which
is relevant and related to a particular event. The art is in need
of such systems and event-based networking tools.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0017] It is an object of the invention to overcome the drawbacks
of the prior art. The present invention provides the ability not
only to generate communities of users, but also to aggregate such
communities of users' images enabling the sharing and distribution
of such media (photos, video, audio, and the like) to all the users
thereof. Each user may choose to share all or only a selection of
media captured, while the aggregate for any particular event is
available to all users. Each end user of the system of the
invention generally creates and manages his or her own page,
accessible by logging into the system via the internet, in which
page the user collects a variety of events selected from those
generally available to all users, as well as those created by each
individual user. Thus, in one aspect of the invention, the system
itself provides and updates a database of events accessible to all
users, such as professional sporting events, real estate listings
from real estate companies, product offerings from image finishing
companies, retailers, and other commercial retail companies.
Advertising on each user's page may be customizably placed,
tailored to a user's selected fields of interest as identified by
such user's choices of events, prior viewing or purchasing habits
and other markers gained through application of predictive
intelligence.
[0018] For example, many a fan has attended a big game, and hoped
to leave with a beautiful image of his favorite player, or a key
shot of the action. But all too often the fan leaves with little
more than a handful of shots, perhaps a few "keepers", all taken at
roughly the same angle and distance from the object(s) of interest.
If the fans could easily share all their images, the number of
keepers would increase, and the probability of capturing the action
shot rises as well. The present invention promotes the collection
of a wide variety of images from different angles and perspectives,
and presents users with the ability to create photographic products
they would otherwise be unable to obtain anywhere else.
[0019] The present invention also allows the offering and creation
of products tailored and customized for end users. The present
invention begins with features commonly found in social networking
applications, but adds the ability to aggregate the images captured
by the entire community of users, and of purchasing customized
products such as T-shirts, enlargements of images, and other items
as further described below. These products may be derived from the
user's own images uploaded during the event, but also may be
derived from other users of the system, as they too are uploading
images during the event.
[0020] In one aspect, the invention provides a system for event
networking comprising a server having an event database of events,
the events having a time window and a GPS location. The system has
a plurality of users with access to the event database, and the
system aggregates media uploaded by the users at an event into an
event page. The event is controllably accessible to users such that
the images in an event page are viewable by all users having access
thereto.
[0021] In another aspect, the system aggregates media based on
parameters including the time window and the GPS location of the
media, which may be images, video, and audio.
[0022] The time window may be specified with a start time and an
end time, or with a start time and duration, or with an end time
and duration. The GPS location is defined by GPS coordinates and a
proximity envelope around the GPS coordinates, such that the GPS
location encompasses all GPS coordinates within the envelope. The
proximity envelope may be a circle with a radius having a specified
length, or may be irregular, being defined by the path through time
of an event. Events may be entered into the event database by an
operator of the system, or may be created by the users. The users
have the ability to customize their home pages, which show the
events to which the user is subscribed, or a subset thereof.
Additional events may populate users' pages as provided by the
system, such as targeted advertising, and events suggested by the
system for each user.
[0023] These and other objects are achieved through the present
invention as exemplified and further described in the Detailed
Description of the Invention below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic cartoon of an embodiment of the
invention illustrating the network architecture and structure of
the system.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating general use of an
embodiment of the system named PicPocket.TM. including, among other
things, event creation.
[0026] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating general use of an
embodiment of the system named PicPocket.TM. including, among other
things, image capture and upload to the system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] The routine features of the implementations described herein
are known to those of skill in the art and are therefore not shown
and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the
development of any such actual implementation, numerous
implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve
the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with
application- and business-related constraints, and that these
specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and
from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated
that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming,
but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for
those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this
disclosure.
[0028] By "social network" it is meant an aggregation of individual
social relationships, out to any number of degrees of separation.
By "user" it is meant an individual who has registered in the
system. By "system" or "website" it is meant a computer system that
serves informational content over a network using the standard
protocols of the World Wide Web. As used herein, the term is
generally intended to encompass both (i) the hardware/software
server components that serve the informational content over the
network, and (ii) the "back end" hardware/software components,
including any non-standard or specialized components, that interact
with the server components to perform services for website users.
The terms "image" and "media" generally include still images,
video, audio, and combinations thereof.
[0029] Unlike other internet and web-based social networking
systems, the advantages of the present invention are found in its
ability not only to generate communities of users, but to aggregate
images and other media, and information provided by a plurality of
users in the community such that each user has access to a much
larger collection of such images and information than that captured
individually by each particular user. The users at an event may
already be connected to each other, or may simply be
co-participants at the event.
[0030] The system is also optionally adaptable to offer products
comprising professionally enhanced images, tailored and customized
for the end users and communities. Just as with known social
networking systems, users may "meet" and interact via the website
produced by the system. Thus, email, chat, bulletin boards, blogs,
Sharing, Favoriting, Likes, Rating, Commenting and other typical
forms of social networking are contemplated. The system may use
information gathered about users and user behavior to create a
recommendation engine that will suggest content and products that
might be of particular interest to any given user. For example, if
it is recognized that, in general, users who like photos of hikers
also like photos of rock climbers, the system may inform a user who
is viewing an event about hiking that the user might also like an
event about rock climbing, and provide a link to such an event.
[0031] Another approach to making intelligent recommendations is to
identify users who have similar viewing and voting patterns and
make recommendations based on what other similarly situated users
have liked. For example, if a user A and user B have both liked
many of the same events, but user B has liked some events that user
A has not voted on, the system might recommend some of user B's
liked events to user A.
[0032] The system may use this same recommendation engine to help
determine which products and advertisements appear on a particular
user's or event's page. For example, if user A has liked several
events near or about the Eiffel Tower, the system might recommend
to user A a book about France or an advertisement for a Paris hotel
even though the user is currently viewing an event that has nothing
to do with France.
[0033] The system may also track in real time which products users
are clicking on and use this data to help determine which products
are being recommended for purchase. For example, if product X is
suddenly getting a burst in its click through rate, the system will
detect this increase and adjust the product recommendation
algorithm so product X is displayed more often.
[0034] The present invention also adds the ability of purchasing
products such as T-shirts, enlargements of images, and other items
as further described below. Such products include the typical items
one could purchase at a sporting event, but more importantly the
products available to users of the system are products employing
the collective community of users' images. Thus, the present
invention allows for the production of customized products with
enhanced images to be produced, sold, and delivered to users in a
manner heretofore unavailable.
The System Hardware
[0035] In accordance with the present invention, the hardware and
software components, process steps, and/or data structures may be
implemented using various types of operating systems, computing
platforms, computer programs, and/or general purpose machines. In
addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that
devices of a less general purpose nature, such as hardwired
devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application
specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like, may also be used
without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventive
concepts disclosed herein. The present invention is generally
described in relation to distribution of information via a network
connection. For example, the back-end database may be housed at a
remote location on any suitable computer hardware, with operable
links to the front-end computer hardware, which ultimately serves
information to, and collects information from, end users of the
system of the invention. Such hardware is now well known, and any
suitable system may be employed, such as the hardware described in
U.S. Pat. No. 7,069,308, the disclosure of which is specifically
incorporated by reference in its entirety. Furthermore, parts of
the system are also in communication with other service providers,
over the internet, such that, for example, digital image files may
be sent to such service providers for output on hardcopy, such as
prints.
[0036] As shown in FIGS. 1-3, illustrating embodiments of the
invention, the system architecture utilizes Linux or other
operating systems running on Intel Xeon or similar processors. The
architecture employs multiple node web application clusters for
high availability and scalability. The images captured and uploaded
by the users are stored in a high speed file store or network store
or cloud data store for easy storage and retrieval operations. The
architecture also employs high availability proxy or load balancer
for fail over and fault tolerance capabilities. The content
delivery network may cache previously delivered content for faster
access by users. User information events, photos, preferences, and
other elements of the system are typically stored in an RDBMS
(relational database management system). The mobile app employed by
the system also may use image enhancement, social network
integration (e.g., with Facebook and others) and taxonomy
management to provide a rich user experience.
Image Capture Devices
[0037] The invention may be practiced with a variety of suitable
devices, such as Apple's iPhone.RTM., RIM's Blackberry.RTM.,
Android.RTM. phones, and other so-called "smart" phones. However,
any mobile device capable of capturing images could be used. For
example, it is contemplated that other devices include laptop
computers with built in cameras, "netbook" computers with cameras,
simple camera phones, tablets, digital cameras, digital SLR
cameras, etc. Film/slide cameras may also be included as devices
useful for the system, provided that users upload digitized
versions of such images following film processing.
[0038] In another embodiment, a device for use in the system may be
designed specifically for use in the system, such that it is
capable of at least image capture, but optionally also capable of
interfacing with the system via a network, whether using a
traditional browser or a custom application or app specifically
designed for the purpose of implementing the event networking
system of the invention.
[0039] Users may view events on their computers, mobile devices,
and even on televisions. Output to television is possible by direct
connection or wireless connection from a computer, but also such
devices and systems such as TiVo.RTM., Roku.RTM., AppleTV.RTM. and
the like may be adapted with custom channels capable of interfacing
with the system of the invention such that users may view events
directly on their televisions.
Registration and Events
[0040] In outline, the system of the invention operates as follows.
Users register with the system via a website, or as prompted upon
launching an application on their mobile device, at which they
provide basic information including name and address, billing
information, and the like. Also at the time of registration, or any
time thereafter, users may identify and select classes of events
and/or particular events and/or particular users they would like to
follow. Such identification can be performed through searchable
lists of events provided by the system based on correlation with
the user's geographic location as specified by the user. Users may
register at home from the desktop, from which they may provide this
location and selection information directly on a registration page.
Alternatively, they may supply certain information, such as GPS
information, via the user's mobile interfacing application, such as
an application residing on an iPhone.RTM. or Android device.
Selection of event classes and particular events may occur at any
time post-registration as well. Users may also select events that
are not already presented in the database through an "add-event"
style page accessed from the website or the application on the
device.
[0041] Events include professional and other major sports team
games, such as those of the National Football League, Major League
Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball
Association, the United States Tennis Association, and others, both
domestic and foreign. Additionally, a variety of other national
league sports teams, minor league sports teams, college sports
teams, and games of local teams such as intramural and intermural
teams, and little league teams are amenable to the system. In one
embodiment, the event is a concert, show, or other public
performance. More and more municipalities have cameras installed
which would be capable for use in the system. Thus, other municipal
and local events, such as parades, town fairs, and the like may be
considered events. Additional other events are also included in the
invention, including unscheduled events, such as on-scene images of
a local fire. Essentially any event for which images can be
captured can be shared using the system of the invention, because
images thereof will be viewable, and purchasable, by registered
users or organizations.
[0042] Once an event or class of events is selected, the user's
page on the site (whether viewed directly over the internet in a
browser or in a mobile application interface) will update with
information about upcoming events. For a fan of a particular team,
for example, upcoming games will be displayed on the user's page,
as well as related information from the sport, with access to other
teams, scores, etc.
[0043] In one embodiment of the invention, the system provides a
global list of events presented from a database collected by
operators of the system. For example, all major sporting events
from professional sports may be added to a user's page. The system
collects images from all users uploading images from each event,
such that any user that has chosen that event may view all the
images collected for that event by all user's attending that event.
Each attendee may choose to have all images uploaded, or may
specify particular images to be uploaded.
[0044] The system may implement a checking operation by which all
images uploaded for an event are checked to ensure that the GPS
coordinates (and time and date) for the image are within the area
in which the event is taking place. This checking operation
prevents images that were not actually taken at the event from
appearing in the event's page. In the case of digital SLR images
that are captured without any GPS meta data, the system may use a
method whereby a user establishes their bona fides by checking-in
to the event which then could be deemed to satisfy the requirements
for a photo being considered for inclusion within an event's event
page.
[0045] In addition to sporting events, the events of governmental
entities such as states, counties, and municipalities may be
provided globally by the system. For example, state fairs, county
fund-raising events, and a town's music festival are all events
which may be available to users of the system. Indeed, any event
generally known to the public may be added by the operators of the
system, enabling users to "attend" the event by adding it to their
pages; those that attend may upload images to the aggregated image
collection for that event, while those who were unable to attend
will also be able to view images from the event by simply adding it
to their page.
[0046] Each user may also create personal customized events. For
example, a user having a birthday party for a child may create an
event for the party, and notify attendees that are also users of
the system that the event is available. Attendees who at the time
of the party are not users of the system would have the ability to
download the app from the Apple iTunes or Google Play stores (or
other sources of apps) and enter a passcode which grants them
access to the event should it be restricted. All images taken at
such an event are then aggregated as described herein, and all
attendees may then view all the images of the event. The user
creating the event is provided with tools to control sharing and
access by other user's to such "owned" events.
[0047] GPS may also be coupled with date and time information to be
used to automatically collect images for an event even when users
have not specifically directed images to a previously defined
event. For example, all images uploaded to the system which fall
within a specified radius of an unknown event may be classified and
collected as related to an event taking place at such location, the
definition of the event being provided once details are known about
the event. For example, a fire, or a traffic accident, may generate
uploads of images within a discrete radius and within a discrete
period of time. The system may be provided with an algorithm that
recognizes such spontaneous concentrations of images, and operators
of the system may be alerted to such concentrations, such that the
event may be classified and made available to users of the system.
Conversely, after an event is known to have occurred at a certain
location on a certain date and time, the system is also be provided
with an algorithm that actively searches for image content with
particular metadata indicating coincidence with the event.
[0048] In an additional embodiment, GPS allows for the creation of
persistent yet dynamically updating events. For example, all images
taken in a particular neighborhood may be aggregated as an event
entitled with the name of such neighborhood. Residents and
visitors, and those considering moving to the neighborhood, may
have interest in such "events" and may choose to browse or retain
such events on their pages. Each user's page may be provided with a
map, or a link to a map, in which the user may simply select a
geographic location and specify a radius to see all events taking
place or that have taken place in such area, including such
persistent neighborhood events. It will be appreciated that this
may be of particular interest to a real estate application where a
home purchase decision is driven as much by the community and
neighborhood one is buying into as it is the home or property
itself.
[0049] Images may also appear in more than one event. For example,
an image appearing in a neighborhood event may also have been taken
at the time of a sporting event, in which case it may appear in
both events, and may be linkable to both events.
[0050] Location based events have been described using a radius
within which all images uploaded are considered to be part of a
discrete event. However, the ability to customize a geographic
location using intelligent boundary drawing, rather than a simple
center and radius around such center, is also envisaged to be part
of the invention. Thus, users may draw freeform geographic
boundaries on a map in order to define regions of interest as they
browse events. This is particularly useful when the region under
examination is not a circle--for example, a neighborhood may be
largely rectangular or oddly shaped. Such ability to construct
boundaries allows users to customize areas of interest. This is
particularly useful when the event itself has irregularly shaped
boundaries, for example, the New York City Marathon, and the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade.
[0051] Events need not be added to a user's page permanently--users
may browse events by searching using a search engine embedded in
the system, thereby enabling viewing of events on an ad hoc basis
rather than including the event on the user's page itself Those
events of interest, however, may be added to the user's page at any
time.
[0052] Implementation of tailored directed advertising is suitable
for use in the invention. For example, a user considering moving to
a neighborhood might begin on the system by selecting the location
on a map, setting a radius for the neighborhood, and viewing the
aggregated images for that neighborhood. But on that neighborhood
event page a real estate company having listings for homes in the
neighborhood may have an advertisement that appears on such a page,
offering the user lists of homes as well as images of each
home.
[0053] In one embodiment, for example, a real-estate company with
access to information relating to properties for sale or lease, may
also create customizable dashboard views which load homes and
properties of interest by any number of customizable and
potentially pre-set groupings such as `neighborhood`, `price range`
or `distance from` selected points of interest such as schools,
parks, hospitals, restaurants or shopping districts.
[0054] In another embodiment, advertising for products may also
appear in the pages of events themselves. Thus, on an event page
for an NFL football game, among the images taken by users,
professional photographers, and the stadium operators, there may be
similarly sized images which link to purchase pages for products
such as hats, shirts, photos and the like for the teams playing in
that event or any other products which are somewhat related to the
category of event itself (i.e. a football, lawn chairs, coolers,
etc.).
[0055] In another embodiment, the system is capable of creating
"landmark" events. For example, a landmark such as the Eiffel Tower
in Paris, France may be provided as an event which shows images
taken within a desirable distance of the landmark regardless of the
time at which the image was captured. Users can use an iPad, for
example, to create a "photo frame" that updates every time a new
photo comes in. Use a user's photo and event votes to deliver
targeted ads. (e.g., where a user has liked several photos of the
Eiffel Tower, show them an ad for a book about Paris, or a poster,
or a trip to France).
[0056] Landmark based photo aggregation would allow users to create
personalized "channels" that would display a constantly updating
stream of photos of a specific landmark. For example a user who
likes photos of the Brooklyn Bridge could create a "Brooklyn
Bridge" channel and use a tablet device such as an iPad or their
computer to create a digital photo frame which would show them an
ever-changing view of a their favorite landmark. The user could
adjust settings on their "channel" to only show Brooklyn Bridge
photos taken by friends, or only those taken within 500 feet of the
bridge, or only those taken at night, or any combination of a
number of other configurable options. Users will have the ability
to share their personalized "channels" with other users.
[0057] For landmark events, then, the system of the invention
enables formatting of such content such that its delivery to a
wireless picture frame, big screen display/television, smart phone
or tablet could serve as a means or form of live entertainment.
Which events or landmarks an individual chooses for such service
could drive all manners of targeted advertising.
[0058] Events entered in the database are provided with a set of
parameters, including, for example:
TABLE-US-00001 event_id Identifies the event uniquely. user_id
Identifies the user who created the event. session_id User session
identifier for which the event is created. name Name of the event.
Description Description of the event. Cover Cover photo identifier
of the event. meta_lat Latitude of the event center. meta_long
Longitude of the event center. radius Radius of the event for
associating photos to the event in miles. start_dt Start date of
the event. end_dt End date of the event. event_access_type
Identifies whether the event is public or private. create_dt The
database record created date. update_dt The database record updated
date. event_status_code status of event (completed, drafted,
active, etc). permission event photo access permission for
others.
[0059] Additional parameters may be added to events. For example,
for events with irregular GPS boundaries for which a simple radius
around GPS coordinates is not appropriate, a parameter can be added
which specifies the nature of the route of the event and an
associated width around which images should be considered part of
the event. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that other
parameters may be associated with events.
[0060] Embodiments of the invention span a wide variety of
endeavors, covering many aspects of modern day life. Images
captured at any and all events are potentially available to all
users of the system, tailored and customized to the users'
preferences.
Image Collection
[0061] When a user attends an event, the user may take images with
her phone's camera, and upload the images to the system. Many
mobile phones today include location information in tags of digital
images, and this information allows the system to not only verify
the origin location of the image, but also permits correlation of
other users' images uploaded from the same event. Indeed, with
improving GPS accuracy, the location of the uploading user may be
identified to a specific seat when compared with a map of the
stadium or arena in which the game is being played. The system of
the invention contemplates not only a web-based interaction with
the network system, accessible via browsers on desktop and mobile
devices, but also custom applications designed for use on computers
and on mobile devices, the latter commonly known as "apps". Such
custom applications interface with the camera on the device as well
as the back end system, and may be designed to provide features
unavailable to a web-based browser.
[0062] The particular location of events may provide additional
opportunities for image collection, as stadiums and arenas may be
equipped with cameras capable of being pointed at desired locations
throughout the event. For example, the system of the invention
contemplates contracting with such venues to provide access by the
system to such cameras (or installing them for the venue for use by
the system of the invention), such that images of users may be
obtained by pointing the cameras to the users' known seat location,
as provided by their GPS information. Alternatively, seat
information may be provided by the user directly via their device.
If necessary to help pinpoint the location of the user, maps of
venues may be stored as a database in the system, which thereby
will be able to direct cameras of venues to the correct location to
collect images of the users, and upload them to the system.
[0063] Another source of images is professional photographers, who
may be contracted for their services or may be freelance. In either
event, such photographers may take images of the event and upload
to the system. Additionally, such photographers may be provided
with location information for registered users, in which case they
may take images of such users, and upload them to the system. These
images, which may be tagged with location information, may also be
supplied by the photographer with information regarding particular
users' locations which were photographed, such that the images will
be available be available to each user. Different levels of privacy
and security have been contemplated to limit the sharing of such
photos with only those individuals who pay for those services.
[0064] The system then is enabled to allow registered users to have
access to each other's images, thereby providing each user with a
variety of angles on the action. Video (and audio) media is also
contemplated as being included for use in the system. When a game
concludes, the user has the ability to view her own images and/or
listen to his audio files, or those of other users who attended the
game and uploaded media to the system. Additionally, users may be
presented with images taken by the venue's own cameras, or by
professional photographers present at the event. Further, as
discussed more fully below, because the system is in communication
with other service providers, the user may choose to purchase
digitally optimized and/or enhanced versions of any of those images
by indicating such desire to purchase on the mobile application's
interface.
[0065] Uploading to the system may be performed in any way capable
of transferring images from a device to the system. For example,
mobile phones ordinarily provide network connections via HSDPA,
GSM, GPRS, EDGE, EVDO, CDMA, OFDMA and the like. Any of these
protocols is suitable for transfer of images, and are thus useful
transfer mechanisms. Additionally, WiFi is available on many
devices, including many mobile phones, and generally provides a
faster transfer mechanism for uploading images. Images may also be
transferred after an event, for example, when a user transfers
images from an image capture device to a computer which then
employs its ordinary internet connection (WiFi, ethernet, etc.) to
transfer images to the system.
[0066] Inclusion of images captured with a DSLR (digital SLR)
camera or other source hardware that does not have GPS capabilities
may also be enabled by the system. A variety of methods are
suitable to verify the authenticity of such images. For example, a
user may launch the system's app on a smartphone while at an event.
The app may be provided with a means to have a user register as
present at that event, for example, by providing a button to
generally register for the event or even to register for the
specific purpose of uploading from a non-GPS enabled device.
Activating such a means for registration informs the system to
expect that user will have images to upload from their account to
the same event, which have not been GPS verified. When verifying
authenticity for system-wide events, a user must still have been
present at the event and "checked in" or "registered" in order to
be permitted to upload photos and then subsequently link them to
said public event. The photos may be flagged as not being GPS
verified/authenticated; however, until someone from the community
flags them as not belonging, they will be considered every bit as
bonafide as an image uploaded with properly GPS stamped .exif data.
The system has the ability to allow those who wish to see only
verified images to filter those that are not fully verified from
view.
[0067] The system of the invention also permits the use of
information about the direction from which images were captured. In
a mapping app (such as GoogleMaps or others) view, the use of
vectors to show to users not only where the photo was taken, but in
what direction the camera was facing when the photo was captured
could be provided. Such information is also useful for
photo-stitching, as well as the ability to identify events within
events (for example, a fistfight breaking out in the stadium
stands.) Thus, the system enables aggregation of images that were
taken from a particular location (e.g., section 102, row F, seat
21) but also photos that were taken from anywhere in the portion of
a stadium facing left field, or the pitcher's mound, or the goal
posts, or the cheerleaders section, etc.
[0068] On the same mapping view, in another embodiment of the
invention, a user drags a positional marker to assist sorting
photos by proximity. When the marker is at a particular position,
only photos captured within a specifiable distance of the marker
are shown or highlighted, with additional images being further
sorted by distance from the marker.
[0069] In another embodiment, the system may include a car mounted
camera that captures images of the road and the driver at a defined
interval, and uploads them to the server. If a car had this system
installed and an accident were to occur, photos taken just prior to
the accident may prove valuable in determining the cause and nature
of the accident. Had those same photos been stored only on the
device itself, they may have been destroyed in the accident.
Additionally, if such a system-equipped car were ever stolen,
photos of the thief and the surrounding area could aid in the
recovery of the car as well as in the prosecution of the crime. Had
the photos been stored only on the device, as opposed to safely on
the server, these photos would most likely be destroyed before the
car was ever recovered.
[0070] Car manufacturers have integrated multiple cameras in and
around automobiles, from rear-facing cameras which aid in
parallel-parking to side-view mirrors to minimize blind-spots. As
more and more outward-facing cameras are integrated throughout the
body, significant opportunities exist to photo-stitch images at
will, at pre-defined moments or when other sensors communicate to
the collective group of cameras that there is an interest or need
to do so. Such photos could automatically be uploaded to one's
insurance carrier for purposes of preserving an accident scene. The
opportunity further exists to buffer said images in memory such
that some number of images frames leading up to, for the duration
of, and seconds thereafter, are captured and automatically uploaded
to the network for preservation and archival purposes.
[0071] In another embodiment, the system may be provided with a
Breaking News feature. Rather than being destined for a regular
event, the system app deployed on the capture hardware (e.g., a
smartphone) is capable of marking an image to be uploaded as
"urgent". The system may then flag such events to human operators
who will decide whether their urgency meets requirements to be
considered a breaking news event. Additionally, truly newsworthy
images and video clips may be listed on a photo exchange where news
organizations (such as AP, Reuters, UPI, Fox News and CNN) may be
provided access to the media.
[0072] As an example of the breaking news feature, two users are
sitting outside at a cafe across from the Federal Reserve when a
van pulls up and several armed, masked men exit. Both users launch
their system app. User #1 proceeds to take X number of photos of
the men running from the scene while User #2 takes a fifteen second
video of the car making its getaway. A button within the app allows
each of the users to designate their particular content as
"BREAKING NEWS" before uploading same. This content is evaluated by
human operators and determined to be fit for a breaking news event
and/or directed to the media exchange accessible to news gathering
organizations. The system may also provide a mechanism allowing the
content creator to participate in revenue sharing system if/when
their content is purchased.
Apps Running on Capture Devices
[0073] An application or "app" may be used on a device for
capturing, uploading, and viewing images, and for interacting with
the system. For example, an Android.RTM. or iOS.TM. application
that could be deployed and used on a mobile phone, or an
Android.RTM. platformed camera. There are a wide variety of
platforms for which applications may be developed and deployed
including other phone operating systems and digital camera
platforms.
[0074] The constructed app allows the operator to interact with the
system in a way that facilitates the capture of images in a way
useful to the system. For example, the app allows the user to
"check-in" to an event, perhaps chosen from a personalized list of
events local to the user and identified by the user's current
location as provided by the device. Upon "check-in" the application
will capture available sensor data from the device to associate
with each image as it is captured by an image capture application,
such as a camera app, on the device. The sensor data will be
translated into GPS coordinates and device orientation information
which can then be translated into an image vector to identify where
the camera was pointing. This information can be used by the system
later for purposes as discussed further herein.
[0075] The application is capable of sending images captured with
the associated captured sensor data while the user is checked into
an event to the system over any available network connectivity
available to the device. These images and data will be added to the
event data for use as configured for the event by the event
owner.
[0076] The application also allows the user to view events from the
event database and all event related content as well as targeted
advertising generated by the system. Users are able to browse
events and view event images and data on the device. Targeted
advertising based on event details and user profile data may be
rendered commingled with event data and images.
[0077] The application also allows users to interact with the
system to create and edit events and associated event data. The
application will provide methods for inputting information required
to describe an event, leveraging GPS data from the device to set
event coordinates when possible. The app communicates this
information to the system over a network to allow the event data to
be saved and made available to the user population in the manner
configured for the event. The application will also allow users to
like, share, comment, and perform other actions against event image
data through user interface methods provided on the device.
[0078] The application allows the user to interact with the system
to create and edit personal profile data used by the system to
personalize the user experience. The app provides methods for
providing personal interests and other user information for use by
the system to present to the user events that may be of interest to
the user, alerts on upcoming events local to the user, and targeted
advertising.
[0079] The application also provides the user with alert
capabilities, to present notifications for new content for already
subscribed events of interest, the impending start of local and
other events of interest, as determined by user profile and
previous user interactions. These notifications may be used to open
events and view event data as well as to check-in to events.
[0080] The application is also enabled to display the user's home
page and events associated therewith, in addition to other events
available through the interface. The content may be displayed on
the device itself, or may be wirelessly sent to display devices,
such as televisions, using known DLNA technology or the like,
including AirPlay to an AppleTV device connected to a
television.
Post-Upload Processing
[0081] The system may be made aware of the device which recorded
the images, because images are tagged when uploaded to the server
with information regarding the device, date and time, location, and
the like. Such tag information may be provided by the device itself
in many cases, however, where the device does not provide such
tags, the user may elect to designate particular devices with the
users' profile on the system. In this way, the system knows that
the images uploaded by such a user were produced by the device
indicated in their profile.
[0082] The system may thus also be provided with programmed
information about how best to enhance and otherwise optimize the
images produced by particular devices to produce superior images
and extract the finest image quality possible from such devices.
Such enhancement may be automatically applied to the images as they
are uploaded to the site, although, to conserve processor power,
the enhancement may be performed at later times, such as when the
images are selected for output to a product.
[0083] Such digital enhancement of images is known to those of
skill in the art, however, such enhancement techniques have not
been applied automatically and for output to photographic products
as contemplated by the invention. Instead, such enhancement
techniques have been used in standalone image manipulation
programs. It is expected that a variety of image enhancement
technology may be applied to the images gathered by the system of
the invention.
[0084] Such enhancement may be applied automatically upon upload,
provided sufficient processing power, or may be applied only upon
selection of an image for product output.
[0085] The invention may use any of a variety of image enhancement
technology, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,885,766,
6,954,549, 7,020,330, 7,103,228, and US Patent Application
2004/0086176, each of which is incorporated herein.
[0086] In another embodiment, and particularly where all images are
enhanced as they are uploaded to the database, the enhanced images
may be provided to the arena's staff such that images may be shown
in the displays in the stadium. Additionally, enhanced images may
be provided to wired and satellite broadcasters for delivery to
consumers as a stream to their computer screens, or televisions.
Such delivery may take the form of picture-in-picture displays, or
may be made available on additional alternative channels.
[0087] Using GPS, date/time information, phone orientation at the
time of image capture, and other data which is presently (or may at
some future time) be included in an image's exif or metadata, the
system has the ability to identify relevant photos for purposes of
photo-stitching. The resulting high-resolution panoramic digital
images may be viewed by users, and may be output to printed or
other physical products.
[0088] Events may also be based not on fixed or dynamically varying
locations, but on the target of the images comprising the event.
For example, an event may be created and shared wherein a
politician delivering a speech is followed after the speech for
interviews, and all images uploaded during a particular time frame,
regardless of the actual location, are attached to the event.
Similarly, a quarterback at a football game could be its own event,
which includes images from the game itself as well as post-game
interviews.
Product Creation
[0089] Many devices store images on memory cards, such as
CompactFlash, SD, and the like. While users may transfer images
directly from the capture device, where network connection speeds
are not sufficiently rapid, users may prefer to simply transfer
images to a computer for upload. Similarly, in one embodiment,
users may bring their memory cards to an upload station or kiosk in
an arena, which provides a suitable location for uploads for users.
Such a kiosk may be an output producer, as discussed below, or may
be an upload station designed merely for such uploads.
[0090] In one embodiment, single photographs, of a variety of
sizes, may be purchased, or the user may select a plurality of
photographs to be presented in a photobook, or calendar, or the
like, as a keepsake of the event. Other products include greeting
cards, postcards, posters, mugs, shirts, and many other products
suitable for placement of a photograph. Such purchase instructs the
system to direct a service provider to output professionally
produced photographs in the format chosen by the user. Where
photographic products are desired, any suitable service provider
may be used, such as HP, Kodak, Shutterfly or Fujifilm.
Additionally, where professional photographers also participate
with the system, a user may opt to include such professional images
individually, in an album, in a calendar, or the like. Such
professional output may be priced accordingly higher than the
user's own photographs, or those of other users attending the
game.
[0091] In one embodiment, the output products are mailed to the
user, so that the user receives the keepsake a day or two after the
event has concluded. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the
service provider maintains a production unit at the game venue, so
that at the end of the game, the user may purchase the output
product immediately.
[0092] When the user selects images for output in a product, the
user may be presented with the enhanced versions of the chosen
images, such that the user can see a preview of the product with
the digitally enhanced images already prepared.
[0093] While the system of the invention contemplates application
to a wide variety of major league sports events, it is equally
applicable to local events, school events, and organized youth
sports. For example, where a little league baseball league (or
team) desires to use the system, pages are constructed on the
website and in mobile applications where users who are members of
the league may follow the league's games. At each game, users may
upload photographs of the game, and, just as with major league
events, users may purchase professionally produced photographs,
albums, calendars, and the like. The system thus accomplishes
several objectives: it allows users to obtain customized
professionally produced photographic products from their own images
as well those of other league member users, professional
photographers, and where available, cameras at the venue itself; it
allows for viewing of such images on mobile devices as well as
desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets and various other
displays such as televisions and wireless picture frames; and it
may replace the need for teams to hire photographers for keepsake
photographs of the teams and players.
[0094] Users need not even be capturing their own images at the
event, because users will have access to images taken by other
users, professional photographers, and venue cameras, from which to
design and purchase a product.
[0095] In one embodiment of the invention, images uploaded by users
are tagged by the users with a status, either private, to be held
in the user's account alone, or public, to be shared with the
community. The public status may offer further granularity, in that
it may be public to the event's community, or public to the website
as a whole.
[0096] With each event, the database archives all the images for
the event, thereby allowing users to view the images and order
products immediately after the event, or days, months, even years
later. The system grows as more events are added to the database,
so that entire seasons of events are available to users. Thus,
users may "mix and match" to format their desired products. For
example, a user may select twelve images from different events to
create a calendar, with an image chosen for each month.
[0097] A variety of templates may be made available on the system,
but users may also save as templates products they create, and
designate them as public in the same way photographs may be so
designated, so that the community shares in the creativity of its
users. Such templates may be offered to the public, or the system
can be provided with a means for user-created templates to be
available to other users for a fee. Such fee may be shared by the
owner of the system with the user who created the template, thereby
providing a mechanism by which users who create templates share in
the benefits provided to the entire community. Further, the ability
to track which/whose photos are used in the creation of printed
photo products allows the system to also compensate contributors
for their content.
[0098] Other embodiments, uses, and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from
consideration of the specification and practice of the invention
disclosed herein. The specification and examples should be
considered exemplary only. The intended scope of the invention is
only limited by the claims appended hereto.
EXAMPLES
[0099] The present invention will be further understood by
reference to the following non-limiting Examples. For purposes of
these Examples, the system of the invention has been provided with
a name, to with, PicPocket.TM.
Example 1
An Embodiment of the Invention, as Applied to a National Sporting
Event
[0100] Each user may customize their copy of the installed mobile
PicPocket.TM. app on their device for listings of events taking
place within a particular geographic radius, a time frame, by user
or by keyword. In this example, football fan users have registered,
and installed the PicPocket.TM. app on their iPhones.RTM.,
Android.RTM. devices and Blackberrys.RTM.. The app lists events
fitting the set criteria, and the user may tap the items listed for
further information. Users may also access the server for searching
for events based on type of event, organization, dates, geographic
locations, and other relevant criteria. Coming within close (or
user defined) proximity of an event, or at nearing the starting
time of an event, having specified a previous interest in being
alerted to said events, the system app may alert a user to the fact
that an event is or will be taking place. The ability to purchase
tickets or get directions to said event would be possible given the
current system.
[0101] In this Example, registered PicPocket.TM. users attend a
football game, such as the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Dallas
Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Upon arrival at
the stadium, the users find their way to their seats and get ready
for the game by launching the application previously installed on
their mobile phones, such as iPhones.RTM., Android.RTM. devices and
Blackberrys.RTM.. The PicPocket.TM. app launches, and each user is
presented with a screen customized with information relevant to
their user accounts. For those users who previously identified
either the Eagles or the Cowboys as a team to follow, an alert
appears informing them that there is a game about to take place.
For those whose GPS units are activated, for example, the
PicPocket.TM. system recognizes that they are in fact at the
game.
[0102] The users take photographs during the game, (which are
either uploaded in real-time or saved to be uploaded at some future
time), and designating each photograph (individually, as a group of
images or in total) as private or public. Upon upload, the system
determines the location from which the photograph was taken based
on the location tags found in the digital image file, if present.
Date and time stamp information, also found in tags in the file,
are also collected by the system. The model of mobile device taking
the photograph is also either tagged in the digital photographic
files, or is input by the user as part of the user account or
entered upon launching of the application on the device. Handset
orientation at the instant of photo capture may also optionally be
captured for purposes of further delineating what the user was
interested in photographing.
[0103] The PicPocket.TM. system is aware of the device which
recorded the images, and thus may optimize the images, extracting
the finest image quality possible from such devices.
[0104] In the case of devices having tappable touchscreen
interfaces, the application has tappable areas to review images
already taken, those uploaded, those designated private and those
designated public. Another tappable area links to photographs taken
by other users at the game, showing thumbnails of others' public
photographs. The name of the user who uploaded the photograph may
(or may not) be listed below each thumbnail. Tapping on the
thumbnail opens a page showing all public photographs uploaded by
that user. Each photograph has a tappable area which the user can
tap to save it for use in photographic products to be purchased
later. Each image may also be rated by the users, allowing for an
additional tappable area which leads to the most highly rated
images. While the basic operation of the application has been
described for a touchscreen interface, other interfaces may be
employed which rely on selection with buttons or the like.
[0105] An indicator may be present in one area of the screen
showing how many other users are using the system at an event.
Another tappable area can be tapped to bring up a schematic view of
the stadium, with indicators showing where other uploading users
are located.
[0106] Users continue to take images, and upload them to the
system. Additionally, professional photographers take and upload
images, both images of the game itself as well as images of
particular users, tagged with the users' name, location, or other
data tag capable of indicating which user was imaged. The stadium
also has cameras trained on the game and the seats, and in
cooperation with the owner of the system of the invention, and
optionally for a fee, these cameras are pointed at registered users
throughout the game, capturing images and uploading them to the
system with a tag indicating which user was imaged. The system is
then able to associate all images of any particular user with that
users' account, and thus provide all images a user may be
interested in when the user reviews images for purchase of
products.
[0107] Personalized photographic products may be created through
the mobile device application using a variety of templates made
available to the application, as well as personalized templates
created by the user, whether such templates have been created on
the web and sent to the device by the server's front end, or even
created on the mobile device itself through a feature of the
application. In some embodiments of this example, a user may offer
a personalized photographic product for sale to any others in the
network, for which that user would receive a percentage of such
sales. Such transactions may be handled by the system.
[0108] Some users may decide to order products during the game, for
example, a T-shirt with a favorite image already captured by the
user or another user, a coffee mug with such an image, or a
photobook. Other users may wait until they get home to review the
events' images on the website, and prepare a more formal photobook.
Either way, the purchase choices are made, payment information is
entered, and the transaction proceeds. The system directs products
to be created by third party vendors from the images chosen by the
user, however, the images are first enhanced such that maximum
quality images are used for the production of such products.
Products are then prepared and shipped to the users' home within a
few days.
[0109] An additional element of the system includes the ability to
create products at the event itself from the image database of the
system. For example, a photographic product company has a kiosk at
the stadium, and is enabled to print T-shirts, mugs, enlargement
photographs, and optionally calendars, photobooks, and other
products. The kiosk also has a computer connected to the internet,
such that registered users with memory cards may upload to the
system at any time, and such that the kiosk has access to the
images in the database.
[0110] Users who order product items may select to have the items
printed at the stadium, for a fee which may be different from the
fee charged for items produced and shipped to their homes. Thus,
one user orders an enlargement of a favorite image taken during the
first quarter, and during halftime he proceeds to the kiosk where
he picks up the enlargement. Another user orders a T-shirt just
before halftime, and picks up the T-shirt later during the game. In
either case, the images may have been enhanced such that maximum
quality images are used to prepare the end products.
Example 2
An Embodiment of the System Applied to a Local Sporting Event
[0111] AYSO soccer Team A and Team F are set to play on a certain
date and time on a field known in advance. Before PicPocket.TM.,
some number of parents from both teams who ordinarily took photos
of their sons and daughters throughout the game, would have to be
constantly running the length of the field to get the best shots
possible. At the request of another parent (stranger or friend),
these same parents may have been asked to share those same photos
after the game--accomplished by either uploading them to an
Internet service such as Flickr or emailing them directly to the
individual(s) who requested them--but whose request, more than
likely, would have been ignored or forgotten. At half-time when the
teams switched sides, this same parent may have either been
advantaged or disadvantaged depending on which side of the field
their child was now playing on. With PicPocket.TM., a parent wants
to tell another parent from both Team A and Team F about the
service and the app because it ensures that with more people taking
pictures at the same live event, the likelihood that each of the
parents get better pictures of their children increases
substantially. Worth noting is that the capability exists such that
if the game has to be moved from one field to another, following
being set up as an event ahead of time with a specific date, time
and GPS coordinates, the PicPocket.TM. system easily moves the GPS
envelope to accommodate the new field by adjusting the game's GPS
parameters in the event database, by taking into effect the
location of PicPocket.TM. users on both Teams A and F. Parents will
have the ability to decide which photos they upload and settings
associated with the uploads, which can be set by default or change
on an event-by-event basis.
Example 3
An Embodiment of the System Applied to a Concert
[0112] A concert attendee is alerted to the fact that either one of
their favorite bands, or a band which PicPocket's.TM. use of
predictive intelligence decides is similar, is playing at a nearby
venue. The concert is an event in PicPocket's.TM. event database.
PicPocket.TM. users are able to purchase tickets for the concert
and map directions to the venue in addition to seeing which of
their PicPocket.TM. friends may or may not attend. At the concert,
a PicPocket.TM. user with backstage passes has a completely
different photo experience than someone at the foot of the stage,
or from someone in box seats overlooking the stage, or someone
perched in the balcony. Yet all PicPocket.TM. users attending the
event and capturing images, and uploading them to the system, are
able to enjoy all the different perspectives because the event page
for the concert is populated with pictures captured by many users
throughout the venue.
Example 4
An Embodiment of the System Applied to a Municipal Event
[0113] The PicPocket system was deployed live for three days at the
Austin City Limits outdoor music festival in October 2012. In
addition to designating a catch-all GPS zone to cover all of Zilker
Park, separate, and in most cases, mutually exclusive GPS hotpsots,
were established around the GPS coordinates of the individual
stages where bands performed. Every photo that was taken during the
event by a PicPocket.TM. user, and within the GPS envelope of
Zilker Park, was linked to the catch-all event/repository.
Likewise, photos which were taken within the designated proximity
of any of the individual stages were also linked to those
particular stages/events.
Example 5
An Embodiment of the System Applied to Real Estate and Other
Relocation Services
[0114] A realtor may ask a potential client (i.e., a home buyer) to
describe what they are looking for in a neighborhood--from a home's
proximity to schools, parks, medical facilities, etc. to certain
price-points. A realtor may use this information to identify homes
using a system such as MLS, and then designate said homes to be
included in a dashboard view of properties that can be searched,
sorted, Liked, commented on and shared like any other "event"
within the PicPocket.TM. system. The realty application will
identify where individual properties are located on an online map
alongside other PicPocket.TM. events which may or may not have been
selected based on a user's stated PicPocket.TM. Profile
interests.
Example 6
An Embodiment of the System Applied to a User-Created "Owned"
Personal Event with Controlled Access
[0115] A father decides to use PicPocket.TM. to aggregate images of
a birthday party for his ten year old son. The father launches the
PicPocket.TM. app and selects the `Create Event` option,
designating the event type as `birthday` and setting the date,
start time and duration. He uses his handset to name the event
"Timmy's 10.sup.th birthday" and walks outside to the middle of his
backyard and chooses `Set Location.` Aided by a map (GoogleMaps or
other), he draws a perimeter around his home in free form mode or
uses a slider bar to increase the radius around the point where he
is standing until such time that he feels that he has adequately
encompassed the area where the event will take place. Once he
commits the GPS coordinates and the resulting proximity envelope,
he is prompted to invite attendees from his smart phone's address
book and social network lists. A separate email is sent to him
(and/or others he may designate) with a web interface that allows
them to continue to refine the Invite list from their handset,
tablet or PC. The email or SMS invite notes that "Timmy's 10.sup.th
birthday" is a PicPocket.TM. supported event and may provide a
description of PicPocket.TM. and a link to download the app.
[0116] The day of the birthday party, the PicPocket.TM. app reminds
attendees of the event. The app may provide directions to the
event. Once someone who has the app on their phone comes within
some distance of the GPS coordinates for the event, the app wakes
up and may ask a user if they would like to confirm attendance at
said event. Once users are within the GPS envelope, images are
tagged as belonging to the PicPocket.TM. system's "Timmy's
10.sup.th birthday" event, and in keeping with the app's settings,
images will either directly upload to the designated online
directory belonging to said event, or users will be able to choose
which photos to send on a case-by-case basis by selecting them from
within the app. If a user has previously configured the
PicPocket.TM. app to only upload when a Wi-Fi signal is present,
while they may still be able to designate which photos to upload
and which to keep Private, the actual upload will be delayed until
a Wi-Fi signal is available.
[0117] For individuals who show up to the event without a prior
Invite, the Event creator can provide them with a passcode that
provides visibility and access to the "Timmy's 10.sup.th birthday"
event. The passcode will only be valid when the user is within the
GPS envelope during the date/time of the on-going event. Similarly,
a parent who does not have a smart phone, or who prefers instead to
use a DSLR camera, would also need this same passcode and another
identifier in order to log in later to be able to upload images
which may or may not have been date and time stamped and which are
missing GPS coordinate information. As Invitees commit their images
to the event in real-time or shortly thereafter, Timmy's parents
have the ability to choose which photos from the rich content pool
specific to the birthday event to share with all of the individuals
invited to, or who participated in, the event.
Example 7
An Embodiment of the System Applied to a Dynamically Location-Based
Event(s) Using GPS, and Also Including the Option of Non-Regular
(i.e., Noncircular) Regions
[0118] The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual three hour
event held in NYC attended by nearly four million people and viewed
by over 50 million worldwide. In recent times, the parade kicks off
at 77.sup.th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan and
continues south to Columbus Circle where it turns east onto
59.sup.th Street then south down Sixth Avenue to 34th Street,
making its final stop at Macy's Herald Square--a nearly three miles
long journey.
[0119] Between areas restricted from public viewing and the sheer
enormity of the parade route, no one individual can expect to get
the best photos of the event by simply maintaining their position
along the parade route, regardless of their vantage point.
[0120] The picture of Kermit the Frog with Columbus Circle as a
backdrop is an enviable photo, but a picture of Superman and Hello
Kitty tangled up in high winds across from Macy's Herald Square
would be just as interesting. If you're standing outside braving
November weather to take photos of this event, you're clearly very
interested in all the goings-on of this event.
[0121] PicPocket's.TM. coverage of the Macy's Day Parade begins
with creation of the event in the event database, and establishes a
GPS envelope to include an area encompassing a specified width to
the left and right of the center of the parade route so that
pictures from anywhere along the parade route could be made
available in real-time to users subscribing to the event.
Example 8
An Embodiment of the System Using Targeted Advertising in any
Event
[0122] PicPocket's.TM. ability to target internet advertising to
the specific interests of both its users as well as companies
desiring to generate impressions or actual sales is focused on, but
not limited to, three main areas: 1) Promotion and Sponsorship of
events, 2) Affiliate Product Sales and 3) what is commonly known as
Internet ads. In the case of item (1), since PicPocket.TM. is able
to intercept all the photos taken at a live event before they are
sent anywhere else, and because the community of PicPocket.TM. is
able to rate the photos, the best photos of any event (for purposes
of this Example, the Superbowl) rise to the top of the event
bucket. Having collected some number of the best photos of the
cheerleaders, the mascots, the tailgating parties, the crushing
tackles, the half-time show and all the antics happening in the
stands and on the field (to name just a few areas of interest),
brands with an interest promoting themselves at big ticket events
or events which are related to their marketing spend or business
development activities will want their brands prominently displayed
at the top of the event in question just as the big brands spend $4
million per thirty-second ad on network television.
[0123] PicPocket's.TM. coverage of Superbowl XLVII led
PicPocket.TM. to intersperse product ads relevant to: the event
itself (Superbowl), the teams who were competing (San Francisco
49'ers, Baltimore Ravens), and the general items of interest with
regard to the sport of football, the NFL, and major league sports
in general. Product ads were created which linked to an e-commerce
storefront's API (in this case, Amazon) for such licensed NFL
branded products as official team jerseys, helmets, footballs, and
collectibles/memorabilia.
Example 9
An Embodiment of the System Using Perspectives from Time and
Space
[0124] PicPocket.TM. has the capability to use a point in space and
time to search for photos. With each photo the system has its
position when taken and its orientation so it can determine if a
point is in the field of view. Using this information, a 360 degree
view of a point in time may be created that allows a user to use
drag controls to see all angles. The control could allow zoom and
individual photos could be zoomed to match the perspective and
distance to the object/scene. For example, a controversial play in
an NFL game presents an opportunity to explore the specific point
and time it took place, search for and display all the relevant
photos and/or videos from a variety of perspectives, and drag and
zoom to see all angle/details available.
[0125] Additionally, a user could view all of the images of a given
perspective taken across time. The user employs a
timeline/scroll/progress bar to drag the temporal perspective
across all available values for a given view. For example, all of
the images taken from a general area in the stands of Yankees
stadium from a single game may be aggregated, and then stitched
together to form an ersatz movie. Zoom of individual images taken
along the same vector could be used to fill in any gaps created as
a result of missing photos from the particular location.
[0126] As the PicPocket.TM. system gathers more and more data from
a given location (e.g., Yankee stadium), information from that
location may be used as a reference to geotag images missing such
information, allowing PicPocket.TM. to process content created
before GPS technology was wide spread.
[0127] The PicPocket.TM. system may also use similar images taken
at approximately the same time and along the same vector to create
higher quality images than any of the source images. Additionally,
photo-stitching software may be used to create ultra high
resolution photos of famous locations by crowdsourcing all of the
individual images. The PicPocket.TM. app may inform the user in
real time where to position and aim the camera in order to fill in
missing areas, and may offer incentives to users to fill in such
missing pieces. The PicPocket.TM. app may be equipped with a
feature called `group photo`. At a pivotal moment in the game, or
at a random time, PicPocket.TM. system sends smart phones at an
event a message/prompt to let users know that in
five-four-three-two-one seconds . . . HOLD YOUR PHONE IN THE AIR
AND POINT IT AT CENTER FIELD! A group-photo from every imaginable
seat (angle/perspective) in the venue, all at the same time, that
may be photo-stitched together for a 2D or 3D model. Users can opt
in or out to be alerted by PicPocket.TM. or to participate in group
photos.
Example 10
An Embodiment of the Invention Using Encryption
[0128] In most digital photos, GPS information and other metadata
such as time, orientation, altitude, etc., are typically stored in
a standardized, unencrypted format in the photo's exif data. An
advantage of this lack of encryption is that the data captured and
stored by one device can be read by another, unrelated device. The
disadvantage is that the user storing that data has no control over
who can read, share, and use this potentially private information.
For example, a user might want to share several pictures from her
vacation without revealing to everyone who sees them exactly where
and when the pictures were taken. To solve this problem, the system
may allow users to save GPS and other relevant data with the photo
in such a way that the system will still able to aggregate these
photos by time and location while keeping this private information
private.
[0129] One technique is to store the data as an encrypted string as
part of the photo's unencrypted exif data. Someone viewing the
photo on another device might see there was encrypted data stored
with the photo, but without the proper decryption information, they
would not be able to view the private information.
[0130] Another, more secure approach to hiding private information
in a photo would be to store that data inside the image itself in
such a way that no one viewing or examining the photo would know
private information was there at all.
[0131] In addition to storing GPS and other relevant metadata with
the photo in a private, secure manner, the system may use similar
techniques to intentionally hide secret text or audio messages and
promotions inside photos and ask users to hunt for the secret
message by examining a series of photos with a virtual magnifying
glass. Users who were able to decode the secret messages would be
entitled to a reward such as free or discounted products or
services.
Example 11
An Embodiment of the Invention Using Target Based Events
[0132] While many events are time and place focused, as discussed
above there are static "Landmark events" which focus on a
particular place irrespective of the time. But events may also be
target specific, such as an event based on an individual, such as a
politician, or a celebrity, or a sports figure.
[0133] The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the
specific embodiments described above, which are intended as
illustrations of aspects of the invention. Functionally equivalent
methods and components are within the scope of the invention.
Indeed, various modifications of the invention, in addition to
those shown and described herein, will become apparent to those
skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such
modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended
claims. All cited references are hereby incorporated by
reference.
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