Patent Application
20240393930
Camera systems, such as a camera disposed on a mobile device, can capture a variety of electronic images and video. The popularity of image and video capture continues to grow. Users increasingly share media content items such as electronic images and videos with each other. Users also increasingly utilize their mobile devices to communicate with each other using message programs. For example, a user can create media content and share it via a message program with a group of friends.
In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe similar components in different views. To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced. Some non-limiting examples are illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:
Camera systems are included in a variety of devices such as mobile devices, smart watches, drones, and so on. The camera systems enable a user to take images and video and are communicatively and/or operatively coupled to certain applications, such as an interaction client. In some examples, the interaction client enables a user to capture media content while using the messaging application, and to apply certain photographic filters and/or virtual lenses. The captured media is then transmitted to another user or user group via the interaction client. interaction client also provides for the reuse of previously captured media. For example, the user may have captured the media in another application (e.g., camera application) and stored the captured media in a data store (e.g., local data store, cloud-based data store) as part of a user experience (e.g., a vacation, a concert, a family gathering). The techniques described herein provided for a blended presentation of media captured by the interaction client and media captured by external applications (e.g., camera application) in the same graphical user interface (GUI).
In certain examples, a “memories” screen is used, which presents the blended media (e.g., media captured by the messaging application and media captured by external applications) in a single view. That is, rather than switching application contexts (e.g., between the messaging application's stored media and media stored by other applications), the user can visualize and interact with the blended media in a single visualization or screen. In some examples, a “recents” section of the memories screen is also provided, that presents the blended media based on meeting certain creation date criteria. For example, the “recents” section may not be created unless a certain number (e.g. 4 or more) of blended media content has been captured within a given time period (e.g., within the last 24 hours). Certain GUI visualizations are also provided, suitable for denoting the provenance of the blended media, for example, via icons and/or text Likewise, the blended media may be presented in certain sections and sizes on the memories screen, creating a more aesthetic and pleasing visualization based on media type By presenting blended media in a more seamless manner, the techniques described herein provide for a messaging application that is more efficient and engaging in presenting and communicating media from diverse sources.
It may be beneficial to describe certain systems that implement the techniques described herein. Turning now to
Each user system 102 may include multiple user devices, such as a mobile device 114, head-wearable apparatus 116, and a computer client device 118 that are communicatively connected to exchange data and messages. An interaction client 104 interacts with other interaction clients 104 and with the interaction server system 110 via the network 108. The data exchanged between the interaction clients 104 (e.g., interactions 120) and between the interaction clients 104 and the interaction server system 110 includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) and payload data (e.g., text, audio, video, or other multimedia data).
The interaction server system 110 provides server-side functionality via the network 108 to the interaction clients 104. While certain functions of the interaction system 100 are described herein as being performed by either an interaction client 104 or by the interaction server system 110, the location of certain functionality either within the interaction client 104 or the interaction server system 110 may be a design choice. For example, it may be technically preferable to initially deploy particular technology and functionality within the interaction server system 110 but to later migrate this technology and functionality to the interaction client 104 where a user system 102 has sufficient processing capacity.
The interaction server system 110 supports various services and operations that are provided to the interaction clients 104. Such operations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, and processing data generated by the interaction clients 104. This data may include message content, client device information, geolocation information, media augmentation and overlays, message content persistence conditions, social network information, and live event information. Data exchanges within the interaction system 100 are invoked and controlled through functions available via user interfaces (UIs) of the interaction clients 104.
Turning now specifically to the interaction server system 110, an Application Program Interface (API) server 122 is coupled to and provides programmatic interfaces to interaction servers 124, making the functions of the interaction servers 124 accessible to interaction clients 104, other applications 106 and third-party server 112. The interaction servers 124 are communicatively coupled to a database server 126, facilitating access to a database 128 that stores data associated with interactions processed by the interaction servers 124. Similarly, a web server 130 is coupled to the interaction servers 124 and provides web-based interfaces to the interaction servers 124. To this end, the web server 130 processes incoming network requests over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and several other related protocols.
The Application Program Interface (API) server 122 receives and transmits interaction data (e.g., commands and message payloads) between the interaction servers 124 and the client systems 102 (and, for example, interaction clients 104 and other application 106) and the third-party server 112. Specifically, the Application Program Interface (API) server 122 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that can be called or queried by the interaction client 104 and other applications 106 to invoke functionality of the interaction servers 124. The Application Program Interface (API) server 122 exposes various functions supported by the interaction servers 124, including account registration; login functionality; the sending of interaction data, via the interaction servers 124, from a particular interaction client 104 to another interaction client 104, the communication of media files (e.g., images or video) from an interaction client 104 to the interaction servers 124; the settings of a collection of media data (e.g., a story); the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of a user system 102; the retrieval of messages and content; the addition and deletion of entities (e.g., friends) to an entity graph (e.g., a social graph); the location of friends within a social graph; and opening an application event (e.g., relating to the interaction client 104).
The interaction client 104 includes a blended media system 132 that presents (and can communicate) media captured via the interaction client 104, other applications (e.g., applications 106) running in the user system 102, and/or external applications. For example, the blended media system 132 can provide certain graphical user interface (GUI) screens, such as a “memories” screen, displaying blended media. As referred to herein, blended media includes pictures, video, and/or media overlays (e.g., created via a photographic filter and/or a virtual lens) that have been captured and/or produced by the interaction client 104, captured and/or produced by other applications (e.g., application 106) executable via the user system 102, and/or external applications (e.g., applications executing external to the user system 102).
For example, the blended media system 132 presents various screens, further described below, that display blended media in certain screen sections with visualizations (e.g., icons, text) indicative of the provenance of the blended media (e.g., produced by the interaction client 104, by other applications executable via the user system 102, and/or by external applications) In some examples, the blended media is presented in screens that dynamically load the blended media based on the age (e.g., capture date or creation date) of the blended media The blended media is also displayed with certain characteristics (e.g., sizes and shapes) that enhance the presentation of the blended media at certain screen sizes and that improve aesthetics. The blended media is then distributed to other user systems 102, for example, via the interaction servers 124. The interaction servers 124 host multiple systems and subsystems, as described in more detail below with reference to
An image processing system 202 provides various functions that enable a user to capture and augment (e.g., annotate or otherwise modify or edit) media content associated with a message, for example, using media content captured via a camera system 204. The camera system 204 includes control software (e.g., in a camera application) that interacts with and controls hardware camera hardware (e.g., directly or via operating system controls) of the user system 102 to modify and augment real-time images captured and displayed via the interaction client 104.
The augmentation system 206 provides functions related to the generation and publishing of augmentations (e.g., media overlays) for images captured in real-time by cameras of the user system 102 or retrieved from memory of the user system 102. For example, the augmentation system 206 operatively selects, presents, and displays media overlays (e.g., created via a photographic filter or a virtual lens) to the interaction client 104 for the augmentation of real-time images received via the camera system 204 or stored images retrieved from memory 502 of a user system 102. These augmentations are selected by the augmentation system 206 and presented to a user of an interaction client 104, based on a number of inputs and data, such as for example:
An augmentation may include audio and visual content and visual effects. Examples of audio and visual content include pictures, texts, logos, animations, and sound effects. An example of a visual effect includes color overlaying. The audio and visual content or the visual effects can be applied to a media content item (e.g., a photo or video) at user system 102 for communication in a message, or applied to video content, such as a video content stream or feed transmitted from an interaction client 104. As such, the image processing system 202 may interact with, and support, the various subsystems of the communication system 208, such as the messaging system 210 and the video communication system 212.
A media overlay may include text or image data that can be overlaid on top of a photograph taken by the user system 102 or a video stream produced by the user system 102. In some examples, the media overlay may be a location overlay (e.g., Venice beach), a name of a live event, or a name of a merchant overlay (e.g., Beach Coffee House). In further examples, the image processing system 202 uses the geolocation of the user system 102 to identify a media overlay that includes the name of a merchant at the geolocation of the user system 102. The media overlay may include other indicia associated with the merchant. The media overlays may be stored in the databases 128 and accessed through the database server 126.
The image processing system 202 provides a user-based publication platform that enables users to select a geolocation on a map and upload content associated with the selected geolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which a particular media overlay should be offered to other users. The image processing system 202 generates a media overlay that includes the uploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selected geolocation.
The augmentation creation system 214 supports augmented reality developer platforms and includes an application for content creators (e.g., artists and developers) to create and publish augmentations (e.g., augmented reality experiences) of the interaction client 104. The augmentation creation system 214 provides a library of built-in features and tools to content creators including, for example custom shaders, tracking technology, and templates.
In some examples, the augmentation creation system 214 provides a merchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select a particular augmentation associated with a geolocation via a bidding process. For example, the augmentation creation system 214 associates a media overlay of the highest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocation for a predefined amount of time.
A communication system 208 is responsible for enabling and processing multiple forms of communication and interaction within the interaction system 100 and includes a messaging system 210, an audio communication system 216, and a video communication system 212. The messaging system 210 is responsible for enforcing the temporary or time-limited access to content by the interaction clients 104. The messaging system 210 incorporates multiple timers (e g, within an ephemeral timer system 218) that, based on duration and display parameters associated with a message or collection of messages (e.g., a story), selectively enable access (e.g., for presentation and display) to messages and associated content via the interaction client 104. Further details regarding the operation of the ephemeral timer system 218 are provided below. The audio communication system 216 enables and supports audio communications (e.g., real-time audio chat) between multiple interaction clients 104. Similarly, the video communication system 212 enables and supports video communications (e.g., real-time video chat) between multiple interaction clients 104.
A user management system 220 is operationally responsible for the management of user data and profiles, and includes a social network system 222 that maintains information regarding relationships between users of the interaction system 100. A collection management system 224 is operationally responsible for managing sets or collections of media (e.g., collections of text, image video, and audio data). A collection of content (e.g., messages, including images, video, text, and audio) may be organized into an “event gallery” or an “event story.” Such a collection may be made available for a specified time period, such as the duration of an event to which the content relates. For example, content relating to a music concert may be made available as a “story” for the duration of that music concert. The collection management system 224 may also be responsible for publishing an icon that provides notification of a particular collection to the user interface of the interaction client 104. The collection management system 224 includes a curation function that allows a collection manager to manage and curate a particular collection of content. For example, the curation interface enables an event organizer to curate a collection of content relating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content or redundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 224 employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and content rules to curate a content collection automatically. In certain examples, compensation may be paid to a user to include user-generated content into a collection. In such cases, the collection management system 224 operates to automatically make payments to such users to use their content.
A map system 226 provides various geographic location functions and supports the presentation of map-based media content and messages by the interaction client 104. For example, the map system 226 enables the display of user icons or avatars (e.g., stored in profile data 304) on a map to indicate a current or past location of “friends” of a user, as well as media content (e.g., collections of messages including photographs and videos) generated by such friends, within the context of a map. For example, a message posted by a user to the interaction system 100 from a specific geographic location may be displayed within the context of a map at that particular location to “friends” of a specific user on a map interface of the interaction client 104. A user can furthermore share his or her location and status information (e.g., using an appropriate status avatar) with other users of the interaction system 100 via the interaction client 104, with this location and status information being similarly displayed within the context of a map interface of the interaction client 104 to selected users.
An external resource system 228 provides an interface for the interaction client 104 to communicate with remote servers (e.g., third-party servers 112) to launch or access external resources, i.e., applications or applets. Each third-party server 112 hosts, for example, a markup language (e.g., HTML5) based application or a small-scale version of an application (e.g., game, utility, payment, or ride-sharing application). The interaction client 104 may launch a web-based resource (e.g., application) by accessing the HTML5 file from the third-party servers 112 associated with the web-based resource. Applications hosted by third-party servers 112 are programmed in JavaScript leveraging a Software Development Kit (SDK) provided by the interaction servers 124. The SDK includes Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) with functions that can be called or invoked by the web-based application. The interaction servers 124 host a JavaScript library that provides a given external resource access to specific user data of the interaction client 104. HTML5 is an example of technology for programming games, but applications and resources programmed based on other technologies can be used.
As mentioned above, the blended media system 132 provides for the display of a first media that has been created by the interaction client 104 alongside (e.g., in the same screen) a second media that has been created by application (e.g., application 106) executable in the user system 102 and/or an external application (e.g., an application executable by other systems). In some examples, a first screen, e.g., a memories screen, is used to see blended media that has been saved by the user of the interaction client 104. That is, in one default mode of operations, the interaction client 104 automatically deletes or otherwise removes, via the ephemeral timer system 218, media that has been captured by the user via the interaction client 104. The user can choose to keep certain media, which is then saved to be browsed by using the memories screen
The memories screen will additionally display other media not captured by the user client 104, such as media captured via other applications (e.g., applications 106) and/or by external applications executed by systems other than the user system 102 as blended media. The blended media is automatically ordered in reverse-chronological order (e.g., newest items first) via a chronologically-based sort. For example, the memories screen displays blended media that has been captured and/or created within the last week, month, and/or year. The memories screen is additionally searchable, thus finding blended media based on search terms such as “birthday,” “picnic,” “zoo,” and so on, as well as finding blended media based on calendar dates.
A recents section of the memories screen is also provided by the blended media system 132, which automatically displays blended media based on certain triggering conditions. For example, the recents section displays blended media based on a count of how many blended media items have been saved within a time period. In one example, if 4 or more blended media items have been saved within the last 24 hours then the recents section will show the blended media items saved. It is to be understood that any number of saved blended media items and any time period (e.g., 1 hour, 12 hours, two days, and so on) can be used for the triggering conditions.
By providing for one or more screens, e.g., memories screen and recents section, that display media from a variety of sources alongside each other, the techniques described herein enable a more efficient presentation of media to be used, for example, for messaging purposes. The user of the blended media system 132 can more easily visualize and navigate media captured and/or created by a variety of systems and applications in one screen, and can then select diverse media, for example, to message other users
To integrate the functions of the SDK into the web-based resource, the SDK is downloaded by the third-party server 112 from the interaction servers 124 or is otherwise received by the third-party server 112. Once downloaded or received, the SDK is included as part of the application code of a web-based external resource. The code of the web-based resource can then call or invoke certain functions of the SDK to integrate features of the interaction client 104 into the web-based resource.
The SDK stored on the interaction server system 110 effectively provides the bridge between an external resource (e.g., applications 106 or applets) and the interaction client 104. This gives the user a seamless experience of communicating with other users on the interaction client 104 while also preserving the look and feel of the interaction client 104. To bridge communications between an external resource and an interaction client 104, the SDK facilitates communication between third-party servers 112 and the interaction client 104. A Web ViewJavaScriptBridge running on a user system 102 establishes two one-way communication channels between an external resource and the interaction client 104. Messages are sent between the external resource and the interaction client 104 via these communication channels asynchronously. Each SDK function invocation is sent as a message and callback. Each SDK function is implemented by constructing a unique callback identifier and sending a message with that callback identifier.
By using the SDK, not all information from the interaction client 104 is shared with third-party servers 112. The SDK limits which information is shared based on the needs of the external resource. Each third-party server 112 provides an HTML5 file corresponding to the web-based external resource to interaction servers 124. The interaction servers 124 can add a visual representation (such as a box art or other graphic) of the web-based external resource in the interaction client 104. Once the user selects the visual representation or instructs the interaction client 104 through a GUI of the interaction client 104 to access features of the web-based external resource, the interaction client 104 obtains the HTML5 file and instantiates the resources to access the features of the web-based external resource.
The interaction client 104 presents a graphical user interface (e.g., a landing page or title screen) for an external resource. During, before, or after presenting the landing page or title screen, the interaction client 104 determines whether the launched external resource has been previously authorized to access user data of the interaction client 104. In response to determining that the launched external resource has been previously authorized to access user data of the interaction client 104, the interaction client 104 presents another graphical user interface of the external resource that includes functions and features of the external resource. In response to determining that the launched external resource has not been previously authorized to access user data of the interaction client 104, after a threshold period of time (e.g., 3 seconds) of displaying the landing page or title screen of the external resource, the interaction client 104 slides up (e.g., animates a menu as surfacing from a bottom of the screen to a middle or other portion of the screen) a menu for authorizing the external resource to access the user data. The menu identifies the type of user data that the external resource will be authorized to use In response to receiving a user selection of an accept option, the interaction client 104 adds the external resource to a list of authorized external resources and allows the external resource to access user data from the interaction client 104. The external resource is authorized by the interaction client 104 to access the user data under an O Auth 2 framework.
The interaction client 104 controls the type of user data that is shared with external resources based on the type of external resource being authorized. For example, external resources that include full-scale applications (e.g., an application 106) are provided with access to a first type of user data (e.g., two-dimensional avatars of users with or without different avatar characteristics). As another example, external resources that include small-scale versions of applications (e.g., web-based versions of applications) are provided with access to a second type of user data (e.g., payment information, two-dimensional avatars of users, three-dimensional avatars of users, and avatars with various avatar characteristics). Avatar characteristics include different ways to customize a look and feel of an avatar, such as different poses, facial features, clothing, and so forth. An advertisement system 230 operationally enables the purchasing of advertisements by third parties for presentation to end-users via the interaction clients 104 and also handles the delivery and presentation of these advertisements.
The database 302 includes message data stored within a message table 306. This message data includes, for any particular message, at least message sender data, message recipient (or receiver) data, and a payload. Further details regarding information that may be included in a message, and included within the message data stored in the message table 306, are described below with reference to
An entity table 308 stores entity data, and is linked (e.g., referentially) to an entity graph 310 and profile data 304. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table 308 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects, places, events, and so forth. Regardless of entity type, any entity regarding which the interaction server system 110 stores data may be a recognized entity. Each entity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity type identifier (not shown).
The entity graph 310 stores information regarding relationships and associations between entities. Such relationships may be social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation or organization), interest-based, or activity-based, merely for example. Certain relationships between entities may be unidirectional, such as a subscription by an individual user to digital content of a commercial or publishing user (e.g., a newspaper or other digital media outlet, or a brand). Other relationships may be bidirectional, such as a “friend” relationship between individual users of the interaction system 100.
Certain permissions and relationships may be attached to each relationship, and also to each direction of a relationship. For example, a bidirectional relationship (e.g., a friend relationship between individual users) may include authorization for the publication of digital content items between the individual users, but may impose certain restrictions or filters on the publication of such digital content items (e.g., based on content characteristics, location data or time of day data). Similarly, a subscription relationship between an individual user and a commercial user may impose different degrees of restrictions on the publication of digital content from the commercial user to the individual user, and may significantly restrict or block the publication of digital content from the individual user to the commercial user A particular user, as an example of an entity, may record certain restrictions (e.g., by way of privacy settings) in a record for that entity within the entity table 308. Such privacy settings may be applied to all types of relationships within the context of the interaction system 100, or may selectively be applied to certain types of relationships.
The profile data 304 stores multiple types of profile data about a particular entity. The profile data 304 may be selectively used and presented to other users of the interaction system 100 based on privacy settings specified by a particular entity. Where the entity is an individual, the profile data 304 includes, for example, a user name, telephone number, address, settings (e.g., notification and privacy settings), as well as a user-selected avatar representation (or collection of such avatar representations). A particular user may then selectively include one or more of these avatar representations within the content of messages communicated via the interaction system 100, and on map interfaces displayed by interaction clients 104 to other users. The collection of avatar representations may include “status avatars,” which present a graphical representation of a status or activity that the user may select to communicate at a particular time.
Where the entity is a group, the profile data 304 for the group may similarly include one or more avatar representations associated with the group, in addition to the group name, members, and various settings (e.g., notifications) for the relevant group. The database 302 also stores augmentation data, such as overlays or filters, in an augmentation table 312. The augmentation data is associated with and applied to videos (for which data is stored in a video table 314) and images (for which data is stored in an image table 316).
Filters, in some examples, are overlays that are displayed as overlaid on an image or video during presentation to a recipient user. Filters may be of various types, including user-selected filters from a set of filters presented to a sending user by the interaction client 104 when the sending user is composing a message. Other types of filters include geolocation filters (also known as geo-filters), which may be presented to a sending user based on geographic location. For example, geolocation filters specific to a neighborhood or special location may be presented within a user interface by the interaction client 104, based on geolocation information determined by a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit of the user system 102.
Another type of filter is a data filter, which may be selectively presented to a sending user by the interaction client 104 based on other inputs or information gathered by the user system 102 during the message creation process. Examples of data filters include current temperature at a specific location, a current speed at which a sending user is traveling, battery life for a user system 102, or the current time.
Other augmentation data that may be stored within the image table 316 includes augmented reality content items (e.g., corresponding to applying “lenses” or augmented reality experiences). An augmented reality content item may be a real-time special effect and sound that may be added to an image or a video.
A story table 318 stores data regarding collections of messages and associated image, video, or audio data, which are compiled into a collection (e.g., a story or a gallery). The creation of a particular collection may be initiated by a particular user (e.g., each user for which a record is maintained in the entity table 308) A user may create a “personal story” in the form of a collection of content that has been created and sent/broadcast by that user. To this end, the user interface of the interaction client 104 may include an icon that is user-selectable to enable a sending user to add specific content to his or her personal story.
A collection may also constitute a “live story,” which is a collection of content from multiple users that is created manually, automatically, or using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example, a “live story” may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted content from various locations and events. Users whose client devices have location services enabled and are at a common location event at a particular time may, for example, be presented with an option, via a user interface of the interaction client 104, to contribute content to a particular live story. The live story may be identified to the user by the interaction client 104, based on his or her location. The end result is a “live story” told from a community perspective.
A further type of content collection is known as a “location story,” which enables a user whose user system 102 is located within a specific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus) to contribute to a particular collection. In some examples, a contribution to a location story may employ a second degree of authentication to verify that the end-user belongs to a specific organization or other entity (e.g., is a student on the university campus).
As mentioned above, the video table 314 stores video data that, in some examples, is associated with messages for which records are maintained within the message table 306. Similarly, the image table 316 stores image data associated with messages for which message data is stored in the entity table 308. The entity table 308 may associate various augmentations from the augmentation table 312 with various images and videos stored in the image table 316 and the video table 314.
The databases 302 also include an external media table 320 storing links to media not captured by the interaction client 104. For example, the links include links to images and video captured by other applications 106 as well as external systems and stored in cloud-based systems. In one example, the user may give the interaction client 104 permission to access local media stored by other applications (e.g., applications 106) in a “camera roll” or similar storage area. The “camera roll” includes media stored locally (e.g., in storage included in the user system 102), as well as externally, e.g., in the database 128, including cloud-based storage. Accordingly, the blended media system 132 can access media from diverse storage locations for blending purposes.
The contents (e.g., values) of the various components of message 400 may be pointers to locations in tables within which content data values are stored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 406 may be a pointer to (or address of) a location within an image table 316. Similarly, values within the message video payload 408 may point to data stored within an image table 316, values stored within the message augmentation data 412 may point to data stored in an augmentation table 312, values stored within the message story identifier 418 may point to data stored in a story table 318, and values stored within the message sender identifier 424 and the message receiver identifier 426 may point to user records stored within an entity table 308.
The head-wearable apparatus 116 includes one or more cameras, each of which may be, for example, a visible light camera 506, an infrared emitter 508, and an infrared camera 510.
The mobile device 114 connects with head-wearable apparatus 116 using both a low-power wireless connection 512 and a high-speed wireless connection 514. The mobile device 114 is also connected to the server system 504 and the network 516.
The head-wearable apparatus 116 further includes two image displays of the image display of optical assembly 518. The two image displays of optical assembly 518 include one associated with the left lateral side and one associated with the right lateral side of the head-wearable apparatus 116. The head-wearable apparatus 116 also includes an image display driver 520, an image processor 522, low-power circuitry 524, and high-speed circuitry 526. The image display of optical assembly 518 is for presenting images and videos, including an image that can include a graphical user interface to a user of the head-wearable apparatus 116.
The image display driver 520 commands and controls the image display of optical assembly 518. The image display driver 520 may deliver image data directly to the image display of optical assembly 518 for presentation or may convert the image data into a signal or data format suitable for delivery to the image display device. For example, the image data may be video data formatted according to compression formats, such as H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10), HEVC, Theora, Dirac, Real Video RV40, VP8, VP9, or the like, and still image data may be formatted according to compression formats such as Portable Network Group (PNG), Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) or exchangeable image file format (EXIF) or the like.
The head-wearable apparatus 116 includes a frame and stems (or temples) extending from a lateral side of the frame. The head-wearable apparatus 116 further includes a user input device 528 (e.g., touch sensor or push button), including an input surface on the head-wearable apparatus 116. The user input device 528 (e.g., touch sensor or push button) is to receive from the user an input selection to manipulate the graphical user interface of the presented image.
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The low-power wireless circuitry 534 and the high-speed wireless circuitry 532 of the head-wearable apparatus 116 can include short-range transceivers (Bluetooth™) and wireless wide, local, or wide area network transceivers (e.g., cellular or WiFi). Mobile device 114, including the transceivers communicating via the low-power wireless connection 512 and the high-speed wireless connection 514, may be implemented using details of the architecture of the head-wearable apparatus 116, as can other elements of the network 516.
The memory 502 includes any storage device capable of storing various data and applications, including, among other things, camera data generated by the left and right visible light cameras 506, the infrared camera 510, and the image processor 522, as well as images generated for display by the image display driver 520 on the image displays of the image display of optical assembly 518. While the memory 502 is shown as integrated with high-speed circuitry 526, in some examples, the memory 502 may be an independent standalone element of the head-wearable apparatus 116. In certain such examples, electrical routing lines may provide a connection through a chip that includes the high-speed processor 530 from the image processor 522 or the low-power processor 536 to the memory 502. In some examples, the high-speed processor 530 may manage addressing of the memory 502 such that the low-power processor 536 will boot the high-speed processor 530 any time that a read or write operation involving memory 502 is needed.
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The mobile device 114 includes a processor and a network communication interface coupled to the processor. The network communication interface allows for communication over the network 516, low-power wireless connection 512, or high-speed wireless connection 514. Mobile device 114 can further store at least portions of the instructions for generating binaural audio content in the mobile device 114's memory to implement the functionality described herein.
Output components of the head-wearable apparatus 116 include visual components, such as a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, a projector, or a waveguide. The image displays of the optical assembly are driven by the image display driver 520. The output components of the head-wearable apparatus 116 further include acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., a vibratory motor), other signal generators, and so forth. The input components of the head-wearable apparatus 116, the mobile device 114, and server system 504, such as the user input device 528, may include alphanumeric input components (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric input components), point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instruments), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen that provides location and force of touches or touch gestures, or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., a microphone), and the like.
The head-wearable apparatus 116 may also include additional peripheral device elements. Such peripheral device elements may include biometric sensors, additional sensors, or display elements integrated with the head-wearable apparatus 116. For example, peripheral device elements may include any I/O components including output components, motion components, position components, or any other such elements described herein.
For example, the biometric components include components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye-tracking), measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voice identification, retinal identification, facial identification, fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram based identification), and the like. The motion components include acceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensor components, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth. The position components include location sensor components to generate location coordinates (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver component), Wi-Fi or Bluetooth™ transceivers to generate positioning system coordinates, altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like. Such positioning system coordinates can also be received over low-power wireless connections 512 and high-speed wireless connection 514 from the mobile device 114 via the low-power wireless circuitry 534 or high-speed wireless circuitry 532. The head-wearable apparatus 116 is used to capture and/or display media content, including media displayed by the blended media system 132.
In some examples, the selection of the first media content is retrieved to be displayed in a chronological order, such as a reverse-chronological order with newer media content being displayed first. For example, the process 600 can retrieve, as part of the selection of the first media content, media content that has been saved by the interaction client 104 within the last day, last week, last month, last year, last few years, or a combination thereof. The process 600 additionally retrieves, at block 604, a selection of a second media content. The second media content includes media that has been saved by applications other than the interaction client 104, such as a camera application included in the user system 102, other applications 106, and/or applications executing external to the user system 102. In one example, the camera application will produce a “camera roll” of the second media content that was captured The second media content can also include media captured outside of the user system 102 and stored, for example, in a cloud-based media storage system, in the database 128, and so on. The process 600 can retrieve, as part of the selection of the second media content, media content that has been saved within the last day, last week, last month, last year, last few years, or a combination thereof. It is to be noted that, in some examples, process 600 and apply user input such as search terms and/or calendar dates to select the first media content and/or the second media content. For example, the user can search for terms such as “birthday,” “beach,” “concert,” and so on, to select the first media content and/or the second media content.
The process 600 will then “blend” the selected first media content with the selected second media content by presenting both the first and the second media content together via a display. That is, the process 600 will display, on the same display screen, the selected first media content alongside the selected second media content so that both the selected first media content and the selected second media content are viewable at the same time. The display of the selected first media content with the selected second media content is thus “blended.” For example, the process 600 will use the memories screen to display the selected first media content and the selected second media content “blended” together so that both media contents are viewable alongside each other. Indeed, rather than switching between applications to load media content from disparate sources, the process 600 will present media content captured via the interaction client 104 and other sources all in one screen.
In some examples, the selected first media content and/or the selected second media content is presented as thumbnails to maximize screen space, as further described below. A thumbnail refers to an icon representative of a media content. For example, a thumbnail can present an image or a video in a size smaller than the originally captured image or video. Additionally, certain visual indicia is used to differentiate between the selected first media content and the selected second media content. For example, the selected first media content can be presented in a different section of the screen (e.g., memories screen) to differentiate between the selected first media content and the selected second media content. Additionally or alternatively, the first media content may be presented in a different size (e.g., thumbnail size) and/or in a different geometric shape than the second media content to differentiate between the selected first media content and the selected second media content. Certain text and/or icons may also be overlaid on the selected first media content and/or the selected second media content as visual indicia differentiating between the selected first media content and the selected second media content.
The process 600 will then receive, at block 608, a selection of the blended media content. For example, a user of the interaction system 100 can selected one or more of the blended media content by using touch, gestures, input devices (e.g., touchscreens, joysticks), and the like. The selected blended media content can then be provided for the creation of further content, e.g., “stories,” and more generally, for communicating or otherwise messaging, at block 610, the blended media content to other users. By providing for blended media content, the techniques described herein enable a more efficient and engaging use of media from a variety of sources.
Turning now to
In the depicted example, a recents section 708 is also illustrated. The recents section displays thumbnails of blended media content based on certain triggering conditions. For example, the recents section 708 displays blended media based on a count of how many blended media items have been saved within a time period, such as 4 or more blended media items saved within the last 24 hours It is to be understood that any number of saved blended media items and any time period (e.g., 1 hour, 12 hours, two days, and so on) can be used for the triggering conditions. If the triggering conditions are not met then the recents section 708 is not shown. Certain visual indicia can be used to denote the provenance or source of the blended media, as described in more detail below with respect to
In the depicted example, yet another indicia denoting the source of the media content is the shape of the thumbnails. Section 802 depicts all thumbnails as rectangles, while section 804 depicts middle thumbnails as square and end thumbnails as having rounded edges. Text is also used as an indicia denoting the source of the media content. For example, the right-most thumbnail 810 is shown as displaying a “Camera Roll” text denoting that the media content displayed in section 804 has been retrieved from storage captured by the camera application of the user system 102. The text can also describe a number of thumbnails that are available additional to those shown.
In one example, the section 804 is presented at the start of every calendar month (e.g., on the first day of every calendar month displayed via label 806) and includes the most recent media content from that specific month. If there are more than a certain number of media content, e.g., 4 items, the 4th right-most thumbnail includes text having a summary hint explaining how many more media content the section 804 includes. When the summary hint is available, this 4th right-most thumbnail (e.g., thumbnail 810) will dynamically become a summary hint thumbnail having different activation behavior compared to the other thumbnails in section 804. Activating other thumbnails in section 804, e.g., via finger tapping on a touchscreen displaying section 804, will expand the thumbnail and enable the application of photographic filters and/or virtual lenses, as well as the communication of the media content to other client systems 102. Activating, via finger tapping, the summary hint thumbnail will result in the user navigating to a display having a selection of all the thumbnails available for the calendar month. By providing for sections, such as sections 802 and 804, the techniques described herein can blend media content from a variety of sources and applications. In certain examples, more than two sections can be provided, each section displaying media content from a different source. It is to be noted that is some embodiments section 804 is displayed below section 802 or in the middle of section 802. It is also to be noted that some sections can display media content from various sources (e.g., captured by the interface interaction client 104, applications executable by the user system 102, and/or other systems), as shown in more detail with respect to
In the depicted embodiment, the blended media items displayed in section 902 are using shapes to distinguish between sources of media content capture Rectangular thumbnails depict media content captured via the interaction client 104 while square thumbnails depict media content captured by other sources (e.g., the camera application). It is to be understood that other shapes can be used, e.g., circular shapes, triangular shapes, star shapes, and so on, when it is desired to distinguish between three or more sources of media content capture and/or editing
In one example, a source-based reverse-chronological sort order is used, where a first row display of thumbnails contains only thumbnails from a first source of media capture such as the interaction client 104 and where a second row display of thumbnails contains only thumbnails from a second source of media content capture, such as application 106 and/or an external system. That is, a row of thumbnails is kept within the same source of the media capture and/or editing and not intermixed. In other words, each row will have media content from the same source of media capture. Each media content item displayed has a timestamp denoting date of creation or editing. In one example, the top row is displayed beginning with a thumbnail representative of a media content item having the most recent timestamp. The next thumbnails in the first row will then be representative of media items of the same source ordered by most recent timestamp. Accordingly, it may be possible that certain thumbnails of an upper row have older timestamps than thumbnails in a row below when one or more of the rows below have media content items from the second source of media capture.
In one example, the section 902 displays only a maximum number of thumbnails representative of a source of the media content. For example, a maximum of 12 thumbnails (e.g., 3 rows) may be set for display of media content sourced via the camera application. Other maximum numbers may be used (e.g., 4 thumbnails, 8 thumbnails, and so on). If there are more thumbnails than the maximum, section 910 is used to display the remaining thumbnails. As illustrated, section 910 will dynamically create a summary hint thumbnail 916 if there are more overflow thumbnails than spaces in section 910. As mentioned above, activating the summary hint thumbnail will result in the user navigating to a display having a selection of all the thumbnails available for the calendar month. The summary hint thumbnail also includes text representative of the number of overflow thumbnails and the storage source (e.g., “camera roll”). Overflow for thumbnails of media content captured via the interaction client 104 are then displayed in section 914, which can be scrolled by the user to view the remainder overflow thumbnails. By providing for blended media displayed alongside with each other, the techniques described herein enable a more efficient and aesthetically pleasant display and selection of various media content.
In some examples, the thumbnail display control 1002 has a maximum number of thumbnails that are shown. When the maximum number is reached, the thumbnail display control 1002 will then dynamically change the last (e.g., right most thumbnail), to become a summary hint thumbnail. For example, dynamic display 1012 is showing a maximum of 4 thumbnails being displayed, and thumbnail 1014 has thus become the summary hint thumbnail. Activating the summary hint thumbnail will result in the user navigating to a display having a selection of all the thumbnails available over the maximum. It is to be noted that the maximum can be set to any positive number other than 4, such as 2 thumbnails, 6 thumbnails and so on. Activating a thumbnail other than the summary hint thumbnail, e.g., by tapping the thumbnail, will result in a display that shows the media content used to create the thumbnail and that enables other functionality, such as the application of photographic filters and/or virtual lenses, as well as the communication of the media content to other client systems 102. It is to be noted that the thumbnail display control 1002 can be used in any GUI section, such as section 804 and section 910 described previously. By providing for dynamic display of thumbnails, the techniques described herein enable improved visualization of media content.
The machine 1100 may include processors 1104, memory 1106, and input/output I/O components 1108, which may be configured to communicate with each other via a bus 1110. In an example, the processors 1104 (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) Processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) Processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 1112 and a processor 1114 that execute the instructions 1102. The term “processor” is intended to include multi-core processors that may comprise two or more independent processors (sometimes referred to as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously. Although
The memory 1106 includes a main memory 1116, a static memory 1118, and a storage unit 1120, both accessible to the processors 1104 via the bus 1110. The main memory 1106, the static memory 1118, and storage unit 1120 store the instructions 1102 embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 1102 may also reside, completely or partially, within the main memory 1116, within the static memory 1118, within machine-readable medium 1122 within the storage unit 1120, within at least one of the processors 1104 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or any suitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine 1100.
The I/O) components 1108 may include a wide variety of components to receive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information, exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/O components 1108 that are included in a particular machine will depend on the type of machine. For example, portable machines such as mobile phones may include a touch input device or other such input mechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely not include such a touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/O components 1108 may include many other components that are not shown in
In further examples, the I/O components 1108 may include biometric components 1128, motion components 1130, environmental components 1132, or position components 1134, among a wide array of other components. For example, the biometric components 1128 include components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye-tracking), measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voice identification, retinal identification, facial identification, fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram-based identification), and the like. The motion components 1130 include acceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensor components, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope).
The environmental components 1132 include, for example, one or cameras (with still image/photograph and video capabilities), illumination sensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components (e g., one or more thermometers that detect ambient temperature), humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g., barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphones that detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g., infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gas detection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases for safety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other components that may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding to a surrounding physical environment.
With respect to cameras, the user system 102 may have a camera system comprising, for example, front cameras on a front surface of the user system 102 and rear cameras on a rear surface of the user system 102. The front cameras may, for example, be used to capture still images and video of a user of the user system 102 (e.g., “selfies”), which may then be augmented with augmentation data (e.g., filters) described above. The rear cameras may, for example, be used to capture still images and videos in a more traditional camera mode, with these images similarly being augmented with augmentation data. In addition to front and rear cameras, the user system 102 may also include a 360° camera for capturing 360° photographs and videos.
Further, the camera system of the user system 102 may include dual rear cameras (e.g., a primary camera as well as a depth-sensing camera), or even triple, quad or penta rear camera configurations on the front and rear sides of the user system 102. These multiple cameras systems may include a wide camera, an ultra-wide camera, a telephoto camera, a macro camera, and a depth sensor, for example.
The position components 1134 include location sensor components (e.g., a GPS receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.
Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies. The I/O components 1108 further include communication components 1136 operable to couple the machine 1100 to a network 1138 or devices 1140 via respective coupling or connections. For example, the communication components 1136 may include a network interface component or another suitable device to interface with the network 1138. In further examples, the communication components 1136 may include wired communication components, wireless communication components, cellular communication components, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components to provide communication via other modalities. The devices 1140 may be another machine or any of a wide variety of peripheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a USB).
Moreover, the communication components 1136 may detect identifiers or include components operable to detect identifiers. For example, the communication components 1136 may include Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components, optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detect one-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code, multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Aztec code, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2D bar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components (e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, a variety of information may be derived via the communication components 1136, such as location via Internet Protocol (IP) geolocation, location via Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting an NFC beacon signal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.
The various memories (e.g., main memory 1116, static memory 1118, and memory of the processors 1104) and storage unit 1120 may store one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e g, software) embodying or used by any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. These instructions (e.g., the instructions 1102), when executed by processors 1104, cause various operations to implement the disclosed examples.
The instructions 1102 may be transmitted or received over the network 1138, using a transmission medium, via a network interface device (e.g., a network interface component included in the communication components 1136) and using any one of several well-known transfer protocols (e.g., hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)). Similarly, the instructions 1102 may be transmitted or received using a transmission medium via a coupling (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) to the devices 1140.
The operating system 1212 manages hardware resources and provides common services. The operating system 1212 includes, for example, a kernel 1224, services 1226, and drivers 1228. The kernel 1224 acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers. For example, the kernel 1224 provides memory management, processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management, networking, and security settings, among other functionalities The services 1226 can provide other common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1228 are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware. For instance, the drivers 1228 can include display drivers, camera drivers, BLUETOOTH® or BLUETOOTH® Low Energy drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communication drivers (e.g., USB drivers), WI-FI® drivers, audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth.
The libraries 1214 provide a common low-level infrastructure used by the applications 1218. The libraries 1214 can include system libraries 1230 (e.g., C standard library) that provide functions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematic functions, and the like. In addition, the libraries 1214 can include API libraries 1232 such as media libraries (e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of various media formats such as Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG4), Advanced Video Coding (H.264 or AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) audio codec, Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG), or Portable Network Graphics (PNG)), graphics libraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework used to render in two dimensions (2D) and three dimensions (3D) in a graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLite to provide various relational database functions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit to provide web browsing functionality), and the like. The libraries 1214 can also include a wide variety of other libraries 1234 to provide many other APIs to the applications 1218.
The frameworks 1216 provide a common high-level infrastructure that is used by the applications 1218. For example, the frameworks 1216 provide various graphical user interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management, and high-level location services The frameworks 1216 can provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that can be used by the applications 1218, some of which may be specific to a particular operating system or platform.
In an example, the applications 1218 may include a home application 1236, a contacts application 1238, a browser application 1240, a book reader application 1242, a location application 1244, a media application 1246, a messaging application 1248, a game application 1250, and a broad assortment of other applications such as a third-party application 1252. The applications 1218 are programs that execute functions defined in the programs. Various programming languages can be employed to create one or more of the applications 1218, structured in a variety of manners, such as object-oriented programming languages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++) or procedural programming languages (e.g., C or assembly language). In a specific example, the third-party application 1252 (e.g., an application developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software development kit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such as IOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or another mobile operating system. In this example, the third-party application 1252 can invoke the API calls 1220 provided by the operating system 1212 to facilitate functionalities described herein.
Technical advantages include automatically deriving music and sound recommendations by selecting a photographic filter or a virtual lens. The music and sound recommendations are contextual, providing for recommendations based on date/times, based on machine learning models, based on interrelationships between media, based on non-machine learning models, or a combination thereof. For example, photographic filters and virtual lenses in combination with certain music may be proving popular as part of a friends group, and the machine learning model can detect the popularity and aid a user to participate in the new trend.
“Carrier signal” refers, for example, to any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such instructions. Instructions may be transmitted or received over a network using a transmission medium via a network interface device.
“Client device” refers, for example, to any machine that interfaces to a communications network to obtain resources from one or more server systems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks, netbooks, laptops, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any other communication device that a user may use to access a network.
“Communication network” refers, for example, to one or more portions of a network that may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, a network or a portion of a network may include a wireless or cellular network, and the coupling may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) connection, or other types of cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling may implement any of a variety of types of data transfer technology, such as Single Carrier Radio Transmission Technology (1xRTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth-generation wireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, others defined by various standard-setting organizations, other long-range protocols, or other data transfer technology.
“Component” refers, for example, to a device, physical entity, or logic having boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branch points, APIs, or other technologies that provide for the partitioning or modularization of particular processing or control functions. Components may be combined via their interfaces with other components to carry out a machine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for use with other components and a part of a program that usually performs a particular function of related functions. Components may constitute either software components (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium) or hardware components. A “hardware component” is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various examples, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computer system, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one or more hardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardware component that operates to perform certain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also be implemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certain operations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may also include programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardware component may include software executed by a general-purpose processor or other programmable processors. Once configured by such software, hardware components become specific machines (or specific components of a machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and are no longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software), may be driven by cost and time considerations. Accordingly, the phrase “hardware component” (or “hardware-implemented component”) should be understood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certain operations described herein. Considering examples in which hardware components are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of the hardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any one instance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises a general-purpose processor configured by software to become a special-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may be configured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g., comprising different hardware components) at different times. Software Accordingly configures a particular processor or processors, for example, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instance of time and to constitute a different hardware component at a different instance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, and receive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, the described hardware components may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously, communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of the hardware components. In examples in which multiple hardware components are configured or instantiated at different times, communications between such hardware components may be achieved, for example, through the storage and retrieval of information in memory structures to which the multiple hardware components have access. For example, one hardware component may perform an operation and store the output of that operation in a memory device to which it is communicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at a later time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the stored output. Hardware components may also initiate communications with input or output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection of information). The various operations of example methods described herein may be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that are temporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured to perform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented components that operate to perform one or more operations or functions described herein. As used herein, “processor-implemented component” refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors. Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partially processor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors being an example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations of a method may be performed by one or more processors or processor-implemented components. Moreover, the one or more processors may also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples of machines including processors), with these operations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an API). The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed among the processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some examples, the processors or processor-implemented components may be located in a single geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other examples, the processors or processor-implemented components may be distributed across a number of geographic locations.
“Computer-readable storage medium” refers, for example, to both machine-storage media and transmission media. Thus, the terms include both storage devices/media and carrier waves/modulated data signals. The terms “machine-readable medium,” “computer-readable medium” and “device-readable medium” mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.
“Ephemeral message” refers, for example, to a message that is accessible for a time-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be a text, an image, a video and the like. The access time for the ephemeral message may be set by the message sender. Alternatively, the access time may be a default setting or a setting specified by the recipient. Regardless of the setting technique, the message is transitory.
“Interaction client” refers, for example, to an application executable via client device that includes interactions such as messages being sent among a group of users. The messages can include media content.
“Machine storage medium” refers, for example, to a single or multiple storage devices and media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and associated caches and servers) that store executable instructions, routines and data. The term shall Accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media, including memory internal or external to processors. Specific examples of machine-storage media, computer-storage media and device-storage media include non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), FPGA, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks The terms “machine-storage medium,” “device-storage medium,” “computer-storage medium” mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. The terms “machine-storage media,” “computer-storage media,” and “device-storage media” specifically exclude carrier waves, modulated data signals, and other such media, at least some of which are covered under the term “signal medium.”
“Non-transitory computer-readable storage medium” refers, for example, to a tangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying the instructions for execution by a machine.
“Signal medium” refers, for example, to any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying the instructions for execution by a machine and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of software or data. The term “signal medium” shall be taken to include any form of a modulated data signal, carrier wave, and so forth. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a matter as to encode information in the signal. The terms “transmission medium” and “signal medium” mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.
“User device” refers, for example, to a device accessed, controlled or owned by a user and with which the user interacts perform an action, or an interaction with other users or computer systems.
