Patent Grant
9838677
Computers and other electronic devices have become ubiquitous and often indispensable to our work and personal life as people increasingly interact with these devices in new and interesting ways. One convenience of such devices is that they are often small and light, and are easy to hold in a hand or carry in a purse or pocket, or are otherwise easily transportable. While the size and weight of these devices make them convenient to carry around, these characteristics often make the devices more susceptible to damage. For example, such devices can be damaged due to impact with a surface such as when the device is dropped, where the impact due to the drop may have dislodged or otherwise damaged one or more components of the device. In some situations, the device may be powered off when such a drop occurs, and the user may, upon powering the device on, continue to use the device unaware of the damage caused due to the impact when drop. In some situations, the continued use of the device after impact may cause additional damage to the device as the user attempts to use components damaged by the impact.
Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, in which:
Systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure may overcome one or more of the aforementioned and other deficiencies experienced in conventional approaches to damage prevention and/or damage notification for an electronic device. In particular, various embodiments enable detecting an occurrence such as an impact event, which can occur when an electronic device impacts a surface or object (e.g., from a fall), which may have occurred while the device was powered off, in a low power mode, or other state where the device cannot detect such an impact using an accelerometer or other such sensor. Approaches in accordance with various embodiments enable the use of various calibration processes to determine an amount of misalignment between two or more cameras of the device, where an amount of misalignment more than an allowable threshold can be indicative of an impact event, at which point one or more system checks can be performed to determine whether the device components or certain portions or components of the device are operating properly. Further, a notification of such damage can be provided to a user so that the user can address the damage. Various other applications, processes, and uses are presented below with respect to the various embodiments.
As described, electronic devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, wearable computers such as glasses and watches, etc.) can be easily dropped or pushed from a surface due to their small size and the variety of places and situations where such devices can be carried and/or used. As shown in example 100 of
Accordingly, in accordance with various embodiments, approaches enable the use of various calibration processes to determine an amount of misalignment between two or more cameras of the device, where an amount of misalignment greater than an allowable threshold can be indicative of an impact event that may have occurred when the device was powered off, in a low power state, or otherwise not able to detect such an impact. As described, two or more cameras (e.g., a stereoscopic pair of cameras) of a computing device with optical axis aligned or substantially parallel can be caused to be misaligned due to impact with a surface (e.g., due to a drop). Accordingly, the amount of misalignment can be compared to a threshold, where an amount of misalignment meeting or exceeding the threshold can be indicative of an impact event (such as dropping the device). In the situation where the amount of misalignment at least meets the threshold, the amount of misalignment can be compared to a previous determined amount of misalignment (e.g., an amount of misalignment determined before the device was powered off), where a difference in misalignment of more than a threshold amount is indicative of an impact event. Thereafter, one or more checks of memory, hard-disk, drives, antennas, among other device components can be performed.
In accordance with various embodiments, a number of approaches can be implemented to detect an amount of misalignment between pairs of cameras. As mentioned, disparity information can be used to determine whether at least one pair of stereo cameras is misaligned. For example, many electronic and computing devices offer stereoscopic or three-dimensional (3D) imaging using at least one pair of high resolution matched cameras. When capturing a stereoscopic image, each of the pair of cameras captures an image at approximately the same time. The offset of the cameras will cause the location of objects in each image to be slightly offset, where the amount of offset is a factor of the separation of the cameras and the distance from the cameras to the objects. This varying offset with distance, otherwise known as disparity, provides the perception of depth in the image when the images are combined using a stereovision process. As described further herein, disparity information can also be used to determine whether stereo cameras are misaligned.
This example also includes four cameras 208, 210, 212, 214 arranged to provide at least two stereoscopic imaging pairs. These cameras are labeled C1, C2, C3, and C4 for reference, as used later herein. While shown on the backside of the device in this example, it should be understood that the pairs could be on the front of the device or in one or more other appropriate locations, such as on the sides, corners, edges, etc. of the device. Further, while two pairs of stereoscopic cameras are illustrated, it should be understood that there can be additional pairs of cameras utilized as well as discussed elsewhere herein. The example device can include other elements useful for imaging as well, such as a light sensor 216 for determining an amount of ambient light and a white light LED 218, or other such illumination element, useful in illuminating objects within at least a portion of a field of view of at least one of the cameras 208, 210, 212, 214. Each image capture element may be, for example, a camera, a complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device, or another appropriate image capturing element or sensor. It should be understood that while certain elements are shown to be included on a “front” or “back” side of the device that any or all of these elements can be positioned on various sides, edges, faces, or other regions of such a device. Further, terms such as “front,” “back,” and “top” are used for purposes of explanation and are not intended to be interpreted as required orientations unless otherwise stated. Further still, while terms such as “rectangular grid” or “rectangular pattern” are used herein to describe the relative arrangements of various cameras, it should be understood that pairs of cameras in such a system are positioned along orthogonal axes, such as horizontal and vertical axes, such that a camera of a pair is positioned horizontally or vertically (or along other orthogonal axes) with respect to another camera of the pair. It should be noted that the cameras do not have to form a proper rectangle, but can form other patterns such as a cross, set of parallel lines, points along a rectilinear grid, etc. Various other geometries and arrangements can be used as well within the scope of the various embodiments.
For any pair of these cameras that have at least a partially overlapping field of view, three-dimensional imaging can be performed by capturing image information for one or more objects from two different perspectives or points of view, and combining the information to produce a 3D image. In at least some embodiments, the fields of view can initially be matched through careful placement and calibration, such as by imaging a known calibration standards and adjusting an optical axis of one or more cameras to have those axes be substantially parallel. However, as mentioned, cameras can become misaligned due to factors such as impact or shock to the device, such as when the device is dropped and impacts a surface. Accordingly, misalignment information can be used to determine whether the device was dropped while the device was powered off. For example, if it is determined that the cameras are misaligned upon powering on the device, and the cameras are determined to be aligned before powering off the device, it can be assumed that such misalignment was due to an impact event while the device was powered off. Similarly, if the difference between a first misalignment amount before the device was powered off and a second misalignment amount determined after the device is power on meets a threshold difference, then it can be assumed that such misalignment was due to an impact event while the device was powered off.
As mentioned, the amount of misalignment can be determined based on an amount of offset or disparity between an object identified in images captured by a pair of cameras. Such an offset is described in regard to
In order for the images to combine to form an accurate three-dimensional image, the cameras used to capture the component images should be sufficiently aligned and/or rectified to represent the correct amount of disparity. Misalignments along the direction of the offset can cause objects to have an incorrect amount of disparity, which can affect the apparent depth or distance to the object. It is almost always the case, however, that misalignments due to impact events will have components in directions other than the direction of the offset. Misalignments in in these directions can cause various potential problems, such as problems with processing computer vision algorithms, problems with objects being blurry or otherwise improperly rendered when the component images are combined for the three-dimensional image, etc. For perfectly aligned cameras, such as cameras with perfectly aligned optical axes, the locations of objects imaged by the cameras will appear on the same scan line, but with an offset along the scan line (generally) due to the offset. For example, and as described, stereo imaging applications involve the generation and analysis of at least two images of an object from different points of view. Typically, the two images correspond to left and right images generated by cameras positioned along, and orthogonal to, at least two viewpoints on a horizontal axis. Collectively, the left and right images are called a stereo image pair. The left and right images of a stereo image pair may be analyzed to yield disparity data. Disparity is the amount of translation along a conceptual epipolar axis that all objects move along in response to changing the image creation viewpoint. If the cameras are perfectly aligned, both vertically and rotationally, the epipolar axis is identical to the horizontal axis. That is, the corresponding epipolar lines coincide and become parallel to the x-axis of the image. Misalignments in directions other than the offset direction are relatively easy to detect by comparing the location of various object points or features to determine whether those features are on different scan lines. Any change in the offset in a direction other than the camera offset can be indicative of an impact event or other occurrence which caused misalignment of the cameras, and thus could have caused other damage to the device.
For small errors, misalignments of any or all the cameras can be treated as linear translations in the images. Accordingly, a set of linear equations can be used to solve for the misalignments of each camera, as determined by the coordinates of the located feature points. In other embodiments, a set of homographies can be determined for the cameras using the coordinates of the feature points. By iterating over the homographies until a cost function converges, a misalignment amount can be determined, and the misalignment amount of the cameras can be solved together. Other approaches can be used as well, such as to attempt to directly solve for yaw, pitch, and roll errors.
Once a misalignment value is obtained, the misalignment value(s) (or related values) can be used to determine whether an impact event likely occurred. For example, a first amount of misalignment can be determined before the device is powered off. The first amount of misalignment can be determined at a number of different times. For example, the first amount of misalignment can be determined when an image (e.g., a stereoscopic image) is captured, when the device resumes from a low power or powered off state, at the expiration of a predetermined interval of time, when a particular application is used, etc. Determining the first amount of misalignment can be automatic (e.g., without user involvement) or performed manually (e.g., with user involvement). When the first amount of misalignment is automatically determined, the computing device determines information used in determining an amount of misalignment without prompting a user to take steps to acquire such information (e.g., images). When determining the first amount misalignment manually, a prompt can be provided to a user to perform one or more steps to acquire information used in determining the first amount of misalignment. For example, the user can be prompted to capture an image of an object such as one or more calibration objects, or other objects. Thereafter, the first amount of misalignment can be stored in memory.
When the device is powered on, resumes from a standby mode or inactive state, or otherwise transitions from a state where the computing device was not able to detect such an impact, a second amount of misalignment can be determined. As described, determining an amount of misalignment can be performed automatically or manually. The second amount of misalignment can be compared to a the first amount of misalignment, and if the difference between the first and second amounts of misalignment are different by more than an allowable amount, such as a misalignment threshold, then it can be determined that the device has likely been dropped or otherwise impacted a surface and/or object. Thereafter, one or more system checks or other such processes can be performed on the device, such as to check the status of memory checks, hard-disk checks, antennas checks, etc.
In accordance with various embodiments, misalignment between cameras can be determined by comparing an amount of offset of interest points along a particular axis. As described, to determine whether a device was dropped when powered off, an amount of misalignment determined before the device was powered off is compared to an amount of misalignment determined when the device is powered on. Accordingly, approaches in accordance with various embodiments can utilize images captured of random (or other) objects before the device was powered off and after the device was powered on to attempt to determine an amount of misalignment between a stereo camera pair. As described, determining an amount of misalignment can be performed at any appropriate time, such as at regular intervals, at random times, or in response to detected events, such as rapid movements or force as detected by a motion sensor or other component of the device, the device powering on, restarting, etc. Where there are multiple pairs of stereo cameras on a device, different combinations of the cameras can be used to determine an amount of misalignment.
In one example, images can be simultaneously and/or concurrently captured by at least one pair of the cameras. Feature points, image points, or other such features of each image can be determined using one or more feature detection algorithms, as may recognize unique features or shapes, among other such features, that can be recognized in each image. As an example,
As an example, consider the image 420 represented in
It may be the case, however, that there is some amount of misalignment of at least one of those cameras. For example,
In accordance with various embodiments, the fact that cameras such as C1, C2, C3, and C4 in
For example, feature points can be determined for a first image and a second image of a pair of stereoscopic cameras (such as C1 and C2 of
In accordance with various embodiments, the system checks or other such processes can include at least one of checking the antenna system to verify that the antenna is properly receiving and sending signals, checking the communication system to verify that the device is capable of sending and receiving data, checking the memory components, such as the hard-disk and flash memory to verify that read/write operations and other operations are performing properly, checking the network systems to ensure that the device can connect to mobile and/or wireless networks, among other such system checks. It should be noted that the system checks described are examples, and are not to be taken as limiting. Other device components can be checked, as one skilled in the art would contemplate, such as microphones, cameras, display elements, power systems such as charging module and battery, lighting systems, position determining systems such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, proximity sensors, among other device components.
In accordance with various embodiments, determining an amount of misalignment can include, for example, acquiring images using each camera for which misalignment information is to be determined. As discussed, this can include two or more pairs of cameras arranged in a pattern, such as a rectangle or regular array, such that different pairs of the cameras can be used to perform three-dimensional imaging, and the pairs can be selected in at least two different directions, which in at least some embodiments are orthogonal directions. Also, as discussed, in at least some embodiments all cameras of interest do not have to capture a respective image at substantially the same time, but at least pairs of cameras to be rectified should capture images at substantially the same time. In this example, each captured image can be analyzed to determine a set of feature points or other such aspects or portions of the image that can be located in the other images. As known for such purposes, feature points can be determined using algorithms such as feature detection algorithms (e.g., SIFT or SURF), corner finding algorithms, pattern matching algorithms, contour detection algorithms, and the like. For this example, the process uses a feature detection algorithm to locate specific points in each image. Corresponding feature points can then be located in each of the captured images, to the extent those feature points are represented in each of those images. Thus, a feature point corresponding to an object represented in an image captured by four cameras will have four pairs of coordinates, with an (x,y) or other such pair of coordinates representing the location of that feature point in each image. As discussed elsewhere herein, the examples utilize a single feature point for purposes of explanation, but it should be understood that multiple feature points will generally be analyzed and/or otherwise utilized in various analyses within the scope of the various embodiments.
Once the feature points are detected, coordinates of one or more of those feature points in each image can be determined. For purposes of explanation, each feature point in an image captured by camera #1 (C1 in the example of
An image descriptor can be determined for each interest point of at least a subset of the plurality of feature points in the first image and the second image, and a mapping between the plurality of feature points in the first image and the plurality of feature points in the second image can be determined by matching the image descriptors in the first image to corresponding image descriptors in the second image. Based at least in part on the mapping, an amount of offset can be determined in at least one axis, where the amount of offset can correspond to the first amount of misalignment.
Thereafter, a change in an operational state of the computing device is detected 504. In accordance with various embodiments, a change in an operational state can occur when the device resumes operation from a powered off state or resumes operation from a state where the computing device is otherwise unable to detect an impact event. As described, the cameras of the computing device can be caused to be misaligned due to impact with a surface (e.g., due to a drop). Accordingly, to determine whether the device impacted a surface when powered off, an amount of misalignment before and after the device is powered off can be determined. Accordingly, when the change in operational state is detected, a second amount of misalignment can be determined 506. The second amount of misalignment can be compared 508 to the first amount of misalignment, where a difference of misalignment more than a threshold amount can be indicative of an impact event while the device was powered off. Thereafter, one or more system checks can be performed 510 based at least in part on the comparison, such as memory checks, hard-disk checks, antennas checks, etc.
For at least some of these and other such processes, it can be desirable to perform the misalignment analysis over a large set of feature points, for a significant number of frames or images, in order to attempt to average out any noise issues. Further, the timing of the image capture, at least for pairs of cameras being analyzed, should be as close as possible in order to avoid motion- or time-based effects, which can negatively impact the results. In at least some embodiments, it can be desirable to implement a global shutter to attempt to coordinate the timing of the capturing of the various images to be analyzed. In some embodiments, a motion sensor, such as an inertial sensor or accelerometer, can be used to determine whether the device is moving, such that alignment adjustments are not performed when the device is moving and results might be impacted by the motion. Various other criteria or optimizations can be utilized with approaches discussed herein as well within the scope of the various embodiments.
In order to provide various functionality described herein,
As discussed, the device in many embodiments will include at least one image capture element 608, such as one or more cameras that are able to image a user, people, or objects in the vicinity of the device. An image capture element can include, or be based at least in part upon any appropriate technology, such as a CCD or CMOS image capture element having a determined resolution, focal range, viewable area, and capture rate. The image capture elements can also include at least one IR sensor or detector operable to capture image information for use in determining gestures or motions of the user. The example device includes at least one motion determining component 610, such as an electronic gyroscope used to determine motion of the device for assistance in input determination. The device also can include at least one illumination element 612, as may include one or more light sources (e.g., white light LEDs, IR emitters, or flashlamps) for providing illumination and/or one or more light sensors or detectors for detecting ambient light or intensity, etc.
The example device can include at least one additional input device able to receive conventional input from a user. This conventional input can include, for example, a push button, touch pad, touch screen, wheel, joystick, keypad, mouse, trackball, keypad or any other such device or element whereby a user can input a command to the device. These I/O devices could even be connected by a wireless infrared or Bluetooth or other link as well in some embodiments. In some embodiments, however, such a device might not include any buttons at all and might be controlled only through a combination of visual (e.g., gesture) and audio (e.g., spoken) commands such that a user can control the device without having to be in contact with the device.
As discussed, different approaches can be implemented in various environments in accordance with the described embodiments. For example,
The illustrative environment includes at least one application server 608 and a data store 610. It should be understood that there can be several application servers, layers or other elements, processes or components, which may be chained or otherwise configured, which can interact to perform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriate data store. As used herein, the term “data store” refers to any device or combination of devices capable of storing, accessing and retrieving data, which may include any combination and number of data servers, databases, data storage devices and data storage media, in any standard, distributed or clustered environment. The application server 608 can include any appropriate hardware and software for integrating with the data store 610 as needed to execute aspects of one or more applications for the client device and handling a majority of the data access and business logic for an application. The application server provides access control services in cooperation with the data store and is able to generate content such as text, graphics, audio and/or video to be transferred to the user, which may be served to the user by the Web server 606 in the form of HTML, XML or another appropriate structured language in this example. The handling of all requests and responses, as well as the delivery of content between the client device 602 and the application server 608, can be handled by the Web server 606. It should be understood that the Web and application servers are not required and are merely example components, as structured code discussed herein can be executed on any appropriate device or host machine as discussed elsewhere herein.
The data store 610 can include several separate data tables, databases or other data storage mechanisms and media for storing data relating to a particular aspect. For example, the data store illustrated includes mechanisms for storing content (e.g., production data) 612 and user information 616, which can be used to serve content for the production side. The data store is also shown to include a mechanism for storing log or session data 614. It should be understood that there can be many other aspects that may need to be stored in the data store, such as page image information and access rights information, which can be stored in any of the above listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additional mechanisms in the data store 610. The data store 610 is operable, through logic associated therewith, to receive instructions from the application server 608 and obtain, update or otherwise process data in response thereto. In one example, a user might submit a search request for a certain type of item. In this case, the data store might access the user information to verify the identity of the user and can access the catalog detail information to obtain information about items of that type. The information can then be returned to the user, such as in a results listing on a Web page that the user is able to view via a browser on the user device 602. Information for a particular item of interest can be viewed in a dedicated page or window of the browser.
Each server typically will include an operating system that provides executable program instructions for the general administration and operation of that server and typically will include computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of the server, allow the server to perform its intended functions. Suitable implementations for the operating system and general functionality of the servers are known or commercially available and are readily implemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art, particularly in light of the disclosure herein.
The environment in one embodiment is a distributed computing environment utilizing several computer systems and components that are interconnected via communication links, using one or more computer networks or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate equally well in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than are illustrated in
The various embodiments can be further implemented in a wide variety of operating environments, which in some cases can include one or more user computers or computing devices which can be used to operate any of a number of applications. User or client devices can include any of a number of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop or laptop computers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular, wireless and handheld devices running mobile software and capable of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols. Such a system can also include a number of workstations running any of a variety of commercially-available operating systems and other known applications for purposes such as development and database management. These devices can also include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals, thin-clients, gaming systems and other devices capable of communicating via a network.
Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiar to those skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of a variety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP, UDP, FTP, UPnP, NFS, and CIFS. The network can be, for example, a local area network, a wide-area network, a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, a wireless network and any combination thereof.
In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of a variety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers and business application servers. The server(s) may also be capable of executing programs or scripts in response requests from user devices, such as by executing one or more Web applications that may be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C# or C++ or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python or TCL, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s) may also include database servers, including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase® and IBM®.
The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memory and storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety of locations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computers across the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the information may reside in a storage-area network (SAN) familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to the computers, servers or other network devices may be stored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includes computerized devices, each such device can include hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, for example, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one input device (e.g., a mouse, keypad, controller, touch-sensitive display element or keypad) and at least one output device (e.g., a display device, printer or speaker). Such a system may also include one or more storage devices, such as disk drives, optical storage devices and solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), as well as removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards, etc.
Such devices can also include a computer-readable storage media reader, a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device) and working memory as described above. The computer-readable storage media reader can be connected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storage medium representing remote, local, fixed and/or removable storage devices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing, transmitting and retrieving computer-readable information. The system and various devices also typically will include a number of software applications, modules, services or other elements located within at least one working memory device, including an operating system and application programs such as a client application or Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments may have numerous variations from that described above. For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets) or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.
Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, or portions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in the art, including storage media and communication media, such as but not limited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmission of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a system device. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the various embodiments.
The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8754929 | Prince | Jun 2014 | B1 |
| 8878909 | Prince | Nov 2014 | B1 |
| 9392165 | Choi | Jul 2016 | B2 |
| 20060197538 | Leinonen | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20070126334 | Nakamura | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20100310182 | Kroepfl | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20100328230 | Faubert | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20130016186 | Atanassov | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20130063572 | Ramachandra | Mar 2013 | A1 |
