Patent Application
20120288251
The present disclosure generally relates to utilizing object detection and facial detection results to adjust a user interface.
Various playback systems are available that offer users the ability to control playback via virtual onscreen controls. The virtual controls comprise such basic commands as stop, play, skip forward, and so on. Today, flat panel televisions are commonly available in sizes that provide for larger viewing distances. As the size of displays increases, the placement of controls becomes even more important. For example, placing a set of virtual controls on the lower left hand corner of a large display to control content displayed on the upper right hand corner of the display can be inconvenient for the viewer to control playback, particularly as the viewer moves. In this regard, one perceived shortcoming with current systems that deploy such onscreen virtual controls is that the viewer may move around. While the controls may initially be in close proximity to the user, the relative position of the controls with respect to the viewer changes as the viewer moves around. Significantly, the viewer must then figure out where the virtual cursor is with respect to the controls by, for example, waving his hand to determine the relative location of the controls.
One embodiment is a method performed in a multimedia playback system for adaptively modifying a user interface. The method comprises receiving, by the multimedia playback system, multimedia content and displaying the multimedia content; and generating, by a user interface generator, one or more controls displayed in conjunction with the multimedia content. The method further comprises identifying, by an object detector, one or more objects in a field of view of a video capture device coupled to the multimedia playback system; determining, by a control detector, a relative position of the one or more controls with respect to the one or more objects; and adjusting, by the user interface generator, the one or more controls according to a location of the one or more objects with respect to the video capture device.
Another embodiment is a multimedia playback system configured to adaptively modify a user interface. The system comprises a user interface generator configured to generate one or more controls displayed in conjunction with a multimedia content displayed by the multimedia playback system; and an object detector configured to identify an object of the multimedia playback system, the object being in a field of view of a video capture device coupled to the multimedia playback system. The system further comprises a control detector configured to determine a relative position of the one or more controls with respect to the one or more objects, wherein the user interface generator adjusts the one or more controls according to a location of the object with respect to the video capture device.
Another embodiment is a method that comprises receiving, by the multimedia playback system, multimedia content and displaying the multimedia content; generating, by a user interface generator, playback controls displayed in conjunction with the multimedia content; and identifying, by an object detector, a user in a field of view of a video capture device coupled to the multimedia playback system. The method further comprises determining an initial relative position of the playback controls with respect to the user according to a first selection by the user of one of the playback controls; and adjusting the playback controls according to a location of the user with respect to the video capture device such that the initial relative position is maintained.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Having summarized various aspects of the present disclosure, reference will now be made in detail to the description of the disclosure as illustrated in the drawings. While the disclosure will be described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit it to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
Embodiments are described for improving human-machine interaction by optimizing the placement of controls based on the location of a user. Note that in the context of this disclosure, the term “control” generally refers to any element or object in a user interface that may be manipulated or selected by a user to control playback or navigate through multimedia content shown on a display (for example, radio buttons, check boxes, sliders, icons, spinners, scrollbars, text boxes, and so on). For various embodiments, the placement of virtual controls is performed according to the detection of a user controlling playback of a video using onscreen controls. In this regard, virtual controls are adaptively placed proximal to the location of one or more users for optimum interaction with the system. In accordance with some embodiments, the facial region of the user is tracked. When a user moves, the virtual controls are moved in accordance with the user's movement so that the user does not need to re-calibrate and determine the location of particular controls as the relative location of the virtual controls with respect to the user remains substantially the same.
One application for the adaptive placement of controls as described herein is for playback of video content whereby a user interface for controlling playback of the video is shown on the display with the video. Note, however, that while various embodiments are described herein relating to the playback of video, the embodiments may also be applied to other applications such as playback of other multimedia content comprising images and slideshows. Generally, it is more inconvenient for a user to use a set of virtual controls that remain stationary with respect to the user as the user always knows the location of the virtual controls. Reference is made to
As described in more detail below, the motion of the user 406 is tracked. For example, if the user 406 elects to skip to the next chapter in the movie, the user 406 navigates the controls 404 by moving his hand over the skip forward control 414 and “clicks” on the skip forward control 414 by placing his hand over the location of the skip forward control 414 on the display. Note that for purposes of the illustrations described herein, the user 406 is shown in the display area 402. However, an image of the entire user 406 is typically not shown on the display area 402. Instead, only a portion of the user 406 such as the user's hand is shown on the display area 402. Alternatively, a cursor or pointer is shown on the display area 402 that corresponds to the user's location. The display area 402 shows the video content being played and the playback controls 404.
One perceived shortcoming with systems that deploy such onscreen controls 404 is that the user 406 viewing the video content may move around. Reference is made to
Various embodiments are described for the adaptive placement of playback controls based on the user's motion. In particular, the relative placement of the playback controls remains constant with respect to the user. Referring to
As will be described in more detail below, one embodiment, among others, is a method performed in a multimedia playback system for adaptively modifying a user interface. The method comprises receiving video content and displaying the video content, identifying playback controls displayed in conjunction with the video content, and identifying a user in a field of view of a video capture device coupled to the multimedia playback system. The method further comprises determining an initial relative position of the playback controls with respect to the user according to a first selection by the user of one of the playback controls and adjusting the playback controls according to a location of the user with respect to the video capture device such that the initial relative position is maintained.
A description of a system for adaptively updating a user interface in a multimedia playback system 102 is now described followed by a discussion of the operation of the components within the system 102.
The multimedia playback system 102 includes a display 104 and as well as an input devices such as a keyboard 106 and a mouse 108. The multimedia playback system 102 may also be coupled to a video capture device 110 such as a webcam for capturing images of a user of the multimedia playback system 102. When embodied as a smartphone 172 or a tablet 174, the multimedia playback system 102 may include an integrated camera for capturing video. The multimedia playback system 102 comprises a control detector 114, an object detector 116, and a user interface generator 118. The control detector 114 is configured to identify controls such as virtual playback controls that are present in a given display and analyze attributes associated with the controls. For example, the control detector may be configured to determine a relative position of the controls with respect to one or more objects. The control detector 114 is also configured to determine when controls are selected (e.g., pressed) and execute function(s) corresponding to the selected control. The object detector 116 is configured to detect the presence of one or more objects within the display area and track the motion of the identified objects. Typically, the object detector 116 detects the presence of the user controlling playback of the multimedia content 115 being viewed. In the event that more than one individual is detected by the object detector 116, the user controlling playback can be manually designated as the target object for tracking purposes. The object detector 116 can be configured to detect objects that are within a field of view of the video capture device 110. Or, the largest object among the identified objects can be designated as the target object for tracking purposes because the largest object usually corresponds to an individual closest to the video capture device 110.
The user interface generator 118 is configured to generate and update the existing user interface being displayed such that the controls detected by the control detector 114 are placed in a location proximal to the one or more objects detected by the object detector 116. Based on movement of the target object, the controls identified by the control detector 114 are adjusted by the user interface generator 118. In this regard the user interface generator 118 is configured to generate, move, and resize controls. For example, as shown in
In some scenarios, the controls in a user interface are used to play multimedia content comprising video or still images. For example, a user may wish to control playback of a movie or incorporate special effects using various special effects controls/tools. For other situations, the user may wish to zoom in/out, and crop portions of a still image. Other functions include, but are not limited to, browsing, exiting the current menu, skipping to a previous/next image, and pressing a control to initiate a slideshow. The multimedia playback system 102 is configured to receive multimedia content 115 stored on a tangible storage medium 120 such as, by way of example and without limitation, a compact disc (CD) 121, a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive 122, and an external hard drive 126. As non-limiting examples, the multimedia playback system 102 may be configured to read multimedia content 115 encoded in such formats as Digital Video Disc (DVD), Video CD (VCD), High Definition DVD (HD-DVD), BLU-RAY Disc, and China Blue High-Definition (CBHD) stored on a storage medium 121, 122, 126. Note that the multimedia content 115 may comprise such multimedia content as video titles, slideshows, and digital images.
For some embodiments, the multimedia playback system 102 may also be configured to read multimedia content from managed copies of an HD-DVD or a BLU-RAY Disc. The multimedia playback system 102 may support any one of a number of common computer interfaces, such as, but not limited to IEEE-1394 High Performance Serial Bus (Firewire), USB, a serial connection, and a parallel connection. When embodied as a tablet 174 or a smartphone 172, the multimedia playback system 102 may also be configured to receive multimedia content 115 wirelessly via a mobile phone connection. The multimedia playback system 102 may be coupled to a network (not shown), such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN). Through the network, the multimedia playback system 102 may receive multimedia content 115 from another computing system or from video sharing servers and other content providers.
The processing device 202 may include any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU) or an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the multimedia playback system 102, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip), a macroprocessor, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a plurality of suitably configured digital logic gates, and other well known electrical configurations comprising discrete elements both individually and in various combinations to coordinate the overall operation of the computing system.
The memory 214 can include any one of a combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random-access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, and SRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, tape, CDROM, etc.). The memory 214 typically comprises a native operating system 216, one or more native applications, emulation systems, or emulated applications for any of a variety of operating systems and/or emulated hardware platforms, emulated operating systems, etc. For example, the applications may include application specific software which may comprise some or all the components 114, 116, 118 of the multimedia playback system 102 depicted in
Input/output interfaces 204 provide any number of interfaces for the input and output of data. For example, where the multimedia playback system 102 is embodied as a personal computer, these components may interface with one or more user input devices, which may comprise a keyboard 106 or a mouse 108, as shown in
In the context of this disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores programs for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples of a computer-readable medium may include by way of example and without limitation: a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical).
As shown in
Reference is now made to
Although the flowchart 300 of
In block 320, the control detector 114 of
In block 330, the object detector 116 of
At decision block 340, a determination is made on an object was detected in block 330. If an object was detected then the method proceeds to block 350, where the existing controls are relocated according to attributes of the controls and according to the location of the detected object(s). If no object was detected in block 330, then processing ends. At decision block 360 (
Although the flowcharts 1200, 1300 of
Referring to the flowchart 1300 in
The initial relative position may be defined in various ways. For some embodiments, the user 406 manually specifies to the multimedia playback system 102 that the current position of the user 406 should be used for calculating the distance to the controls. In other embodiments, the initial relative distance is calculated the first time the user 406 invokes or selects one of the controls 404 as it is assumed that the user 406 is able to conveniently access the controls 404. In block 1350, the playback controls 404 are adjusted according to a location of the user 406 with respect to the video capture device 110 such that the initial relative position is maintained. The adjustment of the playback controls 404 may comprise, for example, relocating and/or resizing the playback controls 404 in accordance with the techniques described earlier.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely examples of possible implementations. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.
