System and method for capture and distribution of information collected from signs

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10699140-B2
Application number	US-201815971859-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 4, 2018
Priority date	May 4, 2018
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for capturing, collecting, and distributing event information displayed on signs. The method may include capturing, by a mobile device, an image of a sign that displays information for an event. The method may also include extracting information for the event from the captured image of the sign, and determining a location of the mobile device when the image of the sign was captured. Furthermore, the method may include uploading, to a server, a time when the image was captured, the information for the event extracted from the captured image, a location of the event determined from extracted event information, a location of the sign, or a combination thereof.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for capturing, collecting, and distributing event information displayed on signs, the method comprising:
capturing, by a mobile device, an image of a sign that displays information for an event occurring at a real-world location;
extracting information for the event from the captured image of the sign;
determining a location of the mobile device when the image of the sign was captured; and
uploading, to a server, (i) a time when the image was captured, (ii) the information for the event extracted from the captured image, (iii) the real-world location of the event determined from extracted event information, and (iv) a location based on the determined location of the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein extracting information for the event from the captured image comprises:
performing an image analysis comprising analyzing the captured image with one or more classifiers to detect one or more objects within the image, the one or more objects comprising graphical information associated with the event.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein extracting information for the event from the captured image comprises:
performing optical character recognition on the captured image to extract textual information associated with the information for the event.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein extracting information for the event from the captured image comprises:
detecting a directional indicator on the sign based on an image analysis; and
estimating the location of the event based on an estimated location of the sign and the directional indicator, wherein the estimated location of the sign is based on the location of the mobile device when the image of the sign was captured.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein extracting information for the event from the captured image comprises:
querying a database for additional information for the event based on textual information extracted from the image, one or more objects detected within the image, or a combination thereof; and
integrating the additional information, received from the database in response to the query, with information known about the event.

6. A method for capturing, collecting, and distributing event information displayed on signs, the method comprising:
capturing, by a mobile device, an image of a sign that displays information for an event;
extracting information for the event from the captured image of the sign;
determining a location of the mobile device when the image of the sign was captured; and
uploading, to a server, (i) a time when the image was captured, (ii) the information for the event extracted from the captured image, (iii) a location of the event determined from extracted event information, (iv) a location of the sign, or a combination thereof;
wherein the time, the information, and the location uploaded to the server establish an event profile record for the event in an events profile database maintained by the server, the event profile record comprising an event identifier, a duration of the event based at least in part on the time, a geofence associated with a predefined boundary surrounding the event based at least in part on the location, and data indicative of the event based at least in part on the information.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device comprises a motor vehicle.

8. A mobile device for capturing, collecting, and distributing event information displayed on signs, the mobile device comprising:
an imaging system to capture an image of a sign that displays information for an event occurring at a real-world location;
a memory configured to store the captured image; and
one or more processors communicably coupled with the memory and the imaging system, the one or more processors configured to:
extract information for the event from the captured image of the sign, and
determine a location of the mobile device when the image of the sign was captured; and

a communications subsystem communicably coupled with the one or more processors to upload to a server, (i) a time when the image was captured, (ii) the information for the event extracted from the captured image, (iii) the real-world location of the event determined from extracted event information, (iv) a location based on the determined location of the mobile device.

9. The mobile device of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform an image analysis comprising analyzing the captured image with one or more classifiers to detect one or more objects within the image, the one or more objects comprising graphical information associated with the event.

10. The mobile device of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform optical character recognition on the captured image to extract textual information associated with the information for the event.

11. The mobile device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
detect a directional indicator on the sign based on the performed image analysis; and
estimate the location of the event based on an estimated location of the sign and the directional indicator, wherein the estimated location of the sign is based on the location of the mobile device when the image of the sign was captured.

12. The mobile device of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
query a database for additional information for the event based on textual information extracted from the image, one or more objects detected within the image, or a combination thereof; and
integrate the additional information, received from the database in response to the query, with information known about the event.

13. A mobile device for capturing, collecting, and distributing event information displayed on signs, the mobile device comprising:
an imaging system to capture an image of a sign that displays information for an event;
a memory configured to store the captured image; and
one or more processors communicably coupled with the memory and the imaging system, the one or more processors configured to:
extract information for the event from the captured image of the sign, and
determine a location of the mobile device when the image of the sign was captured; and

a communications subsystem communicably coupled with the one or more processors to upload to a server, (i) a time when the image was captured, (ii) the information for the event extracted from the captured image, (iii) a location of the event determined from extracted event information, (iv) a location of the sign, or a combination thereof;
wherein the time, the information, and the location uploaded to the server establish an event profile record for the event in an events profile database maintained by the server, the event profile record comprising an event identifier, a duration of the event based at least in part on the time, a geofence associated with a predefined boundary surrounding the event based at least in part on the location, and data indicative of the event based at least in part on the information.

14. The mobile of claim 8 , wherein the mobile device comprises a motor vehicle.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for capturing, collecting, and distributing event information displayed on signs, the operations comprising:
capturing an image of a sign that displays information for an event occurring at a real-world location;
extracting information for the

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Kench Amol
• Nirula Gautam
• Gum Arnold Jason

Classifications

• G06F16/583 Primary

  using metadata automatically derived from the content · CPC title

• G06V20/582

  of traffic signs · CPC title

• G06F18/24

  Classification techniques · CPC title

• G06V30/153

  using recognition of characters or words · CPC title

• G06F16/58

  Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually · CPC title