Camera system API for third-party integrations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9788039-B2
Application number	US-201614987679-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 4, 2016
Priority date	Jun 23, 2014
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

In embodiments of a camera system application program interface (API) for third-party integrations, a camera device captures images as a video stream and communicates the video stream to a cloud-based service. The cloud-based service implements a service application that processes video data received as the video stream. The cloud-based service exposes the camera system API that can be invoked by a third-party application running on a client device to request the video data and camera data that is associated with the camera device. The API permits access by the third-party application to the video data and the camera data from the cloud-based service. The API is exposed for the third-party application to communicate with the cloud-based service via a network connection, and the camera device communicates with the cloud-based service via a secure connection to provide the requested camera data and communicate the video stream to the cloud-based service.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cloud-based service, comprising:
a server computing device configured for executing a service application configured to process video data received as a video stream from a camera device of a user, the camera device captures images and communicates the video stream to the cloud-based service; and
an application program interface (API), hosted on the server computing device, that can be invoked by a third-party application, running on a client device of the user or hosted on a remote service associated with the client device, to request the video data and camera data associated with the camera device, and to access settings of the camera device, the API permitting access by the third-party application on behalf of the user to the video data and the camera data from the cloud-based service.

2. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the API is exposed for the third-party application to communicate with the cloud based service via a network connection to request the video data and the camera data; and
the camera device communicates with the cloud-based service via a secure connection to provide the requested camera data and communicate the video stream to the cloud-based service.

3. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the camera data includes at least an operational status of the camera device; and
the third-party application is configured to receive the operational status of the camera device from the cloud-based service via the API when the cloud based service receives the operational status from the camera device.

4. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the video data that is generated by the service application from the video stream received from the camera device is accessible at the cloud-based service; and
the API is exposed for the third-party application to receive the video data from the cloud based service.

5. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 1 , wherein the video data that is generated by the service application from the video stream includes at least one of:
the images of a motion event associated with a motion detected by the camera device; and
the previous images that correspond to a noise event associated with a sound detected by the camera device.

6. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 5 , wherein:
the motion event and the noise event are reported by the service application as cue point events to the third-party application via the API as the video stream is received from the camera device and processed by the service application.

7. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the API is exposed to the third-party application to grant permissions to request different forms of the camera data that is associated with the camera device and to access the settings of the camera device; and
one or more of the permissions are defined in a camera data scope that identifies the camera data the third-party application is permitted to access.

8. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 7 , wherein the camera data scope is configured to be updated to include additional permissions or fewer permissions to permit access to the different forms of the camera data that is associated with the camera device via the API.

9. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 7 , wherein the camera data scope is one of:
a camera read scope that includes the one or more permissions allowing the third-party application to access the settings of the camera device, motion events associated with detected motions, and noise events associated with detected sounds; or
a camera write scope that includes the one or more permissions of the camera read scope as well as an additional permission allowing the third-party application to initiate turning the camera device on and off via the API.

10. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 7 , wherein the camera data scope is one of:
a camera images read scope that includes the one or more permissions allowing the third-party application to access settings of the camera device, the images of motion events associated with detected motions, and the images that correspond to noise events associated with detected sounds; or
a camera images write scope that includes the one or more permissions of the camera images read scope as well as an additional permission allowing the third-party application to initiate turning the camera device on and off via the API.

11. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the camera data is structured as a data model of data fields, one or more of the data fields being accessible by the third-party application via the API;
the data fields including a Web URL to identify an addressable location of the camera device;
the data fields further including an application URL to an interface application of the camera device; and
the Web URL and the application URL effective to allow the third-party application running on the client device to link to the interface application of the camera device.

12. The cloud-based service as recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the camera data is structured as a data model of data fields, one or more of the data fields being accessible via the API; and
the data model is implemented as a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) document that describes the camera device, the camera data that is associated with the camera device, and an environment structure of the camera device.

13. A system, comprising:
a service application executable by a server computing device implemented at a cloud-based service, the service application configured to process video data received as a video stream; and
an application program interface (API) implemented at the cloud-based service, the API invokable by a third-party application, running on a client device or hosted on a remote service associated with the client device, to request the video data and camera data associated with a camera device, and to access settings of the camera device, the API permitting remote access by the third-party application to the video data and the camera data from the cloud-based service.

14. The system as recited in claim 13 , further comprising:
an API server configured to host the API that is exposed for the third-party application to communicate with the cloud based service via a network connection to request the video data and the camera data; and
the camera device configured to communicate with the cloud-based service via a secure connection to provide the requested camera data and communicate the video stream to the cloud-based service.

15. The system as recited in claim 14 , wherein:
the camera data includes at least an operational status of the camera device; and
the third-party application is configured to receive the operational status of the camera device from the cloud-based service via the API when the cloud based service receives the operational status from the camera device.

16. The system as recited in claim 14 , wherein:
the video data processed by the service application from the video stream received from the camera device is accessible at the cloud-based service; and
the API is exposed for the third-party application to receive the video data from the cloud based service.

17. The system as recited in claim 14 , wherein the video data processed by the service application from the video stream includes at least one of:
images of a motion event associated with a motion detected by the camera device; and
the images that correspond to a noise event associ

Assignees

• Google Inc

Inventors

• Karp Igor
• Stesin Lev

Classifications

• G05D23/1904 Primary

  variable in time · CPC title

• H04N23/6811

  based on the image signal · CPC title

• H04N23/64

  Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image · CPC title

• H04N23/661

  Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet · CPC title

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title