Image providing system and image providing method

Abstract

The present application provides an image providing system and an image providing method, wherein the image providing system comprises a display part arranged in a space of an audience, an image shooting device arranged in the display part or the space of the audience, at least one audience terminal providing images to the display part, and a server communicating with the display part, the image shooting device and the audience terminal, and providing image works acquired from outside to the display part or the audience terminal. The image providing method comprises: a first step of receiving reservation information containing image works intended to be watched and the number of viewers from the audience terminal; a second step of counting the actual number of viewers by using the space image of the audience received by the image shooting device arranged in the display part or the space of the audience; a third step of collecting the image work screening fee corresponding to the number of viewers from the audience terminal when the reservation information is the same as the counted number of viewers; and a fourth step of providing the image works acquired from outside to the display part or the audience terminal.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to an improved structure image providing system and image providing method. BACKGROUND

[0002] Commercial image works such as movies are usually first screened in movie theaters, and after the screening is over, are sequentially screened on Internet Protocol Televisions (IPTVs), Over The Top (OTT) televisions, and televisions (TVs).

[0003] This is because the revenue structure of the image work producer or distributor is derived from the viewing fees of individual viewers.

[0004] Therefore, if a viewer wants to watch an image work on a personal display device such as a TV, a mobile phone, or a PC in a home or a vehicle (non-fixed content providing space) other than a movie theater, the viewer needs to wait for a specified time.

[0005] On the other hand, after the COVID-19 pandemic, viewers are gradually inclined to spend their leisure time in personal spaces such as homes or vehicles (non-fixed content providing spaces) rather than going to public places such as movie theaters.

[0006] In order to reflect this viewer demand and the revenue structure of the image work producer or distributor, the applicant has proposed a technical idea of counting the number of ticketed viewers in a non-fixed content providing space (Korean Granted Patent No. 10-2478139, Invention Title: Personnel management method for intelligent content providing system and apparatus therefor).

[0007] However, the viewing personnel count is only performed at the beginning of the image, which can result in an inaccurate count of the actual viewing personnel.

[0008] Also, image works ensure the publicity and ethical standards of image works through an image work viewing hierarchy system, and protect minors from harmful media by setting age restrictions for viewers, so it is necessary to effectively protect minors from the harmful effects of sexually suggestive or violent images.

[0009] However, the existing adult verification method only relies on a mobile phone held by a viewer for adult verification, so it is not possible to substantially restrict the viewing of minors who hold a mobile phone given by an adult. SUMMARY

[0010] The present invention is proposed to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image providing system and an image providing method that automate a verification system, count the number of viewers while substantially protecting minors from the harmful effects of sexually suggestive or violent image works, and enable viewers to directly view an image work being played in a non-fixed content providing space such as a home or a vehicle.

[0011] To achieve the object, the present invention provides an image providing system including a display part provided in a viewer's space, an image capturing device provided in the display part or the viewer's space, at least one viewer terminal that provides an image to the display part, and a server that communicates with the display part, the image capturing device, and the viewer terminal, and provides an image work acquired from the outside to the display part or the viewer terminal.

[0012] Also, the server can further include an image transmission part that provides an image work acquired from the outside to the display part or the viewer terminal, an image processing part that generates an image frame in a time series according to a viewer's space image received from the image capturing device, and separately extracts a face in the generated image frame, and a counting part that calculates the number of people according to a face generated from the image processing part.

[0013] Also, the server can further include an age estimation part that estimates a person's age according to face information generated from the image processing part using a face recognition algorithm.

[0014] Also, the server can further include a verification mark providing part that provides a verification mark to the display part when it is estimated that a viewer whose age estimated in the age estimation part is lower than an age in an age limit of an image work acquired from the outside, and a first age verification part that receives a verification signal of at least one viewer terminal that photographs a verification mark displayed in the display part, contacts a communication company of the viewer terminal that receives the verification signal, and confirms personal information including an age.

[0015] Also, the server can further include a verification mark providing part that provides a verification mark to the display part when it is estimated that a viewer whose age estimated in the age estimation part is lower than an age in an age limit of an image work acquired from the outside, and a second age verification part that receives a voice signal of a viewer recorded by at least one viewer terminal that photographs a verification mark displayed in the display part, and estimates an age through a voice recognition algorithm.

[0016] Also, the server can further include an image conversion part that terminates the image provision when at least one viewer belongs to an age range restricted in an age limit of the image work, or performs partial screen mosaic processing or partial sound elimination on the image provided to the display part according to preset viewing restriction information.

[0017] On the other hand, the present application can also provide an image provision method including: a first step of receiving reservation information including an image work desired to be viewed and a number of viewers from a viewer terminal; a second step of counting an actual number of viewers using a spatial image of the viewer received through an image capturing device provided in a space of a display part or the viewer; a third step of collecting a fee for the projection of the image work corresponding to the number of viewers from the viewer terminal when the reservation information is identical to the counted number of viewers; and a fourth step of providing the image work acquired from the outside to the display part or the viewer terminal.

[0018] Also, the present application can further include a fifth step of additionally collecting a fee for the projection of the image work corresponding to an increased number of viewers when the actual number of viewers is increased after the fourth step.

[0019] Also, the second step can further include: a second-1 step of estimating the age of the actual viewers counted using a face recognition algorithm; a second-2 step of providing a verification mark to the display part when it is estimated that the age of the viewer in the second-1 step is lower than the age in the age limit of the image work acquired from the outside; and a second-3 step of receiving a verification signal of the viewer terminal that captures the verification mark displayed on the display part, contacting a communication company of the viewer terminal that receives the verification signal, and confirming personal information including the age.

[0020] Also, the second step can further include a second-4 step of receiving a voice signal of the viewer recorded by the viewer terminal that captures the verification mark displayed on the display part, estimating the age through a voice recognition algorithm, and the fourth step is characterized in that the image provision is terminated when at least one viewer belongs to an age range restricted in the age limit of the image work, or the image provided to the display part is subjected to partial screen mosaic processing or partial sound elimination according to preset viewing restriction information.

[0021] The present application is advantageous in that, from the perspective of the viewer, an image work that is currently being commercially projected can be rapidly viewed in a personal space rather than a public space without time and space restrictions, and from the perspective of the image work producer or distributor, the number of viewers can be counted in real time and a fee for the provision of the image corresponding to the number of viewers can be reasonably collected.

[0022] Also, the present application has an advantage in that when an image work has an age restriction, age verification can be substantially performed through face recognition and / or voice recognition, rather than formal age verification, thereby preventing the spread of sexual or violent images to minors. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 A brief block diagram of an image providing system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 2 A brief flowchart of an image providing method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Figure 3 A flowchart for embodying the second step of the method according to the embodiment of the present application. Figure 2

[0026] Explanation of reference numerals

[0027] 100: image providing system 110: display unit

[0028] 120: image capturing device 130: viewer terminal

[0029] 140: server 141: image transmission unit

[0030] 142: image processing unit 143: counting unit

[0031] 144: age estimation unit 145: verification mark providing unit

[0032] 146: first age verification unit 147: second age verification unit

[0033] 148: image conversion unit 150: image providing unit DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in the present specification have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled in the art in which the present application belongs. If there is a conflict in the meanings of terms between the present specification and the corresponding terms, the definitions in the present specification will prevail.

[0036] However, the application described below is merely for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of the application claimed. The same reference numerals are used throughout the specification to refer to the same structural elements.

[0037] Figure 1 A brief block diagram of an image providing system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0038] ​Referring to Figure 1 The image providing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can generally include a display 110, an image capturing device 120, a viewer terminal 130, a server 140, and an image providing unit 150.

[0039] The display 110 can be disposed in a space of a viewer, and the space of the viewer can refer to all spaces (e.g., inside of a building, inside of a vehicle, etc.) in which the viewer can view an image work.

[0040] The display 110 can receive an image signal from the server 140 described below and display the same on a screen, can be disposed in a surrounding in which a user can easily recognize, can be configured of an embedded computer including a display panel and a small wireless communication function, or can be a liquid crystal screen of the viewer terminal 130 described below.

[0041] The image capturing device 120 can be disposed in the display 110 or the space of the viewer, and can capture a space in which the viewer views an image.

[0042] The viewer terminal 130 can include the display 110, or can provide an image to the display 110 which is separately disposed, and since there can be a plurality of viewers, the viewer terminal 130 can be at least one.

[0043] The terminal can be connected to a remote server 140 or another terminal through a network, and can be a cellular phone, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless application protocol (WAP) phone, a smart phone, or a tablet, but is not limited thereto.

[0044] The server 140 can communicate with the display 110, the image capturing device 120, and the viewer terminal 130, and can provide an image work acquired from the outside to the display 110 or the viewer terminal 130.

[0045] Specifically, the server 140 can include an image transmission unit 141, an image processing unit 142, a counting unit 143, an age estimation unit 144, a verification mark providing unit 145, a first age verification unit 146, a second age verification unit 147, and / or an image conversion unit 148.

[0046] The video transmission unit 141 can provide the display unit 110 or the audience terminal 130 with a video work acquired from an external video providing unit 150 or the like.

[0047] The image processing unit 142 can generate video frames in time series according to the spatial video of the audience received from the video shooting device 120, and separate and extract a face in the generated video frames.

[0048] The counting unit 143 can calculate the number of people according to the face generated from the image processing unit 142.

[0049] That is, the image processing unit 142 can generate video frames in time series at a predetermined time, and the counting unit 143 can grasp the change of the number of viewers during the video work screening, so that the viewing fee corresponding to the number of people can be accurately collected.

[0050] The age estimation unit 144 can estimate the age of an individual according to the face information generated from the image processing unit 142 by using a face recognition algorithm.

[0051] Such a face recognition algorithm can be implemented by a learning algorithm based on deep learning.

[0052] In the verification mark providing unit 145, when it is estimated that the age of the audience in the age estimation unit 144 is lower than the age in the age limit of the video work acquired from the external, the verification mark can be provided to the display unit 110.

[0053] The verification mark can be implemented by a symbol, a character, and / or a figure, or any generated mark such as a two-dimensional (QR) code.

[0054] In addition, the verification mark can include a character content indicating that the audience terminal 130 of a certain audience performs verification.

[0055] For example, the verification mark can include "Please perform age verification through the terminal of the audience who has paid for this video", or can include a character guide such as "Please perform age verification through the terminal because the age of the audience wearing a blue hat is unknown".

[0056] The first age verification unit 146 receives a verification signal of at least one of the audience terminals 130 that photograph the verification mark displayed on the display unit 110, contacts the communication company of the audience terminal 130 that receives the verification signal, and confirms the personal information including the age.

[0057] However, since the audience terminal 130 held by a minor can not be in the name of the person himself / herself, the age verification by only this communication company contact method can not be sufficient to protect the minor from the harmful influence of sexually suggestive or violent video works.

[0058] The second age verification unit 147 can receive at least one voice signal of the audience recorded by the audience terminal 130 photographing the verification mark displayed on the display unit 110, and estimate the age by a voice recognition algorithm.

[0059] Such a voice recognition algorithm can be implemented by a learning algorithm based on deep learning.

[0060] When at least one of the audiences belongs to an age range restricted by the age limit of the video work, the image conversion unit 148 can terminate the image provision, or perform partial screen mosaic processing or partial sound elimination on the image provided to the display unit 110 according to the preset viewing restriction information.

[0061] Through such multi-faceted confirmation and image conversion, the present application can protect minors from the harmful influence of sexually suggestive or violent video works.

[0062] The image provision unit 150 can provide the video work from the outside to the server 140, which can be a terminal of the video work producer or distributor, for example.

[0063] Such an image provision system 100 of the present application can be implemented in the following manner.

[0064] Figure 2 A brief flowchart of the image provision method of the embodiment of the present application, Figure 3 A flowchart for the second step of Figure 2 is specified.

[0065] First, the server 140 can receive reservation information containing the video work intended to be watched and the number of viewers from the audience terminal 130 (step S10).

[0066] Subsequently, the server 140 can count the actual number of viewers using the spatial image of the audience received by the image capturing device 120 set in the space of the display unit 110 or the audience (step S20).

[0067] Specifically, the number of viewers can be calculated by performing face image processing on the image information captured by the image capturing device 120 set in the space of the audience in the image processing unit 142 of the server 140.

[0068] Also, the server 140 can estimate the individual age of the face after image processing using a face recognition algorithm, that is, estimate the individual age of the actual audience counted as the face information (step S21).

[0069] When it is estimated that the audience whose age estimated at the age estimation section 144 is lower than the age in the age limit of the image work acquired from the outside, the server 140 can provide the verification mark to the display section 110 (step S22).

[0070] In this case, the server 140 can receive the verification signal of at least one of the audience terminal 130 photographing the verification mark displayed at the display section 110, contact the communication company of the audience terminal 130 receiving the verification signal and confirm the individual information including the age (step S23).

[0071] For example, the server 140 can contact the communication company to which the audience terminal 130 of the audience applying or paying for the image work belongs and perform age verification, and / or can perform age verification by estimating the audience terminal 130 belonging to the age range restricted in the age limit.

[0072] However, since the audience terminal 130 can not be in the name of the individual, when the server 140 judges that the audience estimated by the face information belongs to the age range restricted in the age limit, the server 140 can receive the voice signal of the audience recorded by the audience terminal 130 photographing the verification mark displayed at the display section 110, estimate the age by a voice recognition algorithm (step S24).

[0073] After that, when the server 140 judges that none of the audiences belongs to the age range restricted in the age limit or there is a guardian who is verified as an adult and the reservation information is the same as the counted number of audiences (step S30), the server 140 can collect the image work exhibition fee corresponding to the number of audiences from the audience terminal 130 (step S40).

[0074] After that, the server 140 can provide the image work acquired from the outside to the display section 110 (step S50).

[0075] After that, the server 140 can perform image processing on the image received from the image photographing device 120 in real time at a predetermined time and count the number of audiences, and when the actual number of audiences increases (step S60), can additionally collect the image work exhibition fee corresponding to the increased number of audiences (step S40).

[0076] Also, when at least one of the viewers belongs to an age-restricted age range of the video work (S70), the video provision can be terminated, or partial screen mosaic processing or partial sound elimination can be performed on the video provided to the display unit 110 according to the preset viewing restriction information (step S80).

[0077] In short, the present application has the advantage that, from the viewer's perspective, a video work that is currently being commercially screened can be viewed promptly at a personal site rather than a public site, without being restricted by time and space, and, from the video work producer or distributor's perspective, the number of viewers can be counted in real time, and the video provision fee corresponding to the number of viewers can be collected rationally.

[0078] Also, the present application has the advantage that, when there is an age restriction on the video work, age verification can be performed substantially through face recognition and / or voice recognition, rather than formal age verification, thereby preventing the spread of sexually suggestive or violent videos to minors.

[0079] The above, according to the above description, within the scope of the technical idea of the present application, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present application pertains can make various changes and modifications, the technical scope of the present application is not limited to the contents in the embodiments, should be determined by the scope of the invention and its equivalent range.

Claims

1. An image providing system, characterized in that, include: The display area is located in the audience space; An image capturing device is installed in the display unit or the space of the audience; At least one viewer terminal provides an image to the display unit; and The server communicates with the display unit, the image capturing device, and the viewer terminal, providing the display unit or viewer terminal with externally acquired image works. The server includes: The image transmission unit provides the display unit or viewer terminal with image works acquired from the outside; The image processing unit generates image frames in a time sequence based on the spatial images of the audience received from the image capturing device, and separates and extracts the faces within the generated image frames. The counting unit calculates the number of people based on the faces generated from the image processing unit. The age estimation unit uses a facial recognition algorithm to estimate an individual's age based on facial information generated from the image processing unit. The verification identifier providing unit provides a verification identifier and text content instructing the viewer's terminal to verify when it detects that the viewer's age, as predicted by the age prediction unit, is lower than the age limit for the video work obtained from the outside. A first age verification unit receives a verification signal from at least one viewer terminal that has captured an image of a verification identifier displayed on the display, contacts the telecommunications company of the viewer terminal that received the verification signal, and confirms personal information including age; and The second age verification unit, recognizing that relying solely on the first age verification unit to contact the telecommunications company for age verification is insufficient to protect minors when the viewer terminal held by a minor is not registered in their own name, receives at least one voice signal recorded by the viewer terminal that has photographed the verification mark displayed on the display, and infers the age using a voice recognition algorithm. The server processes the images received from the image capturing device in real time according to a preset schedule and counts the number of viewers. When the actual number of viewers increases, an additional screening fee is charged for the corresponding increase in viewers.

2. The image providing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The server also includes an image conversion unit. When at least one viewer falls within the age range restricted by the age limit of the video work, the image conversion unit terminates the video delivery, or performs partial image mosaic processing or partial sound removal on the video delivered to the display unit according to preset viewing restriction information.

3. An image providing method, characterized in that, include: Step 1: Receive reservation information from the viewer terminal, which includes the video works they want to watch and the number of viewers. Step 2: Count the actual number of viewers by using the spatial images of the audience received by the image capturing device set up in the display area or in the audience's space; Step 3: When the reservation information is the same as the counted number of viewers, collect the screening fee for the corresponding number of viewers from the viewer terminal. Step 4: Provide the externally acquired video work to the display unit or viewer terminal; and Step 5 involves real-time image processing of the images received from the imaging device at preset intervals and counting the number of viewers. If the actual number of viewers increases after step 4, an additional screening fee corresponding to the increased number of viewers will be charged. The second step includes: Step 2-1: Use facial recognition algorithms to estimate the individual ages of the actual viewers being counted; In step 2-2, when it is estimated that the age of the viewer estimated in step 2-1 is lower than the age limit of the video work obtained from the outside, a verification mark and text content instructing the viewer terminal of the specific viewer to perform verification are provided to the display unit. Steps 2-3 involve receiving a verification signal from at least one viewer terminal that has captured an image of the verification identifier displayed on the display, contacting the telecommunications company of the viewer terminal that received the verification signal, and confirming personal information including age; and In steps 2-4, since the audience terminal held by the minor is not in the minor's own name, it is insufficient to protect the minor by simply contacting the telecommunications company for age verification in steps 2-3 above. Therefore, at least one voice signal of the audience recorded by the audience terminal that has photographed the verification mark displayed on the display is received, and the age is inferred by the voice recognition algorithm.

4. The image providing method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Following step 4, the following steps are also included: when at least one viewer falls within the age range restricted by the age limit of the video work, the video delivery is terminated, or the video delivered to the display unit is partially pixelated or partially sounded according to preset viewing restriction information.

Images