Video providing system and video providing method

Abstract

The present invention provides a video providing system and a video providing method. The video providing system comprises: a display unit disposed in a space of a viewer; a video capturing device disposed in the display unit or the space of the viewer; at least one viewer terminal which provides a video to the display unit; and a server which communicates with the display unit, the video capturing device, and the viewer terminal and provides, to the display unit or the viewer terminal, a video received from the outside.

Description

Video provision system and video provision method

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

[0002] Commercial video content such as movies generally start out in theaters and then sequentially move on to IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), OTT (Over The Top), and TV after the screening.

[0003] This is because the profit structure of video production companies or distributors is derived from the viewing costs of individual viewers.

[0004] Therefore, there is a problem that viewers must wait a certain amount of time to watch videos on personal display devices such as TVs, mobile phones, and PCs at home or in vehicles (non-standard content provision spaces) rather than in movie theaters.

[0005] Meanwhile, post-COVID, people increasingly prefer to spend their leisure time in private spaces such as their homes or vehicles (spaces providing informal content) rather than public places such as movie theaters.

[0006] In order to reflect the needs of these people and the profit structure of video production companies or distributors, the applicant devised a technical idea (registered patent no. 10-2478139, title of the invention: Personnel management method of smart content provision system and device therefor) for counting the number of purchasing viewers in an atypical content provision space.

[0007] However, since viewer counting is only done at the beginning of the video, the viewer count may not be properly calculated.

[0008] In addition, since video content has age restrictions for each viewer to ensure the public nature and ethics of the video content through the video rating system and to protect minors from harmful media, there is a need to effectively protect minors from the harmful effects of sexually suggestive or violent videos.

[0009] However, since the conventional adult authentication method only authenticates the adult through the mobile phone that the viewer has, it is impossible to effectively restrict viewing by minors who have mobile phones issued by adults.

[0010] The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a video provision system and video provision method that automates the authentication system so that a video being screened can be immediately viewed in an atypical content provision space such as a home or a vehicle, while counting the number of viewers and substantially protecting minors from the harmful effects of sexually suggestive or violent video content.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a video providing system including: a display unit arranged in a viewer's space; a video recording device arranged in the display unit or the viewer's space; at least one viewer terminal providing a video to the display unit; and a server communicating with the display unit, the video recording device, and the viewer terminal and providing a video material provided from an external source to the display unit or the viewer terminal.

[0012] In addition, the server may include a video transmission unit that provides video material provided from an external source to the display unit or viewer terminal; an image processing unit that generates video frames in a time series manner from a spatial image of a viewer received from the video recording device and separates and extracts a person's face from the generated video frame; and a counting unit that calculates the number of people from the person's face generated from the image processing unit.

[0013] Additionally, the server may further include an age estimation unit that estimates an individual's age using a facial recognition algorithm from the person's face information generated from the image processing unit.

[0014] In addition, the server may further include an authentication mark providing unit that provides an authentication mark on the display unit when the age estimated by the age estimation unit is younger than the age limit of the video provided from the outside; and a first age authentication unit that receives an authentication signal of at least one user terminal that has photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit, and verifies personal information including age by linking with a telecommunications company of the user terminal that has received the authentication signal.

[0015] In addition, the server may further include an authentication mark providing unit that provides an authentication mark on the display unit when the age estimated by the age estimation unit is younger than the age limit of the video provided from the outside; and a second age authentication unit that receives a recorded voice signal of a viewer from at least one of the user terminals that photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit and estimates the age through a voice recognition algorithm.

[0016] In addition, the server may further include a video conversion unit that stops providing the video when at least one viewer is subject to an age restriction for the video, or performs partial screen mosaic processing or partial sound removal on the video provided to the display unit according to preset viewing restriction information.

[0017] Meanwhile, the present invention can provide a video providing method including a first step of receiving reservation information including a video to be viewed and the number of viewers from a viewer terminal; a second step of counting the actual number of viewers using a space image of viewers received through a video recording device placed in a display unit or a viewer's space; a third step of receiving payment for the video screening cost according to the number of viewers from the viewer terminal when the reservation information and the counted number of viewers are the same; and a fourth step of providing a video provided from an external source to the display unit or the viewer terminal.

[0018] In addition, if the actual number of viewers is increased after the fourth step, a fifth step may be included to receive additional payment for the video screening cost according to the increased number of viewers.

[0019] In addition, the second step may further include a step 2-1 of estimating the age of each person using a facial recognition algorithm among the counted actual viewers; a step 2-2 of providing an authentication mark on the display unit if the age estimated by the age estimation unit is younger than the age limit of the video provided from the outside; and a step 2-3 of receiving an authentication signal of at least one user terminal that has photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit, and confirming personal information including age by linking with a telecommunications company of the user terminal that has received the authentication signal.

[0020] In addition, the second step may further include a second to fourth step of receiving a recorded viewer's voice signal from at least one user terminal that has photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit and estimating the age through a voice recognition algorithm, and the fourth step may be characterized in that, if at least one viewer falls under the age restriction of the video, the video provision is stopped, or part of the screen is mosaic-processed or part of the sound is removed from the video provided on the display unit according to preset viewing restriction information.

[0021] The present invention has the advantage of allowing viewers to quickly view currently commercially screened video content in a private location rather than a public location without being restricted by time or space, and from the perspective of a video production company or distributor, it has the advantage of being able to reasonably receive video provision costs based on the number of viewers by counting the number of viewers in real time.

[0022] In addition, the present invention has the advantage of preventing the transmission of sexually suggestive or violent videos to minors by performing actual age verification through facial recognition and / or voice recognition rather than formal age verification when there is an age restriction on the video.

[0023] Figure 1 is a schematic module diagram of an image providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of an image providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 3 is a flowchart detailing the second step of Figure 2.

[0026] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0027] Unless otherwise defined, all terms in this specification have the same meaning as those terms are commonly understood by those skilled in the art, and if a term used in this specification conflicts with the common meaning of the term, the definition used in this specification shall prevail.

[0028] However, the invention described below is only intended to explain an embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and reference numbers used identically throughout the specification represent identical components.

[0029]

[0030] Figure 1 is a schematic module diagram of an image providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, the image providing system (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention may largely include a display unit (110), an image capturing device (120), a viewer terminal (130), a server (140), and an image providing unit (150).

[0032] The above display unit (110) can be placed in the viewer's space, where the viewer's space can mean any space where the viewer can view the video (e.g., inside a building, inside a vehicle, etc.).

[0033] The above display unit (110) can receive a video signal from a server (140) to be described later and display it on a screen, and can be installed in a location convenient for the user to recognize and configured as an embedded computer including a display panel and a small wireless communication function, or can be a liquid crystal display screen of a viewer terminal (130) to be described later.

[0034] The above video recording device (120) can be placed in the display unit (110) or the viewer's space, and can record the space for the viewer to watch the video.

[0035] The above viewer terminal (130) may include the display unit (110) or may provide an image to the separately arranged display unit (110), and since there may be multiple viewers, there may be at least one or more.

[0036] Here, the terminal is a device that can connect to a remote server (140) or another terminal through a network, and may be a cellular phone, a PCS phone (Personal Communication Service phone), a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a WAP phone (Wireless Application Protocol phone), a smart phone, or a tablet, but is not limited thereto.

[0037] The above server (140) communicates with the display unit (110), video recording device (120), and viewer terminal (130), and can provide video material provided from outside to the display unit (110) or viewer terminal (130).

[0038] Specifically, the server (140) may include a video transmission unit (141), an image processing unit (142), a counting unit (143), an age estimation unit (144), an authentication mark providing unit (145), a first age authentication unit (146), a second age authentication unit (147), and / or an image conversion unit (148).

[0039] The above video transmission unit (141) can provide video material provided from an external source, such as a video provision unit (150) described later, to the display unit (110) or viewer terminal (130).

[0040] The image processing unit (142) can generate video frames in a time series from the spatial image of the viewer received from the video recording device (120) and separate and extract the face of a person within the generated video frames.

[0041] The above counting unit (143) can calculate the number of people from the human faces generated from the image processing unit (142).

[0042] That is, the image processing unit (142) can generate video frames in a time series manner at preset times, and the counting unit (143) can determine whether the number of viewers changes while the video is being shown, so that the viewing fee according to the number of viewers can be accurately paid.

[0043] The above age estimation unit (144) can estimate the individual age using a facial recognition algorithm from the facial information of a person generated from the image processing unit (142) of the server (140).

[0044] These facial recognition algorithms can be implemented using deep learning-based learning algorithms.

[0045] The above authentication mark provision unit (145) can provide an authentication mark to the display unit (110) when the age estimated by the age estimation unit (144) is younger than the age limit of the video provided from the outside.

[0046] Here, the authentication mark can be implemented as a symbol, character, and / or shape, and can also be implemented as an arbitrary generated mark such as a QR code.

[0047] Additionally, the authentication display may include text that instructs a viewer's viewer terminal (130) to perform authentication.

[0048] For example, the authentication display may include something like, "Please verify your age using the terminal of the person who paid for this video," or it may include text guidance such as, "The age of the viewer wearing the blue hat is uncertain, so please verify your age using the terminal."

[0049] The above first age authentication unit (146) receives an authentication signal from at least one viewer terminal (130) that has photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit (110), and can confirm personal information including age by linking with the telecommunications company of the viewer terminal (130) that received the authentication signal.

[0050] However, since the viewer terminal (130) possessed by a minor may not be registered under his / her name, age verification using this method of linking with a telecommunications company alone may not be sufficient to protect minors from sexually suggestive or violent videos.

[0051] The second age authentication unit (147) can receive a viewer's voice signal recorded from at least one viewer terminal (130) that has photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit (110) and estimate the age through a voice recognition algorithm.

[0052] These voice recognition algorithms can be implemented using deep learning-based learning algorithms.

[0053] The above video conversion unit (148) may stop providing the video if at least one viewer is subject to the age restriction of the video, or may perform partial screen mosaic processing or partial sound removal on the video provided to the display unit (110) according to preset viewing restriction information.

[0054] Due to these multi-faceted verification and image conversion, the present invention can protect minors from sexually suggestive or violent images.

[0055] The above video provision unit (150) provides video material to the server (140) from the outside, and may be, for example, a terminal of a video production company or distributor.

[0056]

[0057] The image providing system (100) of the present invention can be implemented in the following manner.

[0058] FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an image providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart specifying the second step of FIG. 2.

[0059] First, the server (140) can receive reservation information including the video to be viewed and the number of viewers from the viewer terminal (130) (S10).

[0060] After this, the server (140) can count the actual number of viewers using the space image of the viewer received through the display unit (110) or the video recording device (120) placed in the viewer's space (S20).

[0061] Specifically, the number of viewers can be calculated by processing the image information captured from a video recording device (120) placed in the viewer's space and processing the image of a person's face in the image processing unit (142) of the server (140).

[0062] In addition, the server (140) can estimate the age of each person using a facial recognition algorithm among the actual viewers counted as image-processed human faces, i.e., facial information (S21).

[0063] If the age of the person estimated by the age estimation unit (144) is younger than the age limit of the video provided from the outside, the server (140) can provide an authentication mark to the display unit (110) (S22).

[0064] In this case, the server (140) receives an authentication signal from at least one viewer terminal (130) that has photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit (110), and can confirm personal information, including age, by linking with the telecommunications company of the viewer terminal (130) that received the authentication signal (S23).

[0065] For example, the server (140) may perform age verification in conjunction with a telecommunications company for the viewer terminal (130) of a person who has applied for or paid for a screening, and / or may perform age verification through the viewer terminal (130) of a person who is presumed to be under the age restriction.

[0066] However, since the viewer terminal (130) may not be registered under the user's name, if the server (140) determines that the viewer's age estimated by facial information is young, the server can receive the viewer's voice signal recorded from at least one viewer terminal (130) that has photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit (110) and estimate the age through a voice recognition algorithm (S24).

[0067] After this, if the server (140) determines that each viewer does not meet the age restriction or has a guardian who has been certified as an adult and the reservation information and the counted number of viewers are the same (S30), the server (140) can receive payment for the video screening fee according to the number of viewers from the viewer terminal (130) (S40).

[0068] After this, the server (140) can provide video material provided from outside to the display unit (110) (S50).

[0069] After this, the server (140) can process images and count the number of viewers using the video received from the video recording device (120) at preset times in real time, and if the actual number of viewers is added (S60), additional payment can be made for the video screening cost according to the added number of viewers (S40).

[0070] In addition, if at least one viewer is subject to the age restriction of the video (S70), the provision of the video may be stopped, or part of the screen may be mosaic-processed or part of the sound may be removed from the video provided to the display unit (110) according to the preset viewing restriction information (S80).

[0071]

[0072] In short, the present invention has the advantage of allowing viewers to quickly view currently commercially screened video content in a private location rather than a public location without being restricted by time or space, and from the perspective of a video production company or distributor, it has the advantage of being able to reasonably receive video provision costs based on the number of viewers by counting the number of viewers in real time.

[0073] In addition, the present invention has the advantage of preventing the transmission of sexually suggestive or violent videos to minors by performing actual age verification through facial recognition and / or voice recognition rather than formal age verification when there is an age restriction on the video.

[0074]

[0075] Above, those skilled in the art will be able to understand that various changes and modifications are possible within the scope that does not deviate from the technical idea of ​​the present invention through the above explanation, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the contents described in the examples, but should be determined by the scope of the patent claims and equivalents thereto.

Claims

1. Display unit placed in the viewer's space; A video recording device placed in the above display unit or viewer's space; At least one viewer terminal that provides images to the display unit; and A video provision system including a server that communicates with the display unit, video recording device, and viewer terminal, and provides video material provided from an external source to the display unit or viewer terminal.

2. In paragraph 1, The above server, A video transmission unit that provides video material provided from an external source to the display unit or viewer terminal; An image processing unit that generates video frames in a time series from a spatial image of a viewer received from the video recording device and separates and extracts a person's face within the generated video frames; and An image providing system including a counting unit that calculates the number of people from the faces of people generated from the image processing unit.

3. In paragraph 2, The above server is an image providing system further including an age estimation unit that estimates an individual's age using a facial recognition algorithm from the person's face information generated from the image processing unit.

4. In paragraph 3, The above server, If the age of the person estimated by the age estimation unit is younger than the age limit of the video provided from an external source, an authentication mark provision unit that provides an authentication mark on the display unit; and A video provision system further comprising a first age authentication unit that receives an authentication signal from at least one user terminal that has photographed an authentication mark displayed on the display unit, and verifies personal information, including age, by linking with a telecommunications company of the user terminal that has received the authentication signal.

5. In paragraph 3, The above server, If the age of the person estimated by the age estimation unit is younger than the age limit of the video provided from an external source, an authentication mark provision unit that provides an authentication mark on the display unit; and A video provision system further comprising a second age authentication unit that receives a recorded voice signal of a viewer from at least one user terminal that has photographed an authentication mark displayed on the display unit and estimates the age through a voice recognition algorithm.

6. In paragraph 4 or 5, The above server is a video providing system that further includes a video conversion unit that stops providing the video when at least one viewer is subject to an age restriction for the video, or performs partial screen mosaic processing or partial sound removal from the video provided to the display unit according to preset viewing restriction information.

7. A first step of receiving reservation information including the video to be viewed and the number of viewers from the viewer terminal; A second step of counting the actual number of viewers using the spatial image of the viewers received through a video recording device placed in the display unit or the viewer's space; A third step of receiving payment for the screening fee according to the number of viewers from the viewer terminal when the reservation information and the counted number of viewers are the same; and A video providing method including a fourth step of providing video material provided from an external source to the display unit or viewer terminal.

8. In paragraph 7, A video provision method including a fifth step of receiving additional payment for video screening costs according to the additional number of viewers when the actual number of viewers is added after the fourth step.

9. In paragraph 7, The second step above is, Step 2-1: Estimating individual ages using a facial recognition algorithm among the counted actual viewers; Step 2-2 of providing an authentication mark on the display unit when the age estimated by the age estimation unit is younger than the age limit of the video provided from an external source; and A method for providing an image, further comprising a step 2-3 of receiving an authentication signal of at least one user terminal that has photographed an authentication mark displayed on the display unit, and confirming personal information, including age, by linking with a telecommunications company of the user terminal that has received the authentication signal.

10. In paragraph 9, The second step further includes a second to fourth step of receiving a recorded viewer's voice signal from at least one user terminal that has photographed the authentication mark displayed on the display unit and estimating the age through a voice recognition algorithm. A video providing method characterized in that, after the fourth step, if at least one viewer is subject to the age restriction of the video, the video provision is stopped, or part of the screen is mosaic-processed or part of the sound is removed from the video provided to the display unit according to preset viewing restriction information.

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