Circular Buffer Pre-Buffering for Key Moment Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often miss key moments during video recording due to slow reaction times and image processing delays, resulting in the need for large storage volumes and extensive data review to identify important moments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a pre-buffering mechanism in image capture devices that uses a circular buffer to record segments, allowing seamless transition to linear recording upon receiving a key moment command, with the ability to overwrite oldest segments when storage is full, reducing data and storage requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a substantial amount of data is collected to ensure key moments are captured, then the reliability of capturing key moments is improved, but the storage volume required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The storage buffer is segmented into a fixed number of circular buffer segments (e.g., 30 segments at 30fps for 1 second of video). This segmentation allows the system to store only the necessary pre-buffer data without accumulating excessive footage, thereby reducing storage volume while maintaining reliability of key moment capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automatic overwriting of oldest buffer segments when the circular buffer is full. This discarding mechanism ensures that storage volume remains bounded while the most recent data (which contains potential key moments) is preserved. When key moments are detected, the system recovers and saves the relevant segments.
2Reliability
If hours of video data are manually reviewed to identify key moments, then the completeness of key moment identification is improved, but the time required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by continuously capturing and buffering video data in real-time before key moments occur. The circular buffer maintains a rolling window of recent footage, so when a key moment is detected (via shutter press, audio trigger, or AI detection), the relevant data is already prepared and immediately savable, eliminating the need for manual review of hours of footage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where user actions (shutter press, voice command) or AI detection results trigger immediate saving of buffer contents. This feedback loop automatically identifies key moments without manual intervention, reducing review time while maintaining identification completeness.
3Ease of operation
If the circular buffer continues recording without interruption, then the availability of recent data is improved, but the storage efficiency decreases due to continuous overwriting
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between two recording modes: circular buffer mode for continuous recent data capture, and linear recording mode when key moments are detected. This dynamic adaptation optimizes storage efficiency by using overwriting only when necessary for data availability, while preserving important moments in linear mode without redundant overwriting.
Solution Approach 2:
When a key moment is detected, the system extracts the relevant buffer segments and saves them separately in linear recording mode. This extraction removes the need for continuous overwriting of these important segments, improving storage efficiency while maintaining data availability for ongoing recording.
Data Source
AI summary
Image capture devices and methods may be used to pre-buffer media storage. The pre-buffering method includes recording an image capture segment in a circular buffer. The circular buffer includes a number of recordable segments. The pre-buffering method includes determining whether a key moment command is received. If a key moment command is not received, the method includes recording a next image capture segment in a next adjacent recordable segment of the circular buffer if the next adjacent recordable segment of the predetermined number of recordable segments is available. If a key moment command is not received, the method includes overwriting an oldest recordable segment if the next adjacent recordable segment of the predetermined number of recordable segments is not available. If a key moment command is received, the pre-buffering method includes marking a wrap point in the circular buffer and switching from recording in the circular buffer to linear recording.