Depth Camera User Tracking for Unified Parental Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current game consoles lack effective and unified parental control mechanisms, particularly in online environments, leading to inconsistent and incomplete restrictions on media access for users, especially when transitioning between different media sources like TV channels, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a depth-sensing camera system that identifies and tracks users within a scene, allowing for automatic application of customizable access controls and animations based on user profiles, enabling real-time management of media access and interaction within a virtual environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If piecemeal parental controls are implemented for different media sources, then specific media can be restricted, but gaps in parental controls remain and control effectiveness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal parental control system that manages access across multiple media sources (TV, DVD, Blu-Ray, online content) through a single unified interface. The system uses user profile data and depth camera tracking to automatically apply appropriate restrictions regardless of the media source, eliminating the need for separate control mechanisms for each device and ensuring consistent enforcement across all content types.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines previously separate parental control functions into a single integrated system. By merging the control mechanisms for different media sources into one unified system that uses depth camera user identification and profile-based restrictions, the patent eliminates gaps between controls while reducing overall system complexity through consolidation.
2Extent of automation
If depth-sensing camera system is implemented for user identification, then automatic application of access controls is enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses depth camera tracking to automatically identify users and apply appropriate access controls without requiring manual intervention. The depth camera continuously monitors the scene, identifies tracked users, and automatically enforces parental controls based on stored user profiles, enabling the system to serve itself in managing access permissions across all media sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring user profiles with specific access permissions and restrictions before actual media consumption occurs. The depth camera system has user identification data and control rules ready in advance, allowing automatic application of appropriate parental controls the moment a tracked user is identified, eliminating the need for real-time decision-making complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If user profiles with customizable privileges are implemented, then access control flexibility is improved, but configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal user profile system that handles multiple functions including user identification, privilege assignment, and cross-media access control through a single configuration interface. Parents can set up comprehensive control rules once in the unified system, and these rules automatically apply across all media sources (TV, DVD, Blu-Ray, online), providing flexibility without requiring separate configurations for each device.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
A computer-implemented method is provided to automatically apply predefined privileges for identified and tracked users in a space having one or more media sources The method includes an operation to define and save to memory, a user profile The user profile may include data that identifies and tracks a user with a depth-sensing camera Alternatively, privileges defining levels of access to particular media for the user profile are defined and saved The method also includes an operation to capture image and depth data from the depth-sensing camera of a scene within the space In yet another operation, the user is tracked and identified within the scene from the image and depth data Alternatively, defined privileges automatically apply to media sources so that the user is granted access to selected content from the one or more media sources when identified and tracked within the scene.