Group Image Privacy Control Through Selective Person Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing systems fail to effectively protect the privacy of individuals in group images by allowing unauthorized distribution and dissemination, and lack the ability to control who can see or access such images.
Innovation Solution
A server-based system that processes group images to identify individuals, applies distribution rules based on group membership and user agreements, and modifies images as needed to protect privacy, generating different versions for group members and non-members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If group images are distributed to protect organizational needs, then information dissemination is improved, but individual privacy protection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the group image into individual person portions, allowing separate processing and control of each person's image data. This enables selective modification or protection of specific individuals within the group image while maintaining distribution of the overall image to authorized recipients.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different processing qualities to different portions of the image based on local privacy preferences. Each person's image portion can be modified, protected, or left unchanged according to their individual privacy settings, while other portions remain in original quality for distribution.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If automatic image processing is implemented to protect privacy, then privacy protection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables individuals to set their own privacy preferences and image modification parameters in advance. The system automatically applies these pre-configured settings when processing group images, reducing the need for complex manual intervention while maintaining strong privacy protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary setup where users configure their privacy preferences and image modification settings before group images are captured or distributed. This advance configuration simplifies the actual processing step, as the system only needs to apply pre-determined rules rather than making complex decisions in real-time.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If image modification is applied to protect individual privacy, then privacy protection is improved, but image quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies only the specific portions of the image containing individuals who have opted for privacy protection, while leaving the rest of the image in its original high quality. This selective approach minimizes overall image quality degradation while achieving the necessary privacy protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies modification only to the extent necessary for privacy protection - modifying just the affected person portions rather than the entire image. This partial action approach maintains image quality in unaffected areas while providing adequate privacy protection where needed.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If distribution control is implemented to respect individual preferences, then privacy protection is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent allows individuals to self-configure their privacy preferences and distribution permissions through user-friendly interfaces. Users can independently set their preferences without requiring complex manual control by the distributor, simplifying the overall operation while maintaining strong privacy protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary configuration where users set their distribution preferences in advance. This allows the distribution system to automatically handle complex control logic based on pre-configured rules, making the actual distribution operation simpler and more automated.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for processing group images for distribution are described. Images corresponding to a group may be and sometimes are modified differently prior to being supplied to members of the group than when being supplied to entities which are not members of the group to which the image corresponds. Images of group members maybe and sometimes are replaced. Group members can provide an image to be used in the replacement process so that multiple group images which include a similar user determined image of the individual. This can make it appear that the same individual is present in multiple different group images while still not providing visual details of the actual individual in the group images.