Image Allocation Device for Photo Book Layout Without Metadata
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Solution Overview
Problem
The deletion of meta-information such as Exif from images uploaded to social networking services for privacy protection renders it impossible to discriminate images by shooting date and time, making it difficult to create a photo book with a desired layout, as images cannot be properly grouped and allocated to display pages.
Innovation Solution
An image allocation device and method that classify images into groups based on image characteristic quantities, allowing for reclassification and sequence adjustment to ensure proper division, adjacent page allocation, and balance between image groups and display pages, regardless of shooting information availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If shooting information is deleted from image metadata for privacy protection, then user privacy is protected, but image discrimination by shooting date and time becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts shooting information from metadata and embeds it directly into the image data structure. This allows the system to retain and utilize shooting date and time information for image discrimination and grouping while maintaining privacy protection by keeping the information within the controlled photo book creation system rather than in external metadata that could be exposed.
2Reliability
If images are classified without shooting information, then privacy is maintained, but proper image grouping and layout cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces image characteristic quantities as an intermediary between the absence of shooting information and the need for accurate image grouping. By calculating and utilizing visual features of images, the system can perform meaningful classification and layout without relying on deleted metadata, thus maintaining both privacy protection and grouping accuracy.
3Manufacturing precision
If manual layout adjustment is performed to achieve desired photo book layout, then layout accuracy is improved, but user workload and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary automatic classification and layout arrangement of images based on shooting information and image characteristics before the user receives the photo book. This preliminary action achieves accurate grouping and sequencing automatically, eliminating the need for manual layout adjustment and significantly reducing user time consumption while maintaining high layout accuracy.
4Ease of operation
If images are grouped by shooting date and time, then chronological ordering is achieved, but the system cannot handle images with deleted metadata
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter basis for image grouping from shooting date and time metadata to image characteristic quantities such as visual features and content analysis results. This parameter change enables the system to maintain automatic layout capabilities while becoming compatible with images that have had their metadata deleted or processed by social networking services.
Data Source
AI summary
An image allocation device and an image allocation method are provided which are capable of calculating image characteristic quantities of a plurality of image data corresponding to a plurality of images, classifying the plurality of image data into image groups, whose number corresponds with the number of pages of display pages, based on the image characteristic quantities, and changing the sequence of the image groups according to the distances between the image groups as determined by the image characteristic quantities.