Partial Human-Body Image Transmission for Privacy-Aware Display

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing game systems struggle with appropriate image display when capturing human bodies, particularly in scenarios where the image quality and privacy considerations are crucial, such as video chat or gaming environments.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that generates and transmits partial image data of a human body, along with state data, allowing reception terminals to determine the appropriate image display based on the captured state, including conditions for when the human body is not present, adjusting image size, and using H.264 standard for data transmission.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If the entire captured image is transmitted and displayed, then the image completeness is maintained, but privacy leakage risk increases when human body parts are captured

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy leakage riskVSAvoidimage completeness

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The captured image is segmented into multiple regions, and only the region containing the human body part is extracted and transmitted as image data, while the rest of the image is discarded. This segmentation approach maintains privacy by excluding non-relevant areas while preserving the essential content.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The relevant portion (human body part) is extracted from the entire captured image using detection results. By taking out only the necessary part and transmitting it separately, the system reduces privacy risks associated with transmitting the full image while maintaining the essential information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Measurement precision

If the captured image is enlarged to improve visibility of human body parts, then the detail quality improves, but the file size and transmission bandwidth increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimage detail qualityVSAvoiddata transmission volume

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of enlarging the entire captured image, the system segments and extracts only the region containing the human body part. This approach provides detailed views of relevant areas while minimizing the total data volume by excluding unnecessary portions of the original image.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different processing quality levels to different regions: the detected human body part region is extracted with sufficient detail quality, while the rest of the image is completely discarded. This local quality approach optimizes the balance between detail visibility and data transmission volume.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the system always transmits partial images containing human body parts, then privacy protection is improved, but the complexity of image processing and detection increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy protectionVSAvoidimage processing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of human body parts in the captured image before extracting and transmitting the relevant region. By detecting and identifying the region of interest in advance, the system simplifies the subsequent processing steps and automates the privacy-protective image generation without requiring complex real-time processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Device complexity

If predetermined image data is transmitted when no human body is detected, then the system simplicity is maintained, but the adaptability to different capture conditions decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoidadaptability to capture conditions

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts its transmission behavior based on detection results: when human body parts are detected, it transmits extracted partial images; when no human body parts are detected, it transmits predetermined image data. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain simplicity in common cases while handling diverse capture conditions appropriately.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS20260007961A1System, information processing apparatus, method, and computer-readable storage medium

Publication Date: 2026.01.08 NINTENDO CO LTD

AI summary

A system including at least one transmission terminal and at least one reception terminal is provided. The transmission terminal generates and transmits first image data. The transmission terminal generates, when an image captured by a camera includes a part of a human body, an image of an area which is a partial area of the captured image and includes the part of the human body, as the first image data. The transmission terminal transmits state data based on a state of capturing the human body in the captured image. The reception terminal receives the first image data and the state data and generates an image to be shown on a display based on the state data, the generated image including an image based on the first image data or an image based on second image data in place of the first image data.