Real-Time Image Collection System for Mobile Groups
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for sharing digital images lack a convenient mechanism for groups of individuals to share photos in real-time while attending an event or location, limiting the ability to search for and retrieve images based on statistics or real-time image searches.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for creating a real-time, dynamic image collection that allows geographically co-located mobile device users to connect via a wireless network, share images, and specify preferences for receiving images, with a central server storing and managing the image collection and enabling content-based searches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional methods (email, personal photo-sharing sites) are used to share digital images, then individuals can share photos with others, but groups of individuals cannot share photos in real-time while attending an event
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual photo-sharing activities into a single collective photo collection that is automatically assembled from multiple mobile devices attending the same event. The system combines images from different users into one unified collection that all participants can access in real-time, eliminating the need for individual sharing actions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary that receives images from multiple mobile devices, processes them into a collective photo collection, and distributes them back to participants. This intermediary enables real-time sharing without requiring direct peer-to-peer communication between all users.
2Loss of information
If conventional methods are used, then images can be shared after an event, but there is no mechanism for searching or retrieving images based on statistics or real-time criteria
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors and updates statistics about the photo collection (such as most popular images, frequently captured subjects, or geotagged locations) and uses this feedback to enable intelligent search and retrieval functions. This allows users to query the collection based on dynamic criteria rather than static file names.
3Productivity
If a real-time image collection is created from multiple mobile devices, then group sharing is enabled, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the system automatically performs tasks such as identifying which images belong to the collective collection, organizing them by event or location, and updating the photo collection without requiring manual intervention from users. The mobile devices and server work autonomously to maintain the collection.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of a system and methods for real-time image collection and sharing are described. A group of geographically co-located mobile device users may capture images on the mobile devices during a session. The devices may send the images, during the same session, to a database where the images may be stored as a real-time image collection. The image collection may be shared, during the same session, among the mobile device users. The users may receive notification of new images in the image collection based on user preferences. The users may request, from the image collection, images containing particular content by identifying the content on an image and sending a search request which includes the identified content. A computation server may maintain a data set which associates similar images in the image collection. The data set may be updated for each new image that is added to the image collection.