Video Background Replacement for Privacy in Public Conferencing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional smart camera systems face challenges in adapting to non-traditional office environments for video conferencing, leading to issues with private information exposure, background noise, and lack of shared visual context, resulting in a poor user experience.
Innovation Solution
A computerized system that detects and separates the user's background from their video stream, replacing it with a background from another user or a pre-recorded one, and automatically modifies reflective areas like glasses, while also muting the microphone based on head pose and lip motion to enhance privacy and immersion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If video conferencing is conducted in public spaces, then mobility and accessibility are improved, but private information exposure and background noise increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes the background from the video stream, separating the user from their surrounding environment. This extraction process isolates the user while eliminating potentially harmful background information exposure, allowing mobile conferencing without privacy risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual background as an intermediary layer between the user and the real-world background. This virtual mediator replaces the actual background with a synthesized or pre-recorded scene, preventing private information exposure while maintaining the user's mobility in public spaces.
2Adaptability or versatility
If video conferencing is conducted in public spaces, then mobility and accessibility are improved, but audio quality deteriorates due to ambient noise
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes ambient noise from the audio stream, separating desired speech from unwanted environmental sounds. This extraction allows users to maintain mobility in public spaces while eliminating audio quality deterioration caused by ambient noise.
3Device complexity
If conventional camera systems are used, then device complexity is reduced, but shared visual context and user experience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual background as an intermediary that provides shared visual context between remote participants. This mediator creates a common visual environment that enhances user experience and facilitates better conversational grounding, while the system maintains relative simplicity through automated processing.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If background replacement is implemented, then private information exposure is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a copy or replica of a background scene (either pre-recorded or generated) to replace the real background. This copying approach provides effective privacy protection by eliminating exposure of private information, while using established image processing techniques to manage system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A computerized system comprising a processing unit and a memory, the system operating in connection with a real-time video conference stream containing a video of a user, wherein the memory embodies a set of computer-executable instructions, which cause the computerized system to perform a method involving: receiving the real time video conference stream containing the video of the user; detecting the background in the received real time video conference stream from the user; and matching the first background and a second background associated with the second user.