Video Communication Lighting Mitigation via Substitute Streams
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unreliable electrical power in video communication sessions can lead to abrupt changes in lighting conditions, causing inadequate illumination of participants, which disrupts the video image stream and user experience.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with an image capturing device and a controller that monitors ambient lighting levels, either turns on a built-in light source or communicates a substitute image stream to maintain consistent illumination during video communication sessions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If overhead and standing lighting sources are turned off during power shedding or black-outs, then energy consumption is reduced, but ambient lighting level drops causing inadequate illumination of participants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a substitute image stream as an intermediary solution. When ambient lighting becomes inadequate, the system replaces the actual video feed with a pre-captured or buffered image stream, thereby maintaining acceptable illumination levels in the video output without requiring additional energy-consuming lighting sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the video image stream and uses this copied version as a substitute when lighting conditions deteriorate. The substitute image stream is a replica that can be displayed instead of the live feed, preserving the visual appearance of adequate lighting without the energy cost of maintaining actual ambient light levels.
2Loss of energy
If ambient lighting is reduced during power supply loss, then energy consumption decreases, but video image quality deteriorates due to abrupt lighting changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and storing image streams before lighting conditions deteriorate. When power supply loss occurs and ambient lighting drops, the pre-captured substitute image stream is already available for immediate deployment, preventing the abrupt lighting changes that would otherwise degrade video image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements beforehand cushioning by maintaining a buffer of substitute image streams in advance. This cushioning mechanism ensures that when actual lighting conditions worsen due to power supply issues, the system can smoothly transition to the pre-prepared substitute streams, cushioning against the quality deterioration that would result from abrupt lighting changes.
3Illumination intensity
If a light source is turned on to illuminate objects, then illumination intensity increases, but device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of introducing physical lighting hardware, the patent uses a digital intermediary - the substitute image stream - to achieve the effect of improved illumination. This approach increases lighting perception in the video output without adding physical light sources, thereby avoiding the associated device complexity and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a copied image stream to simulate the effect of proper illumination rather than actually illuminating the scene. By displaying a copy or alternative image that appears properly lit, the system achieves the visual goal without the physical complexity and energy costs of additional lighting hardware.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures continuous and consistent lighting for participants, minimizing disruptions and maintaining a good user experience by either illuminating the participant or switching to a buffered or default image stream when ambient lighting falls below a threshold.
Implementation Method 1
at least one image capturing device that captures and provides an image stream including at least one object
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device, computer program product, and method mitigate changes in ambient lighting of a local participant in a video communication session to avoid a distraction to other participant(s) using second electronic device(s). A controller of the electronic device monitors a current lighting level in an image stream captured and provided by an image capturing device(s) of the electronic device to the second electronic device(s). The electronic device communicates, via a network interface, a live version of the image stream to the video communication session while the current light level is at or above a lighting level threshold. In response to the current light level not being above the threshold, the controller responds by: (i) turning on a light source to illuminate at least one object that is being presented within the image stream; or (ii) communicating an alternate image stream, via the network interface, to the video communication session.