IP Library Granted Patent US 9,378,408
Granted Patent B2
US 9,378,408 · App. 14/731,833 · Granted Jun 28, 2016

Assisted photo-tagging with facial recognition models

View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,378,408
App. No.
14/731,833
Granted
Jun 28, 2016
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments of the invention perform assisted tagging of images, including tagging of people, locations, and activities depicted in those images. A batch of images is received comprising images of faces, including at least some faces that have not yet been tagged. A facial recognition algorithm is applied to the faces to determine matching data comprising possible tags for each untagged face. A logic engine applies logic rules to reduce the likelihood that certain matches are correct. The most likely match from among the possible matches is selected for suggestion to the user for verification. Once verified, the metadata of the image indicating the recognized people within the image is updated.

Claims (39)

1. A computer-implemented method for recognizing and tagging faces, comprising:

receiving a batch of images comprising faces by one or more computer processors;

identifying an untagged face in an image in the batch by the one or more computer processors;

matching the untagged face to a plurality of facial recognition models associated with known persons by the one or more computer processors, to produce matching data comprising possible tags for the untagged face, wherein each of the possible tags is associated with a known person and a probability factor; and

automatically selecting a provisional tag for the untagged face from the possible tags based on the associated probability factors, comprising:

identifying, by the one or more computer processors, a highest probability factor among the probability factors that associate known persons with multiple untagged faces;

assigning a first untagged face to a first known person by the one or more computer processors based on the highest probability factor; and

eliminating at least one of the possible tags from a second untagged face by the one or more computer processors based on the highest probability factor.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the one or more computer processors, a location at which the image was taken, wherein the untagged face in the image is prohibited to be tagged to a known person that is known to be at a different location when the image was taken.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the one or more computer processors, an age of the untagged face in the image, wherein the untagged face is prohibited to be tagged to a known person that has a different age from the age determined for the untagged face.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the untagged face in the image is prohibited to be tagged to a known person that is already tagged to another face in the image.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the step of eliminating at least one of the possible tags from a second untagged face is in response to assignment of the first untagged face to the first known person.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sending a facial recognition request comprising the image comprising the untagged face to a facial recognition sever; and

receiving the matching data from the facial recognition server.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a gender of the untagged face in the image by the one or more computer processors, wherein the untagged face is to be tagged to a known person that has the same gender as the gender determined for the untagged face.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the matching data further comprises at least one of an estimated age for the face or a predicted gender for the face.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the matching data further comprises an unknown person tag indicating that no match was found.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , further comprising:

determining importance of people tagged as unknown based on a frequency that faces of the people appear in a user's images.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , further comprising:

presenting images of unknown people for identification by a user in order of importance.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sending a plurality of provisional tags and the corresponding untagged faces to a client device for display at the client device;

receiving an indication that one or more of the provisional tags are incorrect from the client device; and

replacing the one or more of the provisional tags that are indicated to be incorrect with a provisional unknown person tag.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , further comprising:

grouping a subset of faces with an unknown person tag into a group based on a similarity between matching data corresponding to each of the subset; and

sending a request to the client device for a user to provide an identity for the group and indicate any faces in the group that do not correspond to the provided identity.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more computer processors, an input from the user that indicates at least one of the untagged faces that has been incorrectly tagged.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , further comprising:

verifying tags not indicated to be incorrect; and

updating at least one of facial recognition models based on the tags that are not indicated to be incorrect.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , further comprising:

updating at least one of facial recognition models based on the one or more of the provisional tags indicated to be incorrect.

Assignments (10)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 25, 2024
From: JOHNSON, ANDREA R.; JOHNSON, MATTHEW J.; TOUTENHOOFD, NICO; FENTON, CLINTON L.
To: THISLIFE.COM, INC.
Reel/Frame 069393/0361 →
MERGER Recorded Nov 25, 2024
From: THISLIFE.COM, INC.
To: SHUTTERFLY, INC.
Reel/Frame 069393/0395 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 22, 2019
From: SHUTTERFLY, INC.
To: SHUTTERFLY, LLC
Reel/Frame 051095/0172 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 27, 2019
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: SHUTTERFLY INC.
Reel/Frame 050572/0508 →
FIRST LIEN SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 27, 2019
From: SHUTTERFLY, INC.
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 050574/0865 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 26, 2019
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: SHUTTERFLY, INC.; LIFETOUCH INC.; LIFETOUCH NATIONAL SCHOOL STUDIOS INC.
Reel/Frame 050527/0868 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 23, 2018
From: SHUTTERFLY, INC.; LIFETOUCH INC.; LIFETOUCH NATIONAL SCHOOL STUDIOS INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 046216/0396 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 18, 2017
From: SHUTTERFLY, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 043601/0955 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 17, 2017
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: SHUTTERFLY, INC.
Reel/Frame 043542/0693 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 15, 2016
From: SHUTTERFLY, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 039024/0761 →