Creating preview images for controlling pan and tilt cameras
View Patent ↗Movements of a pan and tilt camera may be controlled by generating preview images of the view obtained by the camera in a particular direction. A camera may periodically scan its environment by moving through its range of motion and capturing a series of frames that can be stitched together. The resulting preview image may be a panoramic or spherical representation of the camera's possible viewpoints and may be displayed on a user interface for controlling the camera remotely. A live video from the camera may be displayed, and when a request to move a viewing angle of the camera is displayed, a corresponding portion of the preview image for the new viewing angle is displayed until a live video of the camera for the new viewing angle is available.
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
obtaining a preview image that was generated, prior to receipt of a request to change a viewing angle, from aggregation of multiple images obtained by a camera where each of the multiple images was obtained when the camera had a respective different viewing angle;
providing, on a display of a device, a first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at a first viewing angle;
receiving the request to change the viewing angle to a second viewing angle;
in response to receiving the request to change the viewing angle to the second viewing angle, determining a portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle;
determining that the first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the first viewing angle is different than the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the first viewing angle because of a lighting change;
in response to determining that the first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the first viewing angle is different than the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the first viewing angle because of a lighting change, providing, on the display of the device, the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with alterations;
causing the camera to move so that the viewing angle of the camera changes to the second viewing angle;
determining that the camera has moved so that a second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle is available; and
in response to determining that the camera has moved so that the second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle is available, replacing, on the display of the device, the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with the second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle comprises replacing the first view of the camera with the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle of the camera.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the camera to move comprises providing instructions that cause the camera to one or more of pan or tilt.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle comprises:
determining the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the image that was previously obtained when the camera was at the second viewing angle and obtained before the receipt of the request.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first view and the second view of the camera comprise live video.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the first view of the camera according to the first viewing angle comprises:
providing the first view of the camera in a graphical user interface,
wherein the request to change the viewing angle is received through the graphical user interface.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the request to change the viewing angle comprises a swipe on the first view of the camera in the graphical user interface.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining that the second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle is available comprises:
determining that the camera has finished moving and that the second view is being received from the camera.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the preview image that was generated, prior to receipt of the request to change the viewing angle, from aggregation of multiple images obtained by the camera where each of the multiple images was obtained when the camera had the respective different viewing angle comprises:
prior to receiving the request, panning and tilting the camera about the camera's full range of motion to obtain the images from the different viewing angles of the camera.
10. The method of claim 9 , comprising:
determining that a view of the camera is not being displayed on the device; and
in response to determining that a view of the camera is not being displayed on the device, instructing the camera to pan and tilt about the camera's full range of motion to obtain the images from the different viewing angles of the camera.
11. The method of claim 1 , comprising:
determining that the portion of the preview image corresponding to the first viewing angle of the camera is different than the first view of the camera; and
in response to determining that the portion of the preview image corresponding to the first viewing angle of camera is different than the first view of the camera, re-generating the preview image.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the preview image that was generated, prior to receipt of the request to change the viewing angle, from aggregation of multiple images obtained by the camera where each of the multiple images was obtained when the camera had the respective different viewing angle, comprises:
determining conditions in which each of multiple preview images were generated;
determining a current condition matches the condition in which the preview image was generated; and
selecting the preview image from the multiple preview images.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the preview image comprises a three hundred sixty degree view.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein in response to determining that the first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the first viewing angle is different than the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the first viewing angle, providing, on the display of the device, the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with alterations comprises:
providing the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with alterations to the preview image that emphasize outlines around objects.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the camera to move so that the viewing angle of the camera changes to the second viewing angle is in response to determining that an additional request to change the viewing angle to a third viewing angle has not been received within a pre-defined period of time after the request to change the viewing angle to the second viewing angle is received and before the camera moves so that the viewing angle of the camera changes to the second viewing angle.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein in response to determining that the first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the first viewing angle is different than the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the first viewing angle, providing, on the display of the device, the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with alterations comprises:
identifying edges of objects in the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle; and
generating a black and white line drawing based on the edges that are identified.
17. A system comprising:
one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
obtaining a preview image that was generated, prior to receipt of a request to change a viewing angle, from aggregation of multiple images obtained by a camera where each of the multiple images was obtained when the camera had a respective different viewing angle;
providing, on a display of a device, a first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at a first viewing angle;
receiving the request to change the viewing angle to a second viewing angle;
in response to receiving the request to change the viewing angle to the second viewing angle, determining a portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle;
determining that the first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the first viewing angle is different than the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the first viewing angle because of a lighting change;
in response to determining that the first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the first viewing angle is different than the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the first viewing angle because of a lighting change, providing, on the display of the device, the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with alterations;
causing the camera to move so that the viewing angle of the camera changes to the second viewing angle;
determining that the camera has moved so that a second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle is available; and
in response to determining that the camera has moved so that the second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle is available, replacing, on the display of the device, the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with the second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein providing the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle comprises replacing the first view of the camera with the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle of the camera.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein causing the camera to move comprises providing instructions that cause the camera to one or more of pan or tilt.
20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
obtaining a preview image that was generated, prior to receipt of a request to change a viewing angle, from aggregation of multiple images obtained by a camera where each of the multiple images was obtained when the camera had a respective different viewing angle;
providing, on a display of a device, a first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at a first viewing angle;
receiving the request to change the viewing angle to a second viewing angle;
in response to receiving the request to change the viewing angle to the second viewing angle, determining a portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle;
determining that the first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the first viewing angle is different than the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the first viewing angle because of a lighting change;
in response to determining that the first view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the first viewing angle is different than the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the first viewing angle because of a lighting change, providing, on the display of the device, the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with alterations;
causing the camera to move so that the viewing angle of the camera changes to the second viewing angle;
determining that the camera has moved so that a second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle is available; and
in response to determining that the camera has moved so that the second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle is available, replacing, on the display of the device, the portion of the preview image that corresponds to the second viewing angle with the second view of the camera according to the viewing angle at the second viewing angle.