Methods and systems for scoreboard text region detection

1. A method for automatically detecting, within a digital video frame, a video frame region that depicts a textual expression of a scoreboard, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computing system, the digital video frame, wherein the digital video frame depicts scoreboard image elements, wherein the depicted scoreboard image elements include the textual expression and other image elements, and wherein the computing system comprises a processing unit;

engaging, by the computing system, in an edge-detection process to detect edges of at least the depicted scoreboard image elements in the received digital video frame, wherein at least some of the detected edges (i) are of the textual expression and (ii) define alphanumeric shapes;

applying pattern-recognition, by the computing system, to identify the alphanumeric shapes, wherein applying the pattern-recognition to identify a given one of the alphanumeric shapes comprises (i) identifying one or more edges, of the detected edges, based on the one or more identified edges enclosing an area within the digital video frame and (ii) determining that the enclosed area has an alphanumeric characteristic and responsively deeming the one or more identified edges as defining the given alphanumeric shape;

establishing, by the computing system, a plurality of minimum bounding rectangles each bounding a respective one of the identified alphanumeric shapes in the digital video frame;

establishing in the digital video frame, by the computing system, based on at least two of the minimum bounding rectangles, a composite shape that encompasses the identified alphanumeric shapes that were bounded by the at least two minimum bounding rectangles, wherein the at least two minimum bounding rectangles comprise first and second minimum bounding rectangles, wherein establishing the composite shape comprises extending at least the first minimum bounding rectangle by a particular extent, and wherein the extending merges together at least the extended first minimum bounding rectangle and the second minimum bounding rectangle into the composite shape; and

based on the established composite shape occupying a particular region of the digital video frame, deeming, by the computing system, the particular region to be the video frame region that depicts the textual expression of the scoreboard.

2. The method of claim 1 , carried out while receiving a real-time broadcast feed, wherein receiving the digital video frame comprises receiving the digital video frame as part of the real-time broadcast feed.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein engaging in the edge-detection process comprises engaging in the edge-detection process in a predefined frame region within the digital video frame.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying one or more edges, of the detected edges, based on the one or more identified edges enclosing an area within the digital video frame comprises applying a contouring procedure that traces one or more of the detected edges to identify the one or more edges that enclose the area.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the edge-detection process generates a binary representation of the detected edges, and wherein applying the contouring procedure comprises applying the contouring procedure to the binary representation of the detected edges.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the enclosed area has the alphanumeric characteristic comprises:

determining an aspect ratio of the enclosed area, and

determining that the determined aspect ratio is indicative of the enclosed area having the alphanumeric characteristic.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the digital video frame defines a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, wherein the digital video frame depicts the textual expression substantially along the horizontal axis of the digital video frame, and wherein the extending comprises extending at least the first minimum bounding rectangle substantially along the horizontal axis.

8. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein establishing the plurality of minimum bounding rectangles comprises generating a binary representation that represents the first minimum bounding rectangle as spanning a first set of pixels of the digital video frame, and

wherein the extending comprises updating the binary representation to represent the extended first minimum bounding rectangle as spanning the pixels of the first set in combination with a predetermined number of additional pixels of the digital video frame.

9. The method of claim 8 ,

wherein the additional pixels are substantially alongside the pixels of the first set in the digital video frame.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the generated binary representation also represents the second minimum bounding rectangle as spanning a second set of pixels of the digital video frame, and wherein the updated binary representation represents the composite shape as spanning a combined set of pixels that includes (i) the pixels of the first set, (ii) the pixels of the second set, and (iii) the additional pixels, the method further comprising:

making a determination, by the computing system, that the established composite shape occupies the particular region, wherein making the determination comprises (i) applying a connected-component-labeling procedure to detect, in the updated binary representation, the pixels of the combined set that correspond to the composite shape and (ii) deeming the detected pixels to be representative of the particular region of the digital video frame.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the particular extent is a first particular extent, and wherein establishing the composite shape further comprises:

extending the second minimum bounding rectangle by a second particular extent, and

wherein the extending merges together the extended first minimum bounding rectangle and the extended second minimum bounding rectangle into the composite shape.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first particular extent is the same as the second particular extent.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the digital video frame defines a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, wherein the digital video frame depicts the textual expression substantially along the horizontal axis of the digital video frame, and wherein the extending comprises extending (i) the first minimum bounding rectangle substantially along the horizontal axis and (ii) the second minimum bounding rectangle substantially along the horizontal axis.

14. The method of claim 11 ,

wherein establishing the plurality of minimum bounding rectangles comprises generating a binary representation that represents (i) the first minimum bounding rectangle as spanning a first set of pixels of the digital video frame and (ii) the second minimum bounding rectangle as spanning a second set of pixels of the digital video frame, and

wherein the extending comprises updating the binary representation to represent (i) the extended first minimum bounding rectangle as spanning the pixels of the first set in combination with a predetermined number of additional first pixels of the digital video frame and (ii) the extended second minimum bounding rectangle as spanning the pixels of the second set in combination with a predetermined number of additional second pixels of the digital video frame.

15. The method of claim 14 ,

wherein the additional first pixels are substantially alongside the pixels of the first set in the digital video frame, and

wherein the additional second pixels are substantially alongside the pixels of the second set in the digital video frame.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the updated binary representation represents the composite shape as spanning a combined set of pixels that includes (i) the pixels of the first set, (ii) the pixels of the second set, (iii) the additional first pixels, and (iv) the additional second pixels, the method further comprising:

making a determination, by the computing system, that the established composite shape occupies the particular region, wherein making the determination comprises (i) applying a connected-component-labeling procedure to detect, in the updated binary representation, the pixels of the combined set that correspond to the composite shape and (ii) deeming the detected pixels to be representative of the particular region of the digital video frame.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

carrying out, by the computing system, an action based on the detecting of the video frame region that depicts the textual expression of the scoreboard, wherein carrying out the action comprises one or more of the following:

(i) recording the detected video frame region,

(ii) outputting a report related to the detected video frame region, and

(iii) recognizing the textual expression in the detected video frame region.

18. A computing system comprising:

a processing unit;

non-transitory data storage; and

program instructions stored in the non-transitory data storage and executable by the processing unit to carry out operations for automatically detecting, within a digital video frame, a video frame region that depicts a textual expression of a scoreboard, the operations comprising:

receiving the digital video frame, wherein the digital video frame depicts scoreboard image elements, and wherein the depicted scoreboard image elements include the textual expression and other image elements,

engaging in an edge-detection process to detect edges of at least the depicted scoreboard image elements in the received digital video frame, wherein at least some of the detected edges (i) are of the textual expression and (ii) define alphanumeric shapes,

applying pattern-recognition to identify the alphanumeric shapes, wherein applying the pattern-recognition to identify a given one of the alphanumeric shapes comprises (i) identifying one or more edges, of the detected edges, based on the one or more identified edges enclosing an area within the digital video frame and (ii) determining that the enclosed area has an alphanumeric characteristic and responsively deeming the one or more identified edges as defining the given alphanumeric shape,

establishing a plurality of minimum bounding rectangles each bounding a respective one of the identified alphanumeric shapes in the digital video frame,

establishing in the digital video frame, based on at least two of the minimum bounding rectangles, a composite shape that encompasses the identified alphanumeric shapes that were bounded by the at least two minimum bounding rectangles, wherein the at least two minimum bounding rectangles comprise first and second minimum bounding rectangles, wherein establishing the composite shape comprises extending at least the first minimum bounding rectangle by a particular extent, and wherein the extending merges together at least the extended first minimum bounding rectangle and the second minimum bounding rectangle into the composite shape, and

based on the established composite shape occupying a particular region of the digital video frame, deeming the particular region to be the video frame region that depicts the textual expression of the scoreboard.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a processing unit to cause a computing system to perform operations for automatically detecting, within a digital video frame, a video frame region that depicts a textual expression of a scoreboard, the operations comprising:

receiving the digital video frame, wherein the digital video frame depicts scoreboard image elements, and wherein the depicted scoreboard image elements include the textual expression and other image elements;

engaging in an edge-detection process to detect edges of at least the depicted scoreboard image elements in the received digital video frame, wherein at least some of the detected edges (i) are of the textual expression and (ii) define alphanumeric shapes;

applying pattern-recognition to identify the alphanumeric shapes, wherein applying the pattern-recognition to identify a given one of the alphanumeric shapes comprises (i) identifying one or more edges, of the detected edges, based on the one or more identified edges enclosing an area within the digital video frame and (ii) determining that the enclosed area has an alphanumeric characteristic and responsively deeming the one or more identified edges as defining the given alphanumeric shape;

establishing a plurality of minimum bounding rectangles each bounding a respective one of the identified alphanumeric shapes in the digital video frame;

establishing in the digital video frame, based on at least two of the minimum bounding rectangles, a composite shape that encompasses the identified alphanumeric shapes that were bounded by the at least two minimum bounding rectangles, wherein the at least two minimum bounding rectangles comprise first and second minimum bounding rectangles, wherein establishing the composite shape comprises extending at least the first minimum bounding rectangle by a particular extent, and wherein the extending merges together at least the extended first minimum bounding rectangle and the second minimum bounding rectangle into the composite shape; and

based on the established composite shape occupying a particular region of the digital video frame, deeming the particular region to be the video frame region that depicts the textual expression of the scoreboard.