IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,256,150
Granted Patent B2
US 12,256,150 · App. 18/623,158 · Granted Mar 18, 2025

Scale-down capture preview for a panorama capture user interface

Inventors: Lawrence Chia-Yu Huang (Santa Clara, CA); Carsten Hinz (Munich, DE); Chorong Hwang Johnston (Mountain View, CA); Mike Ma (San Jose, CA); Isaac William Reynolds (Longmont, UT)
Assignee: Google LLC
H04N23/698H04N23/631H04N23/633H04N23/64
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,256,150
App. No.
18/623,158
Granted
Mar 18, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

This document describes apparatuses and techniques enabling a scale down capture preview for a panorama capture user interface. This scale down preview enables users to more-easily and more-accurately capture images for a panorama.

Claims (48)

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a user interface (UI) of a computing device, a selection to capture images to generate a panorama image, the received selection effective to cause the computing device to begin an image-capture process to generate the panorama image, the image-capture process having been configured to capture a plurality of images, and the image-capture process having a first portion capturing a plurality of first images and a second portion capturing a plurality of second images, the first portion captured prior to the second portion;

providing, by the UI, a preview of the panorama image during the image-capture process, wherein the providing of the preview comprises providing an early-received image from the first portion and dropping one or more later-received images from the first portion, the early-received image having been captured prior to the one or more later-received images, and dropping one or more intermediate images of the plurality of images to fit the panorama image within at least one of a width or a height of a display of the computing device;

receiving, by the UI, an indication that the image-capture process has been completed; and

providing, by the UI, the generated panorama image comprising images from the first portion and the second portion.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the providing of the generated panorama image further comprises:

processing, by an image processor, images captured during the image-capture process to generate the panorama image.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the indication that the image-capture process has been completed comprises at least one of a first selection to cease the image-capture process or a second selection to generate the panorama image.

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

providing, by the UI, one or more of the plurality of first images captured during the first portion of the image-capture process at a first size; and

providing, by the UI, one or more of the plurality of second images captured during the second portion of the image-capture process at a second size, the second size smaller than the first size.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the image-capture process is a continuous process of capturing images, the continuous process progressively capturing images from a beginning of the image-capture process to an end of the image-capture process,

wherein sizes at which the progressively captured images are provided are progressively smaller, and

wherein the first size and the second size are two of multiple progressively smaller sizes.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the sizes at which the progressively captured images are provided are progressively smaller until a threshold size, the threshold size met prior to the providing of the generated panorama image.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of first images are progressively reduced in size to match the second size.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein a final size of the plurality of first images and the plurality of second images is identical.

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

providing, by the UI, a visual guide, the visual guide superimposed over at least a portion of the images provided by the UI, the visual guide configured to indicate, to a user of the computing device, a desired change to an angular position of the computing device in three dimensions.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , wherein the desired change to an angular position of the computing device in three dimensions further comprises at least one of:

a change to a cant to hold the computing device, or

a change to a cant to move the computing device.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , wherein the visual guide comprises a guide box, and wherein the desired change to an angular position of the computing device in three dimensions is indicated by:

providing the guide box at an angle oblique to an angle of the one or more of the plurality of images; and

providing a bent arrow indicating the desired change to an angular position of the computing device in three dimensions.

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

providing, by the UI, a visual guide, the visual guide superimposed over at least a portion of the images provided by the UI, the visual guide configured to indicate, to a user of the computing device, a desired change to a speed at which to move the computing device.

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

providing, by the UI, a visual guide, the visual guide superimposed over at least a portion of the images provided by the UI, the visual guide configured to indicate, to a user of the computing device, a desired change to an up-and-down position to move the computing device.

14. An apparatus comprising:

a camera;

a processor; and

computer-readable storage media having stored instructions that, responsive to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a user interface (UI) of the camera, a selection to capture images to generate a panorama image, the received selection effective to cause the camera to begin an image-capture process to generate the panorama image, the image-capture process having been configured to capture a plurality of images, and the image-capture process having a first portion capturing a plurality of first images and a second portion capturing a plurality of second images, the first portion captured prior to the second portion;

providing, by the UI, a preview of the panorama image during the image-capture process, wherein the providing of the preview comprises providing an early-received image from the first portion and dropping one or more later-received images from the first portion, the early-received image having been captured prior to the one or more later-received images, and dropping one or more intermediate images of the plurality of images to fit the panorama image within at least one of a width or a height of a display of the computing device;

receiving, by the UI, an indication that the image-capture process has been completed; and

providing, by the UI, the generated panorama image comprising images from the first portion and the second portion.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the operations for the providing of the generated panorama image further comprise operations for:

processing, by an image processor, images captured during the image-capture process to generate the panorama image.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the operations for the processing of the images further comprise operations for dropping one or more intermediate images of the plurality of images to fit the panorama image within at least one of a width or a height of a display of the camera.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the indication that the image-capture process has been completed comprises at least one of a first selection to cease the image-capture process or a second selection to generate the panorama image.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 , the operations further comprising:

providing, by the UI, one or more of the plurality of first images captured during the first portion of the image-capture process at a first size; and

providing, by the UI, one or more of the plurality of second images captured during the second portion of the image-capture process at a second size, the second size smaller than the first size.

19. An article of manufacture comprising one or more non-transitory computer readable media having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, cause the computing device to carry out functions comprising:

receiving, by a user interface (UI) of the computing device, a selection to capture images to generate a panorama image, the received selection effective to cause the computing device to begin an image-capture process to generate the panorama image, the image-capture process having been configured to capture a plurality of images, and the image-capture process having a first portion capturing a plurality of first images and a second portion capturing a plurality of second images, the first portion captured prior to the second portion;

providing, by the UI, a preview of the panorama image during the image-capture process, wherein the providing of the preview comprises providing an early-received image from the first portion and dropping one or more later-received images from the first portion, the early-received image having been captured prior to the one or more later-received images, and dropping one or more intermediate images of the plurality of images to fit the panorama image within at least one of a width or a height of a display of the computing device;

receiving, by the UI, an indication that the image-capture process has been completed; and providing, by the UI, the generated panorama image comprising images from the first portion and the second portion.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 3, 2024
From: HUANG, LAWRENCE CHIA-YU; HINZ, CARSTEN; JOHNSTON, CHORONG HWANG; MA, MIKE
To: GOOGLE LLC
Reel/Frame 066987/0343 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 17277960
Provisional Application 62741730 · Oct 5, 2018
Related Publication 20240251169A1 · Jul 25, 2024
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