Method and apparatus for remotely controlling an image capture position of a camera
A digital image capture device streams captured images (e.g. low-resolution images) to a remote viewer terminal, along with image identifiers and/or device position information. The remote viewer terminal displays the images for viewing by a remote viewer. The remote viewer provides inputs to a user interface, which indicate a direction of desired movement of the image capture device, and/or that the remote viewer wants new images (e.g. high-resolution images) to be captured at a desired position. The user interface inputs are translated into requests, which are transmitted to the image capture device. The image capture device provides movement prompts that direct a device operator to move the device in a requested direction or toward a requested position. When a position of the device corresponds to a requested image capture position, the image capture device captures one or more new images, and transmits the new images.
1. A method performed by a first device that includes a digital camera, the method comprising:
capturing, by the digital camera, an image;
determining, by the first device, device position data associated with the image;
storing, by the first device, the device position data in association with a unique image identifier;
receiving, over a data path, an image capture request from a second device, wherein the image capture request includes the unique image identifier;
in response to receiving the image capture request, retrieving, by the first device and based on the unique image identifier, the device position data;
determining, by the first device, an image capture position of the first device based on the retrieved device position data; and
when a current position of the first device corresponds to the determined image capture position, capturing a new image using the digital camera to produce new image data.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting the new image data to the second device.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image capture position is defined using at least one position definition parameter selected from a group consisting of a device orientation, a device geographical location, and an optical magnification level.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to receiving the image capture request:
transmitting, by the first device to the second device, the unique image identifier with the device position data.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein:
capturing the first image comprises capturing the first image at a relatively low resolution; and
capturing the new image comprises capturing the new image at a relatively high resolution.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
computing a proposed movement path between a current device position and the image capture position; and
providing movement prompts to direct an operator of the first device to move the first device along the proposed movement path to the image capture position.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein:
the first device further comprises a display;
the first device displays real-time images captured by the digital camera; and
the movement prompts include directional indicators displayed with the real-time images.
8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
determining whether there is a substantial deviation between the current device position and the proposed movement path; and
when there is the substantial deviation, providing additional movement prompts to alert the operator regarding the substantial deviation.
9. A first device comprising:
a digital camera configured to capture an image;
a processing system configured to determine device position data associated with the image;
a data storage configured to store the device position data in association with a unique image identifier;
a data path interface configured to receive, over a data path, an image capture request from a second device, wherein the image capture request includes the unique image identifier; and
wherein the processing system further is configured to, in response to receiving the image capture request, retrieve the position data based on the unique image identifier, determine an image capture position of the first device based on the retrieved device position data, and when a current position of the first device corresponds to the image capture position, control the digital camera to capture a new image and to produce new image data based on the new image.
10. The first device of claim 9 , wherein the processing system is further configured to compute a proposed movement path between the current position of the first device and the image capture position, and to provide movement prompts to direct a device operator of the first device to move the first device along the proposed movement path to the image capture position.
11. The first device of claim 10 , further comprising:
a display configured to display real-time images captured by the digital camera, wherein the movement prompts include directional indicators displayed with the real-time images.
12. The first device of claim 9 , wherein:
the processing system is further configured to transmit to the second device, via the data path interface, the unique image identifier with the device position data.
13. The first device of claim 9 , wherein the first device is a cellular telephone.