System and method for tracking an object with multiple cameras

1. A system for automatically selecting a video signal for transmission, the system comprising:

a first camera, sensitive to invisible light, that captures a first video signal depicting the object, the first video signal having visible and invisible components;

a second camera that captures a second video signal having a visible component; and

a command module that uses the invisible component to determine a status of a triggering condition, wherein the command module switches between transmission of at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal and transmission of at least a subset of the visible component of the second video signal in response to satisfaction of the triggering condition.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the invisible light comprises infrared light generated by a human body.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an illuminator disposed on the object to project a target of invisible light.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the illuminator comprises a reflector, the system further comprising:

a stationary invisible light emitter that generates invisible light reflected by the reflector to project the target.

5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the illuminator comprises a portable invisible light emitter that generates invisible light to project the target.

6. The system of claim 3 , wherein the illuminator comprises an illuminating side and a non-illuminating side, the non-illuminating side comprising an adhesive for affixing the illuminator to the object.

7. The system of claim 3 , wherein the object comprises a person engaged in video communication using the camera.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the illuminator is attached to an article worn by the person.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the article is selected from the group consisting of a pair of glasses, a tie clip, and a piece of jewelry.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the illuminator comprises a coating applied directly to skin of the person, wherein the coating projects invisible light.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the object is selected from the group consisting of a remote control device and a set of keys.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first camera comprises:

a wide frequency charge-coupled device (CCD) that generates the visible component and the invisible component of the first video signal.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first camera comprises:

a first charge-coupled device (CCD) that generates the visible component of the first video signal; and

a second CCD that generates the invisible component of the first video signal.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the triggering condition comprises whether a target of invisible light associated with the object is detected within the invisible component of the first video signal.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the command module switches to transmission of the visible component of the first video signal in response to detection of the target within the invisible component of the first video signal.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the second video signal further comprises an invisible component, the command module switching to transmission of the visible component of the second video signal in response to detection of the target within the invisible component of the second video signal.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the triggering condition comprises whether the object is within a threshold distance of the first camera.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the threshold distance comprises a distance between the object and the second camera.

19. The system of claim 1 , wherein the triggering condition comprises whether the object is oriented toward the first camera.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the second video signal further comprises an invisible component, the invisible components of the first and second video signals each containing a target of invisible light associated with the object, wherein the command module compares the targets of the invisible components to determine whether the object is oriented nearer the first camera or the second camera.

21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the triggering condition comprises whether the object is positioned within a preferred operating region of the first camera.

22. The system of claim 21 , further comprising:

an identification subsystem that determines an identity of the object;

a tracking subsystem that processes the invisible component of the first video signal to determine a first object vector of the object with respect to the first camera; and

a storage subsystem that stores a camera preference map containing a preferred operating region for each of the first and second cameras.

23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the second camera is sensitive to invisible light, the second video signal having an invisible component, wherein the tracking subsystem further processes the invisible component of the second video signal to determine a second object vector of the object with respect to the second camera.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the command module processes the first and second object vectors to determine a position of the object, wherein the command module further compares the position with the camera preference map to determine whether the object is within the preferred operating region of the first camera.

25. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a local display device viewable from within a field-of-view of the first camera, the local display device displaying at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal.

26. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a communication subsystem that transmits at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal to a remote terminal for display.

27. The system of claim 26 , wherein the communication subsystem is configured to use a network selected from the group consisting of a cable television network and a direct broadcast satellite network.

28. The system of claim 27 , further comprising:

a codes that receives television programming from the communication subsystem for display on a local display device viewable from within the first field-of-view, wherein the codec and the tracking subsystem are disposed within a common housing to form a set top box, and wherein the set top box transmits the first signal from the camera to the communication subsystem.

29. The system of claim 26 , wherein the communication subsystem receives a third video signal from the remote terminal, the system further comprising:

a local display device that displays the third video signal.

30. The system of claim 29 , wherein the third video signal and at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal are displayed simultaneously.

31. A system for automatically selecting a video signal for transmission, the system comprising:

a first camera, sensitive to invisible light, that captures a first video signal having visible and invisible components;

a second camera, sensitive to invisible light, that captures a second video signal having visible and invisible components; and

a command module that uses the invisible components of the first and second video signals to detect a target of invisible light associated with the object, wherein the command module transmits at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal in response to detection of the target within the invisible component of the first video signal, and wherein the command module transmits at least a subset of the visible component of the second video signal in response to detection of the target within the invisible component of the second video signal.

32. The system of claim 31 , wherein the target is projected by an illuminator disposed on the object.

33. The system of claim 31 , further comprising:

an identification subsystem that determines an identity of the object.

34. The system of claim 33 , further comprising:

a tracking subsystem that processes the invisible component of the first video signal to orient a field-of-view of the first camera to center the target within the field-of-view.

35. The system of claim 31 , wherein the transmitted visible component is conveyed to a remote terminal via a communication subsystem.

36. A method for automatically selecting a video signal for transmission, the method comprising:

capturing a first video signal depicting the object with a first camera sensitive to invisible light, the first video signal having visible and invisible components;

capturing a second video signal with a second camera, the second video signal having a visible component;

processing the invisible component to determine a status of a triggering condition; and

switching between transmission of at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal and transmission of at least a subset of the visible component of the second video signal in response to satisfaction of the triggering condition.

37. The method of claim 36 , wherein the invisible light comprises infrared light generated by a human body.

38. The method of claim 36 , further comprising:

disposing an illuminator on the object to project a target of invisible light.

39. The method of claim 38 , wherein the illuminator comprises a reflector, the method further comprising:

generating invisible light with a stationary invisible light emitter; and

reflecting the invisible light with the reflector to project the target.

40. The method of claim 38 , wherein the illuminator comprises a portable invisible light emitter, the method further comprising:

generating invisible light with the portable invisible light emitter to project the target.

41. The method of claim 38 , wherein the illuminator comprises an illuminating side and a non-illuminating side, the method further comprising:

affixing the non-illuminating side to the object with an adhesive.

42. The method of claim 38 , wherein the object comprises a person engaged in video communication using the camera.

43. The method of claim 42 , further comprising:

attaching the illuminator to an article worn by the person.

44. The method of claim 43 , wherein attaching the illuminator to an article comprises attaching the illuminator to an article selected from the group consisting of a pair of glasses, a tie clip, and a piece of jewelry.

45. The method of claim 42 , further comprising:

applying the illuminator directly to skin of the person in the form of a coating that projects invisible light.

46. The method of claim 36 , wherein the object is selected from the group consisting of a remote control device and a set of keys.

47. The method of claim 36 , wherein capturing the first video signal comprises:

generating the visible component and the invisible component with a wide frequency charge-coupled device (CCD).

48. The method of claim 36 , wherein capturing the first video signal comprises:

generating the visible component with a first charge-coupled device (CCD); and

generating the invisible component with a second CCD.

49. The method of claim 36 , wherein determining the status of the triggering condition comprises determining whether a target of invisible light associated with the object is detected within the invisible component of the first video signal.

50. The method of claim 49 , wherein switching between transmission of at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal and transmission of at least a subset of the visible component of the second video signal comprises:

switching to transmission of the visible component of the first video signal in response to detection of the target within the invisible component of the first video signal.

51. The method of claim 50 , wherein the second video signal further comprises an invisible component, wherein switching between transmission of at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal and transmission of at least a subset of the visible component of the second video signal further comprises:

switching to transmission of the visible component of the second video signal in response to detection of the target within the invisible component of the second video signal.

52. The method of claim 36 , wherein determining the status of the triggering condition comprises determining whether the object is within a threshold distance of the first camera.

53. The method of claim 52 , wherein the threshold distance comprises a distance between the object and the second camera.

54. The method of claim 36 , wherein determining the status of the triggering condition comprises determining whether the object is oriented toward the first camera.

55. The method of claim 54 , wherein the second video signal further comprises an invisible component, the invisible components of the first and second video signals each containing a target of invisible light associated with the object, wherein determining whether the object is oriented toward the first camera comprises:

comparing the targets of the invisible components to determine whether the object is oriented nearer the first camera or the second camera.

56. The method of claim 36 , wherein determining the status of the triggering condition comprises determining whether the object is positioned within a preferred operating region of the first camera.

57. The method of claim 56 , further comprising:

determining an identity of the object;

processing the invisible component of the first video signal to determine a first object vector of the object with respect to the first camera; and

storing a camera preference map containing a preferred operating region for each of the first and second cameras.

58. The method of claim 57 , wherein the second camera is sensitive to invisible light, the second video signal having an invisible component, the method further comprising:

processing the invisible component of the second video signal to determine a second object vector of the object with respect to the second camera.

59. The method of claim 58 , wherein determining whether the object is positioned within a preferred operating region of the first camera comprises:

processing the first and second object vectors to determine a position of the object; and

comparing the position with the camera preference map to determine whether the object is within the preferred operating region of the first camera.

60. The method of claim 36 , further comprising:

displaying at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal on a local display device viewable from within a field-of-view of the first camera.

61. The method of claim 36 , further comprising:

transmitting at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal to a remote terminal for display.

62. The method of claim 61 , wherein transmitting at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal to a remote terminal comprises utilizing a network selected from the group consisting of a cable television network and a direct broadcast satellite network.

63. The method of claim 62 , further comprising:

receiving television programming from the network for display at a location viewable from within a first field-of-view of the camera, wherein the television programming is received in a set top box that transmits the first video signal to the network.

64. The method of claim 61 , further comprising:

receiving a third video signal from the remote terminal for display on a local display device.

65. The method of claim 64 , wherein the third video signal and at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal are displayed simultaneously.

66. A method for automatically selecting a video signal for transmission, the method comprising:

capturing a first video signal having visible and invisible components with a first camera sensitive to invisible light;

capturing a second video signal having visible and invisible components with a second camera sensitive to invisible light;

processing the invisible components of the first and second video signals to detect a target of invisible light associated with the object;

transmitting at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal in response to detection of the target within the invisible component of the first video signal; and

transmitting at least a subset of the visible component of the second video signal in response to detection of the target within the invisible component of the second video signal.

67. The method of claim 66 , further comprising:

disposing an illuminator on the object to project the target of invisible light.

68. The method of claim 66 , further comprising:

determining an identity of the object.

69. The method of claim 68 , further comprising:

processing the invisible component of the first video signal to orient a field-of-view of the first camera to center the target within the field-of-view.

70. The method of claim 66 , further comprising:

transmitting at least a subset of the visible component of the first video signal to a remote terminal for display.