TWI867172B - Method, portable device and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for associating captured media to a party - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable device (10, 20), and a method (30) performed in a portable device (10, 20), for associating media captured by the portable device (10, 20) to one or more parties having requested the media to be captured at one or more locations, the method (30) comprising: receiving (S302) information associating each of the one or more parties with a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240); dynamically determining (S304) a location of the portable device (10, 20); dynamically associating (S306) the media captured by the portable device (10, 20) to the one or more parties, such that media currently being captured by the portable device (10, 20) is associated with a party that according to the received information is associated with a current location of the portable device (10, 20).

Description

Method for associating captured media to a party, portable device, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium

The present invention relates to a method performed in a portable device for associating media captured by the portable device to one or more parties that have requested the capture of the media at one or more locations.

Surveillance of public and private locations is common and may include a combination of surveillance cameras and security patrols, depending on the requirements of each specific location. For some locations, such as military areas or public schools, it may be very important that unauthorized persons do not have access to any information related to the location (e.g., buildings, personnel, or students).

In private security, guards are often equipped with cameras that are useful for capturing media (such as images, video, or audio) associated with a location. A guard is also often assigned to perform work for several different clients during each shift. Thus, he or she may patrol locations belonging to different clients during a single shift. Therefore, handling the captured media according to the requirements of each specific location can be problematic. For example, sorting the recorded media so that each respective client receives the correct media can be cumbersome or problematic. This can be performed, for example, by the guard manually marking the media with information identifying each respective client. However, such a solution is prone to errors, where the guard may forget to mark the media, and this may result in the accidental loss of information that may be critical to the client. For this reason, the sorting of media records is usually handled after the guard has completed his shift. However, correctly identifying the media and sorting the media to each respective client can be difficult and cumbersome.

An object is to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies and shortcomings in this technology, either singly or in any combination.

According to a first aspect, a method is provided for associating media captured by a portable device to one or more parties that have requested to capture the media at one or more locations. The method includes: receiving information associating each of the one or more parties with a location; dynamically determining a location of the portable device; dynamically associating the media captured by the portable device to the one or more parties, such that the media currently being captured by the portable device is associated with a party associated with a current location of the portable device according to the received information.

The portable device may be a portable camera, such as a body-worn camera.

A party that has requested to capture media at a location means a party that has assigned or commanded a user of a portable device to capture video at the location. Thus, the party is typically an external party different from the user. The party may be an end user of the captured media.

As used herein, the term "media" refers to data captured by a sensor of a portable device. For example, it may refer to images, video, and/or audio. It may also refer to other types of sensor data, such as radar data, IR data, temperature data, etc.

In the context of the present invention, "dynamically determining a location of a portable device" should be interpreted as repeatedly determining the location over time. The location of the portable device may be determined continuously or substantially continuously over time. Similarly, "dynamically associating media captured by the portable device to one or more parties" means repeatedly performing the association over time.

In the context of the present invention, "a location" is not meant to be interpreted as being related only to a static geographic location. Rather, location is a broader concept in this context because it can refer to a moving structure, such as a train, a bus, or a boat. Thus, a location can be a fixed location (i.e., a geographic location, such as a building) or a mobile location (e.g., a train or a bus). Furthermore, a location can be at more than one geographic location, for example, it can be different buildings associated with the party, each at its own geographic location. For example, a party can be associated with buildings in multiple different cities and/or parts of a city, and in the context of this content, all of these buildings can be a location.

By means of the inventive concept, captured media is automatically associated with a party in a portable device without a user of the portable device having to manually tag the captured media with information associated with the party, thereby reducing the risk that the captured media association may be obtained by parties other than the associated party. Thus, the inventive concept allows captured media to be associated with respective parties based on dynamically determined locations, thereby allowing the captured media to be disposed of according to the requirements of the respective parties.

The step of receiving information associating each of the one or more parties with a location may be performed when the portable device is connected to a docking station.

One possible associated advantage is that information associating each of the one or more parties with a location may be received via a wired connection. By receiving the information via a wired connection, wireless bandwidth consumption of a portable device may be reduced, and/or security associated with the transmission of information associating each of the one or more parties with a location may be increased.

The method may further include tagging media currently being captured by the portable device with information identifying the party.

One possible associated benefit of tagging captured media may be to preserve information associated with the party as metadata for the captured media, thereby allowing information about the party to be identified directly from the captured media and thereby allowing the captured media to be automatically processed based on the party.

The step of dynamically determining the location of the portable device may include one or more of the following: determining a geographic location of the portable device; determining a connection to a location beacon; registering a location tag configured at the location; and comparing a current time to a guard schedule.

A possible associated advantage is that it may allow a detailed and/or precise determination of the location.

The method may further include: transferring media associated with a party to a data storage device controlled by the party.

A possible associated advantage is that the captured media is accessible to that party after transmission but not to other parties. Additionally, this allows different parties to use different types of data storage. For example, some parties may use cloud-based data storage, while other parties may need to store the media in a database on their premises.

The method may further include: encrypting media associated with a party using an encryption key associated with the party.

A possible associated advantage is that accessibility to the captured media can be restricted. Access to the captured media can then be limited to the holder of the corresponding decryption key (e.g., the party). The captured media can, for example, be accessible only to the party that captured the media. Thus, security associated with the captured media can be increased.

The method may further include encoding media associated with a party according to a media quality preference associated with the party. The media quality preference associated with a party may indicate a media quality requested by the party. For example, it may indicate a compression level desired by the party. This is advantageous because it enables the portable device to generate media with different media qualities for different parties even when the same portable device is used to capture media requested by multiple parties. In this way, a flexible solution is achieved because different parties may have different needs and different concerns when paying for storage of high-quality media.

The method may further include comparing the dynamically determined location of the portable device to information associating each of one or more parties with a location; and upon detecting that the portable device has entered a location associated with a party, initiating capture of a media recording. Capture of a media recording may be initiated without currently capturing media. In a scenario where the portable device is currently capturing media upon entering the location, the portable device may terminate the current media recording and initiate a new media recording. In this manner, one may avoid a media recording being accidentally associated with more than one party or with the wrong party.

One possible associated advantage is that when the portable device enters a location associated with a party, a media recording can be automatically started, thereby reducing the risk of accidental loss of media if the user of the portable device forgets to manually start capturing the media, thereby avoiding accidental loss of information that may be important to the party.

The method may further include: comparing the dynamically determined location of the portable device to information associating each of one or more parties with a location; and stopping the capture of a current media recording when the portable device is detected to have left a location associated with a party. The portable device may then further start a new media recording when it leaves the location associated with the party.

One possible associated advantage is that the capture of media may be automatically stopped when the portable device determines that it is not in a position to be associated with one of the one or more parties, thereby reducing the risk of accidentally associating the captured media with an erroneous and/or unauthorized party, thereby increasing the security associated with the captured media. The comparison may be performed dynamically, i.e., the comparison may be repeated over time.

According to a second aspect, a portable device is provided. The portable device includes: a sensor configured to capture media; and circuitry configured to perform: a receiving function configured to receive information associating one or more parties with a location, each of the one or more parties having requested to capture media at one or more respective locations; a positioning function configured to dynamically determine a location of the portable device; and an association function configured to dynamically associate the media captured by the portable device with the one or more parties, such that the media currently being captured by the portable device is associated with a party associated with a current location of the portable device according to the received information.

The above characteristics of the first form also apply to this second form when applicable. To avoid excessive repetition, please refer to the above.

The portable device may further include: a clock configured to determine a current time; and a location sensor configured to determine one or more of: a geographic location of the portable device and a connection to a location beacon, and wherein the positioning function may be configured to determine the location of the portable device based on one or more of: the geographic location of the portable device, the connection to the location beacon, and the current time.

The portable device may further include: a receiver configured to register a location tag disposed at the location; and wherein the positioning function may further be configured to determine the location of the portable device by registering the location tag.

The circuit may further be configured to perform: a transfer function configured to transfer media associated with a party to a data storage device controlled by the party.

The circuitry may further be configured to perform: an encryption function configured to encrypt media associated with a party using an encryption key associated with the party.

The circuitry may further be configured to perform: a comparison function configured to compare the dynamically determined location of the portable device with information associating each of one or more parties with a location; and a capture function configured to initiate capture of a media recording in response to detecting that the portable device has entered a location associated with a party and/or to stop capture of a current media recording in response to detecting that the portable device has left a location associated with a party.

According to a third aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes a program code portion, and the program code portion executes the method according to the first aspect when executed on a device with processing capabilities.

The above features of the first aspect and/or the second aspect also apply to this third aspect when applicable. To avoid excessive repetition, please refer to the above.

The further scope of applicability of the present invention will be understood from the [Implementation] given below. However, it should be understood that the [Implementation] and specific examples are only given by way of illustration when indicating the preferred variants of the concept of the present invention, because those skilled in the art will understand various changes and modifications within the scope of the concept of the invention from this [Implementation].

Therefore, it should be understood that the inventive concept is not limited to the specific steps of the described methods or the component parts of the described systems, as such methods and systems may vary. It should also be understood that the terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to be limiting. It must be noted that as used in this specification and the accompanying invention claims, the articles "a", "an", "the" and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to "a unit" or "the unit" may include a number of devices, and the like. In addition, the words "comprise", "include", "contain" and similar terms do not exclude other elements or steps. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless expressly specified.

10: Portable device

20: Portable device/portable camera

30: Methods

40: Non-transitory computer-readable storage media/non-transitory storage media

110: Sensor/Image Sensor

112: Imaging optical devices

120: Circuit

130: Memory

140:Clock

150: Position sensor

160: Socket

170: Receiver

180: Transceiver

200: User/Guard

210: Docking station

212: Arrow

214: Server

1210: Processor

1310: Receiving function

1320: Positioning function

1330: Related functions

1340: Transmission function

1350: Encryption function

1360:Marking function

1370: Comparison function

1380: Capture function

2210: First position

2220: Second position

2230: Third position

2232: Location tag

2240: Fourth position

2242: Location beacon

2244:Double Arrow

S302: Receive

S304: Determination

S306: Association

S308: Marking

S310: Determination

S312: Determination

S314: Registration

S316: Comparison

S318: Transmission

S320: Encryption

S322: Comparison

S324: Start

S326: Stop

The above and other aspects of the inventive concept will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing variations of the invention. The drawings should not be considered to limit the invention to specific variations; instead, they are used to illustrate and understand the inventive concept.

As shown in the figures, the sizes of layers and regions are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and are therefore provided to illustrate the general structure of variations of the inventive concepts. Like element symbols refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1A shows a portable device.

FIG. 1B illustrates a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

Figures 2A to 2E illustrate an exemplary case in which a portable device is used.

FIG3 is a block diagram of a method for associating media captured by a portable device to one or more parties that have requested the media be captured at one or more locations.

The inventive concept will now be more fully described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which currently preferred variations of the inventive concept are shown. However, the inventive concept may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the variations described herein; rather, such variations are provided for the sake of clarity and completeness, and to fully convey the scope of the inventive concept to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 1A shows a portable device 10. The portable device 10 includes a sensor 110 configured to capture media. The sensor 110 may be an image sensor, an audio sensor (e.g., a microphone), an IR sensor, a radar sensor, a temperature sensor, etc. In the example shown in FIG. 1A , the sensor 110 is an image sensor and will be referred to as the image sensor 110 hereinafter.

As shown in the example of FIG. 1A , the portable device 10 may be a camera including imaging optics 112. The portable device 10 may include an internal power source (not shown) and/or an external power source (not shown), such as a battery. The portable device 10 may include a display (not shown). The portable device 10 may be configured to display information and/or captured media on the display. The display may be a touch screen configured to allow a user of the portable device 10 to interact with the portable device 10 to, for example, manually start/stop recording. The portable device 10 may include hardware controls (such as control buttons and/or wheels) configured to allow the user of the portable device 10 to control the portable device 10. The imaging optical device 112 may be configured to image a scene onto the image sensor 110. The portable device 10 may be a wearable camera.

The portable device 10 further includes a circuit 120. The circuit 120 is configured to perform one or more functions of the portable device 10. As shown in the example of FIG. 1A, the circuit 120 may include a processor 1210. The processor 1210 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, and/or a microprocessor.

The circuit 120 is configured to perform: a receiving function 1310, a positioning function 1320, and a correlation function 1330. The portable device 10 may include a memory 130 configured to communicate with the circuit 120. The memory 130 may be configured to store the receiving function 1310, the positioning function 1320, and the correlation function 1330. It should be understood that the memory 130 may be configured to store additional functions related to the operation of the portable device 10. The memory 130 may be configured to store media captured by the image sensor 110. The memory 130 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Processor 1210 may be configured to execute one or more functions stored in memory 130.

The receiving function 1310 is configured to receive information associating one or more parties with a location, each of which has requested to capture media at one or more respective locations. The memory 130 may be configured to store the information associating one or more parties with a location. The information associating each of the one or more parties with a location may include one or more of the following: a list associating each party with a geographic location; a list associating each party with a location beacon; and a list associating each party with a location tag. The receiving function 1310 may be configured to receive the information associating each of the one or more parties with a location before capturing media at the location. The circuit 120 may be configured to perform the receiving function 1310 when the portable device 10 is connected to a docking station. The portable device 10 may include a socket 160 configured to connect to a docking station via a wired connection and facilitate communication between the circuit 120 and the docking station. It should be understood that the wired connection may include a short-range wireless connection, such as a short-range inductive connection or near field communication (NFC). The docking station may be configured to communicate with a server, thereby allowing the circuit 120 to communicate with the server via the docking station when the portable device 10 is connected to the docking station via the socket 160. Information associating each of the one or more parties with a location may be sent from the server. Information associating each of the one or more parties with a location may be sent to an administrator in connection with preparing the portable device 10 for removal from the docking station. In other words, information associating each of one or more parties with a location may be transmitted with respect to a configuration and/or a setting of the portable device 10. By receiving the information via a wired connection, a wireless bandwidth consumption of the portable device 10 may be reduced, and/or security associated with the transmission of information associating each of one or more parties with a location may be increased.

The positioning function 1320 is configured to dynamically determine a location of the portable device 10.

The association function 1330 is configured to dynamically associate media captured by the portable device 10 with one or more parties. Specifically, the association function 1330 is configured to associate media currently being captured by the sensor 110 with a party that is associated with a current location of the portable device based on the received information. In this way, different portions of the captured media (such as different media records) can be associated with different parties depending on the location of the captured media.

Thus, captured media is associated with one or more parties in the portable device 10, and a user of the portable device 10 does not need to manually tag the captured media with information associated with the party, thereby reducing the risk that the captured media association can be obtained by parties other than their party. Thus, the captured media can be associated with each respective party based on the dynamically determined location of the portable device 10, thereby allowing the captured media to be handled according to the requirements of each respective party. Such handling requirements may, for example, include encryption, storage location, etc.

As shown in the example of FIG. 1 , circuit 120 may be further configured to perform a tagging function 1360 configured to tag the media currently being captured by the portable device with information identifying the party. The information identifying the party may include a name and/or an identification of the party. The identification of the party may be an alphanumeric code used to identify the party, such as a customer number. Tagging may include providing the information identifying the party as metadata.

As shown in the example of FIG. 1 , the portable device 10 may further include a clock 140 and a position sensor 150 configured to communicate with the circuit 120.

Clock 140 can be configured to determine a current time. Clock 140 can be configured to transmit the current time to circuit 120.

The location sensor 150 may be configured to determine one or more of: a geographic location of the portable device 10 and a connection to a location beacon. The location sensor may include a sensor for a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS)). The sensor for the GNSS may be configured to determine the geographic location of the portable device 10. The location sensor may be configured to determine a connection to a location beacon via a wireless communication protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and/or near field communication (NFC)). The location sensor may, for example, detect a Wi-Fi network name (SSID) or a Bluetooth/NFC beacon. The location beacon may be a wireless beacon. The wireless beacon may utilize one or more of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC. The location beacon may broadcast information identifying the location. The portable device 10 may include information correlating the location with the location beacon.

The positioning function 1320 may be configured to determine the location of the portable device 10 based on one or more of the following: the geographic location of the portable device 10, the connection to the location beacon, and the current time.

The positioning function 1320 may determine the location of the portable device 10 by comparing the geographic location of the portable device 10 determined by the location sensor 150 with information correlating locations with geographic locations (e.g., a list or a table). The receiving function 1310 may be further configured to receive information correlating locations with geographic locations. The information correlating locations with geographic locations may be stored on the memory 130. The information correlating locations with geographic locations may be received by the portable device 10 in conjunction with information received by the portable device 10 that associates each of one or more parties with a location.

Positioning function 1320 may determine a location by receiving information sent by a location beacon that identifies a location. Positioning function 1320 may determine the location of portable device 10 by comparing a connection to a location beacon determined by location sensor 150 with information correlating a location with a location beacon (e.g., a list or a table). Receiving function 1310 may be further configured to receive information correlating a location with a location beacon. Information correlating a location with a location beacon may be stored on memory 130. Information correlating a location with a location beacon may be received by portable device 10 in conjunction with information received by portable device 10 that associates each of one or more parties with a location.

The positioning function 1320 can determine the location of the portable device 10 by comparing the current time to a guard schedule. The guard schedule can associate time with location, for example, as a list detailing the times that a user of the portable device 10 is scheduled to visit different locations. Therefore, by comparing the current time to the guard schedule, the positioning function 1320 can determine the location of the portable device 10. The receiving function can be further configured to receive the guard schedule. The guard schedule can be received by the portable device 10 in conjunction with information received by the portable device 10 that associates each of one or more parties with a location. The receiving function 1310 can be further configured to receive the guard schedule.

As shown in the example of FIG. 1A , the portable device may further include a receiver 170 configured to register a location tag disposed at a location. The receiver 170 may be configured to register the location tag via a wireless communication protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and/or NFC). The location tag may be a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

The positioning function 1320 may be further configured to determine the location of the portable device 10 by registering a location tag. The positioning function 1320 may be further configured to determine the location of the portable device 10 by comparing the location tag registered by the receiver 170 with information (e.g., a list or a table) that associates the location tag with the location. Alternatively or additionally, the location tag may transmit information identifying the location when registered by the receiver 170 of the portable device. The receiving function 1310 may be further configured to receive the information that associates the location with the location tag. The information that associates the location with the location tag may be stored on the memory 130. Information associating a location with a location tag may be received by the portable device 10 in conjunction with information received by the portable device 10 associating each of one or more parties with a location.

The circuitry may further be configured to perform a transfer function 1340 configured to transfer media associated with a party to a data storage controlled by the party. The data storage may be exclusively controlled by the party, i.e., no other party may access the data storage except the party. The portable device 10 may further include a transceiver 180 configured to transmit and receive data. The transceiver 180 may communicate via a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet, USB, etc.) or a wireless connection (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular data (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G), etc.). The transfer function 1340 may be configured to instruct the transceiver 180 to transfer the captured media to the data storage controlled by the party. The captured media may be transferred to the data storage directly from the portable device 10 and/or via a docking station. The protocol used to transfer the captured media to the data storage may be selected based on the party that is capturing the media. For example, a party may require that a high security protocol be used when transferring the captured media to the data storage.

Alternatively or additionally, the transmission function may be configured to transmit a live stream of the media currently being captured at the location to a stream receiver associated with the party associated with the current location. The stream receiver may include a front end. The front end of the stream receiver may be used by a person assigned to monitor the media currently being captured at the location. In this case, in response to the dynamically determined location of the portable device being associated with a different party, the transceiver may transmit the live stream of the media currently being captured at the location to a stream receiver associated with the different party and/or to a data storage associated with the different party.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are a variety of different wired and wireless connections that may be suitable for transmitting captured media. Non-limiting examples of wired connections include connections via Universal Serial Bus (USB) and/or Ethernet, and non-limiting examples of wireless connections include connections via Wi-Fi and/or cellular data (3G, 4G, and/or 5G).

The circuitry may be further configured to perform an encryption function 1350 configured to encrypt media associated with a party using an encryption key associated with the party.

Encryption is typically performed in real time, i.e., the media is encrypted as it is captured. Thus, the media is not written to a local disk (such as a flash memory) in the portable device 10 before being encoded. This reduces the number of times data is written and read from the local disk, thereby resulting in reduced wear of the local disk. The encryption function 1350 can be configured to further encrypt the captured media based on the party (e.g., by selecting an encryption algorithm based on the party's requirements and/or preferences). The encryption key associated with the party can be one encryption key of an encryption key pair associated with the party. The encryption key pair can include a public encryption key and a private encryption key. The encryption function 1350 may be configured to encrypt the captured media using a public encryption key of an encryption key pair. The private encryption key of the encryption key pair associated with the party is restrictedly known by the party. The circuit 120 may be configured to perform the encryption function 1350 prior to the transmission function 1340. Thus, the captured media may be encrypted prior to being transmitted to a data storage controlled by the party associated with the captured media.

The circuitry may be configured to perform an encoding function configured to encode media associated with a party in accordance with a media quality preference associated with the party. Encoding is performed in real time, i.e., as it is captured. A media quality preference of a party may indicate a media quality requested by the party. Media quality may correspond to a compression level. The compression level may be given in accordance with a target bit rate for the encoded media. For example, there may be a plurality of predefined media quality levels from which a party may select, such as a "low media quality", "a medium media quality", "a high media quality". These may correspond to a "high compression level", a "medium compression level", and a "low compression level", respectively. The media quality preferences associated with the parties may be received by the receiving function 1310 and may be stored in the memory 130. The memory 130 may also store compression levels associated with the media quality. For example, the memory 130 may store information that a first party associated with a first location has a first media quality preference, a second party associated with a second location has a second media quality preference, etc.

When encoding media associated with a party, the encoding function may compress the media to a compression level corresponding to the media quality requested by the party. For example, the encoding function may select encoding settings (such as quantization level and frame rate) to achieve the desired compression level. This may involve performing automatic bit rate control, i.e., setting the quantization level and/or frame rate so that the bit rate of the encoded media conforms to a target bit rate as specified by the desired compression level. How to perform such bit rate control is known per se in the art and will therefore not be discussed in more detail.

As shown in the example of FIG. 1 , the circuitry may be further configured to perform a comparison function 1370. The comparison function 1370 may be configured to compare the dynamically determined location of the portable device 10 with information associating each of one or more parties with a location. In this way, the circuitry may detect when the portable device 10 enters or leaves a location associated with a party. The circuitry 120 may be further configured to perform a capture function 1380. The capture function 1380 may be configured to initiate the capture of a media recording in response to the comparison function 1370 finding that the portable device 10 entered a location associated with a party. If there is an ongoing media recording when entering the location, the ongoing media recording may be terminated first before starting a new media recording. The capture function 1380 may be further configured to stop the capture of a current media recording in response to the comparison function 1370 finding that the portable device 10 has left a location associated with a party. Alternatively or additionally, the capture function 1380 may be further configured to start and/or stop capturing media in response to manual input via, for example, a button (not shown) of the portable device 10.

One or more of the image sensor 110, circuit 120, memory 130, clock 140, position sensor 150, socket 160, receiver 170, and transceiver 180 may communicate via a data bus (not shown).

The functions of the portable device 10 may be implemented in the form of executable logic routines (e.g., program code lines, software programs, etc.) stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory 130) of the portable device 10 and executed by the circuit 120 (e.g., using the processor 1210).

A method 30 executed in a portable device 20 for associating media captured by the portable device 20 to one or more parties that have requested the capture of the media at one or more locations, illustrated as a flow chart in FIG3 , will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2E and FIG. 3 . In FIGS. 2A to 2E , an exemplary case in which a portable device 20 is used is described. FIG. 2A illustrates a user 200 retrieving (indicated by arrow 212) a portable device 20 (in this example, a wearable camera) from a docking station 210. The portable device 20 illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2E may correspond to the portable device 10 discussed with respect to FIG. 1 . As shown in the example of FIG. 2A , the docking station 210 may include a plurality of 22 portable devices. Which portable device 20 is assigned to the user 200 may be determined by an administrator and indicated to the user 200 by, for example, a light or a message on a display of the portable device 20 and/or an information display configured in conjunction with the docking station 210. In this exemplary case, the user 200 is a guard assigned to patrol locations associated with four different parties. The user 200 may be referred to as guard 200 hereinafter. In this case, the parties are customers who have requested that the guard 200 access the locations.

The method 30 comprises receiving S302 information associating each of one or more parties with a location. In the example of FIG. 2 , this is accomplished in connection with the removal of the portable device 20 from the docking station 210, wherein information associating clients with locations that each client has requested the guard 200 to access is received by the portable device 20. Thus, the step of receiving S302 information associating each of one or more parties with a location may be performed while the portable device 20 is connected to a docking station 210. In this particular example, the information associates a first client with a first location 2210, a second client with a second location 2220, a third client with a third location 2230, and a fourth client with a fourth location 2240. Each customer may, for example, own or rent a respective location, and/or be associated with a respective location in some other manner. In this particular example, an administrator prepares the portable device 20 for use by the guard 200, and in conjunction with the preparation, information is sent from a server 214 to the portable device 20. Whenever the portable device 20 is connected to the docking station 210, information (e.g., associating the customer with the location) may be sent to the portable device 20, and which information sent to the portable device 20 may thereby be associated with which guard will use the portable device 20. In other words, a user of the portable device 20 may use a portable device 20 that has user-specific information stored thereon. Alternatively or additionally, the portable device 20 may only receive information in a configuration/commissioning of the portable device 20. The received information may further include a media quality preference of each of the one or more parties. The media quality preference may correspond to a desired compression level of the media.

FIG. 2B to FIG. 2E illustrate a planned route of the guard 200. The route includes a first position 2210, a second position 2220, a third position 2230, and a fourth position 2240. The first position 2210 is a parking lot, and the second and third positions 2220, 2230 are buildings. Therefore, the first, second, and third positions 2210, 2220, 2230 are fixed positions. The fourth position 2240 is a bus. Therefore, when the bus moves irregularly, the fourth position 2240 is a mobile position.

The method 30 further includes dynamically determining S304 a location of the portable device 20, and dynamically associating S306 media captured by the portable device 20 to one or more parties, such that media currently being captured by the portable device 10, 20 is associated with a party that is associated with a current location of the portable device 10, 20 according to the received information. In the exemplary cases shown in FIGS. 2B-2E , four different ways in which the portable device 20 can be configured to determine its location and associate a party to the media captured at each location will be described. At each location 2210, 2220, 2230, 2240, the portable device 20 captures media associated with a party (in this example, one of the clients) based on information that associates the parties to a location.

The step of dynamically determining S304 the location of the portable device 20 may include: comparing S316 a current time with a guard schedule, which will be illustrated in the case described with respect to FIG. 2B. According to the guard schedule, the guard 200 is scheduled to arrive at the first location 2210 at a first time. The guard schedule is received with respect to receiving information associating each client with a location. The guard schedule may associate times with locations. For example, the guard schedule may include a list of locations, and each location may be associated with a time at which the location will be visited by the guard.

In this example, the portable device 20 includes a clock that determines a current time, and when the current time is determined to be at or after a first time, the location of the portable device 20 is determined to be a first location 2210. The guard schedule may also include information about when the guard 200 is scheduled to leave the first location 2210. The method 30 may further include comparing S322 the dynamically determined location of the portable device 20 with information that associates each of one or more parties with a location 2210, 2220, 2230, 2240. In this way, it may be detected when the portable device 20 enters or leaves a location associated with a party. Upon detecting that the portable device 20 has entered a location associated with a party, the capture of a media record may be initiated S324. Thus, in this example, the portable device 20 is configured to begin capturing a new media record when it is determined that it has arrived at the first location 2210. Alternatively or additionally, the portable device 20 may be configured to begin capturing a media record in response to input from a user (in this example, the guard 200) and/or an administrator. The media captured while the guard 200 is present at the first location 2210 is associated with the first client. Thus, the media captured by the portable device 20 may include a plurality of media records. A media record may be initiated manually by a user at any time or automatically by the portable device 20 when a user enters a location associated with a party. If there is an ongoing video recording when the portable device 20 enters a new location, the ongoing video recording can be terminated before starting a new video recording.

The method 30 may further include marking S308 the media currently being captured by the portable device 10 with information associated with the party. In the example shown in FIG. 2B , the captured media is marked with information associated with the first customer, for example, when the media is captured at the first location 2210, the media is marked with a customer number associated with the first customer.

The step of dynamically determining S304 the location of the portable device 20 may include: determining S310 a geographic location of the portable device 20, which will be described with respect to FIG. 2C. In FIG. 2C, the guard 200 has left the first location 2210 and arrived at the second location 2220. In this example, the first and second locations 2210, 2220 are not adjacent or overlapped.

The method 30 may further include comparing S322 the dynamically determined location of the portable device 20 with information associating each of one or more parties with a location 2210, 2220, 2230, 2240. In this way, it may be detected when the portable device 20 enters or leaves a location associated with a party. Upon detecting that the portable device 20 leaves a location associated with a party, the capture of a current media recording may be stopped. Thus, in this example, the portable device 20 is configured to stop recording in response to leaving the first location 2210. Thereafter, the portable device 20 may start a new video recording. Alternatively or additionally, the portable device 10 may be configured to stop capturing media in response to input from a user (in this example, the guard 200) and/or an administrator. Thus, stopping a media recording may be initiated manually by a user at any time or automatically by the portable device 20 when a user leaves a location associated with a party. Media recordings captured while the portable device 20 is located at a particular location will be immediately associated with the party associated with the location (in this example, the first customer). It should be appreciated that the portable device 20 may determine that the portable device 20 has left a location in a manner similar to how the portable device 20 determines that the portable device 20 has arrived at a location. Alternatively or additionally, the portable device 20 may be configured to associate media captured between the first location 2210 and the second location 2220 with the first client. In other words, the portable device 20 may be configured to capture media and associate the captured media with the first party until the portable device 20 determines that the portable device 20 has reached a location associated with a different party. Alternatively, the portable device 20 may be configured to not associate media captured between the first location 2210 and the second location 2220 with any particular party, or to associate it with the user of the portable camera 20. It should be understood that the portable device 20 may be configured according to the above behavior independent of the manner in which the location of the portable device 20 is determined.

In this example, the portable device 20 determines that it has arrived at the second location 2220 by determining a geographic location of the portable device 20. The portable device 20 may also include information that relates a location to a geographic location, which in this case associates the second location 2220 with a geographic location. The second location 2220 includes a building, and the guard 200 is requested to patrol the building. In this example, when the guard 200 is in the building, the portable device 20 cannot determine a geographic location. As in this example, the portable device 20 can be configured to assume that the location is the most recently determined location when the portable device 20 cannot determine the location. Thus, in this example, when the portable device 20 captures media within the building, it assumes that the location is the second location 2220, and when the media is captured, the captured media is associated with the second customer. Similar to the media captured at the first location 2210, the media captured at the second location 2220 is also labeled with a customer number of the second customer.

The step of dynamically determining S304 the location of the portable device 20 may include: registering S314 a location tag configured at the location, which will be described with respect to FIG. 2D . In FIG. 2D , the guard 200 has left the second location 2220 and arrived at the third location 2230. At the third location 2230, the guard 200 registers a location tag 2232. In this example, the location of the portable device 20 is determined by the portable device 20 using the registered location tag 2232. As in this example, the portable device 20 may include information that associates the location tag with the location. Therefore, the portable device 20 in this example includes information that associates the third location 2230 with the location tag 2232 configured at the third location 2230. Alternatively or additionally, the location tag 2232 may communicate the location directly to the portable device 20 by transmitting information related to the location to the portable device 20. While the guard 200 is at the third location 2230, the portable device 20 captures the media and tags the media with a customer number of the third customer. The portable device 20 may determine that it has left the third location in response to registering the location tag 2232 or a different location tag (not shown). Successive registrations of location tags may be registered after a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 5 minutes to 30 minutes have passed). The predetermined amount of time may be set based on an estimated amount of time that the guard 20 is scheduled to remain at the location (in this example, the third location).

The step of dynamically determining S304 the location of the portable device 20 may include: determining S312 a connection to a location beacon, which will be described with respect to FIG. 2E. In FIG. 2E, the guard 200 has left the third location 2230 and arrived at the fourth location 2240. When the guard 200 approaches and/or enters the bus, the portable device 20 detects a location beacon 2242 configured at the bus. The detection is represented by a double arrow 2244 in FIG. 2E. In this example, the location beacon 2242 is a Wi-Fi base station. The location beacon 2242 can be configured to transmit the location to the portable device 20. Alternatively or additionally, the portable device 20 may include information that associates the location with the location beacon. Therefore, the portable device 20 in this example may include information that associates the location beacon 2242 with the fourth location 2240. After the guard 200 has entered the bus, the bus begins to move. The media captured when the guard 200 is at the fourth location 2240 (i.e., the bus) is associated with the fourth customer, and when the media is captured, the media is tagged with information related to the fourth customer (e.g., a customer ID, customer number, customer name, etc.). When the portable device 20 is no longer able to detect the location beacon 2242, the guard 200 can be determined to have left the bus. In response to no longer detecting the location beacon 2242, the portable device 20 may be configured to determine that it has left the fourth location after a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 5 to 30 minutes have passed). It should be understood that the predetermined amount of time may be set based on an estimated time that the guard 200 is scheduled to remain at the location (in this example, the fourth location).

Method 30 may further include encoding media associated with a party according to a media quality preference of the party. In this way, the media quality may be customized according to the specific needs of the party. This may also save storage space in the portable device because the media is not stored at an unnecessarily high video quality. Encoding of the media may involve compressing the media to a target compression level corresponding to the media quality preference. For example, it may involve selecting encoding settings such that the resulting compression level of the media meets the target compression level. The encoding settings may involve one or more of a frame rate and a quantization parameter.

The method 30 may further include transferring S318 the media associated with a party to a data storage controlled by the party. In the exemplary case described with respect to FIGS. 2A to 2E , this is accomplished when the guard 200 has completed the route and returned to the docking station 210. The portable device 20 may then be placed in the docking station 210 by the guard 200. In this example, the captured media records are transferred to a data storage controlled by each respective client.

Method 30 may further include encrypting S320 media associated with a party using an encryption key associated with the party. This may be done to increase security associated with the transmission and/or storage of captured media, and the captured media may be encrypted using an encryption key associated with each respective client. Thus, even in the event that the transmission is intercepted by an unauthorized person, the unauthorized person may still not be able to obtain the captured media. The captured media may be combined with and/or encrypted before being transmitted to a data storage controlled by the party. The data storage may be, for example, a remote server, a local server, and/or a cloud storage. The step of encrypting the captured media at S320 may include: generating a random encryption key; encrypting the captured media using the random encryption key; encrypting the random encryption key using a party encryption key; removing the random encryption key; and transmitting the encrypted random encryption key to a data storage controlled by the party associated with the captured media.

FIG. 1B illustrates a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 40. The non-transitory storage medium 40 includes program code portions that, when executed on a device having processing capabilities (e.g., the portable device 10 described with respect to FIG. 1A ), perform the method 30 described with respect to FIG. 3 .

A person skilled in the art realizes that the inventive concept is by no means limited to the preferred variants described above. On the contrary, many modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the accompanying invention application.

For example, the functions of a portable device are described as portions of program code on a computer's memory, however, one or more of the functions may be implemented in hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software.

In addition, from studying the drawings, disclosures, and accompanying invention claims, a person skilled in the art can understand and implement variations of the disclosed variants in practicing the claimed invention.

30: Methods

S302: Receive

S304: Determination

S306: Association

S308: Marking

S310: Determination

S312: Determination

S314: Registration

S316: Comparison

S318: Transmission

S320: Encryption

S322: Comparison

S324: Start

S326: Stop

Claims (12)

A method (30) for associating media, the method being executed in a portable device (10, 20) for associating the media captured by the portable device (10, 20) to a plurality of parties that have requested to capture the media at a plurality of locations (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240), the method (30) comprising: receiving (S302) associating each of the plurality of parties with a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240); ) associated with a current location of the portable device (10, 20); dynamically determining (S304) a location of the portable device (10, 20); associating (S306) the media captured by the portable device (10, 20) to the plurality of parties so that the media currently being captured by the portable device (10, 20) is tagged with information identifying a party associated with a current location of the portable device (10, 20) based on the received information; and encrypting (S320) the media tagged with the information identifying the party using an encryption key associated with the party. The method (30) of claim 1, wherein when the portable device (10, 20) is connected to a docking station (210), the step of receiving (S302) information associating each of the plurality of parties with a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240) is performed. The method (30) of any one of claim 1 or 2, wherein the step of dynamically determining (S304) the location of the portable device (10, 20) comprises one or more of the following: determining (S310) a geographic location of the portable device (10, 20); Determining (S312) a connection to a location beacon (2242); registering (S314) a location tag (2232) configured at the location (2230); and comparing (S316) a current time with a guard schedule. The method (30) of any one of claim 1 or 2 further comprises: transmitting (S318) media associated with a party to a data storage device controlled by the party. The method (30) of any one of claim 1 or 2 further comprises: comparing (S322) the dynamically determined location of the portable device (10, 20) with the information associating each of the plurality of parties with a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240); and starting (S324) capturing a media record when the portable device (10, 20) is found to have entered a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240) associated with a party. The method (30) of any one of claim 1 or 2 further comprises: comparing (S322) the dynamically determined location of the portable device (10, 20) with the information associating each of the plurality of parties with a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240); and stopping (S326) the capture of a current media record when it is found that the portable device (10, 20) leaves a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240) associated with a party. A portable device (10, 20) includes: a sensor (110) configured to capture media; and a circuit (120) configured to perform: a receiving function (1310) configured to receive information associating a plurality of parties with a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240), each of which has requested to capture media at a plurality of respective locations (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240), a positioning function (1320) configured to dynamically determine the location of the portable device; a location of the device (10, 20), an associating function (1330) configured to associate the media captured by the portable device (10, 20) to the plurality of parties such that the media currently being captured by the portable device (10, 20) is marked with information identifying a party associated with a current location of the portable device (10, 20) based on the received information, and an encrypting function (1350) configured to encrypt the media marked with the information identifying the party using an encryption key associated with the party. The portable device (10, 20) of claim 7 further comprises: a clock (140) configured to determine a current time; and a location sensor (150) configured to determine one or more of the following: a geographic location of the portable device (10, 20), and a connection to a location beacon (2242), and wherein the positioning function (1320) is configured to determine the location of the portable device (10, 20) based on one or more of the following: the geographic location of the portable device (10, 20), the connection to the location beacon (2242), and the current time. The portable device (10, 20) of any one of claim 7 or 8 further comprises: a receiver (170) configured to register a location tag (2232) disposed at the location (2230); and wherein the positioning function (1320) is further configured to determine the location of the portable device (10, 20) by registering the location tag (2232). A portable device (10, 20) as claimed in any one of claims 7 or 8, wherein the circuit (120) is further configured to perform: a transmission function (1340) configured to transmit media associated with a party to a data storage device controlled by the party. A portable device (10, 20) as in any one of claims 7 or 8, wherein the circuit (120) is further configured to perform: a comparison function (1370) configured to compare the dynamically determined location of the portable device (10, 20) with the information associating each of the plurality of parties with a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240); and a capture function (1380 ), which is configured to start the capture of a media record in response to finding that the portable device (10, 20) has entered a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240) associated with a party, and/or to stop the capture of a current media record in response to finding that the portable device (10, 20) has left a location (2210, 2220, 2230, 2240) associated with a party. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (40) comprising program code portions, which, when executed on a device having processing capabilities, perform a method (30) as in any one of claims 1 to 6.