Patents by Inventor Johannes Kopf

Johannes Kopf has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20140267588
    Abstract: One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for ordering images for panorama stitching and/or for providing a focal point indicator for image capture. For example, one or more images, which may be stitched together to create a panorama of a scene, may be stored within an image stack according to one or more ordering preferences, such as where manually captured images are stored within a first/higher priority region of the image stack as compared to automatically captured images. One or more images within the image stack may be stitched according to a stitching order to create the panorama, such as using images in the first region for a foreground of the panorama. Also, a current position of a camera may be tracked and compared with a focal point of a scene to generate a focal point indicator to assist with capturing a new/current image of the scene.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Blaise Aguera y Arcas, Markus Unger, Donald A. Barnett, David Maxwell Gedye, Sudipta Narayan Sinha, Eric Joel Stollnitz, Johannes Kopf
  • Patent number: 8675049
    Abstract: A 3D model of an object is rendered using centered images of the object. An algorithm executed locally or in a distributed manner calculates camera positions for the images and determines a virtual camera path based on the camera positions. The application adjusts the images to fit the plane of the virtual camera path and fills in the gaps between the images using transition renderings. To improve user experience, the application also calculates resting positions for navigation stop points using a spring system. Upon constructing the 3D model, the application can transmit the 3D model to a variety of user devices including the network connected device having a camera module that captured the images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Johannes Kopf, Eric Stollnitz, Sudipta Sinha, Rick Szeliski
  • Publication number: 20140065371
    Abstract: A spacing device for stacking at least two identically formed, flat plastic molded parts having a contour formed by at least one raised portion, which forms a corresponding depression on the other side of a respective plastic molded part, with at least one peripheral adhesive bead, with which the plastic molded parts, upon being attached to a vehicle component, can each be sealed against the latter, being applied on the edge of each plastic molded part, where the spacing device includes at least two spacer elements and is configured and positionable between two plastic molded parts in such a way that the spacer elements are in contact with both plastic molded parts such that the two plastic molded parts do not touch each other during stacking, and the adhesive bead of a lower plastic molded part does not touch the plastic molded part stacked above it.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2013
    Publication date: March 6, 2014
    Applicant: CARCOUSTICS TECHCONSULT GMBH
    Inventors: Johannes KOPF, Richard GEIBLER, Markus LUGER
  • Publication number: 20140037218
    Abstract: A document that includes a representation of a two-dimensional (2-D) image may be obtained. A selection indicator indicating a selection of at least a portion of the 2-D image may be obtained. A match correspondence may be determined between the selected portion of the 2-D image and a three-dimensional (3-D) image object stored in an object database, the match correspondence based on a web crawler analysis result. A 3-D rendering of the 3-D image object that corresponds to the selected portion of the 2-D image may be initiated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2012
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Geoffrey G. Zweig, Eric J. Stollnitz, Richard Szeliski, Sudipta Sinha, Johannes Kopf
  • Patent number: 8640020
    Abstract: Intuitive and user-friendly user interface (UI) techniques are provided for navigating street view applications on a mobile device enabling users to view different angles and segments of available street level images. Additionally, retrieval and presentation of street view images are managed to mitigate delays in retrieval of desired images from a server over wireless connections through techniques such as textual representations, replacement views, scheduling image requests, and comparable ones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Billy Chen, Eyal Ofek, Michael Cohen, Johannes Kopf, Casey Stein
  • Publication number: 20130106990
    Abstract: One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for generating improved planar panorama imagery, which may be used to view street-level, human-scale locations along a desired path, for example. One or more desired objects can be detected in source imagery that may be used to produce the resulting planar panorama imagery. Respective object regions comprising a desired object can be identified in one or more frames of the source imagery. One or more portions of the source imagery that do not comprise the object region for the desired object can be joined with at least some of the one or more frames that do comprise the object region for the desired object. The resulting planar panorama imagery can thus comprise the desired object. Also, the planar panorama imagery can be generated so as to lack one or more non-desired objects and/or adverse effects that may result therefrom.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2011
    Publication date: May 2, 2013
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Samuel Thomas Williams, Jonathan Paul Rosenberg, Johannes Kopf, Don Dongwoo Kim, Sandeep Kanumuri
  • Publication number: 20120314040
    Abstract: A 3D model of an object is rendered using centered images of the object. An algorithm executed locally or in a distributed manner calculates camera positions for the images and determines a virtual camera path based on the camera positions. The application adjusts the images to fit the plane of the virtual camera path and fills in the gaps between the images using transition renderings. To improve user experience, the application also calculates resting positions for navigation stop points using a spring system. Upon constructing the 3D model, the application can transmit the 3D model to a variety of user devices including the network connected device having a camera module that captured the images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 9, 2011
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Johannes Kopf, Eric Stollnitz, Sudipta Sinha, Rick Szeliski
  • Patent number: 8224122
    Abstract: A dynamic wide angle image viewing technique is presented which provides a way to view a wide-angle image while zooming between a wide angle view and a narrower angle view that employs both perspective and non-perspective projection models. In general, this involves first establishing the field of view for a view of the wide angle image that is to be displayed. The view is then rendered and displayed based on the established field of view, such that the projection transitions between a perspective projection associated with narrower angle views and a non-perspective projection (e.g., cylindrical, spherical or some other parameterization) associated with wider-angle views.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Cohen, Matthew Uyttendaele, Johannes Kopf
  • Patent number: 8194102
    Abstract: Techniques are described for rendering annotations associated with an image. A view of an image maybe shown on a display, and different portions of the image are displayed and undisplayed in the view according to panning and/or zooming of the image within the view. The image may have annotations. An annotation may have a location in the image and may have associated renderable media. The location of the annotation relative to the view may change according to the panning and/or zooming. A strength of the annotation may be computed, the strength changing based the panning and/or zooming of the image. The media may be rendered according to the strength. Whether to render the media may be determined by comparing the strength to a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Cohen, Qing Luan, Steven Drucker, Johannes Kopf, Ying-Qing Xu, Matthew T. Uyttendaele
  • Publication number: 20120133639
    Abstract: A technology is described for generating a strip panorama. The method can include selecting panoramas grouped together for a road to combine into the strip panorama. Side view images can be extracted from the plurality of panoramas. Another operation is computing depth maps for side view images using stereo matching. Depth histograms can be generated for depth map columns of the depth maps. The depth histograms can have column-depth alignment scores computed by multiplying corresponding depth values from at least two related depth histogram maps. A further operation can be aligning related side view images using the column-depth alignment scores. The aligned side view images can be stitched while maximizing a stitching score.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2010
    Publication date: May 31, 2012
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Johannes Kopf, Michael Cohen
  • Publication number: 20110302527
    Abstract: Intuitive and user-friendly user interface (UI) techniques are provided for navigating street view applications on a mobile device enabling users to view different angles and segments of available street level images. Additionally, retrieval and presentation of street view images are managed to mitigate delays in retrieval of desired images from a server over wireless connections through techniques such as textual representations, replacement views, scheduling image requests, and comparable ones.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2010
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Billy Chen, Eyal Ofek, Michael Cohen, Johannes Kopf, Casey Stein
  • Patent number: 7983502
    Abstract: A dynamic tone mapping technique is presented that produces a local tone map for a sub-image of a wide-angle, high dynamic range (HDR), which is used in rendering the sub-image for display. The technique generally involves first computing a global tone map of the wide-angle, HDR image in advance of rendering the sub-image. The global tone map is then used during rendering to compute a local tone map based on the average luminance and contrast of the pixels of the sub-image. In addition, the sub-image can be tone mapped as part of the rendering of a sequence of sub-images during a viewer-executed panning and/or zooming session. In this case, the local tone maps can be kept from changing too rapidly by adding a hysteresis feature to smooth out the intensity changes between successive sub-images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Cohen, Matthew Uyttendaele, Johannes Kopf
  • Patent number: 7889949
    Abstract: A “Joint Bilateral Upsampler” uses a high-resolution input signal to guide the interpolation of a low-resolution solution set (derived from a downsampled version of the input signal) from low-to high-resolution. The resulting high-resolution solution set is then saved or applied to the original input signal to produce a high-resolution output signal. The high-resolution solution set is close to what would be produced directly from the input signal without downsampling. However, since the high-resolution solution set is constructed in part from a downsampled version of the input signal, it is computed using significantly less computational overhead and memory than a solution set computed directly from a high-resolution signal. Consequently, the Joint Bilateral Upsampler is advantageous for use in near real-time operations, in applications where user wait times are important, and in systems where computational costs and available memory are limited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Michael F. Cohen, Matthew T. Uyttendaele, Daniel Lischinski, Johannes Kopf
  • Publication number: 20100085383
    Abstract: Techniques are described for rendering annotations associated with an image. A view of an image maybe shown on a display, and different portions of the image are displayed and undisplayed in the view according to panning and/or zooming of the image within the view. The image may have annotations. An annotation may have a location in the image and may have associated renderable media. The location of the annotation relative to the view may change according to the panning and/or zooming. A strength of the annotation may be computed, the strength changing based the panning and/or zooming of the image. The media may be rendered according to the strength. Whether to render the media may be determined by comparing the strength to a threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2008
    Publication date: April 8, 2010
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael Cohen, Qing Luan, Steven Drucker, Johannes Kopf, Ying-Qing Xu, Matthew T. Uyttendaele
  • Publication number: 20090041375
    Abstract: A dynamic tone mapping technique is presented that produces a local tone map for a sub-image of a wide-angle, high dynamic range (HDR), which is used in rendering the sub-image for display. The technique generally involves first computing a global tone map of the wide-angle, HDR image in advance of rendering the sub-image. The global tone map is then used during rendering to compute a local tone map based on the average luminance and contrast of the pixels of the sub-image. In addition, the sub-image can be tone mapped as part of the rendering of a sequence of sub-images during a viewer-executed panning and/or zooming session. In this case, the local tone maps can be kept from changing too rapidly by adding a hysteresis feature to smooth out the intensity changes between successive sub-images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2007
    Publication date: February 12, 2009
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Michael F. Cohen, Matthew T. Uyttendaele, Johannes Kopf
  • Publication number: 20080267494
    Abstract: A “Joint Bilateral Upsampler” uses a high-resolution input signal to guide the interpolation of a low-resolution solution set (derived from a downsampled version of the input signal) from low-to high-resolution. The resulting high-resolution solution set is then saved or applied to the original input signal to produce a high-resolution output signal. The high-resolution solution set is close to what would be produced directly from the input signal without downsampling. However, since the high-resolution solution set is constructed in part from a downsampled version of the input signal, it is computed using significantly less computational overhead and memory than a solution set computed directly from a high-resolution signal. Consequently, the Joint Bilateral Upsampler is advantageous for use in near real-time operations, in applications where user wait times are important, and in systems where computational costs and available memory are limited.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Publication date: October 30, 2008
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael F. Cohen, Matthew T. Uyttendaele, Daniel Lischinski, Johannes Kopf
  • Publication number: 20080144968
    Abstract: A dynamic wide angle image viewing technique is presented which provides a way to view a wide-angle image while zooming between a wide angle view and a narrower angle view that employs both perspective and non-perspective projection models. In general, this involves first establishing the field of view for a view of the wide angle image that is to be displayed. The view is then rendered and displayed based on the established field of view, such that the projection transitions between a perspective projection associated with narrower angle views and a non-perspective projection (e.g., cylindrical, spherical or some other parameterization) associated with wider-angle views.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2007
    Publication date: June 19, 2008
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Michael F. Cohen, Matthew T. Uyttendaele, Johannes Kopf