Patents by Inventor Shashank Merchant

Shashank Merchant 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: 20160364389
    Abstract: Techniques for efficient database formation and search in applications embedded in a media device are provided. The search may be performed synchronously with presentation of media programming content on a nearby media presentation device. A mobile media device captures some temporal fragments of the presented audio/video content on its microphone and camera, and then generates query fingerprints for the captured fragment. A local reference database resides on the mobile media device and a master reference database resides on a remote server with a most recent chunk of reference fingerprints transferred dynamically to the local mobile media device. A chunk of the query fingerprints generated locally on the mobile media device are searched on the local reference database for continuous content search and identification. The method presented automatically switches between the local search on the mobile media device and a remote search on an external search server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2016
    Publication date: December 15, 2016
    Applicant: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Mihailo M. Stojancic, Sunil Suresh Kulkarni, Shashank Merchant, Jose Pio Pereira, Oleksiy Bolgarov
  • Patent number: 9510044
    Abstract: Content segmentation, categorization and identification methods are described. Content tracking approaches are illustrated that are suitable for large scale deployment. Time-aligned applications such as multi-language selection, customized advertisements, second screen services and content monitoring applications can be economically deployed at large scales. A client performs fingerprinting, scene change detection, audio turn detection, and logo detection on incoming video and gathers database search results, logos and text to identify and segment video streams into content, promos, and commercials. A learning engine is configured to learn rules for optimal identification and segmentation at each client for each channel and program. Content sensed at the client site is tracked with reduced computation and applications are executed with timing precision. A user interface for time-aligned publishing of content and subsequent usage and interaction on one or more displays is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: GRACENOTE, INC.
    Inventors: Jose Pio Pereira, Sunil Suresh Kulkarni, Oleksiy Bolgarov, Prashant Ramanathan, Shashank Merchant, Mihailo Stojancic
  • Patent number: 9489455
    Abstract: A multi-dimensional database and indexes and operations on the multi-dimensional database are described which include video search applications or other similar sequence or structure searches. Traversal indexes utilize highly discriminative information about images and video sequences or about object shapes. Global and local signatures around keypoints are used for compact and robust retrieval and discriminative information content of images or video sequences of interest. For other objects or structures relevant signature of pattern or structure are used for traversal indexes. Traversal indexes are stored in leaf nodes along with distance measures and occurrence of similar images in the database. During a sequence query, correlation scores are calculated for single frame, for frame sequence, and video clips, or for other objects or structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2016
    Assignee: GRACENOTE, INC.
    Inventors: Jose Pio Pereira, Mihailo M. Stojancic, Shashank Merchant
  • Patent number: 9471674
    Abstract: The overall architecture and details of a scalable video fingerprinting and identification system that is robust with respect to many classes of video distortions is described. In this system, a fingerprint for a piece of multimedia content is composed of a number of compact signatures, along with traversal hash signatures and associated metadata. Numerical descriptors are generated for features found in a multimedia clip, signatures are generated from these descriptors, and a reference signature database is constructed from these signatures. Query signatures are also generated for a query multimedia clip. These query signatures are searched against the reference database using a fast similarity search procedure, to produce a candidate list of matching signatures. This candidate list is further analyzed to find the most likely reference matches. Signature correlation is performed between the likely reference matches and the query clip to improve detection accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2016
    Assignee: Gracenotce, Inc.
    Inventors: Prashant Ramanathan, Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Mihailo M. Stojancic
  • Publication number: 20160275084
    Abstract: A multi-dimensional database and indexes and operations on the multi-dimensional database are described which include video search applications or other similar sequence or structure searches. Traversal indexes utilize highly discriminative information about images and video sequences or about object shapes. Global and local signatures around keypoints are used for compact and robust retrieval and discriminative information content of images or video sequences of interest. For other objects or structures relevant signature of pattern or structure are used for traversal indexes. Traversal indexes are stored in leaf nodes along with distance measures and occurrence of similar images in the database. During a sequence query, correlation scores are calculated for single frame, for frame sequence, and video clips, or for other objects or structures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Publication date: September 22, 2016
    Applicant: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Jose Pio Pereira, Mihailo M. Stojancic, Shashank Merchant
  • Publication number: 20160267079
    Abstract: The overall architecture and details of a scalable video fingerprinting and identification system that is robust with respect to many classes of video distortions is described. In this system, a fingerprint for a piece of multimedia content is composed of a number of compact signatures, along with traversal hash signatures and associated metadata. Numerical descriptors are generated for features found in a multimedia clip, signatures are generated from these descriptors, and a reference signature database is constructed from these signatures. Query signatures are also generated for a query multimedia clip. These query signatures are searched against the reference database using a fast similarity search procedure, to produce a candidate list of matching signatures. This candidate list is further analyzed to find the most likely reference matches. Signature correlation is performed between the likely reference matches and the query clip to improve detection accuracy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Publication date: September 15, 2016
    Applicant: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Prashant Ramanathan, Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Mihailo M. Stojancic
  • Patent number: 9436689
    Abstract: An efficient large scale search system for video and multi-media content using a distributed database and search, and tiered search servers is described. Selected content is stored at the distributed local database and tier1 search server(s). Content matching frequent queries, and frequent unidentified queries are cached at various levels in the search system. Content is classified using feature descriptors and geographical aspects, at feature level and in time segments. Queries not identified at clients and tier1 search server(s) are queried against tier2 or lower search server(s). Search servers use classification and geographical partitioning to reduce search cost. Methods for content tracking and local content searching are executed on clients. The client performs local search, monitoring and/or tracking of the query content with the reference content and local search with a database of reference fingerprints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Prashant Ramanathan, Sunil Suresh Kulkarni, Mihailo Stojancic
  • Publication number: 20160249093
    Abstract: A mobile device responds in real time to media content presented on a media device, such as a television. The mobile device captures temporal fragments of audio-video content on its microphone, camera, or both and generates corresponding audio-video query fingerprints. The query fingerprints are transmitted to a search server located remotely or used with a search function on the mobile device for content search and identification. Audio features are extracted and audio signal global onset detection is used for input audio frame alignment. Additional audio feature signatures are generated from local audio frame onsets, audio frame frequency domain entropy, and maximum change in the spectral coefficients. Video frames are analyzed to find a television screen in the frames, and a detected active television quadrilateral is used to generate video fingerprints to be combined with audio fingerprints for more reliable content identification.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2016
    Publication date: August 25, 2016
    Applicant: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Mihailo M. Stojancic, Jose Pio Pereira, Peter Wendt, Shashank Merchant, Sunil Suresh Kulkarni
  • Patent number: 9367544
    Abstract: Techniques for efficient database formation and search in applications embedded in a media device are provided. The search may be performed synchronously with presentation of media programming content on a nearby media presentation device. A mobile media device captures some temporal fragments of the presented audio/video content on its microphone and camera, and then generates query fingerprints for the captured fragment. A local reference database resides on the mobile media device and a master reference database resides on a remote server with a most recent chunk of reference fingerprints transferred dynamically to the local mobile media device. A chunk of the query fingerprints generated locally on the mobile media device are searched on the local reference database for continuous content search and identification. The method presented automatically switches between the local search on the mobile media device and a remote search on an external search server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Mihailo M. Stojancic, Sunil Suresh Kulkarni, Shashank Merchant, Jose Pio Pereira, Oleksiy Bolgarov
  • Publication number: 20160132500
    Abstract: An efficient large scale search system for video and multi-media content using a distributed database and search, and tiered search servers is described. Selected content is stored at the distributed local database and tier1 search server(s). Content matching frequent queries, and frequent unidentified queries are cached at various levels in the search system. Content is classified using feature descriptors and geographical aspects, at feature level and in time segments. Queries not identified at clients and tier1 search server(s) are queried against tier2 or lower search server(s). Search servers use classification and geographical partitioning to reduce search cost. Methods for content tracking and local content searching are executed on clients. The client performs local search, monitoring and/or tracking of the query content with the reference content and local search with a database of reference fingerprints.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2016
    Publication date: May 12, 2016
    Applicant: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Prashant Ramanathan, Sunil Suresh Kulkarni, Mihailo Stojancic
  • Patent number: 9323754
    Abstract: The overall architecture and details of a scalable video fingerprinting and identification system that is robust with respect to many classes of video distortions is described. In this system, a fingerprint for a piece of multimedia content is composed of a number of compact signatures, along with traversal hash signatures and associated metadata. Numerical descriptors are generated for features found in a multimedia clip, signatures are generated from these descriptors, and a reference signature database is constructed from these signatures. Query signatures are also generated for a query multimedia clip. These query signatures are searched against the reference database using a fast similarity search procedure, to produce a candidate list of matching signatures. This candidate list is further analyzed to find the most likely reference matches. Signature correlation is performed between the likely reference matches and the query clip to improve detection accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Prashant Ramanathan, Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Mihailo M. Stojancic
  • Patent number: 9323841
    Abstract: A multi-dimensional database and indexes and operations on the multi-dimensional database are described which include video search applications or other similar sequence or structure searches. Traversal indexes utilize highly discriminative information about images and video sequences or about object shapes. Global and local signatures around keypoints are used for compact and robust retrieval and discriminative information content of images or video sequences of interest. For other objects or structures relevant signature of pattern or structure are used for traversal indexes. Traversal indexes are stored in leaf nodes along with distance measures and occurrence of similar images in the database. During a sequence query, correlation scores are calculated for single frame, for frame sequence, and video clips, or for other objects or structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Jose Pio Pereira, Mihailo M. Stojancic, Shashank Merchant
  • Patent number: 9313359
    Abstract: A mobile device responds in real time to media content presented on a media device, such as a television. The mobile device captures temporal fragments of audio-video content on its microphone, camera, or both and generates corresponding audio-video query fingerprints. The query fingerprints are transmitted to a search server located remotely or used with a search function on the mobile device for content search and identification. Audio features are extracted and audio signal global onset detection is used for input audio frame alignment. Additional audio feature signatures are generated from local audio frame onsets, audio frame frequency domain entropy, and maximum change in the spectral coefficients. Video frames are analyzed to find a television screen in the frames, and a detected active television quadrilateral is used to generate video fingerprints to be combined with audio fingerprints for more reliable content identification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Mihailo M. Stojancic, Jose Pio Pereira, Peter Wendt, Shashank Merchant, Sunil Suresh Kulkarni
  • Patent number: 9262421
    Abstract: An efficient large scale search system for video and multi-media content using a distributed database and search, and tiered search servers is described. Selected content is stored at the distributed local database and tier1 search server(s). Content matching frequent queries, and frequent unidentified queries are cached at various levels in the search system. Content is classified using feature descriptors and geographical aspects, at feature level and in time segments. Queries not identified at clients and tier1 search server(s) are queried against tier2 or lower search server(s). Search servers use classification and geographical partitioning to reduce search cost. Methods for content tracking and local content searching are executed on clients. The client performs local search, monitoring and/or tracking of the query content with the reference content and local search with a database of reference fingerprints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Prashant Ramanathan, Sunil Suresh Kulkarni, Mihailo Stojancic
  • Publication number: 20160034452
    Abstract: The overall architecture and details of a scalable video fingerprinting and identification system that is robust with respect to many classes of video distortions is described. In this system, a fingerprint for a piece of multimedia content is composed of a number of compact signatures, along with traversal hash signatures and associated metadata. Numerical descriptors are generated for features found in a multimedia clip, signatures are generated from these descriptors, and a reference signature database is constructed from these signatures. Query signatures are also generated for a query multimedia clip. These query signatures are searched against the reference database using a fast similarity search procedure, to produce a candidate list of matching signatures. This candidate list is further analyzed to find the most likely reference matches. Signature correlation is performed between the likely reference matches and the query clip to improve detection accuracy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2015
    Publication date: February 4, 2016
    Applicant: GRACENOTE, INC.
    Inventors: Prashant Ramanathan, Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Mihailo M. Stojancic
  • Patent number: 9195663
    Abstract: The overall architecture and details of a scalable video fingerprinting and identification system that is robust with respect to many classes of video distortions is described. In this system, a fingerprint for a piece of multimedia content is composed of a number of compact signatures, along with traversal hash signatures and associated metadata. Numerical descriptors are generated for features found in a multimedia clip, signatures are generated from these descriptors, and a reference signature database is constructed from these signatures. Query signatures are also generated for a query multimedia clip. These query signatures are searched against the reference database using a fast similarity search procedure, to produce a candidate list of matching signatures. This candidate list is further analyzed to find the most likely reference matches. Signature correlation is performed between the likely reference matches and the query clip to improve detection accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: Gracenote, Inc.
    Inventors: Prashant Ramanathan, Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Mihailo M. Stojancic
  • Publication number: 20150254344
    Abstract: An architecture for a multimedia search system is described. To perform similarity matching of multimedia query frames against reference content, reference database comprising of a cluster index using cluster keys to perform similarity matching and a multimedia index to perform sequence matching is built. Methods to update and maintain the reference database that enables addition and removal of the multimedia contents, including portions of multimedia content, from the reference database in a running system are described. Hierarchical multi-level partitioning methods to organize the reference database are presented. Smart partitioning of the reference multimedia content according to the nature of the multimedia content, and according to the popularity among the social media, that supports scalable fast multimedia identification is also presented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2015
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Applicant: ZEITERA, LLC
    Inventors: Sunil Suresh Kulkarni, Jose Pio Pereira, Pradipkumar Dineshbhai Gajjar, Shashank Merchant, Prashant Ramanathan, Mihailo M. Stojancic
  • Publication number: 20150242399
    Abstract: The overall architecture and details of a scalable video fingerprinting and identification system that is robust with respect to many classes of video distortions is described. In this system, a fingerprint for a piece of multimedia content is composed of a number of compact signatures, along with traversal hash signatures and associated metadata. Numerical descriptors are generated for features found in a multimedia clip, signatures are generated from these descriptors, and a reference signature database is constructed from these signatures. Query signatures are also generated for a query multimedia clip. These query signatures are searched against the reference database using a fast similarity search procedure, to produce a candidate list of matching signatures. This candidate list is further analyzed to find the most likely reference matches. Signature correlation is performed between the likely reference matches and the query clip to improve detection accuracy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2015
    Publication date: August 27, 2015
    Applicant: Zeitera, LLC
    Inventors: Prashant Ramanathan, Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Mihailo M. Stojancic
  • Patent number: 9058355
    Abstract: An architecture for a multimedia search system is described. To perform similarity matching of multimedia query frames against reference content, reference database comprising of a cluster index using cluster keys to perform similarity matching and a multimedia index to perform sequence matching is built. Methods to update and maintain the reference database that enables addition and removal of the multimedia contents, including portions of multimedia content, from the reference database in a running system are described. Hierarchical multi-level partitioning methods to organize the reference database are presented. Smart partitioning of the reference multimedia content according to the nature of the multimedia content, and according to the popularity among the social media, that supports scalable fast multimedia identification is also presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2015
    Assignee: Zeitera, LLC
    Inventors: Sunil Suresh Kulkarni, Jose Pio Pereira, Pradipkumar Dineshbhai Gajjar, Shashank Merchant, Prashant Ramanathan, Mihailo M. Stojancic
  • Patent number: 9053104
    Abstract: The overall architecture and details of a scalable video fingerprinting and identification system that is robust with respect to many classes of video distortions is described. In this system, a fingerprint for a piece of multimedia content is composed of a number of compact signatures, along with traversal hash signatures and associated metadata. Numerical descriptors are generated for features found in a multimedia clip, signatures are generated from these descriptors, and a reference signature database is constructed from these signatures. Query signatures are also generated for a query multimedia clip. These query signatures are searched against the reference database using a fast similarity search procedure, to produce a candidate list of matching signatures. This candidate list is further analyzed to find the most likely reference matches. Signature correlation is performed between the likely reference matches and the query clip to improve detection accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2015
    Assignee: Zeitera, LLC
    Inventors: Prashant Ramanathan, Jose Pio Pereira, Shashank Merchant, Mihailo M. Stojancic