Patents by Inventor Stephen Chau

Stephen Chau 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).

  • Patent number: 9286624
    Abstract: A system and method of displaying information on images representing geographic objects captured by a camera is provided. In one aspect, the information is an advertisement and the advertisement is displayed such that its shape is based on the surface angle of the geographic object relative to the perspective from which the object is being viewed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau
  • Patent number: 9269190
    Abstract: A system and method is provided for displaying a transition between a map and a street level image. In one aspect, the display on a mobile device transitions from a top-down view of a map to a street-level view of an image, such as a panoramic image, such that the mobile device uses the currently stored map image to perform a tilt and zoom transition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Chau, Andrew Timothy Szybalski, Stephane Lafon, Andrew Lookingbill
  • Patent number: 9201952
    Abstract: Some configurations of the subject technology provide a user interface including an activity-creation display configured to create a first activity of several activities, and a single-activity display configured to display a single activity of the several activities, and information related to a list of users associated with the activity. The single-activity display includes a parameter-entry display configured to select a parameter for the single activity and to send a signal to the single activity corresponding to the selected parameter, a heads-up display configured to send a heads-up message about the single activity to a user, a location display configured to display information related to a location of the single activity, a status indicator configured to display a status based on the status parameter of the single activity, and a status-entry display configured to, upon selection, send a signal to change the status indicator of the single activity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Chau, Andrew T. Szybalski, Stephane Lafon, Andrea Lynn Frome, Jerry Howard Morrison, Derek Prothro, Huy Nguyen
  • Patent number: 9177029
    Abstract: Configurations of an activity assistant processing system are disclosed that provides users with dynamically-selected activities that are intelligently tailored to a user. The subject technology accesses an index of activities. A score is then determined for each particular activity in the index of activities. The score is based on plurality of signals associated with user-specific parameters and global parameters to determine the quantitative importance of a particular activity. The subject technology identifies a subset of activities within the index of activities using the activity assistant processing system in which the subset includes at least one activity with a corresponding score that is greater than or equal to a decision threshold for the at least one activity. At least a portion of the subset of activities is then ranked based on the quantitative importance of the particular activity using the activity assistant processing system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Chau, Andrew T. Szybalski, Stephane Lafon, Andrea Lynn Frome, Jerry Howard Morrison, Derek Prothro, Huy Nguyen
  • Patent number: 9165311
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer storage mediums for directing a user to an image of an advertiser's geolocation are provided. An exemplary method includes retrieving a first image associated with a geolocation, where the geolocation is based on a user action. At least one advertising unit is also selected based on at least the geolocation associated with the first image. Each advertising unit includes at least one geolocation associated with an advertiser. At least one advertising unit is then placed on the first image. Finally, a second image is retrieved when a placed advertising unit is selected by the user. The second image is retrieved based on the geolocation associated with the placed advertising unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau
  • Publication number: 20150278878
    Abstract: In one aspect, a system and method is provided whereby advertisements are associated with a first image, and if a second image is displayed that is visually similar to the first image, the advertisement is displayed in connection with the second image as well.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2009
    Publication date: October 1, 2015
    Applicant: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau
  • Publication number: 20150262391
    Abstract: A system and method of displaying information on images representing geographic objects captured by a camera is provided. In one aspect, the information is an advertisement and the advertisement is displayed such that its shape is based on the surface angle of the geographic object relative to the perspective from which the object is being viewed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2009
    Publication date: September 17, 2015
    Applicant: GOOGLE INC.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau
  • Patent number: 9135644
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer storage mediums for orienting a panoramic image of a geolocation to display an advertiser's location are provided. An exemplary method includes, first, determining a geolocation of a point on a map, where the point is based on a user action. A panoramic image associated with the geolocation is retrieved. An orientation bid is also retrieved from a collection of orientation bids, where the orientation bid is associated with an advertiser and includes an image orientation direction and a geographical boundary that encompasses the geolocation. The panoramic image is displayed with the image's initial orientation is determined by the image orientation direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau
  • Patent number: 9098606
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and systems that relate to an “activity assistant” that provides users with dynamically-selected “activities” that are intelligently tailored to the user's world. The subject technology receives the one or more global parameters of one or more selected activities. The subject technology further receives the one or more account-specific parameters of a selected user account. For the selected user account, and for each of the one or more selected activities, the subject technology: (a) determines one or more signals based at least in part on one or more of the global parameters of the selected activity and one or more of the account-specific parameters of the selected user account, and (b) uses the determined signals as a basis for determining an importance of the selected activity for the selected user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Chau, Andrew T. Szybalski, Stephane Lafon, Andrea Lynn Frome, Jerry Howard Morrison, Derek Prothro, Huy Nguyen
  • Publication number: 20150161820
    Abstract: A panorama viewer is disclosed which facilitates navigation from within the panorama of a larger, structured system such as a map. The panorama viewer presents a viewport on a portion of a panoramic image, the viewport including a three-dimensional overlay rendered with the panoramic image. As the orientation of the viewport within the panoramic image changes, the three-dimensional overlay's orientation in three-dimensional space also changes as it is rendered with the panoramic image in a manner that matches the change in orientation of the viewport.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2015
    Publication date: June 11, 2015
    Inventors: Luc Vincent, Daniel Joseph Filip, Stephen Chau, Stephane Lafon, Zhonghao Yang, Andrew Szybalski
  • Publication number: 20150135225
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and media for presenting suggestions of media content are provided. In some implementations, the method comprises: determining an item of media content; determining a probability of the item of media content being watched at one or more times based on at least one of: a characteristic of a person; a characteristic of a group; and a characteristic of the item of media content; creating a user interface which suggests that the item of media content be watched at one or more times based on the determined probability; and presenting the user interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2013
    Publication date: May 14, 2015
    Inventors: Jason Bayer, Eric HC Liu, Calvin Lee, Stephen Chau
  • Publication number: 20150134653
    Abstract: In accordance with some implementations of the disclosed subject matter, mechanisms for presenting recommended media content items are provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2013
    Publication date: May 14, 2015
    Inventors: Jason Bayer, Eric HC Liu, Calvin Lee, Stephen Chau, Grzegorz Glowaty, Randy Simon
  • Patent number: 8982154
    Abstract: A panorama viewer is disclosed which facilitates navigation from within the panorama of a larger, structured system such as a map. The panorama viewer presents a viewport on a portion of a panoramic image, the viewport including a three-dimensional overlay rendered with the panoramic image. As the orientation of the viewport within the panoramic image changes, the three-dimensional overlay's orientation in three-dimensional space also changes as it is rendered with the panoramic image in a manner that matches the change in orientation of the viewport.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Luc Vincent, Daniel Joseph Filip, Stephen Chau, Stephane Lafon, Zhonghao Yang, Andrew Timothy Szybalski
  • Patent number: 8965040
    Abstract: A system, computer-implemented method and computer-readable medium for correcting existing coordinates of an image. The image is provided to the client device, the image associated with a first geographic coordinate. A second geographic coordinate is received from the client device representing a location of the client device and an indication that the image resembles surroundings of the client device at the second geographic coordinate, where the second geographic coordinate is different from the first second geographic coordinate. A determination is made as to whether the received second geographic coordinate more accurately represents a location of a camera that took the image than the first geographic coordinate. When the received second coordinate is determined to be more accurate than the first coordinate, updating the first geographic coordinate associated with the image according to the received second geographic coordinate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau
  • Publication number: 20150022555
    Abstract: A system, computer-implemented method and computer-readable medium for labeling an image. A two-dimensional street-level image and a three-dimensional model representing at least a portion of the image's content are received. Data representing a label to annotate at least a portion of a building in the two dimensional image is also received. A determination is made using the three dimensional mode as to where position the label for presentation within the two-dimensional model such that the label does not obscure presentation of the building in the two-dimensional image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Applicant: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen CHAU
  • Patent number: 8868338
    Abstract: A system and method is provided for displaying a transition between a map and a street level image. In one aspect, the display on a mobile device transitions from a top-down view of a map to a street-level view of an image, such as a panoramic image, such that the mobile device uses the currently stored map image to perform a tilt and zoom transition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Chau, Andrew Szybalski, Stephane Lafon, Andrew Lookingbill
  • Publication number: 20140160119
    Abstract: A panorama viewer is disclosed which facilitates navigation from within the panorama of a larger, structured system such as a map. The panorama viewer presents a viewport on a portion of a panoramic image, the viewport including a three-dimensional overlay rendered with the panoramic image. As the orientation of the viewport within the panoramic image changes, the three-dimensional overlay's orientation in three-dimensional space also changes as it is rendered with the panoramic image in a manner that matches the change in orientation of the viewport.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2014
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Applicant: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Luc Vincent, Daniel Joseph Filip, Stephen Chau, Stephane Lafon, Zhonghao Yang, Andrew Timothy Szybalski
  • Patent number: 8751301
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer storage mediums for placing advertisements on photographic images of geolocations. The method includes retrieving a photographic image associated with a geolocation, where the geolocation is based on a user action. An advertisement to place on the photographic image is also retrieved based on at least the geolocation. The photographic image is then analyzed to determine a position on the photographic image for placing the advertisement. Finally, the advertisement is placed at the determined position on the photographic image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau
  • Patent number: 8704682
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to road priority and driving directions. In one embodiment, a system includes an object detector module configured: (i) to detect objects of a type in photographic images associated with first and second tracks, and (ii) to determine a first number of times objects of the type appear in photographic images geocoded along the first track, and a second number of times objects of the type appear in photographic images geocoded along the second track. The system also includes a priority score module configured: (i) to generate a first priority score associated with the first track based at least on the first number, and (ii) to generate a second priority score associated with the second track based at least on the second number. The system further includes a driving direction module configured: (i) to select a driving route that includes the track associated with a greater priority score.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2014
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau
  • Patent number: 8699800
    Abstract: A system, computer-implemented method and computer-readable medium for correcting existing coordinates of an image. The image is provided to the client device, the image associated with a first geographic coordinate. A second geographic coordinate is received from the client device representing a location of the client device and an indication that the image resembles surroundings of the client device at the second geographic coordinate, where the second geographic coordinate is different from the first second geographic coordinate. A determination is made as to whether the received second geographic coordinate more accurately represents a location of a camera that took the image than the first geographic coordinate. When the received second coordinate is determined to be more accurate than the first coordinate, updating the first geographic coordinate associated with the image according to the received second geographic coordinate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen Chau