Abstract: An entertainment server provides an entertainment consumer with visual entertainment media. The entertainment consumer sends a request to a panoramic moment generator to export a panoramic moment of the visual entertainment media to a viewer's display device for a viewer, the panoramic moment including panoramic content. The panoramic content can be comprised of still image(s) and/or video(s).

Abstract: A mobile device is configured to receive requests for panoramas and related supplemental panoramic data from a user. If the user elects to view supplemental panoramic data, the mobile device retrieves the supplemental panoramic data from a datasource server, and presents the at least one supplemental panoramic data together with the requested panorama to the user. In some embodiments, the supplemental panoramic data is associated with placement data from the datasource server. Examples of supplemental panoramic data include temporal data, climatic data, geographical data, marketing data, announcement data and contact data.

Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods for efficiently storing panoramic image data with flex-focal metadata for subsequent display of pseudo three-dimensional panoramas derived from two-dimensional image sources. The panorama display system includes a camera, a processor and a display device. The camera is configured to determine a current user field of view (FOV). The processor retrieves and processes at least one image associated with a panorama together with associated flex-focal metadata in accordance with the current user FOV, and generates a current panoramic image for the display device.

Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods for stitching and sharing panoramas. In one embodiment, a computerized mobile device downsizes a plurality of captured images. The mobile device transmits the downsized images to a server with a panoramic stitcher. The server analyzes the downsized images and generates stitching parameters for the mobile device. The mobile device uses the stitching parameters to stitch the plurality of captured images into a panorama which can be shared with one or more recipients.

Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods for monetizing advertisement locations of virtual tours. A virtual tour author generates a virtual tour for mobile devices, and reserves a suitable modifiable ad location in the virtual tour. One or more annotated links can be assigned to this ad location. The ad location can now be monetized by renting the ad location and/or the one or more annotated links assigned to this ad location. Examples of monetization strategies include auctions and direct/indirect sale channels.

Abstract: A virtual tour host server decomposes a virtual tour into a plurality of video faces which are stored. When a user desires to begin a virtual tour using a mobile device, the mobile device detects and reports a field of view to the host server. The host server then associates a subset of the plurality of video faces corresponding to the detected field of view, and sends a video stream of the virtual tour recomposed from the subset of video faces, enabling the mobile device to display the virtual tour video stream.

Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods for reliably detecting motion control of mobile devices to navigate virtual tour applications. In one embodiment, a computerized hand-held mobile device is configured to telespot from a first virtual tour environment to a second virtual tour environment upon detection of an intentional user motion, such as a flick, using a motion sensor. Upon detection of a potentially telespotting motion that is greater than a threshold and a viewing field of the mobile device substantially overlapping with an annotated link of the virtual tour, the mobile device telespots from the first virtual tour environment of the virtual tour to the second virtual tour environment of the virtual tour.

Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods for reliably detecting motion control of mobile devices executing virtual tour applications. In one embodiment, a computerized mobile device reliably detects angular rotations. The mobile device includes a magnetometer for generating directional values representing the respective angular rotations. The mobile device detects abrupt change(s) in additional directional values relative to the prior directional values, and if an abrupt change in an additional directional value is detected, then an appropriate weight is assigned to the additional data value. In addition to generating directional values, the magnetometer may also generate corresponding magnitude values. The mobile device evaluates the corresponding magnitude values and if an amplitude of a magnitude value is greater than a threshold, then the mobile device decreases a confidence value associated with the corresponding directional value.