Patents by Inventor Andrew Swann
Andrew Swann 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).
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Patent number: 11577168Abstract: A method of video playback includes obtaining a 3D reconstruction of at least part of an environment, obtaining video footage of an activity within that at least part of the environment, obtaining data indicating a position and orientation of a first camera within the at least part of the environment that recorded the obtained video footage, and rendering a view of the video footage in alignment with a corresponding view of at least part of the 3D reconstruction, responsive to the position and orientation of the first camera within the at least part of the environment.Type: GrantFiled: October 8, 2019Date of Patent: February 14, 2023Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Andrew Swann, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer
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Patent number: 11458393Abstract: A method of generating a representation of a virtual environment includes obtaining a mesh of at least part of the virtual environment; detecting the continuous and non-overlapping portions of that mesh, hereafter ‘patches’; populating a texture map with representations of the patches by, for successive patches in order of large to small, identifying a position on the texture map where a current patch meets a non-overwrite criterion, wherein the a non-overwrite criterion requires that texels corresponding to the current patch do not overwrite texels of any previously positioned patch, and successive positions for each current patch are tested at intervals starting from a common origin position; and associating the current patch with the identified position; setting colour values for the texels of the texture map responsive to colour information corresponding to the obtained mesh; and outputting the obtained mesh and texture map for use by a third party.Type: GrantFiled: October 23, 2019Date of Patent: October 4, 2022Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Andrew Swann, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer
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Patent number: 11325037Abstract: A method of mapping a virtual environment comprises obtaining a first sequence of video images output by a videogame title; obtaining a corresponding sequence of in-game virtual camera positions at which the video images were created; obtaining a corresponding sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame whilst creating the video images; and for each of a plurality of video images and corresponding depth buffer values of the obtained sequences, obtain mapping points corresponding to a sampling distribution of points over the area of a respective video image and their associated depth values; wherein respective mapping points are obtained by projecting co-ordinated derived from the sample points from the video image and associated depth values back into a 3D game world co-ordinate system of the videogame title; thereby obtaining a point cloud dataset of mapping points corresponding to the first sequence of video images.Type: GrantFiled: February 20, 2019Date of Patent: May 10, 2022Inventors: Andrew Swann, Pritpal Singh Panesar, Simon Andrew St. John Brislin, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer
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Patent number: 11229843Abstract: A video recording method includes recording a sequence of video images output by a videogame, recording a sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame, recording a sequence of in-game virtual camera positions used to generate the video images, recording one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions, associating the depth buffer value sequence, the in-game virtual camera position sequence, and an identifier for the videogame, with the video image sequence, and associating the one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions with the identifier for the videogame.Type: GrantFiled: August 18, 2020Date of Patent: January 25, 2022Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann
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Publication number: 20210407169Abstract: A method of generating a representation of a virtual environment includes obtaining a mesh of at least part of the virtual environment; detecting the continuous and non-overlapping portions of that mesh, hereafter ‘patches’ ; populating a texture map with representations of the patches by, for successive patches in order of large to small, identifying a position on the texture map where a current patch meets a non-overwrite criterion, wherein the a non-overwrite criterion requires that texels corresponding to the current patch do not overwrite texels of any previously positioned patch, and successive positions for each current patch are tested at intervals starting from a common origin position; and associating the current patch with the identified position; setting colour values for the texels of the texture map responsive to colour information corresponding to the obtained mesh; and outputting the obtained mesh and texture map for use by a third party.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 23, 2019Publication date: December 30, 2021Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Andrew SWANN, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer
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Publication number: 20210354036Abstract: A method of video playback includes obtaining a 3D reconstruction of at least part of an environment, obtaining video footage of an activity within that at least part of the environment, obtaining data indicating a position and orientation of a first camera within the at least part of the environment that recorded the obtained video footage, and rendering a view of the video footage in alignment with a corresponding view of at least part of the 3D reconstruction, responsive to the position and orientation of the first camera within the at least part of the environment.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 8, 2019Publication date: November 18, 2021Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Andrew Swann, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer
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Publication number: 20210178266Abstract: A method of mapping a virtual environment comprises obtaining a first sequence of video images output by a videogame title; obtaining a corresponding sequence of in-game virtual camera positions at which the video images were created; obtaining a corresponding sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame whilst creating the video images; and for each of a plurality of video images and corresponding depth buffer values of the obtained sequences, obtain mapping points corresponding to a sampling distribution of points over the area of a respective video image and their associated depth values; wherein respective mapping points are obtained by projecting co-ordinated derived from the sample points from the video image and associated depth values back into a 3D game world co-ordinate system of the videogame title; thereby obtaining a point cloud dataset of mapping points corresponding to the first sequence of video images.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 20, 2019Publication date: June 17, 2021Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe LimitedInventors: Andrew Swann, Pritpal Singh Panesar, Simon Andrew St. John Brislin, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer
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Patent number: 11007436Abstract: A method of detecting significant footage for recording from a videogame includes obtaining position information for a target object within a virtual environment of the videogame, obtaining depth buffer information for a current position of a virtual camera used to generate a current image of the virtual environment for display by the videogame, calculating a first distance along a line between the current position of the virtual camera and the obtained position of the target object, detecting whether a depth buffer value along the line corresponds to at least a threshold distance from the virtual camera, the threshold distance being based upon the calculated first distance, and if so, associating the current image with an indicator that the image is significant for the purposes of recording footage from the videogame.Type: GrantFiled: February 6, 2019Date of Patent: May 18, 2021Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann, Simon Andrew St John Brislin, Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan
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Patent number: 10898805Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide for: recording a first sequence of video images output by a videogame, recording a sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame, recording a sequence of in-game virtual camera positions used to generate the video images, recording one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions, generating a second sequence of video images encoding the depth buffer value sequence, and associating the in-game virtual camera position sequence, with at least one of the first and second sequence of video images.Type: GrantFiled: February 19, 2019Date of Patent: January 26, 2021Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann, Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan
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Patent number: 10874948Abstract: A method of mapping a virtual environment includes: obtaining a first sequence of video images output by a videogame title; obtaining a corresponding sequence of in-game virtual camera positions at which the video images were created; obtaining a corresponding sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame whilst creating the video images; and, for each of a plurality of video images and corresponding depth buffer values of the obtained sequences, obtain mapping points corresponding to a selected predetermined set of depth values corresponding to a predetermined set of positions within a respective video image; where for each pair of depth values and video image positions, a mapping point has a distance from the virtual camera position based upon the depth value, and a position based upon the relative positions of the virtual camera and the respective video image position, thereby obtaining a map dataset of mapping points corresponding to the first sequence of video images.Type: GrantFiled: July 2, 2019Date of Patent: December 29, 2020Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe LimitedInventors: Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann, Simon Andrew St John Brislin, Pritpal Singh Panesar
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Publication number: 20200376395Abstract: A video recording method includes recording a sequence of video images output by a videogame, recording a sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame, recording a sequence of in-game virtual camera positions used to generate the video images, recording one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions, associating the depth buffer value sequence, the in-game virtual camera position sequence, and an identifier for the videogame, with the video image sequence, and associating the one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions with the identifier for the videogame.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 18, 2020Publication date: December 3, 2020Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann
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Patent number: 10780357Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide for: recording a sequence of video images output by a videogame, recording a sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame, recording a sequence of in-game virtual camera positions used to generate the video images, recording one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions, associating the depth buffer value sequence, the in-game virtual camera position sequence, and an identifier for the videogame, with the video image sequence, and associating the one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions with the identifier for the videogame.Type: GrantFiled: February 19, 2019Date of Patent: September 22, 2020Assignee: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.Inventors: Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann
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Publication number: 20200016499Abstract: A method of mapping a virtual environment includes: obtaining a first sequence of video images output by a videogame title; obtaining a corresponding sequence of in-game virtual camera positions at which the video images were created; obtaining a corresponding sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame whilst creating the video images; and, for each of a plurality of video images and corresponding depth buffer values of the obtained sequences, obtain mapping points corresponding to a selected predetermined set of depth values corresponding to a predetermined set of positions within a respective video image; where for each pair of depth values and video image positions, a mapping point has a distance from the virtual camera position based upon the depth value, and a position based upon the relative positions of the virtual camera and the respective video image position, thereby obtaining a map dataset of mapping points corresponding to the first sequence of video images.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 2, 2019Publication date: January 16, 2020Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe LimitedInventors: Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann, Simon Andrew St John Brislin, Pritpal Singh Panesar
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Publication number: 20190392221Abstract: A method of detecting significant footage for recording from a videogame comprises obtaining position information for a target object within a virtual environment of the videogame, obtaining depth buffer information for a current position of a virtual camera used to generate a current image of the virtual environment for display by the videogame, calculating a first distance along a line between the current position of the virtual camera and the obtained position of the target object, detecting whether a depth buffer value along the line corresponds to at least a threshold distance from the virtual camera, the threshold distance being based upon the calculated first distance, and if so, associating the current image with an indicator that the image is significant for the purposes of recording footage from the videogame.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 6, 2019Publication date: December 26, 2019Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann, Simon Andrew St John Brislin, Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan
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Publication number: 20190262726Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide for: recording a first sequence of video images output by a videogame, recording a sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame, recording a sequence of in-game virtual camera positions used to generate the video images, recording one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions, generating a second sequence of video images encoding the depth buffer value sequence, and associating the in-game virtual camera position sequence, with at least one of the first and second sequence of video images.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 19, 2019Publication date: August 29, 2019Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann, Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan
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Publication number: 20190262725Abstract: Methods and apparatus provide for: recording a sequence of video images output by a videogame, recording a sequence of depth buffer values for a depth buffer used by the videogame, recording a sequence of in-game virtual camera positions used to generate the video images, recording one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions, associating the depth buffer value sequence, the in-game virtual camera position sequence, and an identifier for the videogame, with the video image sequence, and associating the one or more in-game events and their respective in-game positions with the identifier for the videogame.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 19, 2019Publication date: August 29, 2019Applicant: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.Inventors: Nicholas Anthony Edward Ryan, Hugh Alexander Dinsdale Spencer, Andrew Swann
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Patent number: 7404239Abstract: An adjuster is provided for a restraint system having a belt which extends through the adjuster and includes a free end and another end or fastening end which is adapted to be secured to an object. The adjuster allows adjustment of the length of the belt between the adjuster and the fastening end. The adjuster includes a frame having a base member with an opening. The opening defines a first or edge plate and a second or securement plate. The first plate and the opening define a belt engaging edge. A clamping member is pivotally mounted between upright side flanges, the clamping member includes a pivoting lever and a load bar having a clamping edge, and a resilient spring member which urges the clamping member to rotate the clamping edge toward the belt engaging edge of the frame.Type: GrantFiled: April 26, 2004Date of Patent: July 29, 2008Inventors: Michael James Walton, Agus Suryana The, Erin Edward Holmberg, Timothy Andrew Swann
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Patent number: 7093331Abstract: The present invention provides a buckle and frame for a restraint system resisting to a harsh environment. The buckle comprising a frame having a base wall, the base wall includes a debris exit opening; and a cover which encloses the frame and forms at least one vent opening and at least one passage which couples the debris exit opening to the vent opening. Debris, dust and other foreign objects which find there way into the buckle are not necessarily trapped but rather are presented with a means of exiting the buckle via the vent opening.Type: GrantFiled: March 5, 2004Date of Patent: August 22, 2006Assignee: AmSafe Commercial Products, Inc.Inventors: Erin Edward Holmberg, Michael James Walton, Timothy Andrew Swann, Agus Suryana The, Jeffrey Philip Baldwin
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Publication number: 20040195900Abstract: A fastener for a restraint system. The restraint system is preferably intended to be used in a vehicle with a lower anchor. The fastener includes a clip having longitudinal axis, with a hook end and a strap attachment end, the hook end having a curved portion defining a hook and an opening to the hook for receiving the lower anchor. A cover is slidably secured to the clip, the cover slidable relative to the clip along the longitudinal axis, between a closed position and an open position, wherein with the cover in the open position, the hook opening is exposed, and with the cover in the closed position the hook opening is closed by the cover. With the cover in the open position the fastener may hooked or unhooked to the lower anchor, and with the cover in the closed position, a lower anchor located in the hook will be locked within the hook. The fastener may also include a lock for locking the cover in the closed position and the open position.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 10, 2003Publication date: October 7, 2004Inventors: Agus Suryana The, Michael James Walton, Erin Edward Holmberg, Timothy Andrew Swann