Patents by Inventor Mark Finocchio

Mark Finocchio 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: 9465980
    Abstract: A method of tracking a subject includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that image the subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the subject as a model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Patent number: 9304594
    Abstract: Methods for recognizing gestures within a near-field environment are described. In some embodiments, a mobile device, such as a head-mounted display device (HMD), may capture a first image of an environment while illuminating the environment using an IR light source with a first range (e.g., due to the exponential decay of light intensity) and capture a second image of the environment without illumination. The mobile device may generate a difference image based on the first image and the second image in order to eliminate background noise due to other sources of IR light within the environment (e.g., due to sunlight or artificial light sources). In some cases, object and gesture recognition techniques may be applied to the difference image in order to detect the performance of hand and/or finger gestures by an end user of the mobile device within a near-field environment of the mobile device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2016
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Mark Finocchio, Alexandru Balan, Nathan Ackerman, Jeffrey Margolis
  • Patent number: 9171264
    Abstract: Embodiments are disclosed herein that relate to generating a decision tree through graphical processing unit (GPU) based machine learning. For example, one embodiment provides a method including, for each level of the decision tree: performing, at each GPU of the parallel processing pipeline, a feature test for a feature in a feature set on every example in an example set. The method further includes accumulating results of the feature tests in local memory blocks. The method further includes writing the accumulated results from each local memory block to global memory to generate a histogram of features for every node in the level, and for each node in the level, assigning a feature having a lowest entropy in accordance with the histograms to the node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Mark Finocchio, Richard E. Moore, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Shotton
  • Patent number: 9171380
    Abstract: Embodiments related to detecting object information from image data collected by an image sensor are disclosed. In one example embodiment, the object information is detected by receiving a frame of image data from the image sensor and detecting a change in a threshold condition related to an object within the frame. The embodiment further comprises adjusting a setting that changes a power consumption of the image sensor in response to detecting the threshold condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2015
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Kyungsuk David Lee, Mark Finocchio, Richard Moore, Alexandru Balan, Rod G. Fleck
  • Patent number: 9116220
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for synchronization of sensor signals between devices. One or more of the devices may collect sensor data. The device may create a sensor signal from the sensor data, which it may make available to other devices upon a publisher/subscriber model. The other devices may subscribe to sensor signals they choose. A device could be a provider or a consumer of the sensor signals. A device may have a layer of code between an operating system and software applications that processes the data for the applications. The processing may include such actions as synchronizing the data in a sensor signal to a local time clock, predicting future values for data in a sensor signal, and providing data samples for a sensor signal at a frequency that an application requests, among other actions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Shao Liu, Mark Finocchio, Avi Bar-Zeev, Jeffrey Margolis, Jason Flaks, Robert Crocco, Jr., Alex Aben-Athar Kipman
  • Publication number: 20150145860
    Abstract: A method of tracking a subject includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that image the subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the subject as a model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2014
    Publication date: May 28, 2015
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Publication number: 20140306874
    Abstract: Methods for recognizing gestures within a near-field environment are described. In some embodiments, a mobile device, such as a head-mounted display device (HMD), may capture a first image of an environment while illuminating the environment using an IR light source with a first range (e.g., due to the exponential decay of light intensity) and capture a second image of the environment without illumination. The mobile device may generate a difference image based on the first image and the second image in order to eliminate background noise due to other sources of IR light within the environment (e.g., due to sunlight or artificial light sources). In some cases, object and gesture recognition techniques may be applied to the difference image in order to detect the performance of hand and/or finger gestures by an end user of the mobile device within a near-field environment of the mobile device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2013
    Publication date: October 16, 2014
    Inventors: Mark Finocchio, Alexandru Balan, Nathan Ackerman, Jeffrey Margolis
  • Patent number: 8860663
    Abstract: A method of tracking a subject includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that image the subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the subject as a model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Publication number: 20140078141
    Abstract: A method of tracking a subject includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that image the subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the subject as a model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Patent number: 8610665
    Abstract: A method of tracking a target includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the human subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that belong to the human subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the human subject as a body model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Patent number: 8565485
    Abstract: A method of tracking a target includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the human subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that belong to the human subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the human subject as a body model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Patent number: 8553939
    Abstract: A method of tracking a target includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the human subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that belong to the human subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the human subject as a body model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Patent number: 8543517
    Abstract: A computerized decision tree training system may include a distributed control processing unit configured to receive input of training data for training a decision tree. The system may further include a plurality of data batch processing units, each data batch processing unit being configured to evaluate each of a plurality of split functions of a decision tree for respective data batch of the training data, to thereby compute a partial histogram for each split function, for each datum in the data batch. The system may further include a plurality of node batch processing units configured to aggregate the associated partial histograms for each split function to form an aggregated histogram for each split function for each of a subset of frontier tree nodes and to determine a selected split function for each frontier tree node by computing the split function that produces highest information gain for the frontier tree node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Jamie Shotton, Mihai-Dan Budiu, Andrew William Fitzgibbon, Mark Finocchio, Richard E. Moore, Duncan Robertson
  • Publication number: 20130241833
    Abstract: A method of tracking a target includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the human subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that belong to the human subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the human subject as a body model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Publication number: 20130141597
    Abstract: Embodiments related to detecting object information from image data collected by an image sensor are disclosed. In one example embodiment, the object information is detected by receiving a frame of image data from the image sensor and detecting a change in a threshold condition related to an object within the frame. The embodiment further comprises adjusting a setting that changes a power consumption of the image sensor in response to detecting the threshold condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Publication date: June 6, 2013
    Inventors: Kyungsuk David Lee, Mark Finocchio, Richard Moore, Alexandru Balan, Rod G. Fleck
  • Patent number: 8448094
    Abstract: Systems and methods for mapping natural input devices to legacy system inputs are disclosed. One example system may include a computing device having an algorithmic preprocessing module configured to receive input data containing a natural user input and to identify the natural user input in the input data. The computing device may further include a gesture module coupled to the algorithmic preprocessing module, the gesture module being configured to associate the natural user input to a gesture in a gesture library. The computing device may also include a mapping module to map the gesture to a legacy controller input, and to send the legacy controller input to a legacy system in response to the natural user input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Alex Kipman, R. Stephen Polzin, Kudo Tsunoda, Darren Bennett, Stephen Latta, Mark Finocchio, Gregory G. Snook, Relja Markovic
  • Publication number: 20130028476
    Abstract: A method of tracking a target includes receiving from a source a depth image of a scene including the human subject. The depth image includes a depth for each of a plurality of pixels. The method further includes identifying pixels of the depth image that belong to the human subject and deriving from the identified pixels of the depth image one or more machine readable data structures representing the human subject as a body model including a plurality of shapes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 31, 2013
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momim M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Patent number: 8295546
    Abstract: A method of tracking a target includes receiving from a source an observed depth image of a scene including the target. Each pixel of the observed depth image is labeled as either a foreground pixel belonging to the target or a background pixel not belonging to the target. Each foreground pixel is labeled with body part information indicating a likelihood that that foreground pixel belongs to one or more body parts of the target. The target is modeled with a skeleton including a plurality of skeletal points, each skeletal point including a three dimensional position derived from body part information of one or more foreground pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Robert Matthew Craig, Tommer Leyvand, Craig Peeper, Momin M. Al-Ghosien, Matt Bronder, Oliver Williams, Ryan M. Geiss, Jamie Daniel Joseph Shotton, Johnny Lee, Mark Finocchio
  • Publication number: 20120162065
    Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for recognizing and tracking a user's skeletal joints with a NUI system and further, for recognizing and tracking only some skeletal joints, such as for example a user's upper body. The system may include a limb identification engine which may use various methods to evaluate, identify and track positions of body parts of one or more users in a scene. In examples, further processing efficiency may be achieved by segmenting the field of view in smaller zones, and focusing on one zone at a time. Moreover, each zone may have its own set of predefined gestures which are recognized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2012
    Publication date: June 28, 2012
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Philip Tossell, Andrew Wilson, Alex Aben-Athar Kipman, Johnny Chung Lee, Alex Balan, Jamie Shotton, Richard Moore, Oliver Williams, Ryan Geiss, Mark Finocchio, Kathryn Stone Perez, Aaron Kornblum, John Clavin
  • Publication number: 20120163520
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for synchronization of sensor signals between devices. One or more of the devices may collect sensor data. The device may create a sensor signal from the sensor data, which it may make available to other devices upon a publisher/subscriber model. The other devices may subscribe to sensor signals they choose. A device could be a provider or a consumer of the sensor signals. A device may have a layer of code between an operating system and software applications that processes the data for the applications. The processing may include such actions as synchronizing the data in a sensor signal to a local time clock, predicting future values for data in a sensor signal, and providing data samples for a sensor signal at a frequency that an application requests, among other actions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2010
    Publication date: June 28, 2012
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shao Liu, Mark Finocchio, Avi Bar-Zeev, Jeffrey Margolis, Jason Flaks, Robert Crocco, JR., Alex Aben-Athar Kipman