Patents by Inventor Stephen Lawler

Stephen Lawler 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: 11477374
    Abstract: A system that facilitates collecting data is described herein. The system includes a digital camera that is configured to capture images in a visible light spectrum and a near-infrared camera that is configured to capture near infrared images, wherein a field of view of the digital camera and the field of view of the near-infrared camera are substantially similar. The system further includes a trigger component that is configured to cause the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to capture images at a substantially similar point in time, and also includes a mounting mechanism that facilitates mounting the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to an automobile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Kroepfl, Michael Gruber, Martin Josef Ponticelli, Stephen Lawler, Joachim Bauer, Franz W. Leberl, Konrad Karner, Zanin Cosic, Hannes Hegenbarth, Gur Kimchi, John Charles Curlander
  • Publication number: 20200344414
    Abstract: A system that facilitates collecting data is described herein. The system includes a digital camera that is configured to capture images in a visible light spectrum and a near-infrared camera that is configured to capture near infrared images, wherein a field of view of the digital camera and the field of view of the near-infrared camera are substantially similar. The system further includes a trigger component that is configured to cause the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to capture images at a substantially similar point in time, and also includes a mounting mechanism that facilitates mounting the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to an automobile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Publication date: October 29, 2020
    Inventors: Michael Kroepfl, Michael Gruber, Martin Josef Ponticelli, Stephen Lawler, Joachim Bauer, Franz W. Leberl, Konrad Karner, Zanin Cosic, Hannes Hegenbarth, Gur Kimchi, John Charles Curlander
  • Patent number: 10715724
    Abstract: A system that facilitates collecting data is described herein. The system includes a digital camera that is configured to capture images in a visible light spectrum and a near-infrared camera that is configured to capture near infrared images, wherein a field of view of the digital camera and the field of view of the near-infrared camera are substantially similar. The system further includes a trigger component that is configured to cause the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to capture images at a substantially similar point in time, and also includes a mounting mechanism that facilitates mounting the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to an automobile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Kroepfl, Michael Gruber, Martin Josef Ponticelli, Stephen Lawler, Joachim Bauer, Franz W. Leberl, Konrad Karner, Zanin Cosic, Hannes Hegenbarth, Gur Kimchi, John Charles Curlander
  • Patent number: 10217294
    Abstract: A three dimensional (3D) model of an object or environment may be created from images and other information of the object or environment. The 3D model may be created by aligning the images. The 3D model may include surfaces that are based on surfaces of the object or environment. The 3D model may be displayed, exported, modified and so on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: Blaise Aguera Y. Arcas, Brett D. Brewer, Steven M. Drucker, Karim T Farouki, Gary W. Flake, Stephen Lawler, Donald J. Lindsay, Adam P Sheppard
  • Patent number: 9936346
    Abstract: Architecture that enables the capability to more effectively define and resize geofences to provide improved geofence utility based on rich context and crowd-sourced data. The architecture enables the intelligent placement of geofences based on rich context that includes both user context and ambient context such as the (predicted or implicitly/explicitly defined) user's travel path, mode of transport, the type of the entity to be visited by the user and geofenced, and the user incentive for visiting the entity to be geofenced. The ambient context includes non-user specific information such as external conditions that may limit or thwart user mobility such as traffic and weather conditions. The rich context and crowd-sourced data assist in improving the spatiotemporal accuracy of suggested/constructed geofences thereby creating a “shaped” geofence that is sufficiently defined to approximate the shape of the entity being geofenced with some degree of accuracy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Emmanouil Koukoumidis, Norm Bryar, Christopher Alme, Namita Parab, Stephen Lawler, Anthony Bice, Vanya Avramova
  • Publication number: 20170206714
    Abstract: A three dimensional (3D) model of an object or environment may be created from images and other information of the object or environment. The 3D model may be created by aligning the images. The 3D model may include surfaces that are based on surfaces of the object or environment. The 3D model may be displayed, exported, modified and so on.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Publication date: July 20, 2017
    Inventors: Blaise Aguera Y. Arcas, Brett D. Brewer, Steven M. Drucker, Karim T Farouki, Gary W. Flake, Stephen Lawler, Donald J. Lindsay, Adam P Sheppard
  • Patent number: 9679071
    Abstract: A badge may be assigned to a person, where the badge represents a characteristic or recurrent behavior of the person. A query may be associated with a badge, and the query may be continually used in a search request in combination with the person's context, thereby allowing the person to be continually provided with fresh results that may be relevant to the person's durable characteristics and current context. In one example, the person carries a handheld device, and the results are presented to the user on the user's desktop or lock screen. The act of providing the results may be triggered in various ways, such as movement of the person who carries the device, or the availability of sufficiently high-quality results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Blaise H. Aguera y Arcas, Stephen Lawler, Scott V. Fynn
  • Patent number: 9659406
    Abstract: A three dimensional (3D) model of an object or environment may be created from images and other information of the object or environment. The 3D model may be created by aligning the images. The 3D model may include surfaces that are based on surfaces of the object or environment. The 3D model may be displayed, extorted, modified and so on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Blaise Aguera Y. Arcas, Brett D. Brewer, Steven M. Drucker, Karim T Farouki, Gary W. Flake, Stephen Lawler, Donald J. Lindsay, Adam P Sheppard
  • Publication number: 20150326783
    Abstract: A system that facilitates collecting data is described herein. The system includes a digital camera that is configured to capture images in a visible light spectrum and a near-infrared camera that is configured to capture near infrared images, wherein a field of view of the digital camera and the field of view of the near-infrared camera are substantially similar. The system further includes a trigger component that is configured to cause the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to capture images at a substantially similar point in time, and also includes a mounting mechanism that facilitates mounting the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to an automobile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2015
    Publication date: November 12, 2015
    Inventors: Michael Kroepfl, Michael Gruber, Martin Josef Ponticelli, Stephen Lawler, Joachim Bauer, Franz W. Leberl, Konrad Karner, Zanin Cosic, Hannes Hegenbarth, Gur Kimchi, John Charles Curlander
  • Publication number: 20150310662
    Abstract: A three dimensional avatar of a person may be created based on a plurality of images of a person in a physical environment. The three dimensional avatar may have dimensions that are scaled based on dimensions of the person. The three dimensional avatar may be imported into a virtual environment, such as a virtual gaming environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2015
    Publication date: October 29, 2015
    Inventors: Blaise Aguera Y. Arcas, Brett D. Brewer, Steven M. Drucker, Karim T Farouki, Gary W. Flake, Stephen Lawler, Donald J. Lindsay, Adam P. Sheppard
  • Patent number: 9091755
    Abstract: A system that facilitates collecting data is described herein. The system includes a digital camera that is configured to capture images in a visible light spectrum and a near-infrared camera that is configured to capture near infrared images, wherein a field of view of the digital camera and the field of view of the near-infrared camera are substantially similar. The system further includes a trigger component that is configured to cause the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to capture images at a substantially similar point in time, and also includes a mounting mechanism that facilitates mounting the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to an automobile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Kroepfl, Michael Gruber, Martin Josef Ponticelli, Stephen Lawler, Joachim Bauer, Franz W. Leberl, Konrad Karner, Zanin Cosic, Hannes Hegenbarth, Gur Kimchi, John Charles Curlander
  • Publication number: 20150148061
    Abstract: Architecture that enables the capability to more effectively define and resize geofences to provide improved geofence utility based on rich context and crowd-sourced data. The architecture enables the intelligent placement of geofences based on rich context that includes both user context and ambient context such as the (predicted or implicitly/explicitly defined) user's travel path, mode of transport, the type of the entity to be visited by the user and geofenced, and the user incentive for visiting the entity to be geofenced. The ambient context includes non-user specific information such as external conditions that may limit or thwart user mobility such as traffic and weather conditions. The rich context and crowd-sourced data assist in improving the spatiotemporal accuracy of suggested/constructed geofences thereby creating a “shaped” geofence that is sufficiently defined to approximate the shape of the entity being geofenced with some degree of accuracy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2013
    Publication date: May 28, 2015
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Emmanouil Koukoumidis, Norm Bryar, Christopher Alme, Namita Parab, Stephen Lawler, Anthony Bice, Vanya Avramova
  • Publication number: 20140254921
    Abstract: The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates generating a model from a 3-dimensional (3D) object assembled from 2-dimensional (2D) content. A content aggregator can construct a 3D object from a collection of two or more 2D images each depicting a real entity in a physical real world, wherein the 3D object is constructed by combining the two or more 2D images based upon a respective image perspective. A 3D virtual environment can allow exploration of the 3D object. A model component can extrapolate a true 3D geometric model from the 3D object, wherein the true 3D geometric model is generated to include scaling in proportion to a size within the physical real world.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Blaise Aguera Y. Arcas, Brett D. Brewer, Steven M. Drucker, Karim T. Farouki, Gary W. Flake, Stephen Lawler, Donald J. Lindsay, Adam P. Sheppard
  • Patent number: 8326831
    Abstract: A badge may be assigned to a person, where the badge represents a characteristic or recurrent behavior of the person. A query may be associated with a badge, and the query may be continually used in a search request in combination with the person's context, thereby allowing the person to be continually provided with fresh results that may be relevant to the person's durable characteristics and current context. In one example, the person carries a handheld device, and the results are presented to the user on the user's desktop or lock screen. The act of providing the results may be triggered in various ways, such as movement of the person who carries the device, or the availability of sufficiently high-quality results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2012
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Blaise H. Aguera y Arcas, Stephen Lawler, Scott V. Fynn
  • Publication number: 20110167053
    Abstract: A system that can analyze a multi-dimensional input thereafter establishing a search query based upon extracted features from the input. In a particular example, an image can be used as an input to a search mechanism. Pattern recognition and image analysis can be applied to the image thereafter establishing a search query that corresponds to features extracted from the image input. The system can also facilitate indexing multi-dimensional searchable items thereby making them available to be retrieved as results to a search query. More particularly, the system can employ text analysis, pattern and/or speech recognition mechanisms to extract features from searchable items. These extracted features can be employed to index the searchable items.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2011
    Publication date: July 7, 2011
    Applicant: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Lawler, Eric J. Horvitz, Joshua T. Goodman, Anoop Gupta, Christopher A. Meek, Eric D. Brill, Gary W. Flake, Ramez Naam, Surajit Chaudhuri, Oliver Hurst-Hiller
  • Patent number: 7917514
    Abstract: A system that can analyze a multi-dimensional input thereafter establishing a search query based upon extracted features from the input. In a particular example, an image can be used as an input to a search mechanism. Pattern recognition and image analysis can be applied to the image thereafter establishing a search query that corresponds to features extracted from the image input. The system can also facilitate indexing multi-dimensional searchable items thereby making them available to be retrieved as results to a search query. More particularly, the system can employ text analysis, pattern and/or speech recognition mechanisms to extract features from searchable items. These extracted features can be employed to index the searchable items.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Lawler, Eric J. Horvitz, Joshua T. Goodman, Anoop Gupta, Christopher A. Meek, Eric D. Brill, Gary W. Flake, Ramez Naam, Surajit Chaudhuri, Oliver Hurst-Hiller
  • Publication number: 20100182396
    Abstract: A system that facilitates collecting data is described herein. The system includes a digital camera that is configured to capture images in a visible light spectrum and a near-infrared camera that is configured to capture near infrared images, wherein a field of view of the digital camera and the field of view of the near-infrared camera are substantially similar. The system further includes a trigger component that is configured to cause the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to capture images at a substantially similar point in time, and also includes a mounting mechanism that facilitates mounting the digital camera and the near-infrared camera to an automobile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2009
    Publication date: July 22, 2010
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michael Kroepfl, Michael Gruber, Martin Josef Ponticelli, Stephen Lawler, Joachim Bauer, Franz W. Leberl, Konrad Karner, Zanin Cosic, Hannes Hegenbarth, Gur Kimchi, John Charles Curlander
  • Patent number: 7739221
    Abstract: A system that can analyze a multi-dimensional input thereafter establishing a search query based upon extracted features from the input. In a particular example, an image can be used as an input to a search mechanism. Pattern recognition and image analysis can be applied to the image thereafter establishing a search query that corresponds to features extracted from the image input. The system can also facilitate indexing multi-dimensional searchable items thereby making them available to be retrieved as results to a search query. More particularly, the system can employ text analysis, pattern and/or speech recognition mechanisms to extract features from searchable items. These extracted features can be employed to index the searchable items.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2010
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen Lawler, Eric J. Horvitz, Joshua T. Goodman, Anoop Gupta, Christopher A. Meek, Eric D. Brill, Gary W. Flake, Ramez Naam, Surajit Chaudhuri, Oliver Hurst-Hiller
  • Patent number: 7564377
    Abstract: Provided is a single repository for capturing, connecting, sharing, and visualizing information based on a geographic location, for example. Provided is a schema, repository, index, and APIs for any information, place, entity, attribute, service or person that can be referenced geographically. A system to provide real time image data includes an input component that receives image data associated with a specific geographic area, a splitter component that splits the image data into at least two quadrants, and a storage component that stores at least a portion of the at least two quadrants. Also provides is on-line or real-time advertising based on a user's mapped location and/or a user preference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Gur Kimchi, Amit Dekate, Ashok Kuppusamy, Steve Lombardi, Joseph Schwartz, Stephen Lawler, Alexander Gounares, Raymond E. Endres
  • Publication number: 20080005091
    Abstract: A system that can analyze a multi-dimensional input thereafter establishing a search query based upon extracted features from the input. In a particular example, an image can be used as an input to a search mechanism. Pattern recognition and image analysis can be applied to the image thereafter establishing a search query that corresponds to features extracted from the image input. The system can also facilitate indexing multi-dimensional searchable items thereby making them available to be retrieved as results to a search query. More particularly, the system can employ text analysis, pattern and/or speech recognition mechanisms to extract features from searchable items. These extracted features can be employed to index the searchable items.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2006
    Publication date: January 3, 2008
    Applicant: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Stephen Lawler, Eric J. Horvitz, Joshua T. Goodman, Anoop Gupta, Christopher A. Meek, Eric D. Brill, Gary W. Flake, Ramez Naam, Surajit Chaudhuri, Oliver Hurst-Hiller