Automatically Generating Panorama Tours

A system for generating automated tours using images, the system comprising one or more computing devices configured to:

• receive a request to generate an automated tour based on a set of images, each particular image in the set of images being associated with geographic location information and linking information linking the particular image with one or more other images in the set of images;
• identify a starting image of the set of images;
• determine a second image of the set of images based at least in part on the starting image and the linking information associated with the starting and second images;
• determine a first transition of a first transition mode between the starting image and the second image based at least in part on the linking information associated with the starting image and the second image;
• determine additional images from the set of images for the tour based at least in part on the linking information associated with the additional images and whether a minimum image quantity constraint has been met;
• determine a second transition of a second transition mode, different from the first transition mode, for between ones of the additional images;
• and
• add to the tour:
• an identifier for the first image,
• the first transition,
• a second identifier for the second image, the second transition, and
• the additional images according to an order of the tour
• wherein the second transition of the second transition mode is not added to the tour according to the order of the tour until a second image constraint has been met for the tour, and the second image constraint includes a fixed number of images that have been added with transitions of the first transition mode.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which computer readable instructions of a program are stored, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to perform a method of generating automated tours using images, the method comprising:

• identifying a set of images, each particular image in the set of images being associated with geographic location information and linking information linking that image with one or more other images;
• identifying a starting image of the set of images;
• and
• generating an automated tour based on at least the starting image and a second image, the linking information associated with the set of images, and a set of requirements, the set of requirements including:
• a first requirement that the automated tour begin by displaying the starting image,
• a second requirement that the automated tour include a first transition of a first transition mode between the starting image and the second image of the set based at least in part on the linking information associated with the starting image and the second image,
• a third requirement that additional images of the set of images are added to the automated tour based on the linking information associated with the additional images until a minimum image quantity constraint has been met, and
• a fourth requirement that the automated tour include a second transition of a second transition mode, different from the first transition mode, between two of the additional images, and that the second transition mode is determined according to a set of parameters including that the second transition mode is not added to the tour according to the order of the tour until a second image constraint has been met for the tour, the second image constraint including a fixed number of images that have been added with transitions of the first transition mode.