Scratchwork webcam scan feature
AssigneeScratchwork LLC
InventorJohn Stogin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for capturing and digitally representing hand-drawn annotations from non-digital media such as paper or a whiteboard. The system and method involve taking an image of the annotations and then processing the image to determine the shapes defined by spatially connected pixels. These shapes can then be treated (eg. selected, resized, moved, copied, deleted, etc.) as atomic units and used in a document editing or digital communication setting. This system does not require any pre-defined set of characters, symbols, or shapes.
Claims18
A collaborative communication system comprising:
- a plurality of user devices including a display and a camera;
- a processing unit;
- wherein the processing unit is configured to receive an image originating from at least one camera, and further configured to convert the image into a greyscale image comprising a plurality of pixels whose value with a higher value correspond to elements that are darker than their nearby background;
- wherein the processing unit is further configured to generate a first array by comparing the value of each of the plurality of pixels to a first threshold, setting values above the first threshold to a first value and setting values below or equal to the first threshold to a second value;
- and
- wherein the processing unit is further configured to generate a second array defining connected components by identifying a first member of the first array set to the second value that is connected to less than a second threshold number of other members of the first array set to the second value, and converting the value of the first member to the first value.
A method of image extrapolation, comprising:
- receiving a first image;
- converting the image into a greyscale image;
- generating a first array by comparing the value of each of the plurality of pixels to a first threshold, setting values above the first threshold to a first value and setting values below or equal to the first threshold to a second value;
- generating a second array defining connected components by identifying a first member of the first array set to the second value that is connected to less than a second threshold number of other members of the first array set to the second value, and converting the value of the first member to the first value;
- and
- placing the image on a virtual board such that pixels in the image corresponding to connected components become individual items that are capable of being manipulated by a user interacting with the virtual board on one of the plurality of user devices.
A method of image extrapolation, comprising:
- capturing an image;
- reverse greyscaling the image;
- assigning a numerical value related to a pixel's shade in the black to white spectrum;
- establishing a threshold;
- converting pixels above threshold to black or another color and pixels below the threshold to transparent;
- eliminating black or other colored pixels that are connected to fewer than a given threshold of pixels;
- and
- placing leftover symbols onto a virtual whiteboard, wherein said symbols are editable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.