Abstract:
The present invention relates to video communication technology and discloses a system and method for generating animated video images. The present invention provides a system for generating animated video images, including a video image capture module, an animation capture module and an overlay module, for the purpose of overcoming the disadvantages of current video interaction system, such as poor video interaction experience and dull images. The present invention also provides a method for generating animated video images, comprising capturing video images, obtaining animation frames and overlaying the video images with the animation frames.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2007/000214, filed Jan. 19, 2007. This application claims the benefit of Chinese Application No. 200610033279.9, filed Jan. 21, 2006. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to the video communication field, and particularly, to a system and method for generating interactive video images. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
         [0004]    Instant Messaging (IM) is an internet based communication service providing mainly instant communication functions over networks. The IM service is fast and stable, has rich varieties of functions and occupies small amount of system resources, hence the IM service is widely adopted at present. 
         [0005]    IM tools are also widely adopted currently among “netizens” as a kind of indispensable network tools for text interaction, audio interaction as well as video interaction. The present IM tools and other video interaction tools usually use normal video clips captured by cameras in the video interaction, that is, a receiving end of the video images receives the images directly captured by the cameras. However, a user usually has some objects around that interfere the eye sight and further affect the video interaction experience of the user. The simple video images are comparatively too dull to satisfy the customized demands of some users. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The objective of the present invention is to provide a system and method for generating interactive video images in order to solve the problems of unsatisfactory video interaction experience and dull images for users of the present video interactive systems. According to the technical scheme of the present invention, a user may choose an animation frame, overlay the chosen animation frame with a video image and output the overlaid video image at the transmitting end or receiving end, or combine the chosen animation frame with the video image output into an animation frame to be played at the transmitting end or receiving end. In this way a display window may show the animation frame and the video image at the same time to provide video image interaction and entertainment. 
         [0007]    The embodiment of the present invention also provides a system for generating interactive video images. The system comprises a video image capture module, an animation capture module and an overlay module, wherein the video image capture module is adapted to capture video images and output the video images to the overlay module, the animation capture module is adapted to capture animation frames and output the animation frames to the overlay module, and the overlay module is adapted to overlay the video images from the video image capture module with the animation frames from the animation capture module. 
         [0008]    The present invention further provides a method for generating interactive video images, comprising: capturing video images, obtaining animation frames and overlaying the video images with the animation frames. 
         [0009]    By overlaying video images with animation frames, the system and method provided by the present invention for generating interactive video images enable a user to watch both animations and videos in one display window at the same time and add more pleasure into the video interaction. The animation frames may overlap and cover the images of the objects which interfere with the eyesight of the user and improve visual presentation of the video images aesthetically, and the user may choose the overlapping animation frames freely, which further increases the pleasure and the interactivity of the video interaction. In addition, by using the present invention, the original video images can be converted into images of animation format and made into an animation file with overlaying animation frames for the purpose of storage or applications such as being sent to the display utility of a chatting friend, such animation file can provide even richer visual effect than ever. 
         [0010]    Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustrating the structure of the system provided by Embodiment 1 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart of the method provided by Embodiment 1 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a schematic illustrating the structure of the system provided by Embodiment 2 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart of the method provided by Embodiment 2 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a schematic illustrating an alternative structure of the system provided by Embodiment 2 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a schematic illustrating another alternative structure of the system provided by Embodiment 2 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a schematic illustrating an animation frame with transparent parts in the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a schematic illustrating yet another alternative structure of the system provided by Embodiment 2 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is a schematic illustrating the structure of the system provided by Embodiment 3 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart of the method provided by Embodiment 3 of the present invention for generating interactive video images; 
           [0022]      FIG. 11  is a schematic illustrating the method of combining a plurality of animation frames into one animation frame. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. 
         [0024]    Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “specific embodiment,” or the like in the singular or plural means that one or more particular features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment,” “in a specific embodiment,” or the like in the singular or plural in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. 
         [0025]    The present invention will be further described hereinafter with reference to accompanying drawings and embodiments. 
         [0026]    The present invention provides a system and method for generating interactive video images so that a user may choose an animation frame to play over the display of the video images and thus get better interactivity and entertainment in the video image interaction. 
       Embodiment 1 
       [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , this embodiment provides a system for generating interactive video images, including Video Image Capture Module  101 , Animation Capture Module  102  and Overlay Module  103 . 
         [0028]    The output of Video Image Capture Module  101  and the output of Animation Capture Module  102  are exported to Overlay Module  103 . 
         [0029]    Video Image Capture Module  101  is adapted to capture video images and output the video images to Overlay Module  103 . Animation Capture Module  102  is adapted to capture animation frames and output the animation frames to Overlay Module  103 . The animation frames are standard animation frames prepared in advance and can be obtained from an animation library. The animation library can be set up in the transmitting end of the video interaction or in a server. Overlay Module  103  is adapted to overlay the video images from Video Image Capture Module  101  with the animation frames from Animation Capture Module  102 . 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , this embodiment also provides a method for generating interactive video images by overlaying video images with animation frames during video communications. The method comprises the steps as follows to achieve the objective of the present invention: 
         [0031]    Step  201 : Video Image Capture Module  101  captures video images. 
         [0032]    Step  202 : Animation Capture Module  102  captures animation frames from an animation library. 
         [0033]    Step  203 : Overlay Module  103  overlays the video images from Video Image Capture Module  102  with the animation frames from Animation Capture Module  101 . 
         [0034]    The invention will be further explained with reference to embodiments hereinafter. 
       Embodiment 2 
       [0035]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , this embodiment provides a system for generating interactive video images, including Video Image Capture Module  101 , Animation Capture Module  102  and Display Overlay Module  103   a.    
         [0036]    The output of Video Image Capture Module  101  and the output of Animation Capture Module  102  are exported to Display Overlay Module  103   a.    
         [0037]    Video Image Capture Module  101  is adapted to capture video images and output the video images to Display Overlay Module  103   a . Animation Capture Module  102  is adapted to capture animation frames and output the animation frames to Display Overlay Module  103   a . Display Overlay Module  103   a  is adapted to overlay the display of the video images from Video Image Capture Module  101  with the display of the animation frames from Animation Capture Module  102 . 
         [0038]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , this embodiment also provides a method for generating interactive video images by overlaying video images with animation frames during video communications. The method comprises the steps as follows: 
         [0039]    Step  401 : Video Image Capture Module  101  captures the video images. 
         [0040]    Video Image Capture Module  101  may capture the video images via a camera or from a previously saved video clip. 
         [0041]    Furthermore, Video Image Capture Module  101  may convert the video images into static images. The format of the static images may be the single-frame video image format, the JPG format, the BMP format or any of other static image formats. 
         [0042]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , Video Image Capture Module  101  in this embodiment may further comprises two sub-modules: Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  and Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b.    
         [0043]    Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  is adapted to convert the video images into pictures in a preset format and send the pictures in the preset format to Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b . Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b  is adapted to convert the pictures in the preset format from Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  into animation frames. 
         [0044]    In this embodiment, video images in an animation format are obtained through the following two steps: 
         [0045]    Step a): Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  converts video images, e.g., the video images captured by a camera, into pictures in the preset format as the source video images. The preset format in this embodiment is the JPG format, however, standard picture formats such as the GIF and the BMP can also be adopted in practical applications. 
         [0046]    Step b): Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b  converts the pictures in the preset format from Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  into animation frames. The animation frames may be the frames of the SWF (Shockwave format) or the frames of the animated GIF or the frames of any other animation format. 
         [0047]    In this embodiment, Video Image Capture Module  101  captures the video images via a camera. 
         [0048]    Step  402 : Animation Capture Module  102  captures the animation frames. 
         [0049]    The animation frames may include standard animation from an animation library. 
         [0050]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , an Animation Attribute Configuration Module  604  can be added into the system to configure a transparency attribute of every pixel in the animation frames from the Animation Capture Module  102  as well as the format, the layers and the window size of the animation frames so that the animation frames will fit the video images, and the Animation Attribute Configuration Module  604  further output the animation frames with the configured transparency attribute to Display Overlay Module  103   a . After Step  402 , Animation Attribute Configuration Module  604  configures the transparency attribute of the standard animation frames to produce animation frames with different transparency levels. 
         [0051]    The animation frames consist of many pixels and Animation Attribute Configuration Module  604  configures the transparency attribute of every pixel in the animation. The transparency value, which shows the transparency level of a pixel, usually falls into a certain range, e.g., 0-255, or 0-100%, the lowest and the highest thresholds of the value indicate completely opaque (completely visible) and completely transparent (completely invisible) respectively, and the middle values indicate different levels of translucence. 
         [0052]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , Pixel  703  may be configured to be invisible, i.e., to have the highest transparency value, and Pixel  702  may be configured to be completely visible, i.e., to have the lowest transparency value. In the area of Animation  701 , when the pixels in Article  704  are configured to be visible and the rest of the pixels are configured to be invisible, the animation will be shown in accordance with such transparency settings, i.e., all but Article  704  will be transparent. 
         [0053]    As shown in  FIG. 8 , a Combine Module  801  may further be added into the system to enrich the visual effect of the video interaction. Combine Module  801  is adapted to combine a plurality of animation frames from Animation Capture Module  102  into a new animation frame to be output into Display Overlay Module  103   a  (or File Overlay Module  103   b  in Embodiment 3). The format of the animation frames to be combined may be the GIF, the Flash, the BMP or the JPG format and the format of the new combined animation frame may be the GIF or the Flash format. The new combined animation frame is played in the display window so that the user may enjoy animation with rich visual effects. In this embodiment, every animation frame is put into a subsidiary animation clip (DefineSprite) of the new animation and all subsidiary animation clips are shown on different layers in every frame of the new animation. The step of combining will be explained in detail in Embodiment 3. 
         [0054]    A Flash player plug-in is required to support the playback of Flash files. The format of the animation file may be the Flash or the GIF or other animation or image formats. 
         [0055]    In this embodiment, the system may further include a selection module adapted to enable the user to choose customized animation frames via a man-machine interface. The user may also configure the chosen animation frames, e.g., sets the playback time and transparency of the animation frames. 
         [0056]    Step  403 : Display Overlay Module  103   a  overlays the display of the video images from Video Image Capture Module  101  with the display of the animation frames from Animation Capture Module  102 . 
         [0057]    In this embodiment, the display window is divided into two layers: the video images are played on the lower layer and the animation frames are played on the upper layer. The display window may include even more layers in practical applications. The display of the animation frames or video images includes the contents played in the display window. Since the animation frames may have transparent parts, contents of the video images under the transparent parts will be seen and in this way the animation frames and the video images are combined visually. The user may watch the animation frames and the video images at the same time to enjoy the animation and video interaction experience between video interaction users. 
         [0058]    A synthesized visual effect is achieved by playing the video images and one or multiple animation frames continuously in the display window. For example, the video images are played on the bottom layer of the display window while different animation frames are played on designated locations or in different layers of the display window at the same time. 
       Embodiment 3 
       [0059]    In Embodiment 2, the display of the animation frames is enabled to overlap the display of the video images in the display window by using Display Overlay Module  103   a  and the synthesized visual effect of overlaying video with animation is achieved with the interesting animated objects in the animation frames. In this embodiment, the contents of the animation frames and the contents of the video images can further be combined into an animation file and the animation file can be saved, played at the transmitting end or sent to the receiving end for playing. 
         [0060]    As shown in  FIG. 9 , this embodiment comprises Video Image Capture Module  101 , Animation Capture Module  102  and File Overlay Module  103   b . The output of Video Image Capture Module  101  and the output of Animation Capture Module  102  are exported to File Overlay Module  103   b.    
         [0061]    Video Image Capture Module  101  is adapted to capture the video images and the output the video images to File Overlay Module  103   b . Animation Capture Module  102  is adapted to capture animation frames and output the animation frames to File Overlay Module  103   b . File Overlay Module  103   b  is adapted to combine the animation frames from Animation Capture Module  102  and the video images from Video Image Capture Module  101  into one file. 
         [0062]    Video Image Capture Module  101  may capture the video images via a camera or from a previously saved video clip. 
         [0063]    Furthermore, Video Image Capture Module  101  may convert the video images into static images. The format of the static images may be the single-frame video image format, the JPG format, the BMP format or any of other static image formats. 
         [0064]    Video Image Capture Module  101  may further include the following two sub-modules: 
         [0065]    Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  is adapted to convert the video images, e.g., video images captured by a camera, into pictures in a preset format as the source video images and send the pictures in the preset format to Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b.    
         [0066]    Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b  is adapted to convert the pictures in the preset format from Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  into animation frames. 
         [0067]    The output of Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  is sent to Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b.    
         [0068]    When Video Image Capture Module  101  comprises both Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  and Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b , File Overlay Module  103   b  is further adapted to combine the animation frames from Animation Capture Module  102  and the animation generated by Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b  by using the video images into one animation file to be played at the receiving end or at both the transmitting and the receiving ends. 
         [0069]    As shown in  FIG. 10 , the system of this embodiment is mainly adapted to perform the following steps: 
         [0070]    Step  1001 : Video Image Capture Module  101  captures the video images. 
         [0071]    In this embodiment, the format of the video images is animation file format, and the video images of animation file format may be generated through the following two steps: 
         [0072]    Step a): Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  converts the video images captured by Video Image Capture Module  101 , e.g., the video images captured by a camera, into pictures in a preset format as the source video images. The preset format in this embodiment is the JPG format, however, standard image formats such as the GIF and the BMP can also be adopted in practical applications. 
         [0073]    Step b): Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b  converts the pictures in the preset format from Format Conversion Sub-module  501   a  into animation frames. The animation frames may be the frames of the SWF (Shockwave format) or the frames of the animated GIF or the frames of any other animation format. 
         [0074]    Step  1002 : Animation Capture Module  102  captures the animation frames. 
         [0075]    This step is identical to Step  402  and will not be described further herein. 
         [0076]    Similar to Embodiment 2, this embodiment may further comprises an animation attribute configuration module adapted to configure a transparency attribute of every pixel in the animation frames from the animation capture module and sends the animation frames with configured transparency attribute to File Overlay Module  103   b . After Step  1002 , the animation attribute configuration module configures the transparency attribute of the standard animation frames to produce animation frames with different transparency levels. The procedure employed is identical to the procedure adopted in Embodiment 2 and will not be described further herein. 
         [0077]    Similar to Embodiment 2, this embodiment may further include a combine module in the system. 
         [0078]    Step  1003 : File Overlay Module  103   b  combines the animation generated by Animation Generation Sub-module  501   b  in Step  1001  and the animation frames obtained from Animation Capture Module  102  in Step  1002  into one animation file by different layers, and saves the animation file. 
         [0079]    In this embodiment, the animation frames generated from the video images in Step  1001  is put in the bottom layer while the animation frames obtained in Step  1002  are put in upper layers and the layers are then merged into one animation. In practical applications, a number of animation frame layers can be merged. And the animation frames generated from the video images in Step  1001  may also be put in the upper layer while the animation frames obtained in Step  1002  are put in the bottom layer before layers are merged in practical application. 
         [0080]    Step  1004 : the display window displays the animation obtained in Step  1003  according to the layer order and the transparency attribute of each layer; the contents of an upper layer shall cover the contents of lower layers while transparent pixels in the upper layer are shown as invisible. 
         [0081]    Display Overlay Module  103   a  in Embodiment 2 and File Overlay Module  103   b  in Embodiment 3 can be generally referred to as Overlay Module  103 . 
         [0082]    As shown in  FIG. 11 , the method of combining a plurality of animation frames into one new animation is described with reference to an example in which a plurality of Flash file are combined into one animation file. The method comprises the following steps: 
         [0083]    Step  1 : create a Swf prototype PrototypeSwf for N Flash files. 
         [0084]    Step a): in PrototypeSwf, create two label blocks for each of the Flash files to be combined, namely DefineSprite (Tid=39) and PlaceObject 2  (Tid=26). The CID of every DefineSprite label block is regarded as the order number of corresponding file in the combining procedure, for example, the CID of Flash file  1  is 1, the CID of Flash file N is N. Initially the frameCount of animation in every DefineSprite label block is 0. The 2-tuple information (Lid, Cid) of every PlaceObject 2  label block is set to (i, i), wherein i indicates the ith Flash file and that the object with CID i shall be put on the ith layer. 
         [0085]    Step b): add two additional label blocks at the tail of PrototypeSwf, namely ShowFrame (Tid=1) and End (Tid=0). 
         [0086]    Step c): when the Flash player parses the ShowFrame label block, N 2-tuples will be shown in the display list, each of the 2-tuples indicates that an object with CID i shall be put on the ith layer. In this way, N Flash files are played at the same time, and the overlapping order of the N Flash files depends directly on the order of importing the N flash files, i.e., the contents of Flash file  1  is at the bottom and the contents of Flash file N is at the top. 
         [0087]    Step  2 : after configuring the Swf prototype, add the Flash files into corresponding subsidiary animation clips (DefineSprite) according to the defined order. 
         [0088]    For example, the procedure of adding the ith Flash file into the ith subsidiary animation clip comprises two steps: 
         [0089]    Step a): update every CID value in the Flash file. 
         [0090]    In a Flash file, the CID value of an object must be universally unique, therefore the CID values of all objects in the flash file to be combined should be updated. In practical applications, a universal CID distributor defines the CID values from 1 to N while the Swf prototype is created; when the ith Flash file is combined, all label blocks in the Flash file are checked and the objects with conflicting CID values are given new CID values by the CID distributor, then all corresponding CID values in the label blocks, e.g., the CID values in PlaceObject 2  and RemoveObject 2 , shall also be modified. 
         [0091]    Step b): combine: 
         [0092]    Firstly, the definition label blocks and the control label blocks in the Flash file to be combined shall be identified. Then, all definition label blocks are placed before corresponding DefineSprite label block in the PrototypeSwf (before playing a frame in the Flash player, all objects in the display list must be defined before the ShowFrame label blocks, hence the definition label blocks in the Flash file have to be placed before corresponding DefineSprite label block). After that, all control label blocks are placed into the corresponding DefineSprite label block in the PrototypeSwf, i.e., into the subsidiary animation clips; the number of ShowFrame label blocks in the Flash file are then counted for the purpose of modifying the FramCount value in the corresponding DefineSprite label block in the PrototypeSwf. Since the control label blocks decides how to play the defined objects, the control label objects in the Flash file shall be set as the children label blocks under corresponding DefineSprite label block in the PrototypeSwf. In this way the Flash file is combined into a subsidiary animation clip. 
         [0093]    Obviously, the above procedure is not used for limiting the method of combining a plurality of animation frames into one animation. For example, the combined animation may be compressed to one layer according to the requirements to the display effect and a plurality of files is combined into one integrated file accordingly. Other methods known to those skilled in the art may also be adopted for combining the animation frames. 
         [0094]    In the preceding embodiments, the final visual effect of the overlapping video and animation is viewed at the receiving end or at both the transmitting and the receiving end of the video interaction. When the visual effect is viewed only at the receiving end, the steps of capturing the video images and the animation frames may be performed at the receiving end as well as the steps of configuring and overlaying (e.g., the transmitting end sends the video images and the animation frames to the receiving end, or the transmitting end sends the video images to the receiving end and the receiving end obtains animation frames from a server). When the visual effect shall be viewed at both the transmitting end and the receiving end, the transmitting end also performs these steps to capture the same images and frames and get the same display output. 
         [0095]    The animation frames may be customized animation frames chosen by the user via a man-machine interface. The user may also configure the chosen animation frames, e.g., sets the playback time and transparency of the animation frames. 
         [0096]    In practical applications, the order of performing the steps in the preceding embodiments is not limited to a certain order, e.g., the animation frames may be obtained before the video images are captured, and the animation frames and the video images may be combined before the animation attribute(s) is configured. 
         [0097]    The above is only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and should not be used for limiting the protection scope of the present invention. All modifications and equivalent substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which are made by those skilled in the art without inventive steps, should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention.