DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant Amendments and Remarks filed on 04/27/2026 in response to the Non-Final office action mailed on 01/27/2026 have been fully considered and are addressed as follows:
Regarding the Claim Objections: The objections are withdrawn, as the amendments to the claims have properly addressed the informalities recited in the Non-Final office action.
Regarding the Claim Rejections under 35 USC § 112(a): The rejections of claims for being indefinite are withdrawn, as the amended claims have properly addressed the rejections recited in the Non-Final office action.
Regarding the Claim Rejections under 35 USC § 103: With respect to the previous claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant has amended the independent claims and these amendments have changed the scope of the original application. Therefore, the Office has supplied new grounds of rejection attached below in the FINAL office action and therefore the prior arguments are considered moot.
Applicant alleges that “Wang teaches away from a combination with Beard and Yahata. Specifically, paragraph 0068 teaches: "The improved flight control and tracking capabilities may further allow a UAV to automatically detect one or more stationary/moving target objects and to autonomously track the target objects without requiring manual input and/or operation by a user." Applicant believes that this teaching is in direct contract with the claim language and thus, Applicant believes that one skilled in the art would be motivated against combining Wang to Beard, Yahata, and Gong” (Applicant Amendments and Remarks filed on 04/27/2026 at pg. 10).
Examiner disagrees. MPEP § 2141.02(VI) quotes that "the prior art’s mere disclosure of more than one alternative does not constitute a teaching away from any of these alternatives because such disclosure does not criticize, discredit, or otherwise discourage the solution claimed…." In re Fulton, 391 F.3d 1195, 1201, 73 USPQ2d 1141, 1146 (Fed. Cir. 2004). See also MPEP § 2123.
Paragraph [0068] of Wang does not criticize, discredit, or otherwise discourage the claimed limitation, and thus Wang does not teach away from a combination with Beard, Yahata, and Gong.
Moreover, applicant did not provide any reason to why the teaching of Wang is in “direct [contrast]” with the claim language.
FINAL OFFICE ACTION
Claim Objections
Claim 29 is objected to because of the following informalities:
The limitation “create a user ID and/or other identifying information users and/or consumers” in claim 29 should be “create a user ID and/or other identifying information for users and/or consumers.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 2, 5, 7, 21-23, 25, 27-30, 32, and 34 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beard et al. (US 9,769,387 B1, hereinafter “Beard”) in view of Gong et al. (US 2018/0068567 A1, hereinafter “Gong”) Yahata et al. (US 2014/0289818 A1, hereinafter “Yahata”).
Regarding claim 1, Beard discloses a system comprising:
an unmanned aerial vehicle including image sensors (Beard at col. 3, ln. 9-12: “an action camera system 200 incorporated aboard a UAV 100 determines trackable objects and selects one as its target, either automatically or remotely according to user input”), and
one or more physical computer processors configured by computer readable instructions to (Beard at col. 7, ln. 29-32: “image processor 234 analyzes the stream of images captured by camera 210 and image sensor 212 to select a target 118 and determine optimal and current orientations of the target 118 to the UAV 100”):
capture images and/or video segments using the image sensors (Beard at col. 3, ln. 31-33: “the action camera system 200 enables the capture of real-time streaming video from multiple unique perspectives”);
relate a temporal attribute with the images and/or the video segments captured (Beard at col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”; The system must relate time to the images or the video segments plot the possible trajectory at the given future time);
relate a spatial attribute with the images and/or the video segments captured (Beard at col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”; The system must relate the position data to the images or the video segments to plot the possible trajectory at the given future time); and
transmit control instructions to the unmanned aerial vehicle based upon the preferences of each the users that include: the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute (Beard at Abstract: “The action camera system may additionally provide preselected modes of operation that control UAV movement and image capture depending on the user's desired objectives”; col. 2, ln. 4-8: “the action camera system captures a reference image via an onboard camera, the images defining a desired orientation of the target to the UAV and including image elements corresponding to the target and to a pattern uniquely associated with the target”; col.4, ln. 60-63: “action camera system 200 directs the attitude control system 232 to adjust the speed of one or more rotors 208, thereby adjusting the speed, direction, or rotational orientation of UAV 100”; col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”).
However, Beard does not explicitly state:
create a user ID for users when each of the users, with an authentication component, register;
store the user ID, identifying information, or both associated with each the users on the authentication component;
authenticate each of the users with the authentication component so that each of the users accesses one or more accounts associated with the unmanned aerial vehicle;
relate preferences of each of the users with a preference component to each of the users;
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users.
In the same filed of endeavor, Gong teaches:
create a user ID for users when each of the users, with an authentication component, register (Gong at para. [0120]: “The authentication system may include an identification (ID) registration database 210. The ID registration database may in communication with an authentication center 220”; para. [0121]: “The ID registration database may assign a unique identifier to each user and each UAV”);
store the user ID, identifying information, or both associated with each the users on the authentication component (Gong at para. [0121]: “The ID registration database 210 may maintain identity information for a user” “The identifiers may be used to authenticate the user, UAV, and/or the other device”);
authenticate each of the users with the authentication component so that each of the users accesses one or more accounts associated with the unmanned aerial vehicle (Gong at para. [0242]: “users may be authorized to operate the UAV. One or more individual users may need to be identified prior to being able to operate the UAV. In some instances, all users, when identified, may be authorized to operate the UAV. Optionally, only a select group of users, when identified, may be authorized to operate the UAV. Some users may not be authorized to operate the UAV”);
relate preferences of each of the users with a preference component to each of the users (Gong at para. [0165]: “Additional factors may be considered in generating the set of flight regulations. These may include information about a local environment ( e.g., environmental complexity, urban vs. rural, traffic information, climate information), information from one or more third party sources ( e.g., government sources, such as the FAA), time-related information, user-inputted preferences, or any other factors”; para. [0626]: “The set of flight regulations may be generated based on information about the user. For instance, the set of flight regulations may be generated based on user type. The set of flight regulations may be selected from a plurality of sets of flight regulations based on the user type. The set of flight regulations may be generated based on a user identifier. The plurality of flight regulations may be selected from a plurality of sets of flight regulations based on the user identifier”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Beard by adding the user ID of Gong with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong is to provide user authentication system for UAVs.
However, Beard in view of Gong does not explicitly state:
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users.
In the same filed of endeavor, Yahata teaches:
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users (Yahata at para. [0042]: “when the user uploading the video information belongs to a plurality of groups, the video information may be further associated in the associating with the user ID and a group ID identifying a group selected by the user”; para. [0046]: “the video information may be further associated in the associating with a location and a time where the video information is captured”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong by adding the association of Yahata with a reasonable expectation of success. Specifically, one skilled in the art would look to video data management of Yahata to modify Beard because Beard discloses UAVs with an action camera system for producing and managing video data. The motivation to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata is to provide efficient management of video data.
Regarding claim 2, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the system of claim 1.
Yahata further teaches wherein the user ID is associated with a social network service or a messaging service (Yahata at para. [0007]: “a video management method according to an aspect of the present invention is a video management method of managing video information which is uploaded to a server by a user belonging to a group including a virtual administrator and a plurality of users and which is viewable by at least one different user belonging to the group via the Internet using an information terminal”; para. [0061]: “the group is set based on the mailing list. Thus, whenever the user posts a moving image, a message that a new moving image has been posted may be distributed to this mailing list”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the social network or the messaging service of Yahata with a reasonable expectation of success. Specifically, one skilled in the art would look to video data management of Yahata to modify Beard because Beard discloses UAVs with an action camera system for producing and managing video data. The motivation to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata is to provide efficient management of video data.
Regarding claim 5, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the system of claim 1.
Beard further discloses further comprising:
a preferences component configured to determine preferences of flight control settings of the unmanned aerial vehicle based upon a first set of flight control settings and a second set of flight control settings (Beard at col. 4, ln. 64- col. 5, ln. 1: “a desired orientation includes a set of parameters representing an ideal position of the UAV 100 relative to target 118, from which perspective the action camera system 200 can provide streaming video images of the target 118 in a given environment”; col. 5, ln. 9-15: “preprogrammed modes include information about suggested camera orientations, tracking distances, movement sequences ( e.g., a continuous shot of a target from a UAV revolving around the target at a given distance) or cinematographic settings ( e.g., frame rates, frame speeds, likely lighting conditions, etc.)”; col. 5, ln. 31-35: “an orientation includes both absolute parameters (information about the absolute position of the UAV 100, e.g., relative to true north) and relative parameters (information about the position of UAV 100 relative to a selected target 118)”).
Regarding claim 7, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the system of claim 1.
Beard further discloses further comprising:
a transmission component configured to transmit the control instructions to the unmanned aerial vehicle in real-time or near real-time in response to receiving current contextual information associated with detection of a current one of the images and/or the video segments (Beard at col. 2, ln. 29-32: “the action camera system includes an imaging processor connected to the camera, for processing the images and received position data and controlling the UAV based on the image and data processing”; col. 4, ln. 48-53: “the action camera system 200 may use orientation information derived from a reference image 110 in addition to position data provided by smartphone 140, or by attitude control sensors 218, to establish a desired angle of elevation and a desired bearing relative to target 118”; col. 4, ln. 60-63: “action camera system 200 directs the attitude control system 232 to adjust the speed of one or more rotors 208, thereby adjusting the speed, direction, or rotational orientation of UAV 100”).
Regarding claim 21, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the system of claim 1.
Beard further discloses wherein the spatial attributes comprise: a geolocation attribute, a date attribute and/or a content attribute (Beard at col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”).
Regarding claim 22, Beard discloses a method comprising:
detecting images and/or video segments with image sensors of an unmanned aerial vehicle (Beard at col. 3, ln. 9-12: “an action camera system 200 incorporated aboard a UAV 100 determines trackable objects and selects one as its target, either automatically or remotely according to user input”; col. 3, ln. 31-33: “the action camera system 200 enables the capture of real-time streaming video from multiple unique perspectives”);
processing the images and/or video segments with one or more physical computer processors (Beard at col. 7, ln. 29-32: “image processor 234 analyzes the stream of images captured by camera 210 and image sensor 212 to select a target 118 and determine optimal and current orientations of the target 118 to the UAV 100”);
relating a temporal attribute with the images and/or the video segments detected (Beard at col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”; The system must relate time to the images or the video segments plot the possible trajectory at the given future time);
relating a spatial attribute with the images and/or the video segments captured (Beard at col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”; The system must relate the position data to the images or the video segments to plot the possible trajectory at the given future time); and
transmitting control instructions to the unmanned aerial vehicle based upon the preferences of each of the users and/or each of the consumers that include the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute (Beard at Abstract: “The action camera system may additionally provide preselected modes of operation that control UAV movement and image capture depending on the user's desired objectives”; col. 2, ln. 4-8: “the action camera system captures a reference image via an onboard camera, the images defining a desired orientation of the target to the UAV and including image elements corresponding to the target and to a pattern uniquely associated with the target”; col.4, ln. 60-63: “action camera system 200 directs the attitude control system 232 to adjust the speed of one or more rotors 208, thereby adjusting the speed, direction, or rotational orientation of UAV 100”; col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”).
However, Beard does not explicitly state:
creating a user ID and/or other identifying information for users and/or consumers when each of the users and/or each of the consumers, with an authentication component, registers the unmanned aerial vehicle;
storing, on an authentication component, the user ID and/or the other identifying information associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers;
authenticating each of the users with the authentication component so that each of the users accesses one or more accounts associated with the unmanned aerial vehicle;
relating preferences of each of the users and/or each of the consumers with the users;
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers.
In the same filed of endeavor, Gong teaches:
creating a user ID and/or other identifying information for users and/or consumers when each of the users and/or each of the consumers, with an authentication component, registers the unmanned aerial vehicle (Gong at para. [0120]: “The authentication system may include an identification (ID) registration database 210. The ID registration database may in communication with an authentication center 220”; para. [0121]: “The ID registration database may assign a unique identifier to each user and each UAV”);
storing, on an authentication component, the user ID and/or the other identifying information associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers (Gong at para. [0121]: “The ID registration database 210 may maintain identity information for a user” “The identifiers may be used to authenticate the user, UAV, and/or the other device”);
authenticating each of the users with the authentication component so that each of the users accesses one or more accounts associated with the unmanned aerial vehicle (Gong at para. [0242]: “users may be authorized to operate the UAV. One or more individual users may need to be identified prior to being able to operate the UAV. In some instances, all users, when identified, may be authorized to operate the UAV. Optionally, only a select group of users, when identified, may be authorized to operate the UAV. Some users may not be authorized to operate the UAV”);
relating preferences of each of the users and/or each of the consumers with the users (Gong at para. [0165]: “Additional factors may be considered in generating the set of flight regulations. These may include information about a local environment ( e.g., environmental complexity, urban vs. rural, traffic information, climate information), information from one or more third party sources ( e.g., government sources, such as the FAA), time-related information, user-inputted preferences, or any other factors”; para. [0626]: “The set of flight regulations may be generated based on information about the user. For instance, the set of flight regulations may be generated based on user type. The set of flight regulations may be selected from a plurality of sets of flight regulations based on the user type. The set of flight regulations may be generated based on a user identifier. The plurality of flight regulations may be selected from a plurality of sets of flight regulations based on the user identifier”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Beard by adding the user ID of Gong with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong is to provide user authentication system for UAVs.
However, Beard in view of Gong does not explicitly state:
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers.
In the same filed of endeavor, Yahata teaches:
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers (Yahata at para. [0042]: “when the user uploading the video information belongs to a plurality of groups, the video information may be further associated in the associating with the user ID and a group ID identifying a group selected by the user”; para. [0046]: “the video information may be further associated in the associating with a location and a time where the video information is captured”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong by adding the association of Yahata with a reasonable expectation of success. Specifically, one skilled in the art would look to video data management of Yahata to modify Beard because Beard discloses UAVs with an action camera system for producing and managing video data. The motivation to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata is to provide efficient management of video data.
Regarding claim 23, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the method of claim 22.
Yahata further teaches wherein the user ID is associated with a social network service or a messaging service (Yahata at para. [0007]: “a video management method according to an aspect of the present invention is a video management method of managing video information which is uploaded to a server by a user belonging to a group including a virtual administrator and a plurality of users and which is viewable by at least one different user belonging to the group via the Internet using an information terminal”; para. [0061]: “the group is set based on the mailing list. Thus, whenever the user posts a moving image, a message that a new moving image has been posted may be distributed to this mailing list”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the social network or the messaging service of Yahata with a reasonable expectation of success. Specifically, one skilled in the art would look to video data management of Yahata to modify Beard because Beard discloses UAVs with an action camera system for producing and managing video data. The motivation to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata is to provide efficient management of video data.
Regarding claim 25, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the method of claim 22.
Beard further discloses further comprising:
determining preferences of flight control settings of the unmanned aerial vehicle, with a preferences component, based upon a first set of flight control settings and a second set of flight control settings (Beard at col. 4, ln. 64- col. 5, ln. 1: “a desired orientation includes a set of parameters representing an ideal position of the UAV 100 relative to target 118, from which perspective the action camera system 200 can provide streaming video images of the target 118 in a given environment”; col. 5, ln. 9-15: “preprogrammed modes include information about suggested camera orientations, tracking distances, movement sequences ( e.g., a continuous shot of a target from a UAV revolving around the target at a given distance) or cinematographic settings ( e.g., frame rates, frame speeds, likely lighting conditions, etc.)”; col. 5, ln. 31-35: “an orientation includes both absolute parameters (information about the absolute position of the UAV 100, e.g., relative to true north) and relative parameters (information about the position of UAV 100 relative to a selected target 118)”).
Regarding claim 27, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the method of claim 22.
Beard further discloses further comprising:
transmitting instructions via a transmission component to the unmanned aerial vehicle in real-time or near real-time in response to receiving current contextual information associated with a detection of a current one of the images and/or the video segments (Beard at col. 2, ln. 29-32: “the action camera system includes an imaging processor connected to the camera, for processing the images and received position data and controlling the UAV based on the image and data processing”; col. 4, ln. 48-53: “the action camera system 200 may use orientation information derived from a reference image 110 in addition to position data provided by smartphone 140, or by attitude control sensors 218, to establish a desired angle of elevation and a desired bearing relative to target 118”; col. 4, ln. 60-63: “action camera system 200 directs the attitude control system 232 to adjust the speed of one or more rotors 208, thereby adjusting the speed, direction, or rotational orientation of UAV 100”).
Regarding claim 28, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the method of claim 27.
Beard further discloses wherein the instructions include preferences of flight control settings of the unmanned aerial vehicle (Beard at col. 2, ln. 29-32: “the action camera system includes an imaging processor connected to the camera, for processing the images and received position data and controlling the UAV based on the image and data processing”; col. 4, ln. 48-53: “the action camera system 200 may use orientation information derived from a reference image 110 in addition to position data provided by smartphone 140, or by attitude control sensors 218, to establish a desired angle of elevation and a desired bearing relative to target 118”; col. 4, ln. 60-63: “action camera system 200 directs the attitude control system 232 to adjust the speed of one or more rotors 208, thereby adjusting the speed, direction, or rotational orientation of UAV 100”).
Regarding claim 29, Beard discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising processor-executable routines that, when executed by a processor, facilitate a performance of operations at an unmanned aerial vehicle (Beard at col. 3, ln. 9-12: “an action camera system 200 incorporated aboard a UAV 100 determines trackable objects and selects one as its target, either automatically or remotely according to user input”; col. 7, ln. 51-53: “the action camera system 200 includes onboard data storage and memory 206 as well as removable data storage and memory units 224”), the operations comprising operations to:
detect images and/or video segments with image sensors of the unmanned aerial vehicle (Beard at col. 3, ln. 31-33: “the action camera system 200 enables the capture of real-time streaming video from multiple unique perspectives”);
relate a temporal attribute with the images and/or the video segments captured (Beard at col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”; The system must relate time to the images or the video segments plot the possible trajectory at the given future time);
relate a spatial attribute with the images and/or the video segments captured (Beard at col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”; The system must relate the position data to the images or the video segments to plot the possible trajectory at the given future time); and
transmit control instructions to the unmanned aerial vehicle based upon the preferences of the user that include the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute (Beard at Abstract: “The action camera system may additionally provide preselected modes of operation that control UAV movement and image capture depending on the user's desired objectives”; col. 2, ln. 4-8: “the action camera system captures a reference image via an onboard camera, the images defining a desired orientation of the target to the UAV and including image elements corresponding to the target and to a pattern uniquely associated with the target”; col.4, ln. 60-63: “action camera system 200 directs the attitude control system 232 to adjust the speed of one or more rotors 208, thereby adjusting the speed, direction, or rotational orientation of UAV 100”; col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”).
However, Beard does not explicitly state:
create a user ID and/or other identifying information users and/or consumers when each of the users and/or each of the consumers, with an authentication component, register;
authenticate each of the users with the authentication component so that each of the users accesses one or more accounts associated with the unmanned aerial vehicle;
relate preferences of each of the users and/or each of the consumers with each of the users and/or each of the consumers;
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers.
In the same filed of endeavor, Gong teaches:
create a user ID and/or other identifying information users and/or consumers when each of the users and/or each of the consumers, with an authentication component, register (Gong at para. [0120]: “The authentication system may include an identification (ID) registration database 210. The ID registration database may in communication with an authentication center 220”; para. [0121]: “The ID registration database may assign a unique identifier to each user and each UAV”);
authenticate each of the users with the authentication component so that each of the users accesses one or more accounts associated with the unmanned aerial vehicle (Gong at para. [0242]: “users may be authorized to operate the UAV. One or more individual users may need to be identified prior to being able to operate the UAV. In some instances, all users, when identified, may be authorized to operate the UAV. Optionally, only a select group of users, when identified, may be authorized to operate the UAV. Some users may not be authorized to operate the UAV”);
relate preferences of each of the users and/or each of the consumers with each of the users and/or each of the consumers(Gong at para. [0165]: “Additional factors may be considered in generating the set of flight regulations. These may include information about a local environment ( e.g., environmental complexity, urban vs. rural, traffic information, climate information), information from one or more third party sources ( e.g., government sources, such as the FAA), time-related information, user-inputted preferences, or any other factors”; para. [0626]: “The set of flight regulations may be generated based on information about the user. For instance, the set of flight regulations may be generated based on user type. The set of flight regulations may be selected from a plurality of sets of flight regulations based on the user type. The set of flight regulations may be generated based on a user identifier. The plurality of flight regulations may be selected from a plurality of sets of flight regulations based on the user identifier”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the medium of Beard by adding the user ID of Gong with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the medium of Beard in view of Gong is to provide user authentication system for UAVs.
However, Beard in view of Gong does not explicitly state:
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers.
In the same filed of endeavor, Yahata teaches:
the temporal attribute and the spatial attribute associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers (Yahata at para. [0042]: “when the user uploading the video information belongs to a plurality of groups, the video information may be further associated in the associating with the user ID and a group ID identifying a group selected by the user”; para. [0046]: “the video information may be further associated in the associating with a location and a time where the video information is captured”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the medium of Beard in view of Gong by adding the association of Yahata with a reasonable expectation of success. Specifically, one skilled in the art would look to video data management of Yahata to modify Beard because Beard discloses UAVs with an action camera system for producing and managing video data. The motivation to modify the medium of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata is to provide efficient management of video data.
Regarding claim 30, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 29.
Yahata further teaches wherein the user ID is associated with a social network service or a messaging service (Yahata at para. [0007]: “a video management method according to an aspect of the present invention is a video management method of managing video information which is uploaded to a server by a user belonging to a group including a virtual administrator and a plurality of users and which is viewable by at least one different user belonging to the group via the Internet using an information terminal”; para. [0061]: “the group is set based on the mailing list. Thus, whenever the user posts a moving image, a message that a new moving image has been posted may be distributed to this mailing list”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the medium of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the social network or the messaging service of Yahata with a reasonable expectation of success. Specifically, one skilled in the art would look to video data management of Yahata to modify Beard because Beard discloses UAVs with an action camera system for producing and managing video data. The motivation to modify the medium of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata is to provide efficient management of video data.
Regarding claim 32, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 30.
Beard further discloses wherein the processor further comprises:
a preferences component configured to determine preferences of flight control settings of the unmanned aerial vehicle based upon a first set of flight control settings and a second set of flight control settings (Beard at col. 4, ln. 64- col. 5, ln. 1: “a desired orientation includes a set of parameters representing an ideal position of the UAV 100 relative to target 118, from which perspective the action camera system 200 can provide streaming video images of the target 118 in a given environment”; col. 5, ln. 9-15: “preprogrammed modes include information about suggested camera orientations, tracking distances, movement sequences ( e.g., a continuous shot of a target from a UAV revolving around the target at a given distance) or cinematographic settings ( e.g., frame rates, frame speeds, likely lighting conditions, etc.)”; col. 5, ln. 31-35: “an orientation includes both absolute parameters (information about the absolute position of the UAV 100, e.g., relative to true north) and relative parameters (information about the position of UAV 100 relative to a selected target 118)”).
Regarding claim 34, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the system of claim 1.
Beard further discloses wherein the video segments include a first video segment and a second video segment (Beard at col. 6, ln. 12-35: “the action camera system 200 analyzes a reference frame 110a, which portrays skier 118 (to which pattern 114 has been affixed) in a desired orientation ( ex.-centrally framed). In one embodiment, UAV 100 matches the initial speed of skier 118, but when skier 118 reaches point 142b the action camera system 200 notes that the streaming image of skier 118 (as seen in frame 110b) is smaller than optimal size while still centrally framed relative to frame 110b. In one embodiment, the action camera system 200 determines that the relative distance between UAV 100 and skier 118 is greater than it should be, and directs UAV 100 to increase speed in order to reestablish the optimal tracking distance to skier 118. In one embodiment, skier 118 reaches point 142d after having changed direction, so frame 110c shows an image of skier 118 that is neither centrally framed nor optimally sized. In one embodiment, the action camera system responds by changing not only the speed, but the heading, of UAV 100 so as to follow skier 118 at the desired distance and orientation. In one embodiment, at point 142d the action camera system 200 has re-established the desired orientation and following distance to skier 118, and the resulting image 110d corresponds to a desired orientation of skier 118 in both size and position”; The streaming image in frames 110a-110d (i.e., “first video segment” and “second video segment”)),
wherein the one or more physical computer processors are configured by computer readable instructions to:
obtain contextual information associated with capture of the first video segment and the second video segment, wherein the contextual information defines one or more temporal attributes and/or spatial attributes associated with capture of the first video segment and the second video segment (Beard at col. 6, ln. 12-35: “the action camera system 200 analyzes a reference frame 110a, which portrays skier 118 (to which pattern 114 has been affixed) in a desired orientation ( ex.-centrally framed). In one embodiment, UAV 100 matches the initial speed of skier 118, but when skier 118 reaches point 142b the action camera system 200 notes that the streaming image of skier 118 (as seen in frame 110b) is smaller than optimal size while still centrally framed relative to frame 110b. In one embodiment, the action camera system 200 determines that the relative distance between UAV 100 and skier 118 is greater than it should be, and directs UAV 100 to increase speed in order to reestablish the optimal tracking distance to skier 118. In one embodiment, skier 118 reaches point 142d after having changed direction, so frame 110c shows an image of skier 118 that is neither centrally framed nor optimally sized. In one embodiment, the action camera system responds by changing not only the speed, but the heading, of UAV 100 so as to follow skier 118 at the desired distance and orientation. In one embodiment, at point 142d the action camera system 200 has re-established the desired orientation and following distance to skier 118, and the resulting image 110d corresponds to a desired orientation of skier 118 in both size and position”; The system must relate the relative distance between UAV 100 and skier 118 to the images or the video segments (i.e., “spatial attributes”) to reestablish the optimal tracking distance to skier and to change heading of UAV 100 to follow skier 119 at the desired distance and orientation; Beard at col. 7, ln. 2-6: “the action camera system 200 may use current and previous position data to plot a possible trajectory 144b for skier 118, assess the velocity or acceleration of skier 118 (and direct UAV 100 to match it), or determine the position of skier 118 at a given future time”; The system must relate time to the images or the video segments (i.e., “temporal attributes”) to plot the possible trajectory at the given future time); receive current contextual information associated with the unmanned aerial vehicle during capture of a current video segment (Beard at col. 7, ln. 29-32: “image processor 234 analyzes the stream of images captured by camera 210 and image sensor 212 to select a target 118 and determine optimal and current orientations of the target 118 to the UAV 100”); and
transmit control instructions to the unmanned aerial vehicle to automatically adjust current flight control settings of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the preferences determined in response to a determination that the current contextual information associated with the current video segment is similar to the contextual information associated with capture of the first video segment and/or the second video segment (Beard at col. 3, ln. 26-30: “the action camera system 200 uses information about the current orientation of the target 118 to the frame 110 to adjust the speed or position of UAV 100 and maintain the initial orientation ( e.g., keep a skier centrally framed at a fixed distance as s/he proceeds through a downhill run)”; col. 6, ln. 28-35: the action camera system responds by changing not only the speed, but the heading, of UAV 100 so as to follow skier 118 at the desired distance and orientation. In one embodiment, at point 142d the action camera system 200 has re-established the desired orientation and following distance to skier 118, and the resulting image 110d corresponds to a desired orientation of skier 118 in both size and position”; The action camera system 200 automatically adjust the speed or position of UAV 100 (i.e., “current flight control settings”) to maintain the initial orientation (i.e., “preferences”) by keep updating the current orientation by analyzing the video segments and keep comparing the similarities between the size and position of the skier 118 in the current video segment (i.e., “current contextual information”) and the size and position of the skier 118 in the previous video segments (i.e., “contextual information associated with capture of the first video segment and/or the second video segment”) as shown in FIG. 3).
Claims 3, 4, 24, and 31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata and Bostick et al. (US 9,510,051 B1, hereinafter “Bostick”).
Regarding claim 3, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the system of claim 1.
However, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata does not explicitly state:
further comprising:
a consumption component configured to obtain consumption information associated with each of the users consuming the images and/or the video segments.
In the same field of endeavor, Bostick teaches:
further comprising:
a consumption component configured to obtain consumption information associated with each of the users consuming the images and/or the video segments (Bostick at col. 12, ln. 60-65: “In process 206, overlay program 124 retrieves the viewing habits of the user from profile data 126. As a user views video data 114 from content provider 110, overlay program 124 stores respective content data 116 regarding the video data 114 when viewed by the user via video player program”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the consumption component of Bostick with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata and Bostick is to provide efficient management of user preference.
Regarding claim 4, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the system of claim 1.
However, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata does not explicitly state:
further comprising:
a consumption component configured to track user engagement and/or viewing habits during a video segment and/or during at least one portion of the video segment.
In the same field of endeavor, Bostick teaches:
further comprising:
a consumption component configured to track user engagement and/or viewing habits during a video segment and/or during at least one portion of the video segment (Bostick at col. 12, ln. 60-65: “In process 206, overlay program 124 retrieves the viewing habits of the user from profile data 126. As a user views video data 114 from content provider 110, overlay program 124 stores respective content data 116 regarding the video data 114 when viewed by the user via video player program”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the consumption component of Bostick with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata and Bostick is to provide efficient management of user preference.
Regarding claim 24, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the method of claim 23.
However, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata does not explicitly state:
further comprising:
tracking user engagement and/or viewing habits, with a consumer component, during a video segment and/or during at least one portion of the video segment.
In the same field of endeavor, Bostick teaches:
further comprising:
tracking user engagement and/or viewing habits, with a consumer component, during a video segment and/or during at least one portion of the video segment (Bostick at col. 12, ln. 60-65: “In process 206, overlay program 124 retrieves the viewing habits of the user from profile data 126. As a user views video data 114 from content provider 110, overlay program 124 stores respective content data 116 regarding the video data 114 when viewed by the user via video player program”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the consumption component of Bostick with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata and Bostick is to provide efficient management of user preference.
Regarding claim 31, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 30.
However, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata does not explicitly state:
wherein the processor further comprises:
a consumption component configured to obtain consumption information associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers consuming the images and/or the video segments.
In the same field of endeavor, Bostick teaches:
wherein the processor further comprises:
a consumption component configured to obtain consumption information associated with each of the users and/or each of the consumers consuming the images and/or the video segments (Bostick at col. 12, ln. 60-65: “In process 206, overlay program 124 retrieves the viewing habits of the user from profile data 126. As a user views video data 114 from content provider 110, overlay program 124 stores respective content data 116 regarding the video data 114 when viewed by the user via video player program”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the medium of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the consumption component of Bostick with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the medium of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata and Bostick is to provide efficient management of user preference.
Claims 6 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata and Wang et al. (US 2019/0011921 A1, hereinafter “Wang”) .
Regarding claim 6, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the system of claim 5.
However, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata does not explicitly state:
wherein the flight control settings are associated with each of the users and are based upon the images and/or the video segments viewed by each of the users.
In the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches:
wherein the flight control settings are associated with each of the users and are based upon the images and/or the video segments viewed by each of the users (Wang at para. [0068]: “The improved flight control and tracking capabilities may further allow a UAV to automatically detect one or more stationary/moving target objects and to autonomously track the target objects”; para. [0081]: “One or more sensors may be provided as a payload, and may be capable of sensing the environment. The one or more sensors may include an imaging device”; para. [0082]: “The imaging device can be a camera. A camera can be a movie or video camera that captures dynamic image data (e.g., video)”; para. [0097]: “The image on the display may show a view collected with aid of a payload of the movable object” “A user at a user terminal may select a portion of the image collected by the imaging device to specify a target and/or direction of motion by the movable object”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the flight control settings of Wang with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the system of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata and Wang is to provide efficient operation of aerial vehicles.
Regarding claim 26, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata teaches the method of claim 25.
However, Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata does not explicitly state:
further comprising:
associating the flight control settings with each of the users and/or each of the consumers that view the images and/or the video segments.
In the same field of endeavor, Wang teaches:
further comprising:
associating the flight control settings with each of the users and/or each of the consumers that view the images and/or the video segments (Wang at para. [0068]: “The improved flight control and tracking capabilities may further allow a UAV to automatically detect one or more stationary/moving target objects and to autonomously track the target objects”; para. [0081]: “One or more sensors may be provided as a payload, and may be capable of sensing the environment. The one or more sensors may include an imaging device”; para. [0082]: “The imaging device can be a camera. A camera can be a movie or video camera that captures dynamic image data (e.g., video)”; para. [0097]: “The image on the display may show a view collected with aid of a payload of the movable object” “A user at a user terminal may select a portion of the image collected by the imaging device to specify a target and/or direction of motion by the movable object”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata by adding the flight control settings of Wang with a reasonable expectation of success. The motivation to modify the method of Beard in view of Gong further in view of Yahata and Wang is to provide efficient operation of aerial vehicles.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JISUN CHOI whose telephone number is (571)270-0710. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/JISUN CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/SCOTT A BROWNE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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