Heuristic event clustering of media using metadata

Abstract

Event clusters are create based on a first metadata and second metadata of the electronic document. The event clusters are associated with an event id and each electronic document is associated with the event identifier of its corresponding event cluster. A user may then browse or otherwise access the electronic documents based on the event identifier.

1 . A method for clustering digital media files, comprising:
 sorting a plurality of digital media files, said digital media files each including time metadata and location metadata associated therewith, said digital media files being sorted into chronological order based on the time metadata;   determining a time difference between consecutive digital media files in the chronological order based on the time metadata;   determining a location difference between consecutive digital media files in the chronological order based on the location metadata;   grouping the sorted digital media files into event clusters based on the determined time difference and the determined location difference, wherein each event cluster contains one or more digital media files in chronological order;   wherein at least one of following conditions is true (1) the time difference between two consecutive digital media files within each event cluster is less than a time threshold and (2) the location difference between two consecutive digital media files within each event cluster is less than a location threshold; and   wherein the chronological order of the digital media files is maintained across the event clusters such that subsequent event clusters do not contain digital media files earlier in time than the digital media files of previous event clusters.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the time metadata is the time and date the digital media file was captured and is generated by an electronic device capturing the digital media file;
 and wherein the location metadata is GPS (global positioning satellite) data from the place the digital media file was captured and is generated by an electronic device capturing the digital media file.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the time and location thresholds each include one or more of the following: a fixed threshold, a relative threshold, a predefined threshold, a user specified threshold, and an algorithmically determined threshold. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 associating each of the digital media files with an event identifier associated with its corresponding event cluster; and   storing the digital media files and associated event identifiers in a library of digital media files, wherein the digital media files of the library are browsable by a user based on the event identifiers.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the digital media files are stored in folders based on their associated event identifiers. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the location difference includes one of more of the following: a straight-line difference between location coordinates of the location metadata and a road difference based on the distance traveled by road between location coordinates of the location metadata. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the digital media files each include one or more of the following: a digital photograph, a digital sound recording, a digital video recording, and a digital image. 
     
     
         8 . A method for clustering electronic documents, comprising:
 sorting a plurality of electronic documents, said electronic documents each including first metadata and second metadata associated therewith, said electronic documents being sorted into an order based on the first metadata;   determining a first difference between consecutive digital media files in the order based on the first metadata;   determining a second difference between consecutive digital media files in the order based on the second metadata;   grouping the sorted electronic documents into event clusters based on the determined first difference and the determined second difference, wherein each event cluster contains one or more electronic documents in order with respect to the first metadata;   wherein at least one of following conditions is true (1) the first difference between the first metadata associated with two consecutive electronic documents within the event cluster is less than a first threshold and (2) the second difference between the second metadata associated with two consecutive electronic documents within the event cluster is less than a second threshold; and   wherein the order of the electronic documents is maintained across the event clusters such that subsequent event clusters do not contain electronic documents earlier in the order with respect to the first metadata than the electronic documents of previous event clusters.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the electronic documents each include one or more of the following: a digital photograph, a digital sound recording, a digital video recording, a digital image, computer file, and an electronic document. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first metadata is time metadata and the second metadata is location metadata. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first metadata is location metadata and the second metadata is time metadata. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the time metadata is the time and date the electronic document was captured and is generated by an electronic device capturing the electronic document; and wherein the location metadata is GPS (global positioning satellite) data from the place the electronic document was captured and generated by an electronic device capturing the electronic document. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first and second metadata are created when the electronic document is created. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first and second thresholds each include one or more of the following: a fixed threshold, a relative threshold, a predefined threshold, a user specified threshold, and an algorithmically determined threshold. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 associating each of the electronic documents with an event identifier associated with its corresponding event cluster; and   storing each of the electronic documents and its associated event identifier in a library of electronic documents, wherein the electronic documents of the library are browsable by a user based on the event identifier.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the electronic documents are stored in folders based on their associated event identifiers. 
     
     
         17 . A method for creating event clusters within a library of digital media files, comprising:
 sorting a plurality of digital media files, said digital media files each including time metadata and location metadata associated therewith, said digital media files being sorted into chronological order based on the time metadata, wherein the time metadata is related to the time and date the digital media file was captured and is generated by an electronic device capturing the digital file, and wherein the location metadata is GPS (global positioning satellite) data from the place the digital media file was captured and is generated by an electronic device capturing the digital media file;   grouping the sorted digital media files into event clusters based on the time metadata and the location metadata, wherein each event cluster contains one or more digital media files in order with respect to the time metadata, wherein at least one of following conditions is true (1) a time difference between consecutive digital media files within each event cluster is less than a time threshold based on the time metadata and (2) a location difference between consecutive digital media files within each event cluster is less than a location threshold based on the location metadata; and wherein the chronological order of the digital media files is maintained across the event clusters such that subsequent event clusters do not contain digital media files earlier in time than the digital media files of previous event clusters;   associating each of the digital media files with an event identifier associated with its corresponding event cluster; and   storing the digital media files and associated event identifiers in the library of digital media files, wherein the digital media files of the library are browsable by a user based on the event identifiers.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the time and location thresholds each include one or more of the following: a fixed threshold, a relative threshold, a predefined threshold, a user specified threshold, and an algorithmically determined threshold. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the location difference includes one of more of the following: a straight-line difference between location coordinates of the location metadata and a road difference based on the distance traveled by road between location coordinates of the location metadata. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the digital media files are stored in folders based on their associated event identifiers.