Method And System For Automatically Linking A Cursor To A Hotspot In A Hypervideo Stream

Abstract

Automatically linking a cursor to a hotspot in a hypervideo stream comprising a plurality of video frames that are associated with at least one selectable hotspot include receiving a hypervideo stream of a first video frame associated with a selectable hotspot in a first activation region of the first video frame, and determining whether a first position of a cursor is substantially within the first activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot. The cursor is associated with the selectable hotspot when the first position of the cursor is substantially within the first activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot in the first video frame. The hypervideo stream of a second video frame associated with the selectable hotspot in a second activation region different from the first activation region is received, and the cursor is automatically moved to a second position in the second video frame based on the association.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for automatically linking a cursor to a hotspot in a hypervideo stream, the method comprising:
 receiving a hypervideo stream of a first video frame, the first video frame associated with a selectable hotspot in a first activation region of the first video frame;   determining whether a first position of a cursor is substantially within the first activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot;   associating the cursor with the selectable hotspot when the first position of the cursor is substantially within the first activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot in the first video frame;   receiving the hypervideo stream of a second video frame, wherein the selectable hotspot is not associated with the second video frame;   maintaining the association between the cursor and the selectable hotspot for a predetermined time period; and   performing an action corresponding to the selectable hotspot when the selectable hotspot is activated within the predetermined time period.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein after receiving the hypervideo stream of the first video frame the method further includes:
 separating the hypervideo stream into a plurality of component parts including a hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot, wherein the hotspot media object includes hotspot information comprising location information, including three-dimensional information, defining where the activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot is located in the video frame, and at least one of action information indicating the action to perform when the hotspot is activated, hover information to be provided when the cursor is positioned substantially within the activation region corresponding to the hotspot for a first predetermined time period, and visual information associated with the hotspot. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein after separating the hypervideo stream into the plurality of component parts including the hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot, the method further comprises:
 associating the hotspot media object with a hotspot identifier; and 
 storing the hotspot identifier and the hotspot information of the hotspot media object. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein associating the cursor with the selectable hotspot includes recording the hotspot identifier associated with the hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein after receiving the hypervideo stream of a subsequent video frame, the method includes updating the location information of the hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot with information defining where a second activation region is located in the subsequent video frame. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein after updating the location information of the hotspot media object, the method includes:
 determining that the hotspot identifier of the hotspot media object associated with the updated location information matches the recorded hotspot identifier; and 
 determining the second position of the cursor based on the updated location information. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2  including providing the hover information of the hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot when the cursor is associated with the selectable hotspot for the first predetermined time period and the hotspot has not been activated. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further including:
 receiving the hypervideo stream of a third video frame within the predetermined time period, the third video frame associated with the selectable hotspot in a third activation region; and 
 automatically moving the cursor to another position substantially within the third activation region in the third video frame based on the maintained association between the cursor and the selectable hotspot. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  comprising determining whether a cursor position is outside of an activation region and setting the cursor position at one of a closest edge, center, center of gravity, and visual center of the activation region when the cursor position is outside of the activation region. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  including disassociating the cursor with the selectable hotspot in response to receiving one of a command, a request, and an indication to unlock the cursor. 
     
     
         11 . A system for automatically linking a cursor to a hotspot in a hypervideo stream, the system comprising components including:
 a hypermedia player component configured for receiving a hypervideo stream of a first video frame, the first video frame associated with a selectable hotspot in a first activation region of the first video frame; and   a graphical user interface manager component for processing a position of a cursor,   wherein the hypermedia player component is configured for determining whether a first position of the cursor is substantially within the first activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot, for associating the cursor with the selectable hotspot when the first position of the cursor is substantially within the first activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot in the first video frame; and   an interaction manager component configured for, when the hypervideo stream of a second video frame is received and the selectable hotspot is not associated with the second video frame, maintaining the association between the cursor and the selectable hotspot for a predetermined time period, and for performing the action indicated by the action information of the hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot when the hotspot is activated within the predetermined time period;   wherein at least one of the components include at least one processor configured for implementing the at least one component.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the hypermedia player component includes:
 a demultiplexer component configured for receiving and separating the hypervideo stream into a plurality of component parts including a hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot, wherein the hotspot media object includes hotspot information comprising location information defining where the activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot is located in the video frame; and 
 the interaction manager component configured for associating the hotspot media object with a hotspot identifier, for storing the hotspot identifier and the hotspot information of the hotspot media object, for recording the hotspot identifier of the hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot associated with the cursor, for updating the hotspot information when a subsequent video frame is received and separated, for determining a position of the cursor based on the updated location information, and for disassociating the cursor with the selectable hotspot in response to receiving one of a command, a request, and an indication to unlock the cursor. 
 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the hotspot information includes at least one of action information indicating an action to perform when the hotspot is activated and hover information to be provided when the cursor is positioned substantially within the activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot for a first predetermined time period, and the interaction manager component is configured for at least one of providing the hover information of the hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot when the cursor is associated with the selectable hotspot for a predetermined time period and the hotspot has not been activated, and performing the action indicated by the action information of the hotspot media object corresponding to the selectable hotspot when the hotspot is activated. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11  wherein when the hypervideo stream of a third video frame is received within the predetermined time period and the third video frame is associated with the selectable hotspot in a third activation region, the interaction manager component is configured for automatically moving the cursor to another position substantially within the third activation region in the third video frame based on the maintained association between the cursor and the selectable hotspot. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer readable medium containing a computer program, executable by a machine, for automatically linking a cursor to a hotspot in a hypervideo stream, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:
 receiving a hypervideo stream of a first video frame, the first video frame associated with a selectable hotspot in a first activation region of the first video frame;   determining whether a first position of a cursor is substantially within the first activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot;   associating the cursor with the selectable hotspot when the first position of the cursor is substantially within the first activation region corresponding to the selectable hotspot in the first video frame;   receiving the hypervideo stream of a second video frame, wherein the selectable hotspot is not associated with the second video frame;   maintaining the association between the cursor and the selectable hotspot for a predetermined time period; and   performing an action corresponding to the selectable hotspot when the selectable hotspot is activated within the predetermined time period.