Information processing apparatus and method

• US 20070008341A1
• Filed: 07/07/2006
• Published: 01/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Aso, Takashi, Uchiyama, Shinji, Endo, Takaaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,330,800 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/633
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20112 Image segmentation details
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30204 Marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/60 Analysis of geometric attributes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/265 Mixing

Abstract

An index detecting section detects an index in a physical space, from a captured image obtained by an imaging apparatus. An erroneous-detection prevention processing section performs erroneous-detection prevention processing, based on information relating to image coordinates of a detected index. An image output section outputs, to a display device, an image having been subjected to the erroneous-detection prevention processing. This prevents an image displayed on the display device from being mistaken for a real index when the display device is in the field of view of the imaging apparatus.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

an image input unit adapted to input an image of a physical space captured by an image capturing unit;

a detection unit adapted to detect, from the image, a feature quantity relating to image coordinates of an index in the physical space;

a generation unit adapted to generate a display image from the input image;

an output unit adapted to cause a display device to display the display image generated by the generation unit; and

an erroneous-detection prevention unit adapted to prevent the detection unit from detecting an image of an index displayed by the display device, when the display device is captured by the image capturing unit.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the erroneous-detection prevention unit superimposes a specific image on a local region of the image captured by the image capturing unit.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the erroneous-detection prevention unit superimposes the specific image on an image region of the index detected by the detection unit, to prevent the detection unit from detecting the image of the index displayed on the display device.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a position and orientation measuring unit adapted to obtain the position and orientation of the image capturing unit, wherein the erroneous-detection prevention unit superimposes a 3-dimensional virtual object image on an index position of the image, based on the position and orientation of the image capturing unit obtained by the position and orientation measuring unit and a 3-dimensional position of the index in the physical space.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the erroneous-detection prevention unit superimposes a specific image on a local region corresponding to an image region corresponding to the display device, so that the specific image can conceal the display device involved in a scene displayed on the display device.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a display device position and orientation measuring unit adapted to obtain the position and orientation of the display device, wherein the erroneous-detection prevention unit superimposes a virtual object image on an image region corresponding to the display device involved in the image, based on the position and orientation of the display device measured by the display device position and orientation measuring unit.

7. An information processing method comprising the steps of:

inputting a captured image obtained by an imaging apparatus adapted to capture an image of a physical space in which a display device is disposed;

detecting, from the captured image, a feature quantity relating to image coordinates of an index in the physical space;

generating, from the captured image, a display image to be displayed on the display device; and

superimposing a specific image on an image region of the index detected from the captured image for said display image.

8. The information processing method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining the position and orientation of the imaging apparatus based on features relating to image coordinates of the index;

generating a virtual image based on the obtained position and orientation; and

combining the virtual image with the captured image.

9. A computer program which when loaded into a computer and executed provides an information processing method comprising the steps of:

inputting a captured image obtained by an imaging apparatus adapted to capture an image of a physical space in which a display device is disposed;

detecting, from the captured image, a feature quantity relating to image coordinates of an index in the physical space;

generating, from the captured image, a display image to be displayed on the display device; and

superimposing a specific image on an image region of the index detected from the captured image.

10. An information processing method comprising the steps of:

inputting a captured image obtained by an imaging apparatus adapted to capture an image of a physical space in which a display device is disposed;

setting an image region corresponding to the display device in the captured image;

detecting, from an image region of the captured image other than the image region corresponding to the display device, a feature quantity relating to image coordinates of an index in the physical space; and

generating, from the captured image, a display image to be displayed on the display device.

11. The information processing method according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining the position and orientation of the imaging apparatus based on features relating to image coordinates of the index;

generating a virtual image based on the obtained position and orientation; and

combining the virtual image with the captured image.

12. A computer program which when loaded into a computer and executed provides an information processing method comprising the steps of:

inputting a captured image obtained by an imaging apparatus adapted to capture an image of a physical space in which a display device is disposed;

setting an image region corresponding to the display device in the captured image;

detecting, from an image region of the captured image other than the image region corresponding to the display device, a feature quantity relating to image coordinates of an index in the physical space; and

generating, from the captured image, a display image to be displayed on the display device.