Imaging apparatus, display apparatus, imaging method, and display method

• US 20080107361A1
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsuruta, Masaaki, Sako, Yoichiro, Ito, Taiji, Asukai, Masamichi
• Application Number:
  US11/977,378
• Publication Number:
  US 20080107361A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/317
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/113 for determining or recording eye movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/00 Measuring for diagnostic purposes radiation diagnosis A61B6/00; diagnosis by ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves A61B8/00; Identification of persons
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0531 Measuring skin impedance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/16 Devices for psychotechnics using teaching or educational appliances G09B1/00 - G09B7/00; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/372 Analysis of electroencephalograms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/332 Displays for viewing with the aid of special glasses or head-mounted displays [HMD]

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an imaging apparatus including: imaging means for imaging a scene that is in a direction in which a user sees to obtain image data of the scene; biological sensor means for detecting biological information concerning the user; and control means for generating metadata based on at least the biological information obtained by the biological sensor means, and performing a storage process of storing the image data obtained by the imaging means so as to be associated with the metadata.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus, comprising:

imaging means for imaging a scene that is in a direction in which a user sees to obtain image data of the scene;

biological sensor means for detecting biological information concerning the user; and

control means for generating metadata based on at least the biological information obtained by said biological sensor means, and performing a storage process of storing the image data obtained by said imaging means so as to be associated with the metadata.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means adds the metadata to the image data obtained by said imaging means and performs the storage process when a predetermined storage condition has been satisfied.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising recording means for recording data on a nonvolatile storage medium, wherein

said control means performs, as the storage process, a process of controlling said recording means to record the image data obtained by said imaging means and the metadata on the nonvolatile storage medium.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising transmission means for transmitting data to an external device, wherein

said control means performs, as the storage process, a process of controlling said transmission means to transmit the image data obtained by said imaging means and the metadata to the external device.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the biological information is at least one of a pulse, heart beats, an electrocardiogram, electromyographic information, breathing, perspiration, GSR, blood pressure, a saturation oxygen concentration in blood, a skin surface temperature, brain waves, a blood flow change, a body temperature, a motion of a body, a motion of a head, a center of gravity, rhythm of walking/running, and a state of an eye.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the metadata generated by said control means includes information of a content of the satisfied storage condition.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metadata generated by said control means includes information of a date and time or a current location.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the metadata generated by said control means includes user identification information.

9. A display apparatus that acquires image data from a nonvolatile storage medium having stored therein image data to which metadata based on biological information is added, and displays the acquired image data, said display apparatus comprising:

display means;

biological sensor means for detecting biological information concerning a user; and

control means for generating a search condition based on the biological information detected by said biological sensor means, and controlling image data found in the nonvolatile storage medium as a result of a search using the search condition to be displayed on said display means.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising playback means for playing back data stored in the nonvolatile storage medium, wherein

said control means controls said playback means to display the image data found as a result of the search using the search condition on said display means.

11. The display apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising communication means for performing data communication with an external device that reads data from the nonvolatile storage medium, wherein

said control means performs control for transmitting the search condition to the external device via said communication means to request the external device to perform the search, acquiring the image data found as a result of the search performed in the external device via said communication means, and displaying the acquired image data on said display means.

12. The display apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the biological information is at least one of a pulse, heart beats, an electrocardiogram, electromyographic information, breathing, perspiration, GSR, blood pressure, a saturation oxygen concentration in blood, a skin surface temperature, brain waves, a blood flow change, a body temperature, a motion of a body, a motion of a head, a center of gravity, rhythm of walking/running, and a state of an eye.

13. The display apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

image data corresponding to a time when a predetermined storage condition was satisfied is stored in the nonvolatile storage medium together with metadata including information of a content of the storage condition, and

the search condition generated by said control means includes the information of the content of the storage condition.

14. The display apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the image data is stored in the nonvolatile storage medium together with metadata including information of a date and time or a current location, and

the search condition generated by said control means includes the information of the date and time or the current location.

15. The display apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the image data is stored in the nonvolatile storage medium together with metadata including user identification information, and

the search condition generated by said control means includes the user identification information.

16. The display apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said display means is capable of causing a whole or a part of a screen area for image display to enter a transparent or translucent see-through state.

17. The display apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said control means controls said display means to cause a part of the screen area for image display to enter the see-through state, and display the image data found in and read from the nonvolatile storage medium in a remaining part of the screen area.

18. The display apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said control means controls said display means to cause the whole of the screen area for image display to enter the see-through state, and display the image data found in and read from the nonvolatile storage medium in the whole or a part of the screen area.

19. The display apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said control means controls said display means to switch between the see-through state and a state in which the image data found in and read from the nonvolatile storage medium is displayed.

20. The display apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said display means is arranged in front of an eye of the user to perform image display.

21. An imaging method comprising the steps of:

imaging a scene that is in a direction in which a user sees to obtain image data of the scene;

detecting biological information concerning the user;

generating metadata based on at least the biological information obtained in said detecting; and

storing the image data obtained in said imaging so as to be associated with the metadata generated in said generating.

22. A display method employed in a display apparatus that acquires image data from a nonvolatile storage medium having stored therein image data to which metadata based on biological information is added, and displays the acquired image data, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting biological information concerning a user;

generating a search condition based on the biological information detected in said detecting; and

displaying image data found in the nonvolatile storage medium as a result of a search using the search condition generated in said generating.

23. An imaging apparatus, comprising:

an imaging section configured to image a scene that is in a direction in which a user sees to obtain image data of the scene;

a biological sensor section configured to detect biological information concerning the user; and

a control section configured to generate metadata based on at least the biological information obtained by said biological sensor section, and performing a storage process of storing the image data obtained by said imaging section so as to be associated with the metadata.

24. A display apparatus that acquires image data from a nonvolatile storage medium having stored therein image data to which metadata based on biological information is added, and displays the acquired image data, said display apparatus comprising:

a display section;

a biological sensor section configured to detect biological information concerning a user; and

a control section configured to generate a search condition based on the biological information detected by said biological sensor section, and controlling image data found in the nonvolatile storage medium as a result of a search using the search condition to be displayed on said display section.