IMAGING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

• US 20080118156A1
• Filed: 10/09/2007
• Published: 05/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: OKADA, Miyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,385,607 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/195
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/673 based on contrast or high frequency components of image signals, e.g. hill climbing method

Abstract

An imaging apparatus includes an image pickup unit for capturing an image of a subject, an image input unit for inputting the image captured by the image pickup unit, a face detecting unit for detecting a face from the image input by the image input unit, a face position marker generating unit for generating a face position marker indicating a position of the face, detected by the face detecting unit, in the image input by the image input unit, an overlaying unit for overlaying the face position marker generated by the face position marker generating unit and the image input by the image input unit, and a display unit for displaying an image overlaid by the overlaying unit.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

image pickup means for capturing an image of a subject;

image input means for inputting the image captured by the image pickup means;

face detecting means for detecting a face from the image input by the image input means;

face position marker generating means for generating a face position marker indicating a position of the face, detected by the face detecting means, in the image input by the image input means;

overlaying means for overlaying the face position marker generated by the face position marker generating means and the image input by the image input means; and

display means for displaying an image overlaid by the overlaying means.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising setting means for setting whether to generate the face position marker with the face position marker generating means.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face position marker is composed of one of a rectangular shape, an ellipsoidal shape, and a group of four points only at the four corners of a rectangular shape.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face position marker generating means generates the face position marker so that the face position marker is placed around the face detected by the face detecting means in the image input by the image input means.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face position marker generating means generates the face position marker so that the face position marker is placed to surround the face detected by the face detecting means in the image input by the image input means.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if a plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means in the image input by the image input means, the face position marker generating means generates the face position marker so that the detected faces are different from each other in terms of one of color of the face position marker, a type of a line of the face position marker, a thickness of the line of the face position marker, a transparency of the face position marker, a blinking state of the face position marker, and one of luminance and color of an internal area surrounded by an outline of the face position marker.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays one of an internal area and an external area of an outline of the face position marker with one of luminance and color thereof modified in the image overlaid by the overlaying means.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face detecting means detects a variety of information relating to the face detected in the image input by the image input means, and

wherein the face position marker generating means generates the face position marker of the face based on the variety of information relating to the face detected by the face detecting means.

9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the variety of information relating to the face comprises, alone or in combination, an area of the face, coordinates of the area of the face, a value of likelihood of face, the degree of full face alignment, a tilt of the face, the degree of smiling of the face, the degree of seriousness of the face, and the degree of closed-eyed face.

10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the face position marker generating means modifies a transparency of the face position marker of the face based on the variety of information relating to the face detected by the face detecting means.

11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising camera control value detecting means for detecting one of the degree of focusing to the face and the degree of lens exposure matching based on the variety of information relating to the face detected by the face detecting means,

wherein the face position marker generating means generates the face position marker based on the one of the degree of focusing to the face and the degree of lens exposure matching relating to the face detected by the camera control value detecting means.

12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising major person estimating means for estimating a major person from the plurality of detected faces from among the variety of information relating to the face if the plurality of faces are detected by the face detecting means from the image input by the image input means,

wherein the face position marker generating means generates each face position marker in the form permitting the face position marker of the major person estimated by the major person estimating means to be discriminated from the face position markers of the other persons.

13. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

particular person storage means for storing particular person information relating to a face of a particular person; and

particular person determining means for determining whether a face detected by the face detecting means matches the face of the particular person stored on the particular person storage means,

wherein the face position marker generating means generates each face position marker in the form permitting the face position marker of the particular person to be discriminated from the face position markers of the other persons if the particular person determining means determines that the face detected by the face detecting means matches the face of the particular person stored on the particular person storage means.

14. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face position marker generating means generates a face looking direction marker in the vicinity of the face position marker of the face in response to a direction and an angle of the face if the face detected by the face detecting means looks in one of an upward direction, a downward direction, a leftward direction and a rightward direction, and

wherein the overlaying means overlays the face position marker, generated by the face position marker generating means, and the face looking direction marker on the image input by the image input means.

15. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face position marker generating means generates a face tilt marker to be displayed in the vicinity of the face position marker of the face in response to a tilt angle if the face detected by the face detecting means is tilted as a result of a rolling action, and

wherein the overlaying means overlays the face position marker and the face tilt marker, generated by the face position marker generating means, on the image input by the image input means.

16. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face position marker generating means generates a particular position marker as a face position marker indicating one of an upper position, a lower position, a left position and a right position in the face detected by the face detecting means, and

wherein the overlaying means overlays the particular position marker generated by the face position marker generating means on the image input by the image input means.

17. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face position marker generating means generates a particular position marker as a face position marker indicating one of an upper position, a lower position, a left position and a right position in the face detected by the face detecting means, the particular position marker being displayed on or in the vicinity of the face position marker, and

wherein the overlaying means overlays the face position marker and the particular position marker, generated by the face position marker generating means, on the image input by the image input means.

18. The imaging apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising image pickup status detecting means for detecting an image pickup status with a portrait view angle, based on the particular position marker generated by the face position marker generating means,

wherein if the image pickup status detecting means has detected the image pickup status with a portrait view angle, the display means displays an indication indicating that the image pickup status with a portrait view angle has been detected, together with the particular position marker generated by the face position marker generating means in the image overlaid by the overlaying means.

19. The imaging apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising output means for outputting, to a recording medium, image incidental information indicating that the image pickup status with a portrait view angle has been detected, together with the image overlaid by the overlaying means, if the image pickup status detecting means has detected the image pickup status with a portrait view angle.

20. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising selecting means for selecting a face of a desired person from among a plurality of faces if the display means displays the plurality of faces, detected by the face detecting means, together with face position markers corresponding to the plurality of faces,

wherein the face position marker generating means generates each face position marker in the form permitting the face position marker of the face of the person selected by the selecting means to be discriminated from the face position markers of the other persons.

21. An image processing apparatus comprising:

image input means for inputting an image;

face detecting means for detecting a face from the image input by the image input means;

face position marker generating means for generating a face position marker indicating a position of the face, detected by the face detecting means, in the image input by the image input means;

overlaying means for overlaying the face position marker generated by the face position marker generating means and the image input by the image input means; and

output means for outputting an image overlaid by the overlaying means.

22. An image processing method comprising steps of:

inputting an image;

detecting a face from the image input in the image input step;

generating a face position marker indicating a position of the face, detected in the face detecting step, in the image received in the image input step;

overlaying the face position marker generated in the face position marker generating step and the image received in the image input step; and

outputting an image overlaid in the overlaying step.

23. A computer program for causing a computer to perform steps of:

inputting an image;

detecting a face from the image input in the image input step;

generating a face position marker indicating a position of the face, detected in the face detecting step, in the image input in the image input step;

overlaying the face position marker generated in the face position marker generating step and the image input in the image input step; and

outputting an image overlaid in the overlaying step.

24. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an image pickup unit capturing an image of a subject;

an image input unit inputting the image captured by the image pickup unit;

a face detecting unit detecting a face from the image input by the image input unit;

a face position marker generating unit generating a face position marker indicating a position of the face, detected by the face detecting unit, in the image input by the image input unit;

an overlaying unit overlaying the face position marker generated by the face position marker generating unit and the image input by the image input unit; and

a display unit displaying an image overlaid by the overlaying unit.

25. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an image input unit inputting an image;

a face detecting unit detecting a face from the image input by the image input unit;

a face position marker generating unit generating a face position marker indicating a position of the face, detected by the face detecting unit, in the image input by the image input unit;

an overlaying unit overlaying the face position marker generated by the face position marker generating unit and the image input by the image input unit; and

an output unit outputting an image overlaid by the overlaying unit.