Image processing apparatus, image processing method and program

• US 20080239092A1
• Filed: 03/25/2008
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sugino, Akinobu, Sano, Akane, Tsuruta, Masaaki, Sako, Yoichiro, Ito, Taiji, Sekizawa, Hidehiko, Asukai, Masamichi, Ozaki, Nazomu
• Granted Patent: US 8,456,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30201 Face
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/62 Control of parameters via user interfaces

Abstract

The present invention provides an image processing apparatus that includes a sightline detection unit that detects the line of sight of a subject directed toward an imaging device in a captured image captured by the imaging device and containing at least one subject and a sightline indicating unit that clearly indicates, in correspondence to each subject, whether or not the line of sight of the subject directed toward the imaging device has been detected based upon sightline detection results provided by the sightline detection unit.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a sightline detection unit that detects a line of sight of a subject directed toward an imaging device in a captured image captured by said imaging device and containing at least one subject; and

a sightline indicating unit that clearly indicates, in correspondence to each subject, whether the line of sight of the subject directed toward said imaging device has been detected based upon sightline detection results provided by said sightline detection unit.

2. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display unit that brings up on display an image with an indication as to whether the line of sight of the subject directed toward said imaging device has been detected, added therein by said sightline indicating unit.

3. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one storage medium that holds an image with an indication as to whether the line of sight of the subject directed toward said imaging device has been detected added therein by said sightline indicating unit.

4. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said sightline detection unit detects a face area of each subject in the captured image, detects the line of sight of the subject directed toward said imaging device in correspondence to each face area having been detected and makes a decision in correspondence to each subject as to whether a line of sight directed toward said imaging device has been detected.

5. An image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

said sightline indicating unit marks a face area over which the line of sight of the subject directed toward said imaging device has been detected by said sightline detection unit.

6. An image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

the sightline indicating unit marks the face area of the subject with the line of sight directed toward said imaging device by adding a rectangular frame indicating the face area to the captured image.

7. An image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

said sightline indicating unit marks a face area where the line of sight of the subject directed toward said imaging device has not been detected by said sightline detection unit.

8. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an imaging unit constituting said imaging device, wherein;

the captured image is a preview image captured via said imaging unit.

9. An image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein:

said imaging unit executes photographing operations if the number of lines of sight directed toward said imaging device detected by said sightline detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

10. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one storage medium that holds an image having been previously captured by said imaging device, wherein;

the captured image is the image held in said storage medium.

11. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the captured image is an image input from an external apparatus.

12. An image processing method comprising:

detecting a line of sight of a subject directed toward an imaging device in a captured image captured by said imaging device and containing at least one subject; and

indicating for each subject whether the line of sight of the subject directed toward said imaging device has been detected based upon sightline detection results provided through said step act of detecting the line of sight of the subject.

13. At least one computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon computer-executable instructions enabling a computer to function as:

a sightline detector that detects a line of sight of a subject directed toward an imaging device in a captured image captured by said imaging device and containing at least one subject; and

an indicator that indicates, in correspondence to each subject, whether the line of sight of the subject directed toward said imaging device has been detected based upon sightline detection results provided by said sightline detector.