Interactive image acquisition device

• US 20090207246A1
• Filed: 07/28/2006
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The University of Electro-Communications
• Original Assignee: The University of Electro-Communications
• Inventors: Mori, Hiroki, Sekiguchi, Dairoku, Inami, Masahiko, Matsuno, Fumitoshi, Kuwashima, Shigesumi
• Application Number:
  US11/989,625
• Publication Number:
  US 20090207246A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/135
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/7864 T.V. type tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19641 Multiple cameras having overlapping views on a single scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

The present invention tracks a specified target object and provides an image in real time in a way that gives a viewer a sense of reality. The present invention connects, in order to produce a spherical image Q1, the images captured by cameras 13 that can move in a space and are arranged so as to take images of different directions such that the images captured by at least two or more image pickup elements are partially overlapped with one another, calculates a positional correlation between the spherical image Q1 and the target object specified from the images, and then arranges the target object substantially at the center of the spherical image Q1 in accordance with the positional correlation. This provides a tracking image that tracks and focuses on the target object out of the spherical image Q1.

Claims

1. An interactive image acquisition device comprising:

a plurality of image pickup elements that can move in a space and are arranged so as to take images of different directions such that the images captured by at least two or more image pickup elements are partially overlapped with one another;

image connection means for connecting the images captured by the image pickup elements;

target specification means for specifying a desired target object from the image captured by the image pickup elements; and

image processing means for calculating a positional correlation between a connection image that the image connection means produced by connecting the images and the target object specified by the target specification means and arranging the target object substantially at the center of the connection image in accordance with the positional correlation.

2. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 1, comprising calibration means for previously recognizing and calibrating a connection-positional correlation of the images captured by the image pickup elements.

3. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 1, comprising specification target emphasizing means for emphasizing the fact that the target object was specified, for the target object specified by the target specification means.

4. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 1, comprising:

wireless transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the images captured by the image pickup elements; and

image receiving means for receiving the images wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmission means, wherein

the images received by the image receiving means are supplied to the image connection means.

5. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 1, comprising:

temporary storage means for temporarily storing the connection image connected by the image connection means in the form of a still image;

identification information storage means for storing identification information of the image pickup elements that output the images constituting the connection image; and

current arrangement calculation means for tracking, when the target object is specified by the target specification means from the connection image read out from the temporary storage means, how the temporarily-stored connection image and the connection image currently acquired from the image pickup elements corresponding to the identification information move over time in order to calculate the current arrangement of the specified target object, wherein

the target object is specified by the target specification means from the connection image that the temporary storage means temporarily stores in the form of a still image and the image processing means calculates the positional correlation of the current images in accordance with the current arrangement.

6. An interactive image acquisition device comprising:

a plurality of image pickup elements that can move in a space and are arranged so as to take images of different directions such that the images captured by at least two or more image pickup elements are partially overlapped with one another;

image connection means for connecting the images captured by the image pickup elements;

target specification means for specifying a desired target object from the image captured by the image pickup elements;

power supply means for supplying driving electric power to the image pickup elements; and

image processing means for calculating a positional correlation between a connection image that the image connection means produced by connecting the images and the target object specified by the target specification means and arranging the target object substantially at the center of the connection image in accordance with the positional correlation.

7. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 6, wherein

the power supply means includes an electromagnetic coupling section that produces the driving electric power from an electromagnetic wave supplied from the outside in accordance with the principle of electromagnetic induction.

8. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 6, comprising:

wireless transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the images captured by the image pickup elements; and

image receiving means for receiving the images wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmission means, wherein

the images received by the image receiving means are supplied to the image connection means under the situation that the image pickup elements and the wireless transmission means are placed in a spherical or cylindrical capsule housing.

9. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 6, comprising:

wireless transmission means for wirelessly transmitting a specification signal that indicates the target object specified by the target specification means; and

specification signal receiving means for receiving the specification signal wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmission means, wherein

the specification signal received by the specification signal receiving means is supplied to the image connection means under the situation that the image pickup elements and the wireless transmission means are placed in a spherical or cylindrical capsule housing.

10. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 6, comprising:

temporary storage means for temporarily storing the connection image connected by the image connection means in the form of a still image;

identification information storage means for storing identification information of the image pickup elements that output the images constituting the connection image; and

current arrangement calculation means for tracking, when the target object is specified by the target specification means from the connection image read out from the temporary storage means, how the temporarily-stored connection image and the connection image currently acquired from the image pickup elements corresponding to the identification information move over time in order to calculate the current arrangement of the specified target object, wherein

the target object is specified by the target specification means from the connection image that the temporary storage means temporarily stores in the form of a still image and the image processing means calculates the positional correlation of the current images in accordance with the current arrangement.

11. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 6, wherein:

the target specification means specifies a plurality of target objects; and

the image processing means calculates the positional correlations between the images captured by the image pickup elements and the specified target objects.

12. An interactive image acquisition device comprising:

a plurality of image pickup elements that are placed at a predetermined place to be observed and are arranged so as to take images of different directions such that the images captured by at least two or more image pickup elements are partially overlapped with one another;

image connection means for connecting the images captured by the image pickup elements;

target specification means for specifying a desired target object from the image captured by the image pickup elements; and

image processing means for calculating a positional correlation between a connection image that the image connection means produced by connecting the images and the target object specified by the target specification means and arranging the target object substantially at the center of the connection image in accordance with the positional correlation.

13. The interactive image acquisition device according to claim 12, comprising

transmission means for transmitting, when no target object is specified by the target specification means, all the images constituting the connection image to a predetermined information processing device.

14. An interactive image acquisition method comprising:

an image connection step of connecting images captured by image pickup elements that can move in a space and are arranged so as to take images of different directions such that the images captured by at least two or more image pickup elements are partially overlapped with one another;

a target specification step of specifying a desired target object from the image captured by the image pickup elements;

a positional correlation determination step of calculating a positional correlation between a connection image that the image connection step produced by connecting the images and the target object specified by the target specification step; and

an image processing step of arranging the target object substantially at the center of the connection image in accordance with the positional correlation calculated by the positional correlation determination step.