IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20090273687A1
• Filed: 12/26/2006
• Published: 11/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsukizawa, Sotaro, Yamaoka, Megumi, Hayata, Keisuke
• Granted Patent: US 7,889,244 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30201 Face
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/165 using facial parts and geometric relationships

Abstract

There is provided an image processing apparatus for performing a stable attention condition determination, regardless of the shape and surrounding environment of an object of interest and regardless that the object is unknown or known. The image processing apparatus comprises a direction detector, a displacement detector, and an attention condition determiner. The direction detector detects, from a certain image including a person image, the direction information in two body regions of a person represented by the person image. The displacement detector calculates, from the two direction information, a displacement ratio that is the ratio between the two direction displacements. The attention condition determiner determines, according to a first and a second displacement ratio, how much the person pays attention to a certain object. The first displacement ratio is calculated in the displacement detector by using first direction information detected by the direction detector from a first certain image including a first person image, and the second displacement ratio is calculated in the displacement detector by using second direction information detected by the direction detector from a second certain image including the first person image.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a direction detection section that detects, from a predetermined image including a person image, direction information in two body regions of a person represented by the person image;

a displacement detection section that calculates, from the two direction information items, a displacement ratio that is a ratio between two direction displacements; and

an attention state determination section that performs determination of an attention level of a person toward a predetermined object based on a first displacement ratio calculated by the displacement detection section using first direction information detected by the direction detection section from a first predetermined image including a first person image, and a second displacement ratio calculated by the displacement detection section using second direction information detected by the direction detection section from a second predetermined image including the first person image.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising an attention state database that stores an attention determination condition that stipulates an attention level of the person toward a predetermined object,

wherein the attention state determination section performs determination of an attention level of the person toward a predetermined object by checking information based on the first displacement ratio and the second displacement ratio with the attention determination condition.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein:

the direction detection section comprises;

a head direction detection section that detects a direction of a head of a person represented by the person image from the predetermined image; and

an eye direction detection section that detects a direction of an eyeball of a person represented by the person image from the predetermined image, and

the displacement detection section calculates a displacement ratio from head direction information based on the head direction and eye direction information based on the eye direction.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a head direction displacement calculation section that takes a displacement ratio between a body direction of a person represented by the person image and a head direction of a person represented by the person image as the head direction information.

12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an eye direction displacement calculation section that takes a displacement ratio between a head direction of a person represented by the person image and an eye direction of a person represented by the person image as the eye direction information.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising an image input section that captures the predetermined image,

wherein the first predetermined image and the second predetermined image are images whose time of capture by the input section differs.

14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a learning section that updates the attention determination condition held by the attention state database.