IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS, IMAGE CAPTURING METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

• US 20090304289A1
• Filed: 04/29/2009
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Morita, Takuma, Maruyama, Kana, Urabe, Kazutaka, KARIMOTO, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 8,467,581 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body

Abstract

An image capturing apparatus includes an image pickup unit configured to obtain an image; a face detecting unit configured to detect a face of a photographic subject included in the image; an attribute detecting unit configured to detect attribute information of the face; an evaluation unit configured to evaluate a degree of intimacy between a plurality of photographic subjects based on a plurality of items of attribute information detected by the attribute detecting unit from faces of the plurality of photographic subjects, the faces being detected by the face detecting unit; and a control unit configured to cause the image pickup unit to capture an image of the plurality of photographic subjects based on an evaluation result obtained by the evaluation unit.

Claims

1. An image capturing apparatus comprising:

an image pickup unit configured to obtain an image;

a face detecting unit configured to detect a face of a photographic subject included in the image;

an attribute detecting unit configured to detect attribute information of the face;

an evaluation unit configured to evaluate a degree of intimacy between a plurality of photographic subjects based on a plurality of items of attribute information detected by the attribute detecting unit from faces of the plurality of photographic subjects, the faces being detected by the face detecting unit; and

a control unit configured to cause the image pickup unit to capture an image of the plurality of photographic subjects based on an evaluation result obtained by the evaluation unit.

2. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a computing unit configured to compute velocities at which positions of the faces of the plurality of photographic subjects change with time or angular velocities at which angles of the faces of the plurality of photographic subjects change with time,

wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the degree of intimacy based on the velocities or the angular velocities.

3. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the degree of intimacy based on degrees of smiling of the faces of the plurality of photographic subjects.

4. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the degree of intimacy based on a distance between the faces of the plurality of photographic subjects and a difference between inclinations of the faces of the plurality of photographic subjects.

5. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control on an animated cartoon to be displayed on a display unit, on the basis of the evaluation result obtained by the evaluation unit.

6. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the degree of intimacy based on a distance between the faces of the plurality of photographic subjects and degrees of smiling of the faces, and

wherein the control unit displays, on the display unit, an animated cartoon for assisting the plurality of photographic subjects in performing an operation to shorten the distance between the plurality of photographic subjects or to enhance degrees of smiling, in a case where the evaluation result obtained by the evaluation unit does not reach a predetermined state.

7. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the control unit displays, on the display unit, an animated cartoon that visually represents the evaluation result obtained by the evaluation unit, in a case where the evaluation result obtained by the evaluation unit reaches a predetermined state and the image pickup unit is controlled by the control unit to capture an image of the plurality of photographic subjects.

8. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a human-relationship determining unit configured to determine a human relationship between the plurality of photographic subjects by performing statistical processing on the evaluation result obtained by the evaluation unit in a predetermined degree-of-intimacy determining period.

9. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit adds a decoration to the image obtained by the image pickup unit, on the basis of the human relationship between the plurality of photographic subjects, which is determined by the human-relationship determining unit.

10. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a recording unit configured to record the human relationship between the plurality of photographic subjects, which is determined by the human-relationship determining unit, as information to be added to the captured image.

11. An image capturing method comprising the steps of:

causing an image pickup unit to obtain an image;

detecting a face of a photographic subject included in the image;

detecting attribute information of the face;

evaluating a degree of intimacy between a plurality of photographic subjects based on a plurality of items of attribute information detected from detected faces of the plurality of photographic subjects; and

performing control to cause the image pickup unit to capture an image of the plurality of photographic subjects based on an evaluation result obtained in the step of evaluating.

12. A computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, the program causing a computer to execute a process comprising the steps of:

causing an image pickup unit to obtain an image;

detecting a face of a photographic subject included in the image;

detecting attribute information of the face;

evaluating a degree of intimacy between a plurality of photographic subjects based on a plurality of items of attribute information detected from detected faces of the plurality of photographic subjects; and

performing control to cause the image pickup unit to capture an image of the plurality of photographic subjects based on an evaluation result obtained in the step of evaluating.

13. An image capturing apparatus comprising:

an image pickup unit configured to obtain an image;

a face detecting unit configured to detect a face of a photographic subject included in the image;

an evaluation unit configured to evaluate a correlation between positions or angles of faces of a plurality of photographic subjects, the faces being detected by the face detecting unit; and

a control unit configured to cause the image pickup unit to capture an image of the plurality of photographic subjects based on an evaluation result obtained by the evaluation unit.

14. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the correlation, which is defined by the positions or the angles of the faces, by comparing the correlation with predetermined positions or angles.

15. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined positions or angles are positions or angles at which two or more detected faces are at the same height or three or more detected faces are substantially aligned on a straight line.

16. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined positions or angles are positions or angles of a polygon having positions of three or more detected faces of photographic subjects as vertices.

17. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined positions or angles are positions or angles at which two detected faces face inward or multiple detected faces face a certain direction.

18. An image capturing method comprising the steps of:

causing an image pickup unit to obtain an image;

detecting a face of a photographic subject included in the image;

evaluating a correlation between positions or angles of detected faces of a plurality of photographic subjects; and

performing control to cause the image pickup unit to capture an image of the plurality of photographic subjects based on an evaluation result obtained in the step of evaluating.

19. A computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, the program causing a computer to execute a process comprising the steps of:

causing an image pickup unit to obtain an image;

detecting a face of a photographic subject included in the image;

evaluating a correlation between positions or angles of detected faces of a plurality of photographic subjects; and

performing control to cause the image pickup unit to capture an image of the plurality of photographic subjects based on an evaluation result obtained in the step of evaluating.