IMAGING SYSTEM, MOVING BODY, AND IMAGING CONTROL METHOD

• US 20110013032A1
• Filed: 12/17/2009
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: Hatanaka, Hidekazu
• Granted Patent: US 8,817,118 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/211.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00339 with an electronic or magnetic storage medium I/O device RFID or the like H04N1/00342
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00342 with a radio frequency tag transmitter or receiver storage of additional information in an RFID tag attached to an image bearing paper sheet H04N1/32138
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0039 Connection via a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0049 By wire, cable or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0055 By radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0075 by a user operated remote control device, e.g. receiving instructions from a user via a computer terminal or mobile telephone handset
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0464 Self-propelled scanners, e.g. robotic scanners, means for propulsion integrated in the scanner carriage
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices

Abstract

To provide a new framework that can flexibly take images of a moving target in remote monitoring without the need to arrange a plurality of network cameras, an autonomously movable moving body is used to take an image of a photographic target in accordance with a request from a user terminal, and the photographic image is provided to the user terminal. The moving body includes: a position estimating unit that acquires, from a wireless tag reader, a radio field intensity of wireless communication with a wireless tag held by the photographic target to estimate a position of the photographic target based on the acquired radio field intensity; a movement control unit that controls the movement of the moving body so that the moving body moves to the estimated position as a destination; and an imaging unit that takes an image of the photographic target when the moving body is located near the destination, associates the photographic image with a wireless tag ID designated by the request, and transmits the photographic image to an apparatus outside the moving body.

Claims

1. An imaging system comprising:

a management server; and

an autonomously movable moving body configured to be able to communicate with the management server,

the management server comprising;

a table storing a correspondence relationship between a photographic target, a wireless tag ID of a wireless tag held by the photographic target, and the moving body;

an imaging instructing unit that refers to the table when an imaging request designating the photographic target is received from a user terminal to identify a wireless tag ID and the moving body corresponding to the designated photographic target and to transmit an imaging instruction designating the identified wireless tag to the identified moving body; and

an image providing unit that associates and stores the wireless tag ID and a photographic image when the wireless tag ID and the photographic image are received from the moving body and that refers to the table when an image acquisition request designating the photographic target is received from the user terminal to identify the wireless tag ID corresponding to the designated photographic target, to read out the image corresponding to the identified wireless tag ID, and to transmit the image to the user terminal that has transmitted the image acquisition request,

the moving body comprising;

at least one wireless tag reader configured to be able to read a wireless tag ID from a wireless tag through wireless communication;

a position estimating unit that acquires, from the wireless tag reader, a radio field intensity of wireless communication with the wireless tag storing the wireless tag ID designated by the imaging instruction when the imaging instruction is received from the management server to estimate a position of the photographic target based on the acquired radio field intensity;

a movement control unit that controls the movement of the moving body so that the moving body moves to the estimated position as a destination; and

an imaging unit that takes an image of the photographic target when the moving body is located near the destination, associates the photographic image with the wireless tag ID designated by the imaging instruction, and transmits the photographic image and the wireless tag ID to the management server.

2. An autonomously movable moving body comprising:

a position estimating unit that estimates a position of a photographic target based on a signal of a wireless tag held by the photographic target, the signal acquired from a wireless tag reader;

a movement control unit that controls the movement of the moving body to locate the moving body within a certain distance from the estimated position; and

an imaging unit that takes an image of the photographic target when the moving body is located within the certain distance.

3. The moving body according to claim 2, further comprising

at least one wireless tag reader.

4. The moving body according to claim 2, wherein

the position estimating unit acquires a signal of the wireless tag held by the photographic target from the at least one wireless tag reader fixed outside the moving body.

5. The moving body according to claim 2, wherein

the position estimating unit estimates the position of the photographic target based on a radio field intensity of wireless communication with the wireless tag held by the photographic target.

6. The moving body according to claim 2, further comprising

an imaging control unit that applies an image recognition process of the photographic target to an image taken by the imaging unit to control the imaging direction based on an image recognition result.

7. The moving body according to claim 5, wherein

the movement control unit controls the movement of the moving body so that the acquired radio field intensity becomes smaller than a predetermined value when the moving body is located near the destination.

8. The moving body according to claim 2, wherein

the movement control unit controls the movement of the moving body so that the moving body moves at random or in accordance with a predetermined route when the destination is not set.

9. An imaging system comprising:

the moving body according to claim 2; and

a management server configured to be able to communicate with the moving body,

the management server comprising

an image providing unit that associates and stores a wireless tag ID and a photographic image when the wireless tag ID and the photographic image are received from the moving body and that, when an image acquisition request designating the photographic target is received from the user terminal, identifies the wireless tag ID corresponding to the designated photographic target to read out the image corresponding to the identified wireless tag ID, and to transmit the image to the user terminal that has transmitted the image acquisition request.

10. An imaging control method using an autonomously movable moving body including an imaging unit and a management server configured to be able to communicate with the moving body, the imaging control method comprising:

the management server referring to a table storing a correspondence relationship between a photographic target, a wireless tag ID of a wireless tag held by the photographic target, and the moving body when an imaging request designating the photographic target is received from a user terminal to identify a wireless tag ID and the moving body corresponding to the designated photographic target and to transmit an imaging instruction designating the identified wireless tag to the identified moving body;

the moving body acquiring, from at least one wireless tag reader, a radio field intensity of wireless communication with the wireless tag storing the wireless tag ID designated by the imaging instruction when the imaging instruction is received from the management server to estimate a position of the photographic target based on the acquired radio field intensity;

the moving body moving to the estimated position as a destination;

the moving body taking an image of the photographic target when the moving body is located near the destination, associating the photographic image with the wireless tag ID designated by the imaging instruction, and transmitting the photographic image and the wireless tag ID to the management server;

the management server associating and storing the wireless tag ID and the photographic image when the wireless tag ID and the photographic image are received from the moving body; and

the management server referring to the table when an image acquisition request designating the photographic target is received from the user terminal to identify the wireless tag ID corresponding to the designated photographic target, to read out the image corresponding to the identified wireless tag ID, and to transmit the image to the user terminal that has transmitted the image acquisition request.