Method, System, and Apparatus for Controlling a Remote Camera

• US 20110193936A1
• Filed: 04/20/2011
• Published: 08/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Huawei Device Company Limited (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Huawei Device Company Limited (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Gai, Wencai
• Application Number:
  US13/090,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20110193936A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/36
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems

Abstract

A method for controlling a remote camera includes: obtaining a panorama of a remote scene and a mapping relation between a coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and a coordinate system of the remote camera. The panorama of the remote scene is created by the remote camera and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote conference site and the coordinate system of the remote camera is created by the remote terminal. The remote camera is controlled according to the panorama of the remote scene and the mapping relation between the two coordinate systems.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a remote camera, the method comprising:

obtaining a panorama of a remote scene at a local terminal, the panorama of the remote scene being created by a remote camera that is remote relative to the local terminal; and

obtaining, at the local terminal, a mapping relation between a coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and a coordinate system of the remote camera, wherein the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera is created by a remote terminal; and

controlling the remote camera by the local terminal according to the panorama of the remote scene and the mapping relation between coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the remote camera comprises:

establishing, by the local terminal, a remote control channel with the remote terminal;

obtaining, by the local terminal, a control command;

converting, by the local terminal, the control command into a coordinate in the coordinate system of the remote camera according to the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera; and

sending the coordinate in the coordinate system of the remote camera to the remote terminal from the local terminal through the remote control channel; and

making the remote terminal control the remote camera according to the coordinate in the coordinate system of the remote camera.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the panorama of the remote scene and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera are obtained through a control data channel of the remote camera.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the control command comprises a selected image area, or a coordinate of one selected image pixel.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the panorama of the remote scene and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera are obtained through a customized data channel.

5. A method for controlling a remote camera, the method comprising:

creating a coordinate system of a remote camera,

creating a panorama of a remote scene,

creating a mapping relation between a coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera, the coordinate system, the panorama and the mapping relation being created by a terminal;

sending the panorama, the mapping relation, and the coordinate system from the terminal to a peer terminal;

receiving a control command from the peer terminal at the terminal; and

controlling, by the terminal, the remote camera according to the control command.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein creating the coordinate system of the remote camera comprises:

setting a vertex on an upper left of a view range of the remote camera as an origin of the coordinate system; and

creating the coordinate system of the remote camera in rightward, downward, and inward directions.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein creating the panorama of the remote scene comprises:

controlling, by the terminal, the remote camera to scan a view range of the camera when a focal length of the remote camera is at its smallest; and

after the view range is scanned, adjusting, by the terminal, a photographing range of the remote camera so that the remote camera photographs the entire remote scene and obtains a panorama of the remote scene.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein creating the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera comprises:

taking a view range of the camera obtained when a focal length of the remote camera is adjusted to its smallest as a reference view for zooming a camera view;

setting an origin of the coordinate system of the remote camera to enable the origin to locate, at a center of the reference view, an origin of the panorama;

setting a maximum coordinate of the coordinate system of the remote camera to enable the maximum coordinate to locate, at the center of the reference view, a maximum coordinate of the panorama; and

creating the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera based on the origin of the coordinate system of the remote camera and the maximum control coordinate of the remote camera.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the panorama of the remote scene and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera are sent to the peer terminal through a control data channel of the remote camera.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein controlling the remote camera comprises:

receiving, by the terminal, the control command sent by the peer terminal;

converting, by the terminal, the control command into a coordinate in the coordinate system of the remote camera; and

adjusting, by the terminal, Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) parameters of the remote camera according to the coordinate converted from the control command.

18. The method of claim 5, wherein the panorama of the remote scene and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera are sent to the peer terminal through a customized data channel.

19. The method of claim 10, further comprising switching a camera view to a view specified by the peer terminal.

11. An apparatus for controlling a remote camera, the apparatus comprising:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain a panorama of a remote scene and a mapping relation between a coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and a coordinate system of a remote camera; and

a controlling unit, configured to control the remote camera according to the panorama of the remote scene and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the controlling unit comprises:

a channel establishment subunit, configured to establish a remote control channel with a remote terminal;

a control command obtaining subunit, configured to obtain a control command;

a coordinate converting subunit, configured to convert the control command into a coordinate in the coordinate system of the remote camera according to the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera; and

a sending subunit, configured to send, through the remote control channel, the coordinate in the coordinate system of the remote camera to the remote terminal, and to cause the remote terminal to control the remote camera according to the coordinate in the coordinate system of the remote camera.

13. An apparatus for controlling a remote camera, the apparatus comprising:

a creating unit, configured to create a panorama of a remote scene, a coordinate system of a remote camera, and a mapping relation between a coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera;

a sending unit, configured to send the panorama of the remote scene and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera to a peer terminal;

a control command receiving unit, configured to receive a control command sent by the peer terminal; and

a controlling unit, configured to control the remote camera according to the control command.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the creating unit comprises:

a panorama creating subunit, configured to create the panorama of the remote scene;

a coordinate system creating subunit, configured to create the coordinate system of the remote camera; and

a mapping relation creating subunit, configured to create the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the remote scene and the coordinate system of the remote camera.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controlling unit comprises:

a receiving subunit, configured to receive the control command sent by the peer terminal;

a converting subunit, configured to convert the control command into a coordinate in the coordinate system of the remote camera; and

an adjusting subunit, configured to adjust Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) parameters of the remote camera according to the coordinate converted from the control command and to switch a camera view to a view specified by the peer terminal.

16. A system for controlling a camera, comprising:

a first control apparatus and

a second control apparatus connected to the first control apparatus through a network,

wherein the first control apparatus is configured to create a panorama of a local scene, a coordinate system of a local camera, and a mapping relation between a coordinate system of the panorama of the local scene and the coordinate system of the local camera;

to send the panorama of the local scene and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the local scene and the coordinate system of the local camera to the second control apparatus;

to receive a control command sent by the second control apparatus; and

to control the camera according to the control command; and

the second control apparatus is configured to obtain the panorama sent by the first control apparatus and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the scene where the first control apparatus is located and the coordinate system of the camera at the scene where the first control apparatus is located; and

to control the camera at the scene where the first control apparatus is located according to the panorama of the scene where the first control apparatus is located and the mapping relation between the coordinate system of the panorama of the local scene and the coordinate system of the local camera.