APPLIANCE CONTROL APPARATUS, METHOD THEREOF AND PROGRAM THEREFOR

• US 20130195367A1
• Filed: 11/14/2012
• Published: 08/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: OHIRA, Hidetaka, NISHIYAMA, Masashi, YAMAUCHI, Yasunobu
• Granted Patent: US 9,014,484 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/08 Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/507 Summing image-intensity values; Histogram projection analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/142 using hand-held instruments; Constructional details of the instruments
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera constructional features concerning the integration of cameras in portable phones H04M1/0264

Abstract

An appliance control apparatus recognizes image features of an target appliance from an obtained image, calculates a degree of similarity between the image features of the target appliance and image features of a registered appliance, specifies the registered appliance corresponding to the image features in the case where the degree of similarity indicates a high similarity as the target appliance; calls up control information of the specified target appliance, and controls the target appliance.

Claims

1. An appliance control apparatus comprising:

a registering unit configured to register identification information, an image feature, and control information of a registered appliance, which is an appliance to be registered for being controlled, in association with one another;

an image acquiring unit configured to acquire an image in which an target appliance, which is an object of control, is imaged;

a recognizing unit configured to (1) recognize an image feature of the target appliance from the image, (2) calculate a degree of similarity between the image feature of the target appliance and the image feature of the registered appliance, and (3) specify the registered appliance corresponding to the image feature in the case where the degree of similarity indicates a high similarity as the target appliance; and

a control unit configured to call up the control information of the specified target appliance from the registering unit and control the target appliance.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognizing unit recognizes the image feature of an appearance imaged in the image and wanted to be registered in a register mode for registering the registered appliance, and

a selecting unit configured to (1) select identification information of the appliance wanted to be registered from an appliance list in which the identification information and the control information of a plurality of the appliances are registered in association with one another, and (2) register the identification information and the control information of the selected appliance and the image feature of the appliance wanted to be registered in the registering unit in association with one another as the registered appliance in the register mode is further provided.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the selecting unit executes the register mode when it is determined that the degree of similarity in the recognizing unit does not indicate the high similarity.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognizing unit displays a recognition mark on the recognized target appliance imaged in the image in a superimposed manner.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registering unit deletes part or all of the identification information, the image feature, or the control information of the registered appliance.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registering unit alters part or all of the image feature or the control information of the registered appliance.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registering unit newly adds the image feature and the control information relating to the registered appliance.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the recognizing unit (1) calculates the degree of similarity from the image feature of the target appliance and the image feature of the registered appliance, and (2) erroneously recognizes the registered appliance different from the target appliance even when the degree of similarity indicates the high similarity,

the registering unit does not output the erroneously recognized image feature to the recognizing unit when the registering unit (1) registers the erroneously recognized image feature with the registered appliance in association with one another, and (2) calculates a new degree of similarity from the image feature of a new target appliance and the image feature of the registered appliance.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registering unit also registers the image feature of a background of the appliance in addition to the image feature of the appliance.

10. A method of controlling an appliance comprising:

registering identification information, an image feature, and control information of a registered appliance, which is an appliance to be registered for being controlled, in association with one another in a registering unit;

acquiring an image in which an target appliance, which is an object of control is imaged;

(1) recognizing an image feature of the target appliance from the image, (2) calculating a degree of similarity between the image feature of the target appliance and the image feature of the registered appliance, and (3) specifying the registered appliance corresponding to the image feature in the case where the degree of similarity indicates a high similarity as the target appliance; and

calling up the control information of the specified target appliance from the registering unit and controlling the target appliance.

11. An appliance controlling program stored in a computer readable non-temporary medium, the program causing a computer to execute:

registering identification information, an image feature, and control information of a registered appliance, which is an appliance to be registered for being controlled, in association with one another in a registering unit;

acquiring an image in which an target appliance, which is an object of control, is imaged;

(1) recognizing an image feature of the target appliance from the image, (2) calculating a degree of similarity between the image feature of the target appliance and the image feature of the registered appliance, and (3) specifying the registered appliance corresponding to the image feature in the case where the degree of similarity indicates a high similarity as the target appliance;

and

calling up the control information of the specified target appliance from the registering unit and controlling the target appliance.