GUIDANCE SYSTEM, DETECTION DEVICE, AND POSITION ASSESSMENT DEVICE

• US 20130242074A1
• Filed: 10/25/2011
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2010
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Sekiguchi, Masakazu, Yamamoto, Tetsuya, Nei, Masahiro, Yanagihara, Masamitsu, Hagiwara, Satoshi, Totsuka, Isao, Matsuyama, Tomoyuki
• Granted Patent: US 10,255,491 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/77
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 3/006 for guiding passengers to their assigned elevator car
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/103 Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/066 guiding along a path, e.g. evacuation path lighting strip

Abstract

To appropriately guide a subject person while protecting a privacy of the subject person despite use of an captured image of the subject person, a guidance system includes: an image capturing unit capable of capturing an image containing a subject person from a first direction; a detection unit that detects a size of an image of the subject person from the image captured by the image capturing unit; and a guidance unit that provides guidance for the subject person based on a detection result of the detection unit.

Claims

1. A guidance system comprising:

an image capture capable of capturing an image containing a subject person from a first direction;

a first detector that detects a size of an image of the subject person from the image captured by mage capture; and

a guidance that guides the subject person based on a detection result of the first detector.

2. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein

the first detector detects positional info information of the subject person from the image captured by the image capture, and

the guidance system further comprises a first determiner that determines whether the subject person moves according to the guidance based on the positional information of the subject person.

3. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein

the first detector detects positional information of the subject person from the image captured by the image capture;

the guidance calculates a distance from a reference position based on the positional information of the subject person detected by the first detector, and guides the subject person based on the distance.

4. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the first detector detects a size of an image corresponding to a head of the subject person.

5. The guidance system according to claim 4, wherein

the guidance holds a height of the subject person, a size of the head of the subject person, and personal identification information as data, acquires postural information of the subject person based on the data and the size of the image, and guides the subject person based on the postural information.

6. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the guidance determines whether the subject person is in a state where the subject person can be guided based on a detection result of the first detector.

7. The guidance system according to claim 6, wherein

the first detector detects a change of the size of the image from moment to moment, and

the guidance determines that the subject person is not in the state where the subject person can be guided when capable of determining that the subject person keeps lying on a floor and fails to move for a predetermined time period based on the change of the size of the image from moment to moment.

8. The guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an identifier that identifies the subject person whose image is not captured by the image capture at a first moment from the subject persons whose images are to be captured by the image capture; and

a second determiner that determines that the subject person whose image is not captured by the image capture at the first moment but is captured at a second moment subsequent to the first moment is the subject person identified by the identifier.

9. The guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a blocker that blocks a passage to which the guidance guides the subject person when the first detector fails to detect the size of the image.

10. The guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a ventilator that discharges air based on a detection result of the first detector.

11. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein

the image capture is located in both first and second spaces between which the subject person goes back and forth, and

the guidance system further comprises a third determiner that determines that a person whose image starts to be captured by the image capture located in the first space is a subject person whose image becomes not captured by the image capture located in the second space when the subject person whose image is captured by the image capture located in the second space becomes not captured.

12. The guidance system according to claim 11, wherein the second space is an inside of an elevator, and the first space is an elevator hall.

13. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein

the image capture includes a first image capture and a second image capture separate from the first image capture,

the first image capture is located with respect to the second image capture so that a part of an image capturing region of the first image capture overlaps a part of an image capturing region of the second image capture.

14. The guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a route determiner that determines whether a passage to which the subject person is guided is travelable by the subject person based on a captured result by the image capture and determines a guidance route based on the determination result.

15. The guidance system according to claim 14, wherein the route determiner determines whether the subject person can pass through the passage based on a difference between a reference image preliminarily captured by the image capture and an image captured by the image capture after the reference image is captured.

16. The guidance system according to claim 15, further comprising:

a display that displays the captured result by the image capture, wherein

the display displays the image captured by the image capture when the route determiner determines that the subject person can not pass through the passage.

17. The guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a route indicator that indicates the guidance route.

18. The guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a timer that measures time relating to the guidance for the subject person by the guidance.

19. The guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second detector that detects a presence of the subject person within an image capturing region of the image capture, wherein

the image capture switches at least one of start and stop of image capture based on a detection result of the second detector.

20. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein

the first direction is a vertical direction, and

the image capture captures the image from above a head of the subject person.

21. A detection device comprising:

a first image capture that captures an image containing a subject person from a first direction;

a second image capture that is separate from the first image capture and captures an image containing the subject person from the first direction; and

a detector that detects a size of an image of the subject person from the images captured by the first and second image captures, and

a part of an image capturing region of the first image capture overlaps a part of an image capturing region of the second image capture.

22. The detection device according to claim 21, wherein an amount of the overlap is an amount based on a size relating to a human body.

23. The detection device according to claim 22, wherein the amount of the overlap is an amount based on a size of a human head.

25. The detection device according to claim 21, further comprising:

a determiner that determines a postural state of the subject person based on a detection result by the detector.

27. The detection device according to claim 21, wherein at least one of the first image capture and the second image capture is located in a position from which an image of a stairway can be captured.

28. The detection device according to claim 27, wherein the determiner determines the postural state of the subject person from the size of the image in consideration of a height position of a stair on which the subject person is present.

29. The detection device according to claim 21, further comprising:

a tracker that tracks the subject person by successively using captured results by the first and second image captures of which parts of the image capturing regions overlap each other.

30. The detection device according to claim 21, wherein at least one of start and stop of image capture by the second image capture is switched when an image of the subject person is captured by the first image capture.

31. The detection device according to claim 21, further comprising:

a calibrator that calibrates, using captured results by the first and second image captures of which parts of the image capturing regions overlap each other, the first and second image captures of which parts of the image capturing regions overlap each other.

24. (canceled)

26. (canceled)

32. (canceled)

33. A position assessment device comprising:

an image capture that captures an image containing a subject person from a first direction;

a detector that detects a size of an image of the subject person and positional information of the subject person in an image capturing region of the image capture from the image; and

an acquirer that acquires height information of the image capturing region of the image capture; and

a determiner that determines a postural state of the subject person based on a detection result of the detector and the height information acquired by the acquirer.

36. The position assessment device according to claim 33, wherein the acquirer acquires the height information in association with a position in the image capturing region.

37. The position assessment device according to claim 36, wherein

a region of which an image is captured by the mage capture includes at least a part of a stairway that the subject person ascends and descends, and

the acquirer acquires height information of each step of the stairway.

39. The position assessment device according to claim 33, further comprising:

a detector that detects a presence of the subject person within the image capturing region of the image capture, wherein

the image capture switches at least one of start and stop of image capture based on a detection result of the detector.

34. (canceled)

35. (canceled)

38. (canceled)

40. (canceled)