IMAGE CAPTURE APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20130265482A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 10/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Funamoto, Shohei
• Granted Patent: US 9,106,830 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/349
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/672 based on the phase difference signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene

Abstract

Disclosed is an image capture apparatus that has a subject tracking functionality of sequentially detecting a predetermined subject in images that are continuously shot, and a method for controlling the same. During tracking of the subject, degrees of reliability of tracking are determined. When the detected face is set as a template image, the template image is not changed until it is determined a predetermined plurality of times in succession that the degrees of reliability of tracking are low. It is thus possible to achieve a subject tracking functionality that is hardly affected by false detections.

Claims

1. An image capture apparatus comprising:

a face detection unit configured to detect a face that is included in an image;

a subject detecting unit configured to detect, from an image obtained by shooting, a area that is similar to a template image; and

a control unit configured to achieve a functionality of tracking a subject by making the subject detecting unit sequentially detect a area similar to a template image of the subject area in images that are continuously shot;

wherein the control unit is further configured to determine, during tracking of the subject, reliability of the detection by the subject detecting unit and, when the face detected by the face detection unit is set as the template image, not to change the template image until it is determined a predetermined plurality of times in succession that reliability of the detection by the subject detecting unit is low.

2. The image capture apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit is further configured to change, during tracking of the subject, the template image to another face that has been continuously detected for a predetermined plurality of times in succession if it has been continuously determined for a predetermined plurality of times in succession that reliability of the detection by the subject detecting unit using a face, which was previously detected and has been set as the template image, is low.

3. The image capture apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit is further configured to temporarily interrupt the tracking of the subject using the template image if no face has been continuously detected for a predetermined plurality of times in succession and if it has been continuously determined for a predetermined plurality of times in succession that reliability of the detection by the subject detecting unit using a face, which was previously detected and has been set as the template image, is low.

4. The image capture apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a focus detection unit configured to detect focus conditions for a plurality of focus areas and to select a focus area to be focused on the basis of the focus conditions,

the control unit is further configured, when the template image is not set, to set the template image on the basis of the focus area selected by the focus detection unit.

5. The image capture apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the focus detection unit is further configured, when a subject is detected by the subject detecting unit, to select a focus area to be focused on the basis of the location of the detected subject.

6. The image capture apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the face detection unit is further configured to detect the face on the basis of an image having a field of view that is observed through a transmissive type display device for displaying at least the focus area to be focused among the plurality of focus areas.

7. A method for controlling an image capture apparatus,

the image capture apparatus comprising:

a face detection unit configured to detect a face that is included in an image; and

a subject detecting unit configured to detect, from an image obtained by shooting, a area that is similar to a template image,

the method comprising;

a controlling step of achieving a functionality of tracking a subject by making the subject detecting unit sequentially detect a area similar to a template image of the subject area in images that are continuously shot,

in the controlling step, during tracking of the subject, reliability of the detection by the subject detecting unit being determined, and when the face detected by the face detection unit is set as the template image, the template image being not changed until it is determined a predetermined plurality of times in succession that reliability of the detection by the subject detecting unit is low.