IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND PROGRAM

• US 20150331486A1
• Filed: 12/12/2013
• Published: 11/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: OKUBO, Atsushi, SHIMOMURA, Hideki, AOYAMA, Kazumi, SUTOU, Yasuhiro, TANAKA, Akichika
• Application Number:
  US14/652,519
• Publication Number:
  US 20150331486A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/531 being rotatable or detachable
• 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 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof

Abstract

Provided is an image processing device including an eye-gaze direction detection unit configured to detect an eye-gaze direction of a user toward an image, an estimation unit configured to estimate a gaze area in the image on the basis of the eye-gaze direction and the image, the eye-gaze direction being detected by the eye-gaze direction detection unit, a chased object detection unit configured to detect a chased object being eye-chased by the user in the image, on the basis of the time-series gaze areas estimated by the estimation unit, a tracking unit configured to search for and track the chased object detected by the chased object detection unit, and an image control unit configured to control an image of the chased object tracked by the tracking unit.

Claims

1. An image processing device comprising:

an eye-gaze direction detection unit configured to detect an eye-gaze direction of a user toward an image;

an estimation unit configured to estimate a gaze area in the image on the basis of the eye-gaze direction and the image, the eye-gaze direction being detected by the eye-gaze direction detection unit;

a chased object detection unit configured to detect a chased object being eye-chased by the user in the image, on the basis of the time-series gaze areas estimated by the estimation unit;

a tracking unit configured to search for and track the chased object detected by the chased object detection unit; and

an image control unit configured to control an image of the chased object tracked by the tracking unit.

2. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the chased object detection unit detects a face image as the chased object being eye-chased by the user in the image, on the basis of the time-series gaze areas estimated by the estimation unit.

3. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the chased object detection unit detects a specific object as the chased object being eye-chased by the user in the image, on the basis of the time-series gaze areas estimated by the estimation unit.

4. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing device is an eyeglass-type imaging device, further comprising:

an imaging unit configured to image an image of a field of view that the user can view when wearing the eyeglass-type imaging device,

wherein the eye-gaze direction detection unit detects an eye-gaze direction of the user toward the image of the field of view that the user can view when wearing the eyeglass-type imaging device, and

wherein the image control unit performs control in a manner that the imaging unit optimally images the image of the chased object being tracked by the tracking unit.

5. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing device is an imaging device handheld and used by the user for imaging, further comprising:

an imaging unit configured to image the image; and

a viewfinder through which the image imaged by the imaging unit is looked at,

wherein the eye-gaze direction detection unit detects an eye-gaze direction of the user looking through the viewfinder toward the image imaged by the imaging unit, and

wherein the image control unit performs control in a manner that the imaging unit optimally images the image of the chased object being tracked by the tracking unit.

6. The image processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a reproducing unit configured to reproduce an image; and

an image processing unit configured to perform processing on the image reproduced by the reproducing unit, and to cause a display unit to display the reproduced image,

wherein the eye-gaze direction detection unit detects an eye-gaze direction of the user viewing the image displayed on the display unit, and

wherein the image processing unit performs processing on the image reproduced by the reproducing unit and causes the display unit to display the image in a manner that the image of the chased object being tracked by the tracking unit is optimally displayed.

7. The image processing device according to claim 6,

wherein the eye-gaze direction detection unit is the eyeglass-type device, and detects an eye-gaze direction of the user toward an image of a field of view in which the user can view the display unit when wearing the eyeglass-type imaging device.

8. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

performing eye-gaze direction detection processing of detecting an eye-gaze direction of a user toward an image;

performing estimation processing of estimating a gaze area in the image on the basis of the eye-gaze direction, and the image, the eye-gaze direction being detected by the eye-gaze direction detection processing;

performing chased object detection processing of detecting a chased object being eye-chased by the user in the image, on the basis of the time-series gaze areas estimated by the estimation processing;

performing tracking processing of searching for and tracking the chased object detected by the chased object detection processing; and

performing image control processing of controlling an image of the chased object tracked by the tracking processing.

9. A program for causing a computer to perform processing, the processing comprising:

an eye-gaze direction detection step of detecting an eye-gaze direction of a user toward an image;

an estimation step of estimating a gaze area in the image on the basis of the eye-gaze direction and the image, the eye-gaze direction being detected by processing the eye-gaze direction detection step;

a chased object detection step of detecting a chased object being eye-chased by the user in the image, on the basis of the time-series gaze areas estimated by processing the estimation step;

a tracking step of searching for and tracking the chased object detected by processing the chased object detection step; and

an image control step of controlling an image of the chased object tracked by processing the tracking step.