Information transmission system to transmit work instruction information

• US 6,611,242 B1
• Filed: 02/10/2000
• Issued: 08/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: OL Security LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yasumoto, Mamoru, Hongo, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shankar, Vijay
• Application Number:
  US09/501,223
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 345/2.1, 345/2.3, 345/2.2, 345/753, 345/756, 345/672, 345/660, 345/661, 345/788, 345/799, 345/800
• US Class Current: 345/2.1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0198 System for aligning or maintaining alignment of an image in a predetermined direction
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• 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 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control

Abstract

By a first camera fastened to the head of a worker at a remote working environment, an image of an object to be worked on is shot within a range including at least the worker'"'"'s field of view. This image is transmitted to the work instructor side and displayed on a display device. The work instructor carries out a pointing indication movement with respect to the image of the object displayed on the display device. That movement is shot by a second camera and applied to an instruction information determination unit as video information. The instruction information determination unit generates pointing position information by the well-known gesture recognition process and transmits the information to the worker side. A marker according to the pointing position information transmitted from the work instructor side is overlapped on the image of the object shot by the first camera and displayed on the display of a head mount type display device fastened to the head of the worker. A particular region on the object is indicated by pointing to the worker. At the same time, the work procedure is explained by voice transmission from the work instructor.

Claims

1. An information transmission system for transmitting work instruction information from a work instructor to a worker, comprising:

an image pickup device fastened to the head of said worker, and picking up an image of an object to be worked on within a range including at least said worker'"'"'s field of view,

a first transmission device transmitting video information of said object generated by said image pickup device to said work instructor side,

a first display device displaying said video information transmitted from said first transmission device to said work instructor,

a position information input device entering pointing position information with respect to said object by said work instructor based on said video information displayed on said first display device,

a second transmission device transmitting said pointing position information input by said position information input device to said worker side,

a moving distance detection device detecting a spatial moving distance of said worker'"'"'s head during a time starting from an image pickup time by the image pickup device up to the time the pointing position information reaches said worker side,

a correction device correcting said pointing position information obtained at said worker side corresponding to said spatial moving distance of the head detected by said moving distance detection device,

an information combining device combining said video information of said object generated by said image pickup device and marker video information according to said pointing position information corrected by said correction device, and

a second display device displaying information combined by said information combine device to said worker.

2. The information transmission system according to claim 1, wherein said position information input device comprises:

a second image pickup device shooting a work indication movement by said work instructor, and

a position information detection device detecting said pointing position information according to video information of said work indication movement generated by said second image pickup device.

3. The information transmission system according to claim 1, wherein said position information input device comprises a coordinate information input device entering coordinate information on an image displayed on said first display device corresponding to the pointing position indicated by said work instructor.

4. The information transmission system according to claim 1, further comprising a voice information transmission device transmitting voice information between said work instructor and said worker.