Image processing apparatus, image processing method and program

• US 8,885,061 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2013
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ono, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): SPINKS, ANTOINETTE T
• Application Number:
  US14/032,875
• Publication Number:
  US 20140168429A1
• Time in Patent Office: 417 Days
• Field of Search: 348/161, 348/155, 348169-172, 348/152, 348/222.1, 382/107
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/951 by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2621 Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects during image pickup, e.g. digital cameras, camcorders, video cameras having integrated special effects capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes: an object state detector detecting a state of an object in input images inputted in time series; an image-capturing controller controlling image-capturing of the input images in accordance with the detected state of an object; and an image combiner combining pixel values at corresponding pixel positions of the input images, and outputting the pixel values as an output image, the input images being subjected to image-capturing control by the image-capturing controller.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an image-capturing control unit configured to control image-capturing of input images in accordance with a state of an object in the input images inputted in time series, wherein the image-capturing control unit controls an image-capturing interval and an exposure time based on the state of the object; and

an image combining unit configured to combine pixel values at corresponding pixel positions of the input images, and output the pixel values as an output image, the input images being subjected to image-capturing control by the image-capturing control unit.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output image is an image showing a trajectory of the object.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image combining unit includes:

an image selecting unit configured to select, as selection images, a predetermined number of input images from the input images;

a background creating unit configured to create, with respect to each of corresponding pixel positions of the selection images, a pixel value having a predetermined distribution in pixel values of the selection images, as a pixel value of a corresponding pixel position of a background image;

a background image holding unit configured to hold pixel values of the background image;

an output image holding unit configured to hold pixel values of the output image;

a degree-of-difference generating unit configured to generate a degree-of-difference indicating a degree that the pixel values of the input images are different from the corresponding pixel values of the background image held by the background image holding unit; and

an output image combining unit configured to combine, with respect to the pixel values of the output image, pixel values at the corresponding pixel positions of the input images in accordance with the degree-of-difference, and hold as pixel values of a new output image in the output image holding unit.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the image-capturing control unit calculates an image-capturing interval according to a speed of a motion of the object, and controls the image-capturing based on the image-capturing interval.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the image-capturing control unit controls the image-capturing interval such that the image-capturing interval decreases as the speed of the motion of the object increases.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the image-capturing control unit calculates an exposure time according to a speed of a motion of the object, and controls the image-capturing based on the exposure time.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the image-capturing control unit controls the exposure time such that the exposure time decreases as the speed of the motion of the object increases.

8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the image-capturing control unit performs control such that the input images are captured if the object moves, and that the image-capturing of the input images is stopped if the object does not move.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a start detecting unit configured to detect a designation of an image-capturing start position of the input images, wherein

the image-capturing control unit performs control such that the input images are captured if the object moves after the image-capturing start position, and that the image-capturing of the input images is stopped if the object does not move.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

an end detecting unit configured to detect a designation of an image-capturing end position of the input images, wherein

the image-capturing control unit performs control such that the input images are captured if the object moves between the image-capturing start position and the image-capturing end position, and that the image-capturing of the input images is stopped if the object does not move.

11. An image processing method comprising:

controlling image-capturing of input images based on an image-capturing interval and an exposure time; and

outputting an output image by combining pixel values at corresponding pixel positions of the input images subjected to the image-capturing control.

12. A program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium causing a computer to execute:

an image-capturing control procedure controlling image-capturing of input images based on an image-capturing interval and an exposure time; and

an image combining procedure for outputting an output image by combining pixel values at corresponding pixel positions of the input images subjected to the image-capturing control.