Large-object remote composite image annotation system

• US 8,957,964 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2007
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Iyoda, Tetsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): RUBIN, BLAKE J
• Application Number:
  US11/685,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20080018740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,898 Days
• Field of Search: 348/207, 348/211.12, 348/158, 348/157, 348/156, 348/335, 348/179, 348/181
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/951 by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2627 for providing spin image effect, 3D stop motion effect or temporal freeze effect 2D image animation in general G06T13/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

There is provide a remote instruction system including at least one image recorder and at least one image projector, the number of the image recorders plus the number of image projectors being three in total, the image recorder recording an image of at least a portion of a target region, the image projector projecting an annotation image on at least a portion of the target region, and the number of regions is respectively assigned within the target region to the image recorder and the image projector, according to the number of the image recorders and that of the image projectors.

Claims

1. A remote instruction system comprising:

a plurality of recording and projecting apparatuses that collectively handle a handled region of a target, the handled region of the target being divided into a plurality of sub-regions and each of the plurality of recording and projecting apparatuses handling a sub-region among the plurality of sub-regions and comprising a video recorder that records the sub-region and a projector that projects an annotation image onto the sub-region, wherein a field angle of the video recorder corresponds to a field angle of the projector;

a wide area video recorder that records a wide area covering an entirety of the handled region; and

a controller that, for each of the plurality of recording and projecting apparatuses, calibrates a projection position of the annotation image with respect to the sub-region before projecting based on a conversion parameter and controls the projector to project the calibrated annotation image, the conversion parameter being a parameter to convert position coordinates of the sub-region handled by the recording and projecting apparatus and those of the wide area recorded by the wide area video recorder, and projects the calibrated annotation image using the converted position coordinates onto the target.

2. The remote instruction system according to claim 1, further comprising a remote terminal that forms the annotation image and transmits the annotation image to the controller.

3. The remote instruction system according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion parameter creating portion that controls the projectors to project calibration images on the sub-regions, controls the video recorders and the wide area video recorder to record the calibration images respectively, and creates a conversion parameter based on the comparison result between the recoded calibration images of the video recorders and the recoded calibration image of the wide area video recorder.

4. A remote instruction system for controlling a wide area video recorder to record a wide area that includes a plurality of different regions that are overlapped with adjacent regions and at least one of a plurality of projectors to project an annotation image corresponding to an instruction based on a recorded image of the wide area video recorder comprising:

a memory;

a first calculating portion that calculates an overlap information that represents a degree of an overlap of calibration pattern images, based on a position in the recorded image of each of the calibration pattern images that is projected corresponding to the plurality of different regions by the each of the plurality of projectors;

a second calculating portion that determines that there is a misalignment between the wide area and the calibration pattern images when a gap is created between the wide area and an area occupied by all of the calibration pattern images in the recorded image, and calculates the misalignment as a calibration parameter;

a third calculating portion that calculates a conversion parameter for a position of each of the plurality of different regions and a position of the wide area, based on the overlap information calculated by the first calculating portion and the calibration parameter calculated by the second calculating portion; and

a calibrating portion that calibrates a shape of the annotation image, based on the conversion parameter calculated by the third calculating portion when the annotation image is projected over the plurality of different regions,

wherein the first calculating portion, the second calculating portion, the third calculating portion, and the calibrating portion are stored in the memory.

5. The remote instruction system according to claim 4, further comprising a forming portion that forms the annotation image projected over the plurality of different regions with a combination of images projected by the plurality of projectors,

wherein the forming portion is stored in the memory.

6. The remote instruction system according to claim 4, further comprising:

a server that manages the wide area video recorder and the plurality of projectors; and

a remote terminal that issues an instruction by forming the annotation image based on the recorded image received from the wide area video recorder and transmitting the formed annotation image to the projector corresponding to the projection position.