Information processing device, map update method, program, and information processing system

• US 9,014,970 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2011
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Oi, Kenichiro, Wang, Quan, Matsuda, Kouichi, Yoshigahara, Takayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): EL CHANTI, HUSSEIN A
• Application Number:
  US13/037,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20110224902A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,512 Days
• Field of Search: 701/400, 701/408, 701/450
• US Class Current: 701/450
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/20 Drawing from basic elements, e.g. lines or circles
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/04 involving 3D image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/024 Multi-user, collaborative environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/20 Linear translation of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/60 Analysis of geometric attributes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/224 of printed characters having additional code marks or containing code marks
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/02 Networking aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

There is provided an information processing device including: a global map acquiring unit that acquires at least a part of a global map representing positions of objects in a real space where a plurality of users are in activity; a local map generating unit that generates a local map representing positions of nearby objects detectable by a device of one user among the plurality of users; and an updating unit that updates the global map based on position data of objects included in the local map.

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising:

a global map acquiring unit that acquires at least a part of a global map representing positions of one or more objects in a real space where a plurality of users are in activity;

a local map generating unit that generates a local map representing positions of the one or more objects detectable by a device of one user among the plurality of users;

an updating unit that updates the global map based on position data of the one or more objects included in the local map, wherein the objects may be either nearby to the one user among the plurality of users, or in an area remote from the one user;

a calculating unit that

counts a number of the one or more objects included in the local map; and

calculates a relative position of the local map to the global map based on the number of the one or more objects and position data of the one or more objects included in the global map and position data of the one or more objects included in the local map; and

a display control unit that at least partially visualizes the position of one or more objects in the global map onto a screen in response to an instruction from the one user among the plurality of users, wherein the objects may be either nearby to the one user or in an area remote from the one user.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a converting unit that performs coordinate conversion from the position data of objects included in the local map to data of a coordinate system of the global map according to the relative position of the local map,

wherein the updating unit updates the global map by using the position data of objects included in the local map after the coordinate conversion by the converting unit.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing device is a terminal device possessed by the one user.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein

the global map acquiring unit acquires at least a part of the global map from a server device storing the global map, and

the updating unit updates the global map of the server device by transmitting position data of the one or more objects to the server device.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4, wherein the global map acquiring unit acquires a part of the global map corresponding to a local area containing a position of the terminal device in the real space.

6. The information processing device according to claim 4, wherein the global map acquiring unit acquires a part of the global map representing positions of a predetermined number of objects located in close proximity to the terminal device.

7. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the local map generating unit generates the local map based on an input image obtained by imaging the real space using an imaging device and feature data indicating a feature of appearance of the one or more objects.

8. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the calculating unit calculates the relative position of the local map based on position data of an immobile object included in common in the global map and the local map.

9. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the calculating unit calculates the relative position of the local map so that, when converting the position data of objects included in the local map into data of the coordinate system of the global map, a difference between the data after conversion and the position data of the one or more objects included in the global map is smaller as a whole.

10. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the global map includes position data of each of the one or more objects in the real space in the coordinate system of the global map and a time stamp related to the position data.

11. A computer-implemented method for updating a global map representing positions of one or more objects in a real space where a plurality of users are in activity, performed by an information processing device, the method comprising steps of:

acquiring, via a global map acquiring unit, at least a part of the global map;

generating, via a local map generating unit, a local map representing positions of the one or more objects detectable by the information processing device;

updating, via an updating unit, the global map based on position data of the one or more objects included in the local map, wherein the objects may be either nearby to the one user among the plurality of users, or in an area remote from the one user;

counting, via a calculating unit, a number of the one or more objects included in the local map;

calculating, via a calculating unit, a relative position of the local map to the global map based on the number of the one or more objects included in the local map, and based on position data of the one or more objects included in the global map and position data of the one or more objects included in the local map; and

visualizing, at least partially, the one or more objects in the global map onto a screen in response to an instruction from a user among the plurality of users, wherein the objects may be either nearby to the one user or in an area remote from the one user.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to:

acquire, via a global map acquiring unit, at least a part of a global map representing positions of one or more objects in a real space where a plurality of users are in activity;

generate, via a local map generating unit, a local map representing positions of the one or more objects detectable by a device of one user among the plurality of users;

update, via an updating unit, the global map based on position data of the one or more objects included in the local map, wherein the objects may be either nearby to the one user among the plurality of users, or in an area remote from the one user;

count, via a calculating unit, a number of the one or more objects included in the local map;

calculate, via the calculating unit, a relative position of the local map to the global map based on the number of the one or more objects and position data of the one or more objects included in the global map and position data of the one or more objects included in the local map; and

visualize, at least partially, the one or more objects in the global map onto a screen in response to an instruction from the a user among the plurality of users, wherein the objects may be either nearby to the one user or in an area remote from the one user.

13. An information processing system comprising:

a server device that stores a global map representing positions of one or more objects in a real space where a plurality of users are in activity using a storage medium; and

an information processing device possessed by one user among the plurality of users, the information processing device including;

a global map acquiring unit that acquires at least a part of the global map from the server device;

a local map generating unit that generates a local map representing positions of the one or more objects detectable by the information processing device;

an updating unit that updates the global map based on position data of the one or more objects included in the local map, wherein the objects may be either nearby to the one user among the plurality of users, or in an area remote from the one user;

a calculating unit that;

counts a number of the one or more objects included in the local map; and

calculates a relative position of the local map to the global map based on the number of the one or more objects and position data of the one or more objects included in the global map and position data of the one or more objects included in the local map; and

a display control unit that at least partially visualizes the one or more objects in the global map onto a screen in response to an instruction from a user among the plurality of users, wherein the objects may be either nearby to the one user or in an area remote from the one user.