Automatic-tracking camera apparatus

• US 9,491,359 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2012
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Tadashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Keehn, Richard G
• Application Number:
  US13/439,961
• Publication Number:
  US 20120188379A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• Field of Search: 348/169
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/02 Picture taking arrangements specially adapted for photogrammetry or photographic surveying, e.g. controlling overlapping of pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/221 using the relative movement between cameras and objects
• 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 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/68 for stable pick-up of the scene, e.g. compensating for camera body vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/682 Vibration or motion blur correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects

Abstract

An automatic-tracking camera apparatus which is capable of realizing continuous and smooth driving and obtaining an image with little position variation of a tracking target from a target position within the image and with little blur. The position of a camera body is changed by a gimbal device. The speed of a tracking target object at the next-after-next start timing of image acquisition by the camera body is predicted. The gimbal device is controlled so that the camera body reaches the position indicated by a position instruction value generated for the next-after-next start timing of image acquisition by the camera body, at the next-after-next start timing, and the speed of the camera body at the next-after-next start timing of image acquisition by the camera body corresponds to the speed predicted for the next-after-next timing of image acquisition.

Claims

1. An automatic-tracking apparatus comprising:

an image pickup unit adapted to acquire an image;

an actuator adapted to change a position of said image pickup unit;

a position detecting unit adapted to detect the position of said image pickup unit;

a position instruction value generation unit adapted to generate a position instruction value, for instructing a target position of said image pickup unit, realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image, on the basis of the image acquired by said image pickup unit and the position of said image pickup unit detected by said position detecting unit;

a speed prediction unit adapted to predict a speed of a tracking target object realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image, using previously stored position information and speed information of the tracking target object, the position information and speed information obtained from multiple acquired images; and

a control unit adapted to control said actuator so that said image pickup unit reaches the position indicated by the position instruction value realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image, and the speed of said image pickup unit realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image corresponds to the speed predicted by said speed prediction unit,

wherein said control unit is adapted to control said actuator so that said image pickup unit is displaced at a constant acceleration during the period from the start timing of image acquisition by said image pickup unit to the next start timing of image acquisition.

2. An automatic-tracking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control unit is adapted to control said actuator so that change in the acceleration of said image pickup unit during the period of image acquisition by said image pickup unit is the minimum.

3. An automatic-tracking apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control unit is adapted to control said actuator so that the acceleration of said image pickup unit gradually increases during the period from generation of the position instruction value by said position instruction value generation unit to the start timing of image acquisition by said image pickup unit.

4. An automatic-tracking method for an apparatus having an image pickup unit adapted to acquire an image and an actuator adapted to change the position of said image pickup unit, comprising steps of:

a position detecting step of detecting the position of said image pickup unit;

a position instruction value generation step of generating a position instruction value, for instructing a target position of said image pickup unit, realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image, on the basis of the image acquired by said image pickup unit and the position of said image pickup unit;

a speed prediction step of predicting a speed of a tracking target object realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image, using previously stored position information and speed information of the tracking target object, the position information and speed information obtained from multiple acquired images; and

a control step of controlling said actuator so that said image pickup unit reaches the position indicated by the position instruction value realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image, and the speed of said image pickup unit realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image corresponds to the predicted speed,

wherein said control step controls said actuator so that said image pickup unit is displaced at a constant acceleration during the period from the start timing of image acquisition by said image pickup unit to the next start timing of image acquisition.

5. An automatic-tracking method according to claim 4, wherein in said control step the maximum driving force of said actuator is controlled on the basis of the feedforward signal.

6. An automatic-tracking method according to claim 4, wherein a signal for controlling said actuator is output by performing at least proportional operation or proportional differential operation of the deviation between the position instruction value and the position, and at least one of the proportional gain of the proportional operation and the differential gain of the proportional differential operation are changed on the basis of the feedforward signal.

7. An automatic-tracking method according to claim 4, wherein in said signal generation step at least proportional operation of the deviation between the target position instructed by the position instruction value and the position at the time of generation of the instruction value to generate the feedforward signal.

8. An automatic-tracking method according to claim 4, wherein the feedforward signal is a value learned on the basis of the deviation between the time when said image pickup unit reaches the target position and the time when the target position is updated.

9. An automatic-tracking apparatus comprising:

an image pickup unit adapted to acquire an image;

an actuator adapted to change a position of said image pickup unit;

a position detecting unit adapted to detect the position of said image pickup unit; and

a control unit adapted to predict a speed of a tracking target object realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image, using previously stored position information and speed information of the tracking target object, the position information and speed information obtained from multiple acquired images, and control said actuator so that said image pickup unit reaches the speed of said image pickup unit realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image corresponds to the predicted speed,

wherein said control unit is adapted to control said actuator so that said image pickup unit is displaced at a constant acceleration during the period from the start timing of image acquisition by said image pickup unit to the next start timing of image acquisition.

10. An automatic-tracking method for an apparatus having an image pickup unit adapted to acquire an image and an actuator adapted to change the position of said image pickup unit, comprising steps of:

a position detecting step of detecting the position of said image pickup unit; and

a control step of predicting a speed of a tracking target object realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image, using previously stored position information and speed information of the tracking target object, the position information and speed information obtained from multiple acquired images, and controlling said actuator so that said image pickup unit reaches the speed of said image pickup unit realizing after a lapse of a predetermined time period from when said image pickup unit has acquired the image corresponds to the predicted speed,

wherein said actuator is controlled so that said image pickup unit is displaced at a constant acceleration during the period from the start timing of image acquisition by said image pickup unit to the next start timing of image acquisition.