Information communication method for obtaining information specified by striped pattern of bright lines

• US 9,560,284 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2013
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Oshima, Mitsuaki, Nakanishi, Koji, Aoyama, Hideki, Fuchigami, Ikuo, Shin, Hidehiko, Mukai, Tsutomu, Matsushita, Yosuke, Ilda, Shigehiro, Yamada, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): HERNANDEZ, NELSON D
• Application Number:
  US14/087,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20140232903A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,166 Days
• Field of Search: 348/211.99, 3482111-2115, 348/211.14, 348/302, 348/229.1, 348/221.1, 348/226.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1143 Bidirectional transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/541 Digital intensity or amplitude modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/71 Circuitry for evaluating the brightness variation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/72 Combination of two or more compensation controls
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/76 by influencing the image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/531 by controlling rolling shutters in CMOS SSIS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

An information communication method that enables communication between various devices includes: setting an exposure time of an image sensor so that, in an image obtained by capturing a subject by the image sensor, a bright line corresponding to an exposure line included in the image sensor appears according to a change in luminance of the subject; obtaining a bright line image including the bright line, by capturing the subject that changes in luminance by the image sensor with the set exposure time; and obtaining information by demodulating data specified by a pattern of the bright line included in the obtained bright line image, wherein in the obtaining of a bright line image, the bright line image is obtained by capturing light emitted from the subject and expanded by an optical system.

Claims

1. An information communication method of obtaining information from a subject, the information communication method comprising:

setting an exposure time of an image sensor so that, in an image obtained by capturing the subject by the image sensor, a plurality of bright lines corresponding to a plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appears according to a change in luminance of the subject;

obtaining a bright line image including the plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject that changes in luminance by the image sensor with the set exposure time; and

obtaining the information by demodulating data specified by a striped pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained bright line image,

wherein a value of a relative exposure time, which is obtained by dividing a luminance of a subject change period by the exposure time set in the setting, is smaller than or equal to 1.5, and

wherein the exposure time set in the setting is longer than a period of a high frequency noise included in the luminance of the subject.

2. The information communication method according to claim 1,

wherein in the obtaining of a bright line image, the bright line image is obtained by capturing the light emitted from the subject and expanded by reflection by a reflection surface which is the optical system, the light emitted from the subject and expanded by a macro imaging mode using the optical system, or the light emitted from the subject and expanded by focal length adjustment using the optical system.

3. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

estimating a position of the subject based on a luminance distribution in the bright line image.

4. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

presenting an image that prompts to move a terminal device including the image sensor to enable the information to be obtained, to a user of the terminal device.

5. The information communication method according to claim 4,

wherein in the presenting, a position of the subject is specified based on an image previously obtained by image capture by the image sensor or position information indicating the position of the subject, and the image that indicates a direction toward the position of the subject is presented.

6. The information communication method according to claim 4,

wherein in the presenting, whether or not the subject is shown in an image previously obtained by image capture by the image sensor is determined and, in the case of determining that the subject is not shown, the image that prompts to move the terminal device backward so that the subject is included in an angle of view of the image sensor is presented.

7. The information communication method according to claim 4,

wherein in the presenting, the image that prompts to turn the terminal device in a state where the image sensor is capable of capturing the subject is presented.

8. The information communication method according to claim 1,

wherein in the obtaining of a bright line image, the bright line image is obtained by capturing a plurality of subjects reflected on a reflection surface which is the optical system, and

in the obtaining of the information, the information is obtained by separating a bright line corresponding to each of the plurality of subjects from bright lines included in the bright line image according to a strength of the bright line and demodulating, for each of the plurality of subjects, the data specified by the pattern of the bright line corresponding to the subject.

9. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, based on the bright line image, a display image in which the subject and surroundings of the subject are shown, in a form that enables identification of a spatial position of a part where the bright line appears.

10. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a first pattern of the change in luminance, by modulating a first signal to be transmitted;

determining a second pattern of the change in luminance, by modulating a second signal to be transmitted; and

transmitting the first signal and the second signal by a light emitter alternately changing in luminance according to the determined first pattern and changing in luminance according to the determined second pattern, the light emitter being the subject.

11. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a pattern of the change in luminance, by modulating a signal to be transmitted; and

transmitting the signal by a light emitter changing in luminance according to the determined pattern, the light emitter being the subject,

wherein the signal is made up of a plurality of main blocks, each of the plurality of main blocks includes first data, a preamble for the first data, and a check signal for the first data, the first data is made up of a plurality of sub-blocks, and each of the plurality of sub-blocks includes second data, a preamble for the second data, and a check signal for the second data.

12. The information communication method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by each of a plurality of transmitters, a pattern of the change in luminance by modulating a signal to be transmitted, the plurality of transmitters being a plurality of subjects; and

transmitting, by each of the plurality of transmitters, the signal by a light emitter in the transmitter changing in luminance according to the determined pattern,

wherein in the transmitting, the signal of a different frequency or protocol is transmitted.

13. An information communication device that obtains information from a subject, the information communication device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing, when the computer program is executer, the processor to execute operations including;

setting an exposure time of an image sensor so that, in an image obtained by capturing the subject by the image sensor, a plurality of bright lines corresponding to a plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appears according to a change in luminance of the subject;

obtaining a bright line image including the plurality of bright lines by capturing the subject that changes in luminance with the set exposure time; and

obtaining the information by demodulating data specified by a striped pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained bright line image,

wherein a value of a relative exposure time, which is obtained by dividing a luminance of a subject change period by a set exposure time, is smaller than or equal to 1.5, and

wherein the exposure time set in a setting is longer than a period of a high frequency noise included in the luminance of the subject.

14. A non-transitory recording medium storing computer software for use in a computer that obtains information from a subject, the computer software causing the computer to execute instructions comprising:

setting an exposure time of an image sensor so that, in an image obtained by capturing the subject by the image sensor, a plurality of bright lines corresponding to a plurality of exposure lines included in the image sensor appears according to a change in luminance of the subject;

obtaining a bright line image including the plurality of bright lines, by capturing the subject that changes in luminance by the image sensor with the set exposure time; and

obtaining the information by demodulating data specified by a striped pattern of the plurality of bright lines included in the obtained bright line image,

wherein a value of a relative exposure time which is obtained by dividing a luminance of a subject change period by the exposure time set in the setting, is smaller than or equal to 1.5, and

wherein the exposure time set in the setting is longer than a period of a high frequency noise included in the luminance of the subject.