JP2008135993A - Automatic photographing system, its control method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To take a picture in an arbitrary composition at arbitrary timing as desired while riding a fair ride or the like. <P>SOLUTION: An automatic photographing system has a photographic device for photographing an object existing in a photographic area, and a terminal device for instructing the photographic device to take a picture through a network. The terminal device comprises: an information obtaining means for obtaining location information and direction information of the object in the photographic area, and an image displaying means for relatively displaying locations of the object and the photographic device based on the location information and the direction information obtained by the information obtaining means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic photographing system for automatically photographing an image of a subject such as a person with a camera or a video camera installed in a theme park or an amusement park.

  In recent years, there has been known a billing system that automatically captures images and distributes images to users when a predetermined person enters a predetermined shooting area without carrying a camera or video camera. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-116127 A

  However, in the conventional system, when shooting at an amusement park attraction (such as a roller coaster), the timing of shooting and the installation position of the camera are not clear. For this reason, I often did not look in the direction of the camera or closed my eyes, and I was unable to take photos and videos with the composition I liked.

  In addition, when the person is not in focus or because the person is not in the center of the image, there are many complaints about the video after shooting, and there are increasing cases of shooting but not purchasing. Therefore, there is a problem that satisfactory profits cannot be obtained as a billing system. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and allows a user to take a favorite photograph at an arbitrary composition and at an arbitrary timing while riding on a vehicle such as an amusement park.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic photographing system including a photographing device that photographs a subject existing in a photographing region, and a terminal device that instructs the photographing device to perform photographing via a network. Is an information acquisition unit that acquires position information and direction information of the subject in the shooting region, and an image that relatively displays the positions of the subject and the shooting device from the position information and direction information acquired by the information acquisition unit. And a display means.

  According to the present invention, in an amusement facility, in particular, a vehicle such as a merry-go-round or a roller coaster, it is possible to take a picture of itself while riding the vehicle. In addition, because you can control the timing of shooting yourself, unlike the previous system, you will not bend your face or close your eyes at the time of a photo opportunity, and you have a strong originality that has spotted you It becomes possible to take a picture.

  In addition, because you can take your favorite photos, you will be more fond of your photos even after you take them, and you will be more likely to purchase photos than previous systems, which will increase your benefits as a billing system. In particular, since the camera installation position and the position of the camera can be grasped graphically, it is possible to determine the optimal photo composition in a short time.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an automatic photographing system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a server device 11 is connected to a network 12 including the Internet. A base station 13 is connected to the network 12. The terminal device 15 (hereinafter referred to as a mobile terminal device) performs wireless communication with the base station 13 and can be connected to the network 12 via the base station 13. In addition, the imaging device 14 (hereinafter referred to as a camera) used in the present embodiment is installed in the theme park and amusement park vehicles or in the vicinity of the vehicle, and a subject (hereinafter referred to as a user) riding on the vehicle. Has a function to shoot at any timing.

  The user downloads an application for accessing the server device 11 in advance via the Internet or the like, and acquires a user ID and password as a login account. The application can be used in the mobile terminal device 15 and is characterized in that an image is displayed with a GUI. The user can grasp the position of the camera and the user's position with the GUI, and can instruct the timing of shooting (shooting instruction).

  Next, a configuration example of the mobile terminal device 15 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the mobile terminal device 15 configured to be capable of wireless communication with the base station 13. The communication unit 22 performs wireless communication with the base station 13. The display unit 21 is a GUI for graphically displaying the direction in which the person who is the subject is facing. The recording unit 25 stores various kinds of information, for example, data input by a user. The storage unit 25 also functions as a frame buffer for video displayed on the display unit 21.

  The position detection unit 23 detects position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal device 15. The position detector 23 includes, for example, a GPS receiver that receives a signal transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, and measures the current position of the mobile terminal device 15 based on the received signal (longitude, Calculate latitude and altitude). The direction detection unit 24 detects direction information indicating the direction in which the mobile terminal device 15 is facing. The direction detection unit 24 includes, for example, a geomagnetic sensor, a gyro, and the like, and acquires direction information indicating the direction in which the mobile terminal device 15 is facing. The position detector 23 and the direction detector 24 constitute information acquisition means.

  The operation unit 27 includes buttons, a dial, and the like, and notifies the control unit 28 of an operation signal corresponding to an operation input from the user. The position calculation unit 26 calculates the relative position of the mobile terminal device 15 based on the position information detected from the position detection unit 23 and the direction detection unit 24. The control unit 28 controls the operation of the entire mobile terminal device.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the server apparatus 11. The server device 11 includes an input unit 31 including a keyboard and a mouse, a display including a CRT and an LCD, and a display unit 32 including a speaker. Further, the server device 11 is connected to a recording unit 33 composed of a hard disk or the like, and a communication unit 35 composed of a modem, a terminal adapter and the like. The recording unit 33 includes a database 34. The communication unit 35 performs communication processing via the network 12 including the Internet. The camera control unit 37 controls camera shooting. The control unit 36 controls the operation of the entire server device.

Next, processing performed in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
(Step S211)
The server device checks whether there is a connection request from the mobile terminal device.
(Step S212)
When there is a connection request, the server device collates the ID and password transmitted from the user with the database of the server device, and if the collation matches, the process proceeds to S213, and if not, the process returns to step S211. Wait for the next connection request. Here, it is assumed that a user is registered in advance in the database of the server device via the Internet or the like. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the database 34, in which image data taken for each user is stored.

(Step S213)
Next, the position detection unit 23 (FIG. 2) of the mobile terminal device acquires current position information indicating a position where the mobile terminal device exists. Moreover, the direction detection part 24 (FIG. 2) of a portable terminal device acquires the direction information which shows the direction which the portable terminal device is facing. Here, an example of an information table of cameras installed in each vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. The camera information table includes a camera ID added with a unique value for the camera, absolute position information, the type of vehicle, a background image created in advance, and the like. The camera information table may be owned inside the application downloaded to the mobile terminal device, or may be downloaded to the mobile terminal device when connected to the server device.

(Step S214)
Next, the camera closest to the user is calculated from the position information, the direction information acquired in step S213, and the absolute position information in the camera information table of FIG. 6, and the camera to be photographed is determined. For example, the difference between the absolute position information of the user and the absolute position information 1, 2, 3,... Of the camera is taken, and the camera ID having the absolute position information with the smallest difference is extracted. As a result, the following processing will be described on the assumption that the camera ID of the target camera is camera 2, the absolute position information is absolute position information 2, the vehicle type is merry-go-round, and the address of the background image is background image 2ad.

(Step S215)
Here, the relative position of the user is graphically displayed based on the camera information obtained in step S214. Specifically, the relative position of the user with respect to the camera position and the orientation of the mobile terminal device 15 are calculated and displayed on the background image 401 displayed on the display unit 21 of the mobile terminal device. Since the position information and the direction information are periodically and repeatedly acquired, the image is updated every time the information is updated.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an image in which the background image 401 shows the relative position and direction of the mobile terminal device. Here, 501 is a display window of the mobile terminal device, 502 is a background image, 503 is a shooting start button, 504 is an image (icon) indicating the position of the user, and 505 is an image (icon) indicating the direction of the user. ). Reference numeral 506 denotes a text field for displaying a message as appropriate according to the situation. Although it is a user's position and direction here, the position and direction of a portable terminal device are assumed to be a user's own position and direction. Actually, the portable terminal device is carried toward the front of the user himself / herself, thereby determining his / her position and direction.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the position and direction of the mobile terminal device and the image. Reference numeral 603 denotes a relative position of the mobile terminal device, which is a center point of a circle icon indicating the position of the user. Reference numeral 602 denotes the direction of the mobile terminal device. The root of the arrow icon 505 indicating the user's direction is the center of the circle icon 504 indicating the user's position, and the tip of the arrow is the mobile terminal device 602. Display in direction.

(Step S216)
Next, when the user enters the shootable area (shooting area), the shootable area is displayed on the GUI. The shootable area is characterized in that a fixed range is determined from the position of the camera, and the defined area is displayed in a user-friendly manner on the GUI, for example, by expressing it in a triangular shape or displaying it by color. Furthermore, the photographic composition obtained when taken at the present time is displayed on the GUI as a predicted photographic composition. The above-described photo prediction composition shows the size and orientation of the user in the photo frame in real time, and is intended to allow the user to predict the image of the photo to be taken before shooting.

  Next, the photo prediction composition will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 701 in FIG. 9 is a display window of the mobile terminal device, 702 is a display of shootable areas by triangles and colors, and 703 is an example of displaying a predicted photo composition when taken at the present time. The size of the user's face displayed in the predicted photo composition 703 is calculated from the position information of the user. Also, the face orientation is calculated from the user direction information.

FIG. 10 shows an example in which the face orientation is calculated from the user direction information (arrow position). An image 802 indicates the position and direction of the user when facing the front of the camera. In this case, the orientation of the user's face is 801 in the predicted photo composition. When the user's position and direction are 803, the orientation of the user's face in the predicted photo composition is displayed as 804.
(Step S217)
Here, it is determined whether or not the shooting start button has been selected. If selected, the process proceeds to the next step. If the shooting start button is not pressed, the process returns to step S213 to repeat a series of processes.

(Step S218)
Here, photographing processing is performed. When the start button is pressed in step S217, a shooting start signal is passed from the user application to the camera control unit (FIG. 3) of the server apparatus. The server device is configured to transmit a shooting start command to the camera via a network and perform shooting.

  The taken photograph is stored in the database 34 of FIG. 3 for each user. The user can access the server device from the mobile terminal device or other information processing device after shooting. The user can display a list of distributed thumbnail images as shown in FIG. 11, select a favorite image, and download it to a designated mobile terminal device or information processing device. Here, the configuration for displaying the distributed image is referred to as distribution image display means. Reference numeral 901 denotes an example of a thumbnail image of a photograph taken at a merry-go-round. It is also possible to send it attached to an arbitrary mail address. The system is charged for each obtained image.

  In the present embodiment, the camera has been described as an example, but it is also possible to shoot with a video camera. In the case of a video camera, there are a method of shooting for a certain period of time after the user gives an instruction to start shooting, and a method of shooting only while the user is present in the shootable area. In the latter case, even if the user does not support the start of shooting, an automatic shooting mode can be provided so that there is no leftover.

  Each unit constituting the automatic photographing system and the steps of the control method of the automatic photographing system in the embodiment of the present invention described above are executed by, for example, a program stored in a RAM or ROM provided in a terminal device, a server device, or the like. It can be realized by doing. This program and a computer-readable recording medium recording the program are included in the present invention.

  Further, the present invention can be implemented as an apparatus, a method, a program, a recording medium, or the like. Note that the present invention supplies a software program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments directly or remotely to a system or apparatus. This includes the case where the system or the computer of the apparatus is also achieved by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention. In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. Furthermore, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the processing.

  As another method, the program read from the recording medium is first written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on the instructions of the program, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the automatic imaging | photography system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the terminal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the server apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the database recorded on a server apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a camera information table. It is a figure which shows an example of GUI displayed on the terminal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the display method of position information and direction information. It is the figure which showed the photography possible area and the photograph prediction composition. It is a figure for demonstrating the method to display the direction of a face from direction information. It is a figure which shows an example of the thumbnail list of the image | photographed image.

Explanation of symbols

11 Server device 12 Network 14 Camera (photographing device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Terminal device 21 Display part 22 Communication part 23 Position detection part 24 Direction detection part 25 Recording part 26 Position calculation part 27 Operation part 28 Control part 31 Input part 32 Output part 33 Recording part 34 Database 35 Deep part 36 Control part 37 Camera control Part

Claims (8)

An automatic photographing system having a photographing device for photographing a subject existing in a photographing region and a terminal device for instructing photographing to the photographing device via a network,
The terminal device includes information acquisition means for acquiring position information and direction information of the subject in the imaging region;
An automatic photographing system comprising: an image display means for relatively displaying the position of the subject and the photographing device based on the position information and the direction information obtained by the information obtaining means.   The automatic image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein the image display unit graphically displays a direction in which the subject is facing.   3. The automatic photographing according to claim 1, wherein the image display unit displays a position and a size of the subject when the subject enters the photographing region when the subject is actually photographed. system.   The automatic photographing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the photographing device performs photographing in accordance with a photographing instruction at an arbitrary timing from the terminal device. A server device for recording an image photographed by the photographing device;
The automatic photographing system according to claim 1, wherein the server device includes a distribution unit that distributes to an information processing device designated by a user.   6. The automatic photographing system according to claim 5, wherein the information processing apparatus includes a distribution image display unit that displays an image distributed by the distribution unit on a display unit. A method for controlling an automatic photographing system, comprising: a photographing device that photographs a subject existing in a photographing region; and a terminal device that instructs the photographing device to photograph via a network,
An information acquisition step of acquiring position information and direction information of the subject in the imaging region by a position detection unit and a direction detection unit provided in the terminal device;
Control of an automatic photographing system, comprising: an image display step for relatively displaying the position of the subject and the photographing device on the display unit of the terminal device from the position information and the direction information obtained in the information obtaining step. Method. A computer program for controlling an automatic photographing system having a photographing device for photographing a subject existing in a photographing region and a terminal device for instructing photographing to the photographing device via a network,
An information acquisition step of acquiring position information and direction information of the subject in the imaging region by a position detection unit and a direction detection unit provided in the terminal device;
A computer program for causing a computer to execute an image display step of relatively displaying the position of the subject and the photographing device on the display unit of the terminal device from the position information and the direction information acquired by the information acquisition step.

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