JP2004015187A - Photographing auxiliary system, digital camera, and server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographing auxiliary system for allowing a user to photograph an image satisfying the user's requirements, and to provide a digital camera used for the system, and a server. <P>SOLUTION: The photographing auxiliary system is characterized in to include the digital camera having: a position information acquisition section 110 for acquiring position information; a transmission / reception section 109 for transmitting position information acquired by the position information acquisition section 110 to an image providing server 103; the transmission / reception section 109 for receiving a template image in response to the position information sent to the image providing server 103; and an image composition section 112 for composing the template image received by the transmission / reception section 109 with an object video image and displaying the composite image on a display apparatus, and to include the image providing server 103 having a recording section 105 for recording the template image for transmission to the digital camera 100 in response to the position information sent from the digital camera 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a photographing assistance system that assists photographing according to position information, a digital camera used in the system, and a server.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, images taken by digital cameras in facilities such as theme parks are wirelessly transferred to the base station, and the service center synthesizes the transferred images with a template and outputs them, and finally prints at the service center. Service to receive is proposed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional service, when a user of a digital camera takes a picture at a certain place, it is not possible to confirm what kind of image a composite image provided later becomes. Even if the service center can confirm in advance what kind of template image exists, it cannot confirm the completed image when the template image and the actual captured image are combined. It was. For this reason, there is a problem in that there is a possibility that the actual completed image is different from the completed image imaged by the service user.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an imaging assistance system capable of imaging an image that meets a user's request, a digital camera used in the system, and a server. Objective.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The imaging assistance system of the present invention includes a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information, a position information transmission unit that transmits the acquired position information, a template reception unit that receives a template according to the position information, and the reception A digital camera having a synthesizing unit that synthesizes the template and the subject video, and a storage unit that stores a template to be transmitted to the digital camera according to the position information transmitted by the position information transmitting unit. And a server.
[0006]
With this configuration, it is possible to acquire an image that meets a request by performing shooting while confirming a composite video of the template and the subject video.
[0007]
The digital camera of the present invention is a digital camera used in a photographing assistance system in which the server transmits a template corresponding to position information transmitted to a server to a transmission source of the position information, and acquires the position information. Position information acquisition means, position information transmission means for transmitting the acquired position information to the server, template reception means for receiving a template corresponding to the position information, and composition for combining the received template and subject video Means.
[0008]
The server according to the present invention is characterized by comprising storage means for storing a template for transmission to the terminal in accordance with the position information of the terminal transmitted from the terminal.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Below, the case where this system is used in a theme park such as Disneyland will be described as an example.
[0010]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The image providing system 1 includes a digital camera 100 that is lent to a user of the system for a fee or free of charge, a wireless base station 101 that is arranged for each area in the theme park, and a service center 102 that includes an image providing server 103. The digital camera 100 communicates with the wireless base station 101 by wire or wireless. The wireless base station 101 communicates with the image providing server 103 by wire or wirelessly. When the digital camera 100 exists in the communication area of the local station, the wireless base station 101 transmits the position information transmitted from the digital camera 100 to the image providing server 103. Send.
[0011]
The digital camera 100 includes a transmission / reception unit 109 corresponding to a position information transmission unit and a template reception unit of claims, a position information acquisition unit 110 corresponding to a position information acquisition unit of claims, and a synthesis unit of claims The image composition unit 112 and the control unit 111 corresponding to the above are provided.
[0012]
The transmission / reception unit 109 receives a template image, description, or the like according to the position information of the digital camera 100 transmitted from the image providing server 103, or an image and position captured using the received template image or description. Information or the like is transmitted to the image providing server 103.
[0013]
The position information acquisition unit 110 acquires current position information based on wireless data transmitted from the wireless base station 101 that performs communication via the position information acquisition antenna 113. Under the control of the control unit 111, the image composition unit 112 synthesizes the template image and the explanatory text received by the transmission / reception unit 109 with the actual subject video and displays them on a display (not shown). The control unit 111 controls the transmission / reception unit 109, the position information acquisition unit 110, and the display unit 112.
[0014]
The image providing server 103 includes a transmission / reception unit 104, a recording unit 105 corresponding to a storage unit for claims, an image composition unit 106, an image providing unit 107, and a control unit 108.
[0015]
The transmission / reception unit 104 transmits a template image, description, etc. corresponding to the position information of the digital camera 100 recorded in the recording unit 105 to the digital camera 100 and receives an image transmitted from the digital camera 100. .
[0016]
In the recording unit 105, template images, explanations, and the like for each position information (area) are recorded. The image synthesis unit 106 synthesizes a captured image transmitted from the digital camera 100 with a template image or an explanatory text corresponding to the position information of the digital camera 100. The image providing unit 107 provides the combined image to the user of the image providing system 1. The control unit 108 controls the transmission / reception unit 104, the recording unit 105, the image composition unit 106, and the image providing unit 107.
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of area division in the theme park.
As shown in the figure, the theme park is divided into four areas A to D, and each area has one attraction. In addition, a radio base station 101 is installed in each area so as to cover each area. Note that the recording unit 105 of the image providing server 103 records at least one template image and description corresponding to each of the areas A to D. Here, the descriptive text is a text explaining the attractions in each area, a text explaining the shooting date, and the like.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template recorded in the recording unit 105. In this embodiment, since there is a character attraction in the area B, as shown in the figure, the character image is displayed in the background in the template of the area B. As described above, the recording unit 105 records a template corresponding to the attractions existing in each area.
[0019]
The image providing unit 107 provides a composite image by printing out the composite image, storing the composite image in a medium and providing it to a user, or enabling the composite image to be downloaded from a website. Yes. These providing methods can be selected in advance by the user.
[0020]
Next, an operation until the user acquires a composite image will be described.
FIG. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining the flow until the user of the image providing system receives the composite image.
[0021]
First, the user of this system rents the digital camera 100 at the service center 102 and selects how to receive the composite image. Thereafter, when the user turns on the digital camera 100 in the area B, the digital camera 100 acquires its own position information (S401), and transmits the acquired position information to the radio base station 101 (S402). The image providing server 103 determines that the digital camera 100 exists in the area B from the position information transmitted from the wireless base station 101 (S403), and transmits a template image and an explanatory text corresponding to the area B to the wireless base station 101. To the digital camera 100 (S404).
[0022]
In the digital camera 100, an image obtained by combining the transmitted template image or description and subject image is displayed on the display (S405), and the user of the image providing system 1 can freely view the digital camera while viewing the image. 100 is moved, and the position of the subject on the template is determined to perform shooting (S406). FIG. 5 shows a display example at this time. As shown in FIG. 5, the display of the digital camera 100 displays a video in which the template image transmitted from the image providing server 103 and the actual subject video are combined.
[0023]
When shooting is completed, the user determines whether a shot image is necessary. If necessary, the user transmits the shot image to the image providing server 103 (S407). On the other hand, if unnecessary, the captured image is discarded. When shooting is continued after image transmission, the user takes a picture while viewing the video again. If the user moves to the adjacent area A, shooting is performed while checking the video in which the template corresponding to the area A and the subject video are combined in the same flow as in steps S401 to S407.
[0024]
After shooting, the user returns the digital camera 100 to the service center 102 and receives the composite image by the method selected first. The composite image received by the user at this time is the same as the image displayed on the display at the time of shooting. For this reason, the actual completed image is not different from the completed image imaged by the user. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, an image providing service useful for the user can be performed.
[0025]
In the above description, the area where the digital camera 100 exists is determined based on the position information from the wireless base station 101. However, the digital camera 100 is further provided with a GPS function and transmitted from the digital camera 100. Based on the GPS information and the position information from the wireless base station 101, the image providing server 103 may determine the position where the digital camera 100 exists.
[0026]
For example, when there are a plurality of attractions in the same area, it is impossible to determine which attraction is near the digital camera 100 based only on the position information from the radio base station 101. Therefore, by grasping the detailed position based on the GPS information of the digital camera 100, it is possible to obtain detailed position information that could not be grasped by the position information from the wireless base station 101, and an appropriate template corresponding to the attraction. Or a description can be transmitted to the digital camera 100.
[0027]
The template transmitted from the image providing server 103 to the digital camera 100 only needs to be able to determine at which position on the template the actual captured image is combined. Therefore, the template to be transmitted to the digital camera 100 may be a simplified version of the template actually provided to the user (for example, a reduction in image quality). By doing so, the amount of communication can be reduced.
[0028]
In this embodiment, the template and the photographed image are combined on the image providing server 103 side, but an image obtained by combining the template and the photographed image is transmitted to the image providing server 103 on the digital camera 100 side. You may make it do.
[0029]
In the present embodiment, the image providing system in the theme park has been described. In addition to this, for example, a wireless base station is installed for each tourist spot in the country, and a template corresponding to the tourist spot is used as a digital camera. A transmission system is also conceivable.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the imaging assistance system which can be image | photographed according to a user's request | requirement, the digital camera used for this system, and a server can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image providing service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of area division of a theme park.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template recorded in a recording unit.
FIG. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining a flow until a user of an image providing service system receives an image.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of display on a digital camera during shooting.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image provision system 100 Digital camera 101 Wireless base station 102 Service center 103 Image provision server 104 Transmission / reception part 105 Recording part 106,112 Image composition part 107 Image provision part 108,111 Control part 109 Transmission / reception part 110 Position information acquisition part 113 Position information Acquisition antenna

Claims (3)

Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information, position information transmission means for transmitting the acquired position information, template reception means for receiving a template corresponding to the position information, and combining the received template and subject video A digital camera having combining means for
And a server having storage means for storing a template for transmission to the digital camera in accordance with the position information transmitted by the position information transmission means. A digital camera used for a photographing assistance system in which the server transmits a template according to position information transmitted to a server to a transmission source of the position information,
Position information acquisition means for acquiring the position information;
Position information transmitting means for transmitting the acquired position information to the server;
Template receiving means for receiving a template according to the position information;
A digital camera comprising combining means for combining the received template and subject video. A server comprising storage means for storing a template for transmission to the terminal in accordance with position information of the terminal transmitted from the terminal.

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