JP7373294B2 - Image processing device, image providing server, image display method, and image providing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing device that displays an image on a display, an image providing server that provides image data, an image display method, and an image providing method.

Advances in networks and information processing devices have made it easier to access necessary information regardless of time or place. For example, with a map application, it is possible to immediately view information on facilities located at a specified location on the map, captured images of that location, etc., and it is possible to understand the information in relation to the location information inherent in the map. You can also view the surroundings of the image world by displaying images from any direction using images shot all around the sky (360°), or by sequentially switching the display to images taken from the viewpoint in the direction of travel. It can also give a sense of realism as if you are walking inside it.

In order to stably provide the above-mentioned environment, it is desirable to prepare as many captured images as possible regardless of the location. For this reason, measures are sometimes taken to allow users to share images via a network by soliciting image data from the general public or allowing individual users to associate images with locations on a map. However, as the number of images increases, it becomes more likely that images of the same place but with completely different appearances will be treated in the same way, which will confuse the viewer and require a great deal of effort to arrive at the desired image. Especially when the displayed images are changed sequentially, such as in the technique of moving the viewpoint of the all-sky image described above, the appearance of the images differs before and after the change, which impairs the sense of reality or makes it impossible to recognize the same place. Sometimes it happens.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and its purpose is to provide a technique that can suitably and efficiently display images corresponding to a location.

One aspect of the present invention relates to an image processing device. This image processing device includes an input information acquisition unit that accepts a user operation related to an image to be displayed on a display device, and a display device that displays one of a plurality of images taken at the same place under different conditions in accordance with the user operation. an image display section to display the image, the image display section further displays a situation selection icon for selecting a shooting situation in the same place as the image being displayed, and the input information section further displays a situation selection icon for selecting the situation selection icon. The present invention is characterized in that when an operation is received, an image taken in the selected situation is displayed on the display device.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to an image providing server. This image providing server is a server that establishes communication with an image processing device operated by a user, and sends image data of a location specified by the user on the image processing device to the image processing device. A database that associates a plurality of images taken with each shooting situation, and an image processing device that reads the data of the corresponding image from the database and sends it to the image processing device in response to a user operation to select a shooting situation. The present invention is characterized by comprising a data transmitter for transmitting data.

Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to an image display method. This image display method includes a step in which the image processing device receives a user operation related to an image to be displayed on a display device, and a step in which the image processing device selects one of a plurality of images taken of the same place under different conditions to the display device in accordance with the user operation. a step of displaying a situation selection icon for selecting a shooting situation for the same location as the image being displayed; The method is characterized by including the step of displaying the image on a display device.

Yet another aspect of the present invention relates to an image providing method. This image providing method includes a step in which an image providing server establishes communication with an image processing device operated by a user, and transmits data of an image at a location specified by the user on the image processing device to the image processing device; From a database that associates multiple images taken in different situations with each shooting situation, the data of the corresponding image is read out and sent to the image processing device in response to the user's operation to select the shooting situation on the image processing device. It is characterized by including the step of transmitting.

Note that any combination of the above components and the expression of the present invention converted between methods, devices, systems, computer programs, recording media on which computer programs are recorded, etc. are also effective as aspects of the present invention. .

According to the present invention, an image corresponding to a location can be suitably and efficiently displayed.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an image display system to which Embodiment 1 can be applied; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an internal circuit configuration of an image processing device in Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of functional blocks of an image processing device and an image providing server in Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of functional blocks of an image providing server when constructing an image database in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display device in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen when accepting a selection of a shooting situation in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a database stored in an image database in the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure of classification information of photographing situations used in the first embodiment. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in which the image processing device displays a captured image corresponding to a location in cooperation with an image providing server in the first embodiment. 7 is a diagram illustrating the structure of data stored in an image database in Embodiment 2. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining data to be stored in an image database when the image data column in the image data information of FIG. 10 is further associated with a position in a hierarchy. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on a display device in Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another mode for accepting an operation for selecting a floor number in the present embodiment. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in which the image processing device displays a captured image corresponding to a location in cooperation with an image providing server in the second embodiment.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an image display system to which this embodiment can be applied. The image display system 1 includes image processing devices 10a and 10b that display images in response to user operations, and an image providing server 20 that provides image data used for display. Input devices 14a and 14b for user operations and display devices 16a and 16b for displaying images are connected to the image processing devices 10a and 10b, respectively. The image processing devices 10a, 10b and the image providing server 20 establish communication via a wide area communication network such as the Internet or a local network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Alternatively, image data may be provided from the image providing server 20 to the image processing devices 10a, 10b via a recording medium.

The image processing devices 10a, 10b, the display devices 16a, 16b, and the input devices 14a, 14b may be connected by wire or wirelessly. Alternatively, two or more of these devices may be integrally formed. For example, in the illustrated example, the image processing device 10b uses a touch pad that covers the screen of the display device 16b as an input device 14b, and integrally constitutes a mobile terminal. Furthermore, the display device 16a is not limited to a flat display, but may be a wearable display such as a head-mounted display, a projector, or the like.

In this way, the external shape and connection form of the illustrated device are not limited. The number of image processing devices 10a and 10b connected to the image providing server 20 is also not limited. Hereinafter, the image processing devices 10a and 10b will be collectively referred to as the image processing device 10, the input devices 14a and 14b as the input device 14, and the display devices 16a and 16b as the display device 16.

The image processing device 10 causes the display device 16 to display an image corresponding to a user's operation on the input device 14 . Specifically, at least an image taken at a location designated by the user among images taken at various locations is displayed. Here, the display purpose is not particularly limited, and in order to achieve the purpose, the image processing device 10 concurrently performs general processing such as advancing an electronic game and displaying images from an Internet site using a browser. good. In this embodiment, an electronic map application, which is highly compatible as a means of specifying a location, will be explained as an example.

The input device 14 may be any one or a combination of general input devices such as a controller, keyboard, mouse, touch pad, joystick, etc. In this embodiment, in addition to specifying a location, moving the viewpoint, changing the line of sight, etc. A selection of image shooting conditions is accepted from the user. The display device 16 may be a general display such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or an organic EL display, and displays the image output from the image processing device 10. As described above, the display device 16 may be a head mounted display or a projector.

The image providing server 20 establishes communication with the image processing device 10 and transmits data of captured images in accordance with a request from the image processing device 10. For this reason, the image providing server 20 maintains a database in which data of photographed images is associated with photographing locations and photographing conditions. Then, the designation of the photographing location and photographing situation is accepted from the image processing device 10, and data of matching images is transmitted. Here, "shooting situation" refers to the temporal situation such as the date and time of the photo, time of day, day of the week, month, season, year, and year, the name of the event that was taking place at the time of the photo, the classification of the event, and the information in the photo. Possible factors include the situation of the subject, such as the number of people and the weather. However, the specific items are not particularly limited as long as they are factors that change the appearance or impression of a place.

FIG. 2 shows the internal circuit configuration of the image processing device 10. The image processing device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 23, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 24, and a main memory 26. These parts are interconnected via a bus 30. An input/output interface 28 is further connected to the bus 30. The input/output interface 28 includes a peripheral device interface such as a USB or IEEE1394, a wired or wireless LAN network interface, a communication unit 32 that establishes communication with the image providing server 20, and a storage unit such as a hard disk drive or nonvolatile memory. 34, an output section 36 that outputs data to the display device 16, an input section 38 that inputs data from the input device 14, and a recording medium drive section 40 that drives a removable recording medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or a semiconductor memory are connected. .

The CPU 23 controls the entire image processing apparatus 10 by executing an operating system stored in the storage unit 34. The CPU 23 also executes various programs read from a removable recording medium and loaded into the main memory 26 or downloaded via the communication unit 32. The GPU 24 has the function of a geometry engine and the function of a rendering processor, performs a drawing process according to a drawing command from the CPU 23, and outputs it to the output unit 36. The main memory 26 is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) and stores programs and data necessary for processing. Note that the internal circuit configuration of the image providing server 20 may be the same.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of functional blocks of the image processing device 10 and the image providing server 20. Each functional block shown in the figure and FIG. 4, which will be described later, can be realized in terms of hardware by the various circuits shown in FIG. It is realized by a program that performs various functions such as information processing functions, image drawing functions, and data input/output functions. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be implemented in various ways using only hardware, only software, or a combination thereof, and are not limited to either.

The image processing device 10 includes an input information acquisition unit 50 that acquires information related to user operations, a data request unit 52 that requests the image providing server 20 for data corresponding to user operations, and acquires data transmitted from the image providing server 20. and an image display section 56 that generates a display image and displays it on the display device 16. The input information acquisition unit 50 is realized by the input unit 38, the CPU 23, etc. in FIG. 2, and acquires information related to user operations from the input device 14. Specifically, as described above, in addition to specifying the location and situation where the image was taken, operation details such as starting and ending display processing, changing the line of sight with respect to the all-sky image, and moving the viewpoint are obtained. When associating with a map application, the input information acquisition unit 50 also acquires the contents of various operations related to map display.

The data requesting unit 52 is realized by the CPU 23, the communication unit 32, etc. in FIG. 2, and requests the image providing server 20 for image data corresponding to user operations. The data acquisition unit 54 is realized by the CPU 23, communication unit 32, main memory 26, etc. in FIG. 2, and acquires image data transmitted from the image providing server 20 in response to a request. Note that the data acquisition section 54 may include the recording medium drive section 40 and read image data from the recording medium. The data acquisition unit 70 may also acquire from the image providing server 20 option information indicating what kind of shooting situation images can be selected for the designated location. The data acquisition unit 70 decodes and expands the acquired image data as necessary.

The image display unit 56 is realized by the CPU 23, GPU 24, main memory 26, etc. in FIG. 2, and generates a display image including the image acquired by the data acquisition unit 54, and outputs it to the display device 16. In detail, the image display section 56 includes an icon display section 64, an image switching section 66, and a viewpoint change processing section 68. The icon display section 64 displays at least a situation selection icon for selecting the shooting situation of the image to be displayed. By superimposing the situation selection icon on the currently displayed image, it is possible to switch the display to an image in a different shooting situation while the image is being displayed. Note that the shooting situations that can be selected vary depending on the images prepared for the specified location, so the icon display section 64 displays the situation selection icons based on the information on the options sent from the image providing server 20 as described above. Decide on the configuration.

In addition, the icon display section 64 displays a moving icon for moving the viewpoint in the all-sky image display, superimposed on the image being displayed as necessary. The image switching unit 66 switches the display target to at least the image of the shooting situation selected by operating the situation selection icon. In addition, the image switching unit 66 appropriately displays thumbnail images, enlarges a selected image among the displayed thumbnail images, and displays a map or information of the searched location. In the all-sky image display, the viewpoint change processing unit 68 switches the displayed image so that the viewpoint advances in the corresponding direction in the image world according to the operation on the movement icon, or performs an operation to specify the up, down, left, right, and diagonal directions on the screen. Depending on the situation, the field of view of the display object is changed so that the corresponding direction can be seen.

General techniques can be used to control the display in response to changes in viewpoint or line of sight, which is performed by the viewpoint change processing unit 68. However, in this embodiment, when switching images by moving the viewpoint, images with the same shooting situation as before switching are preferentially selected and displayed. Alternatively, the user can select the shooting situation on the spot. Note that when the display target is not an all-sky image, the function of the viewpoint change processing section 68 can be omitted.

The image providing server 20 includes a request acquisition unit 58 that acquires a request for image data from the image processing device 10, a data transmission unit 62 that transmits image data corresponding to the request to the image processing device 10, and a data transmission unit 62 that transmits image data corresponding to the request to the image processing device 10. It includes an image database 60 that is stored in association with shooting locations and shooting conditions. The request acquisition unit 58 is realized by the communication unit 32, the CPU 23, etc. in FIG. 2, and acquires a data request for an image specifying a location and a shooting situation from the image processing device 10.

The data transmitting unit 62 is realized by the CPU 23, the communication unit 32, etc., and extracts image data and option information corresponding to the request from the image database 60, and transmits it to the image processing device 10. Note that when implementing a map application, data that is generally provided as a map application, such as map images and facility information, may be requested from the image processing device 10 or transmitted from the image providing server 20. may be included. In this case, those databases are prepared separately, but are not shown in FIG. 3.

The image database 60 is realized by the storage unit 34 in FIG. 2, and stores data of images shot at various locations in association with the shooting location and shooting situation. As described above, the shooting situation may include the temporal situation and the subject situation. As options for selecting the former, time ranges of various granularity are prepared, such as the time of day when the image was taken, the month and season when the image was taken, and the year when the image was taken. As an option for selecting the latter, various granularity classifications and number ranges are prepared for the event being held, the number of people, the weather, etc.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of functional blocks of the image providing server 20 when constructing the image database 60. The functional blocks included in the illustrated image providing server 20a may be included in the image providing server 20 of FIG. 3, or may be implemented as different devices. The image providing server 20a includes a data acquisition unit 70 that acquires data of a photographed image from an external device, an attribute acquisition unit 72 that acquires attributes of the photographed image such as a shooting location and a shooting situation, and an image database 60 shown in FIG. .

The data acquisition unit 70 is realized by the CPU 23, the communication unit 32, the input unit 38, etc. in FIG. 2, and acquires data of captured images from an external device such as the image processing device 10. For example, a map application running on the image processing device 10 is configured so that a general user can specify a location on the map and then upload data of an image that he or she has photographed there. In this case, the data acquisition unit 70 acquires the uploaded data together with the specified location information via the network. In addition to the above, the image data may be obtained from an imaging device or an information processing device directly connected to the image providing server 20a, or another image providing server connected via a network.

The attribute acquisition unit 72 acquires information related to the photographing location and photographing situation of the image by a predetermined means. In the case of images shot with a digital camera, the date and time of shooting, location information at the time of shooting, etc. are recorded as additional information such as Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format). Therefore, the attribute acquisition unit 72 reads additional information from the image data acquired by the data acquisition unit 70 and acquires necessary information. Alternatively, information related to attributes input by the user of the image provider into the image processing device 10 may be acquired. Alternatively, the attribute acquisition unit 72 may acquire information such as the number of people in the photograph and the weather by analyzing the photographed image using a general method. The user operating the image providing server 20a may directly check and input the information.

The attribute acquisition unit 72 associates the thus acquired information regarding the photographing location and the photographing situation with the data of the photographed image and stores it in the image database 60. By performing this kind of correspondence on inconsistent image data collected from general users and creating a database, it is easy to select the most suitable image for the viewing situation from a wide variety of captured images. It can be extracted to

For example, if you display an all-sky image of a certain place and try to move in the direction of movement in the image world by moving the viewpoint, if there is not enough image data to begin with and there is no image taken from the corresponding viewpoint, the display will not work. Switching is also impossible. On the other hand, even if there are many images taken from that viewpoint, if one of them is displayed out of context, there is a high possibility that the appearance of the displayed image will change significantly even with a slight movement. This may cause discomfort or confusion.

As described above, if the image database 60 is created in association with attributes other than location, and images with the same shooting situation are extracted in response to a viewpoint movement operation, it is possible to continue displaying images with a sense of unity. The atmosphere and structure of the building can be viewed and confirmed without confusion. Furthermore, by allowing the user to select the shooting situation, it is possible to continue presenting images suitable for each user's purpose. Note that when the image data is provided by a recording medium, it is stored in the recording medium in the format of the image database 60.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display device 16 in this embodiment. Note that the changes in the display screen that will be described hereinafter are actually caused by the input information acquisition unit 50 of the image processing device 10 acquiring the content of the user operation, and the data requesting unit 52 making a request to the image providing server 20. 54 acquires the corresponding image data, but the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

(a) shows a screen in which an electronic map is displayed using a map application. In this example, the display screen includes a map field 80, a search field 82, and an information field 84. When the user enters an address or facility name in the search field 82, the image switching section 66 of the image display section 56 displays a map of the surrounding area in the map field 80. When a facility name is input or when a certain facility is specified by operating the cursor 88 on a displayed map, the image switching unit 66 displays basic information about the facility, the URL of the homepage, etc. in the information field 84. Display text information.

In the illustrated example, the facility name "City Center" is entered in the search field 82, a map of the surrounding area is displayed in the map field 80, and basic information is displayed in the information field 84. Further, the image switching unit 66 displays thumbnails 86a and 86b of images taken near the facility. The images displayed as thumbnails 86a and 86b are extracted from the image data stored in the image database 60 using the location of the facility as a key. When the user points to one of them with the cursor 88 or the like, the screen changes to the photographed image display screen shown in (b). In this example, the photographed image display screen includes an image field 90 and a thumbnail field 92.

The image switching unit 66 enlarges and displays the image of the thumbnail 86a selected by the user on the map display screen in FIG. . Note that the "same location" here includes the same store or room, as well as buildings, facilities, and grounds, and is not limited in scale. When one of the thumbnails displayed in the thumbnail field 92 is designated, the image switching section 66 switches the display in the image field 90 to an enlarged image of the thumbnail.

Further, when displaying an all-sky image in the image column 90, the icon display section 64 of the image display section 56 displays a movement icon 94 for realizing viewpoint movement on the image. When the movement icon 94 is designated by a cursor or the like, the viewpoint change processing unit 68 moves the viewpoint in the direction of the arrow indicated by the icon (towards the back in the figure) and switches the display to the all-sky image taken there. . Further, when an arbitrary position on the screen is designated and a sliding operation is performed, the viewpoint change processing unit 68 moves the field of view in the opposite direction so that the image moves in conjunction with the sliding. This allows you to view the specified location from any viewpoint or line of sight. Note that the configuration of the screen is not limited to that shown in FIG. 5, and the procedure of processing for displaying a photographed image is not limited either.

In environments where a location is selected and images taken at that location are displayed, the purpose is often not only to appreciate the images themselves, but also to understand the state of the location in relation to facilities and locations. . However, as described above, the more images a certain location has taken, the more various images can be viewed, but the more difficult it becomes to access a desired image. Furthermore, when moving the viewpoint using the movement icon 94, if the appearance of the images before and after the movement changes significantly, the user may not be able to feel the movement and it may be difficult to grasp the space.

Therefore, as described above, images taken in situations suitable for the user's purpose are extracted and displayed. FIG. 6 shows an example of a screen when accepting selection of a shooting situation. The image 100 shown in FIG. 5(a) is a thumbnail displayed on the map display screen in FIG. 5(a) or the captured image display screen in FIG. Either is fine. Alternatively, it may be a photographed image displayed on a homepage or the like, regardless of the map. When the user performs a predetermined operation on the image 100 while such an image 100 is being displayed, the icon display unit 64 superimposes the situation selection icon 102 representing options of the shooting situation on the image 100. indicate.

In general image display technology, settings are often made such that by pointing at a displayed image 100 with a cursor or the like, that image is selected and some action is activated. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, as described above, by specifying the thumbnail 86a, an enlarged image is displayed in the image column 90. Alternatively, an instruction operation on the image displayed in the image column 90 is used to move the viewpoint or change the line of sight.

In order to be compatible with such general operations, the icon display section 64 displays a message on the condition that an instruction within a predetermined range that can be considered as the same position on the image 100 continues for a time equal to or longer than a predetermined threshold value t1. , displays the status selection icon 102 at the designated position. Here, the "instruction" may be an operation of a displayed cursor or a contact operation on a touch pad. In the former case, the duration of the instruction corresponds to, for example, the duration of pressing a button on a controller, mouse, or the like. In the latter case, the duration of the instruction corresponds to the duration of the contact. These operations are generally called "long presses." However, the purpose is not to limit the operation of calling up the situation selection icon 102 to a long press; for example, another GUI (Graphical User Interface) is displayed, and the situation selection icon 102 is displayed in response to an operation on the GUI. It's okay.

As an example, the illustrated situation selection icon 102 has daytime and nighttime ("day", "night") and four seasons ("spring", "summer", "autumn", "winter") as options for the shooting situation. Each icon is a circular icon with a designated area. In this case, for example, when a long press is determined, the situation selection icon 102 is displayed centering on that position, and if the indicated position is slid to any area, the option in the area that includes the reached point is selected. It is determined that Furthermore, if the indicated position does not move even if the situation selection icon 102 is displayed, and this state continues for a time longer than a predetermined threshold t2, the situation selection icon 102 representing another option may be displayed. good.

Instead of newly displaying another situation selection icon 102, the icon may be expanded according to the duration of the instruction to increase the number of options. For example, when the situation selection icon 102 is displayed for the first time, only the options arranged in the center area (in the illustrated example, the options "day" and "night") are displayed. If the instruction continues for a time equal to or longer than the threshold value t2 without moving the instruction position even if the option is displayed, the options in the area outside the option (in the illustrated example, "spring", "summer", "autumn", " ``winter'' option) may also appear. When one of the photographing conditions is selected, the image switching unit 66 switches the display to an image photographed at the same location under the selected photographing condition, as shown in FIG.

For example, by switching from an image taken at night to an image taken during the day, the number of people as subjects increases as shown in the figure. Note that among the shooting situation options shown by the situation selection icon 102, an option for which image data does not exist is shown in a different color from other options to indicate that it cannot be selected. The image after switching may be displayed at the same position as the image before switching, or may be displayed at a different position depending on the purpose. For example, if the image 100 is the thumbnail 86a shown in the information column 84 on the map display screen in FIG. It may be enlarged and displayed.

In this case, when the user moves the viewpoint by operating the movement icon 94, all the images at the destination that are switched and displayed by the viewpoint change processing unit 68 may be those in the initially selected shooting situation. As a result, the photographing conditions of images that change sequentially in response to movement are unified, so that it is possible to avoid the situation where images with completely different appearances are displayed due to a slight movement, causing confusion, as described above. On the other hand, even if the image 100 in FIG. 6 is an image enlarged and displayed in the image field 90, if the display is switched to an image of the shooting situation selected as a result of calling the situation selection icon 102, the same location will be different. You can easily see what the situation is.

For example, you can see how the same place changes during the day and night, or depending on the season, or see what the place was like in the past. You can also check what the event you are planning to attend looked like last time. Displaying the status selection icon 102 on an image allows the user to directly switch between images, thereby eliminating the hassle and distraction of temporarily displaying another image such as a search screen or thumbnail. In addition, it is possible to easily switch and compare images even in a limited display area.

FIG. 7 illustrates the structure of a database stored in the image database 60. In this example, the image data information 110 includes a location field 112, an address field 114, a facility ID field 116, an image data field 118, a photographing date and time field 120, and an event field 122. The location column 112 shows location information such as the latitude and longitude of the shooting location, the address column 114 shows the address of the shooting location, and the facility ID column 116 shows identification information such as the name of the facility at the shooting location. The image data column 118 shows data of images taken at the location or facility or their identification information. The photographing date and time column 120 indicates the date and time when the image was photographed, and the event column 122 indicates the name of the event that was being held at the location at the time of photographing.

That is, according to the image data information 110, each image data shown in the image data column 118 is associated with "location information" described in the location column 112, address column 114, and facility ID column 116, and the shooting date and time column 120 column, and the “shooting situation” described in the event column 122. However, the purpose is not to limit the items of "location information" and "shooting situation" or the data structure of the image data information 110 to the illustrated example. Here, the shooting situation indicated by the image data information 110 is information unique to the image data, and is obtained by Exif or manual input. In order to efficiently narrow this down using the situation selection icon 102 in FIG. 6, the shooting date and time and event classification information are prepared.

FIG. 8 exemplifies the structure of classification information of photographing situations used in this embodiment. In this example, the classification information 130 includes a location field 132, an address field 134, a facility ID field 136, a time zone field 138, a season field 140, and an event classification field 142. The location column 132, address column 134, and facility ID column 136 show the same information as the location column 112, address column 114, and facility ID column 116 shown in FIG. The time zone column 138, the season column 140, and the event classification column 142 indicate time zone, season, and event categories that can be presented as options for the location, respectively.

For example, for the "City Center" shown in the diagram, there are images taken during the day and at night, and there are images of the seasons "spring," "autumn," and "winter," but not "summer." . There are also images of events classified as "exhibitions" and "concerts." However, the items for classification of shooting situations are not limited to this. By preparing classifications of various granularity for each temporal situation and subject situation, images can be narrowed down efficiently. The classification information 130 is stored in the image database 60 together with the image data information 110 shown in FIG.

Each time a new captured image is acquired, the attribute acquisition unit 72 of the image providing server 20 registers the data in the image data information 110 in FIG. 7, and updates the classification information 130 based on the attribute as necessary. . When viewing images, the icon display unit 64 of the image processing device 10 obtains the classification information 130 of the specified location from the image providing server 20, and displays selectable shooting situation classifications as options in the situation selection icon 102. represent.

When one of the options is selected by the user, the image switching unit 66 selects data corresponding to the selected shooting situation from the image providing server 20 among the image data associated with the location in the image data information 110. Get and display. If there are multiple corresponding images, one of them may be displayed in an enlarged manner, and the other images may be displayed as thumbnails. Note that the image data information 110 shown in FIG. 7 and the classification information 130 shown in FIG. 8 may actually be one table, or the image data may be associated for each classification.

Next, the image display processing procedure of this embodiment that can be realized by the above configuration will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in which the image processing device 10 displays a photographed image corresponding to a location in cooperation with the image providing server 20. This flowchart assumes a mode in which a captured image is displayed as part of a map application, but as described above, the processing performed before image display is not limited to map display. Furthermore, the image displayed by the image display section 56 is basically the data obtained by the data acquisition section 54 from the image data requested by the data request section 52 and transmitted from the image providing server 20, but this step will be omitted. ing.

First, when a map application is activated by a user operation on the image processing device 10, the image switching unit 66 of the image display unit 56 displays an image of the electronic map on the display device 16 (S10). Until the user specifies the location by inputting the name of the facility he or she wishes to search for or by specifying its location on the map, the system waits while performing processing (not shown) in response to operations on the map (N in S12). ). When a location is specified (Y in S12), the image switching unit 66 displays information on the location as well as a thumbnail of an image taken of the location (S14), as shown in FIG. 5(a).

The images to be displayed here may be selected according to predetermined rules. In the example of the map display screen in FIG. 5A, the thumbnail 86a has the role of a GUI for switching the main display from the map to the photographed image, so in some cases, a GUI for switching may be used instead of the thumbnail. May be displayed. If no operation is performed on the displayed thumbnail image or GUI, the image display unit 56 waits while performing processing (not shown) corresponding to the operation on the map (N in S16).

If an operation is performed on the thumbnail image or GUI (Y in S16), but it is not a long-press operation as described above (Y in S18), the image switching unit 66 changes the operated thumbnail to (b in FIG. 5). ) The display set for the operation, such as enlarged display in the image field 90 shown in ), is executed (S20). When the GUI is operated, an image selected according to a predetermined rule may be enlarged and displayed. If the operation on the thumbnail image or GUI is a long press (N in S18), the icon display section 64 displays the situation selection icon 102 for selecting the shooting situation, as shown in FIG. 6(a). It is displayed at the designated position (S22). When a certain shooting situation is selected by, for example, sliding the designated position, the image switching unit 66 displays the image corresponding to the shooting situation in the image field 90 shown in FIG. 5(b) (S24). .

If there is no need to end the display due to user operation or the like, the processes of S16 to S24 are repeated (N of S26). However, from the second round onwards, the operation target in S16 is not limited to the thumbnail image, but may also be an image enlarged and displayed in the image column 90. Further, the processing performed in S20 may include not only enlarged display of thumbnails by the image switching unit 66 but also processing corresponding to a change in viewpoint or line of sight by the viewpoint change processing unit 68. Here, when switching the display to the image to which the viewpoint has been moved, an image with the same shooting situation as the most recently selected image is selected and displayed. If it becomes necessary to end the display, all processing is ended (Y in S26).

According to the present embodiment described above, when displaying a captured image of a location specified by the user, or during display, a situation selection icon for selecting a shooting situation by a specific operation is displayed. The image taken in the situation selected by the icon operation is then displayed. As a result, images of a desired situation can be efficiently presented even in the same place, so even if images are collected without setting any policies or restrictions, inconveniences due to the large number of images are unlikely to occur. As a result, the user can conveniently view captured images of any location and check the state of the location.

In addition, since the image itself is switched depending on the icon displayed on the image, compared to displaying a separate selection menu or rearranging thumbnail images, it is less distracting and allows you to compare images in an enlarged state. is also easy. Furthermore, in the mode of viewing images of a place from a free viewpoint or line of sight using an all-sky image, it is possible to continue displaying a consistent image even when the viewpoint moves, so the sense of realism is less likely to be impaired, and surrounding You can check the situation without feeling uncomfortable.

Embodiment 2
Embodiment 1 is a technique for easily selecting and unifying the shooting conditions for images taken at the same location. In this embodiment, it is possible to distinguish and select images on different floors among images taken at the same address (same point on the ground). Maps are generally represented as a bird's-eye view of the ground so that the horizontal positional relationships of facilities and roads can be seen. Therefore, it is difficult to understand the number of floors of a building and the condition of each floor from a map alone. Although hierarchical maps may be prepared, they are limited to large-scale facilities where there is a need for them.

Furthermore, as shown in Embodiment 1, when displaying captured images using a map as a reference point, images associated with horizontal positions such as latitude and longitude and the name of the entire building are detected at once, If a mixture of images are displayed, it will take a lot of effort to reach the image of the desired floor. Particularly when creating a sense of realism using all-sky images, switching from one floor to another can create a sense of discomfort and confusion. Therefore, by classifying the captured images in association with the floors of the building, the display can also be managed for each floor, and operations to move to different floors of the same building can be accepted from the user.

The configuration of the system in this embodiment may be the same as the image display system 1 shown in FIG. 1, and the configurations of the image processing device 10 and the image providing server 20 may also be the same as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG. 10 illustrates the structure of data stored in the image database 60 in this embodiment. In this example, the image data information 150 includes a location field 152, an address field 154, a facility ID field 156, a hierarchy field 158, and an image data field 160. The location column 152, address column 154, and facility ID column 156 show the same information as the location column 112, address column 114, and facility ID column 116 shown in FIG. The floor column 158 indicates the number of floors of the building at the corresponding location, and the image data column 160 indicates data of an image taken on the floor or its identification information.

In this case, the attribute acquisition unit 72 shown in FIG. 4 may specify what floor the image was taken from information such as altitude included in the additional information of the acquired image data, or the attribute acquisition unit 72 shown in FIG. The user may be asked to input the number of the floor where the image was taken, or the floor number may be specified from information such as a store name associated with the user. The attribute acquisition unit 72 also specifies the total number of floors of the building indicated in the facility ID field 156 from the official information of the building, and associates it separately. Note that the illustrated image data information 150 may be integrated with the image data information 110 illustrated in FIG. 7 to form one database. In this case, Embodiments 1 and 2 can be implemented simultaneously.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining data to be stored in the image database 60 when the image data column 160 in the image data information 150 of FIG. 10 is further associated with a position in the hierarchy. A schematic diagram of the building hierarchy is shown on the left side of the figure. In this example, the same positions (same horizontal positions on the floor) a, b, c, d, e, and f are defined on each floor from the first floor to the third floor. Among these, black circles are positions where image data exists, and white circles are positions where there is no image data.

For example, image data does not exist for positions c, e, and f on the second floor because there are no floors due to the open-air structure. There are cases where there is a floor but no image data, such as position a on the third floor. When managing image data at a defined position, a table 162 shown on the right side of FIG. 11 is associated instead of the image data field 160 shown in FIG. 10. The table 162 represents the presence or absence of image data for each layer and position. Also, in this example, if there is image data, its identification information is directly associated, for example "001", "002", etc., but the association with the image data is done in a separate table. Good too.

By managing image data for each floor position in this way, when an operation to move from the currently displayed floor to another floor is performed, the image can be switched to the same position on the selected floor. For example, when an image at position a on the first floor is displayed, if a movement operation to the second floor is performed, the display is switched to an image at position a on the second floor. In this way, it is possible to easily understand which position in the selected hierarchy the image after switching corresponds to, and there is no confusion in subsequent movement.

FIG. 12 shows an example of an image displayed on the display device 16 in this embodiment. (a) shows a state in which a photographed image of a certain floor in a building is displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, these images are created by displaying an electronic map using a map application, and specifying a predetermined building through a search or cursor operation. is displayed in the image field 90. However, as long as it is the result of specifying a location on the ground such as a building, address, latitude and longitude, it is not limited to images switched from a map.

The image 170 on the left side of (a) is a part of the all-sky image, and similarly to the case of (b) of FIG. 5, a movement icon 94 for moving the viewpoint is displayed. In other words, when you specify this, the viewpoint moves in the direction of the arrow (toward the back in the figure), and a full-sky image ahead is displayed. Further, in this embodiment, when the movement icon 94 is pressed for a long time, a floor number selection icon 172 for selecting a floor number is displayed. The illustrated floor number selection icon 172 is, for example, a rectangular icon with options ranging from the second basement floor ("B2F") to the third floor above ground ("3F"), each with its own area.

The icon display unit 64 determines the configuration of the floor number selection icon 172 by acquiring information on the total number of floors of the building and information on the number of selectable floors where images exist from the image providing server 20 . For example, an area for all floors is provided in the floor selection icon 172, and areas for floors that cannot be selected are made different from other areas to indicate that they cannot be selected. Further, as shown in the figure, the currently displayed image, in this example the first floor ("1F"), is also colored differently from other floors on the floor number selection icon 172, so that it cannot be selected.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 11, when image data is managed for each position, a floor that does not have image data at the same position as the currently displayed position may be included in the unselectable hierarchy. Alternatively, for floors where image data exists at other locations, a different display color or text may be used to indicate this, allowing selection after obtaining the user's consent. . The image providing server 20 refers to the table 162 of the image database 60 and also transmits information regarding whether such a position can be selected to the image processing apparatus 10. The user selects a desired floor by indicating one of the options from the floor number selection icons 172. However, the shape and configuration of the floor number selection icon 172 is not limited to this. Furthermore, the operation for displaying the floor number selection icon 172 is not limited.

The image 174 on the right side of (a) assumes a case where a touch pad compatible with multi-touch operation is provided as the input device 14 so as to cover the screen of the display device 16. In this case, the viewpoint change processing unit 68 of the image display unit 56 changes the direction of the line of sight with respect to the omnidirectional image in response to, for example, a swipe operation in which a finger or the like touched with a single touch (one contact point) is slid. let Similarly to the image 170, the movement icon 94 may be displayed, and the viewpoint may be advanced in response to a touch operation on the movement icon 94.

In this embodiment, furthermore, in response to a swipe operation in which a finger that has been in contact with a multi-touch (multiple touch points) is slid in a direction that can be considered as the up and down direction on the screen, a screen is displayed that moves up one level corresponding to that direction. Or switch the display to the lower floor. In the illustrated example, by swiping upward as indicated by the arrow, the display is switched to the image of the next floor below. This allows for intuitive operation that feels like moving up the displayed floor. By distinguishing the viewpoint or line of sight operation from the floor movement operation by the number of contact points, it becomes possible to easily achieve both.

(b) shows an image during a transition period when the display is switched to a lower floor by the above-described operation on image 170 or image 174. In this example, the transition period represents an image obtained by combining the image 176 before switching and the image 178 after switching. Here, the images of each floor are arranged so as to correspond to the hierarchy of the building. That is, if the floor after switching is lower than the floor before switching, the image after switching is placed on the lower side, and if the floor after switching is higher than the floor before switching, the image after switching is placed on the upper side. By moving the boundary between the two so that the area of the image after switching gradually increases, the image after switching is created to appear from the direction corresponding to the hierarchy.

For example, both images may be alpha blended and the area in which the switched image 178 is made transparent (α=0) may be narrowed in the vertical direction. By appropriately controlling the α value, the boundaries between both images may be combined into a translucent state. However, the way the images are displayed during the transition period is not limited to this. For example, the images before and after switching may be slid upward or downward, or both may be enlarged or reduced in the vertical direction. In any case, by making the image of the switched floor appear from the direction corresponding to the building floor, the user can feel that he or she is moving to a different floor of the building.

After the transition period shown in (b), the image taken on the floor after switching is displayed as shown in (c). Note that if multiple images are associated with the floor after switching or the same position among them, for example, if the shooting situation can be selected as in Embodiment 1, the image of the desired situation on the desired floor can be displayed. easier access to. In addition, if the image being displayed includes an elevator, if the same elevator is also included in the image of the next layer after switching, the user will feel as if they were actually moving in an elevator, and it will be easier to change the direction of the viewpoint afterward. can be determined.

Therefore, if the image being displayed includes an elevator, the floor number selection icon 172 may be displayed when the elevator image is pressed and held instead of the moving icon 94 shown in the image 170. In this case, the input information acquisition unit 50 recognizes that the area of the elevator image has been pressed for a long time, and the image switching unit 66 determines the field of view so that the image after switching also includes the elevator image. If the same equipment is located at the same location on multiple floors, such as not only elevators but also escalators, stairs, toilets, etc., the location can be more easily understood by showing the image of the corresponding equipment even after switching.

In this case, the equipment that accepts the display operation of the floor number selection icon 172 is set in advance, and when any of the equipment is included in the image being displayed, the input information acquisition unit 50 performs an instruction operation on the area of the image. Detect. The operation here may be a long press or any other predetermined operation. When switching the image to the floor selected by the floor number selection icon, the image switching unit 66 determines the field of view so that images of the same equipment are included. Note that although the illustrated example is a photographed image of the inside of a building, the display target of this embodiment is not limited to that, but rather images that can be associated with height data that is difficult to represent on a two-dimensional map. If so, images of the outside of a building or land with a difference in elevation may be used.

FIG. 13 shows another mode for accepting an operation for selecting a floor number. In this example, the display image 180 shows the inside of a building with an atrium. That is, floors other than the floor currently being displayed (the floor that accepts the horizontal viewpoint movement operation) are also included in the visual field. In this case, it is more efficient and easier to understand if the user can directly select another floor to move to. On the other hand, in order to avoid confusion with the horizontal viewpoint movement operation on the currently displayed floor, moving to another floor is also a long-press operation in this case. The illustrated example shows that the third floor portion is pressed and held by a finger, and when the input information acquisition unit 50 detects this operation, the image switching unit 66 switches the display to the third floor portion.

Since the destination was directly pressed and held, the image after switching in this case is preferably an image of the selected floor near the position that was pressed and held. This makes it possible to move the line of sight freely within the building, including vertically. This aspect is not limited to an atrium, and can be similarly realized if a part of another floor appears in the image of the floor being displayed, such as near an escalator or stairs. The image transition may be similar to that shown in FIG. 12, or the viewpoint may be gradually moved to a designated position. Note that the movement operation to another floor is not limited to a long press, as long as it can be distinguished from the horizontal movement operation on the same floor. For example, multi-touch or double tap may be used. Further, this aspect may be combined with the aspect of displaying the hierarchy selection icon, or may be realized independently.

Next, the image display processing procedure of this embodiment that can be realized by the above configuration will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in which the image processing device 10 displays a captured image corresponding to a location in cooperation with an image providing server. This flowchart assumes a mode in which a captured image is displayed as part of a map application, but as described above, the processing performed before image display is not limited to map display. Furthermore, the image displayed by the image display section 56 is basically the data obtained by the data acquisition section 54 from the image data requested by the data request section 52 and transmitted from the image providing server 20, but this step will be omitted. ing.

First, when a map application is activated by a user operation on the image processing device 10, the image switching unit 66 of the image display unit 56 displays an image of the electronic map on the display device 16 (S30). Until the user specifies the location by inputting the name of the facility he or she wishes to search for or by specifying its location on the map, the system waits while performing a process (not shown) corresponding to the operation on the map (N in S32). ). When a location is specified (Y in S32), the image switching unit 66 enlarges and displays an image selected according to a predetermined rule from among the images of buildings in the location, as shown in FIG. 5(b). (S34).

At this time, as in the first embodiment, thumbnails may be displayed once and the user may select an image to be enlarged, or the image providing server 20 may select from the database according to a predetermined rule. Then, the icon display unit 64 displays a viewpoint movement icon for moving the viewpoint superimposed on the photographed image (S36). If no operation is performed on the displayed viewpoint movement icon, the image display unit 56 waits while performing a process (not shown) corresponding to a change in line of sight, an operation for selecting another image, etc. (N in S38). If an operation is performed on the viewpoint movement icon (Y in S38), but it is not a long-press operation (Y in S40), the viewpoint change processing unit 68 switches the display to the image to which the viewpoint is to be moved (S42).

If the operation on the viewpoint movement icon is a long press (N in S40), the icon display section 64 displays the floor number selection icon 172 as shown in the image 170 in FIG. 12 (S44). When a certain floor is selected from among the floor number selection icons 172, the image switching section 66 displays the image of the selected floor (S46). At this time, as shown in FIG. 12(b), after a transition period in which the image after switching appears from the direction corresponding to the vertical relationship of the hierarchy, the image of the floor after switching as shown in FIG. 12(c) appears. Display. If image data is managed by position, the image at the same position as before switching is displayed.

Note that when a multi-touch compatible touch pad is introduced, instead of the processing in S38, S40, and S44, an image of the next floor is displayed in the opposite direction to the sliding direction by a multi-touch swipe operation. Further, when accepting a long press operation on the image of a predetermined equipment, instead of determining the long press operation on the viewpoint movement icon in S38 and S40, an instruction operation on the image of the equipment is determined. Then, in S46, images of the same equipment are included in the display.

Furthermore, if a part of another floor appears in the image displayed in S34, instead of determining the long press operation on the viewpoint movement icon in S38 and S40, an instruction operation on the image of the other floor is performed. judge. In this case, the process of displaying the floor number selection icon in S44 is omitted, and in S46, the image at the corresponding position among the images of the designated different floor is displayed.

If there is no need to end the display due to user operation or the like, the processes of S36 to S46 are repeated (N of S48). At this time, by limiting the image after switching in the viewpoint movement operation in S42 and the candidate images displayed as thumbnails to the image of the most recently selected floor, images of another floor may be displayed without context. can be prevented. When it becomes necessary to end the display, all processing is ended (Y in S48).

According to the present embodiment described above, while displaying a captured image of a location specified by the user, a floor selection icon for selecting the floor number of a building is displayed by a specific operation. Then, the display is switched to the image of the floor selected by the icon operation. As a result, even if the images correspond to the same location on a two-dimensional map, they can be displayed separately for each floor, allowing users to narrow down their work to the floor they are interested in and check the situation or understand the structure. .

In a mode in which images of a place are viewed from a free viewpoint or line of sight using an all-sky image, it is possible to change floors with the same operational feeling as moving the viewpoint or changing the line of sight. Furthermore, by providing a transition period in which an image of a selected floor appears in a direction that follows the hierarchical relationship, it is possible to provide a sense of realism as if searching the building. Furthermore, by narrowing down the images to be displayed subsequently to the same position on the floor in accordance with the selection of the floor, images of unrelated floors will not suddenly appear, and the sense of realism will be less likely to be impaired. Furthermore, by superimposing the floor selection icon on the currently displayed image, it is possible to more easily transition between floors than by displaying a separate selection menu.

Furthermore, in cases where there is common equipment at the same location on multiple floors, by accepting commands to the image and ensuring that the image is included in the field of view before and after switching the display floor, even on the floor after the switch. It becomes easier to understand the direction. Furthermore, by allowing the user to directly specify another floor included in the image being displayed and its position, the user can easily move to a desired location even if it is on a different floor.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that the above embodiments are merely illustrative, and that various modifications can be made to the combinations of their constituent elements and processing processes, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. be.

1 image display system, 10 image processing device, 14 input device, 16 display device, 20 image providing server, 23 CPU, 24 GPU, 26 main memory, 32 communication section, 34 storage section, 36 output section, 38 input section, 40 recording medium drive unit, 50 input information acquisition unit, 52 data request unit, 54 data acquisition unit, 56 image display unit, 58 request acquisition unit, 60 image database, 62 data transmission unit, 64 icon display unit, 66 image switching unit, 68 viewpoint change processing unit, 70 data acquisition unit, 72 attribute acquisition unit.

Claims (13)

an input information acquisition unit that receives a user operation related to an image to be displayed on a display device from among a plurality of images taken and uploaded by general users stored in a database;
an image display unit that causes a display device to display one of a plurality of images taken at the same place under different conditions in accordance with the user operation;
Equipped with
The image display section displays at least one of a situation related to the shooting time and a situation related to the subject of an image taken at the same place as the image being displayed as an option, and a situation for accepting a selection of one of them from the user. An image characterized in that a selection icon is further displayed, and when the input information acquisition unit receives an operation on the situation selection icon, the display device displays an image taken in the selected situation. Processing equipment. When the input information acquisition unit receives an operation to move the viewpoint for the all-sky image being displayed, the image display unit displays the image taken in the most recently selected situation at the destination viewpoint. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the display is switched to an all-sky image. The image processing according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the image display section displays the situation selection icon on the thumbnail image being displayed, and enlarges and displays the image taken in the selected situation. Device. The image display section moves the situation selection icon to the specified position on the image when the user makes an instruction on the image being displayed and the instruction within a range that is considered to be the same position continues for a predetermined period of time or more. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus displays images in a superimposed manner. The image display unit is configured to display the situation selection icon representing another option when an instruction within a range that is considered to be the same position continues for a predetermined time or more even after displaying the situation selection icon. The image processing device according to claim 4 . The image display section expands the area of the situation selection icon and selects the displayed option when an instruction within a range that is considered to be the same position continues for a predetermined time or more even after displaying the situation selection icon. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the image processing apparatus increases the number of images. The image processing according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the image display unit displays a map on the display device, and displays an image of a place corresponding to a position specified by the user on the map. Device. A server that establishes communication with an image processing device operated by a user and transmits data of an image at a location specified by the user in the image processing device to the image processing device,
a database that associates a plurality of images taken and uploaded by general users, each shooting location , and a shooting situation representing at least one of the situation related to the shooting time and the situation related to the subject ;
Data of an image corresponding to a request from the image processing device and information related to the shooting situation that can be selected by the user from among images taken at the same place as the image are read from the database and transmitted to the image processing device. At the same time, in response to a user operation to select the shooting situation in the image processing device, the image processing device reads out data of an image in the corresponding shooting situation taken at the same place as the image being displayed from the database. a data transmitter that transmits data to the
An image providing server comprising: a data acquisition unit that acquires image data from an external device;
Claim further comprising: an attribute acquisition unit that acquires information related to the photographing location and photographing situation based on additional information of the image data, and registers the information in the database in association with the image data. 8. The image providing server according to 8 . a step of accepting a user operation related to an image to be displayed on a display device from among a plurality of images taken and uploaded by general users stored in a database;
Displaying one of a plurality of images taken at the same place under different conditions on a display device in response to the user operation;
At least one of the situations related to the shooting time and the situation related to the subject of an image taken at the same location as the image being displayed is displayed as an option, and a situation selection icon is displayed to accept a selection from the user. step and
accepting an operation on the situation selection icon and displaying an image taken in the selected situation on the display device;
An image display method using an image processing device, the method comprising: establishing communication with an image processing device operated by a user, and transmitting data of an image at a location specified by the user in the image processing device to the image processing device;
The image processing device obtains information from a database that associates a plurality of images taken and uploaded by general users, each shooting location , and a shooting situation representing at least one of the situation related to the shooting time and the situation related to the subject. reading and transmitting to the image processing device image data corresponding to the request and information related to the shooting situation that can be selected by the user from among images taken at the same place as the image;
In response to a user operation to select the photographing situation in the image processing device, data of an image of the corresponding photographing situation taken at the same place as the image being displayed is read from the database and transmitted to the image processing device. step and
An image providing method by an image providing server, the method comprising: A function that accepts user operations related to images to be displayed on a display device from among a plurality of images taken and uploaded by general users stored in a database;
a function of displaying one of a plurality of images taken at the same place under different conditions on a display device in accordance with the user operation;
At least one of the situations related to the shooting time and the situation related to the subject of an image taken at the same location as the currently displayed image is displayed as an option, and a situation selection icon is displayed to accept a selection from the user. and the function to
a function of accepting an operation on the situation selection icon and displaying an image taken in the selected situation on the display device;
A computer program that causes a computer to realize the following. a function of establishing communication with an image processing device operated by a user and transmitting data of an image at a location specified by the user in the image processing device to the image processing device;
The image processing device obtains information from a database that associates a plurality of images taken and uploaded by general users, each shooting location , and a shooting situation representing at least one of the situation related to the shooting time and the situation related to the subject. a function of reading image data corresponding to the request and transmitting to the image processing device information related to the shooting situation that can be selected by the user from among images taken at the same place as the image;
In response to a user operation to select the photographing situation in the image processing device, data of an image of the corresponding photographing situation taken at the same place as the image being displayed is read from the database and transmitted to the image processing device. function and
A computer program that causes a computer to realize the following.

Images