KR101619091B1 - Method for transmitting image and image pickup apparatus applying the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A video transmission method and a photographing apparatus using the same are provided. According to the present image transmission method, at least one face is recognized from a photographed image, and at least one of the faces is selected, and the photographed image is transmitted to a destination corresponding to the selected face. Accordingly, the user can easily transmit the photographed image to another person using the photographing apparatus.

Shooting, Email, Face Recognition

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a method for transmitting an image,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image transmission method and a photographing apparatus using the same, and more particularly, to a method of transmitting an image photographed by a photographing apparatus to an external apparatus and a photographing apparatus using the same.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] Recently, a digital camera for storing photographs photographed in the form of digital data is rapidly spreading. The digital camera can not only confirm the image immediately after it is photographed, but also store the image data in the form of a computer file. Therefore, the digital camera is used by many users because of its convenience.

In addition, photos taken with a digital camera can be shared with a variety of people by copying the photo files to others or sending them via email. However, in order to transfer the photographed files from the digital camera to others, the user connects the digital camera to the computer and copies the photographed picture files to the computer, To be recorded and transmitted. As described above, there is an inconvenience that a complicated procedure is required to transfer a photograph taken by a digital camera to another person.

The user wants to be able to transmit the captured image to another person more easily. Therefore, it is requested to search for a method for easily transferring an image photographed to another person using the photographing apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to solve at least the above problems and / or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for recognizing at least one face, And a photographing apparatus using the same.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image transmission method including: recognizing at least one face in a photographed image; Selecting one of the at least one face; And transmitting the photographed image to a destination corresponding to the selected face.

And displaying the photographed image on a screen, wherein, in the selecting step, when a touch operation is detected in an area where any one of at least one face displayed on the screen is displayed, You can also choose the face of.

Searching for the person information corresponding to the selected face; And determining the destination based on the person information.

The searching step may include extracting facial feature data of the selected face; Searching for a portrait corresponding to the extracted facial feature data; And extracting the person information corresponding to the searched person's photograph.

The portrait and the person information may be recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium.

In addition, the portrait and the portrait information are recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium, and the portrait photograph searching step may search the external storage medium for a portrait photograph corresponding to the extracted facial feature data.

The person information extracting step may extract the person information corresponding to the searched person's photo from the address book stored in the external storage medium.

The method may further include storing the photographed image, wherein the face recognizing step recognizes at least one face from the image stored by the photographing.

Displaying an image photographed by the image pickup device on the screen during a photographing standby state; Wherein the face recognizing step recognizes at least one face in an image photographed by the imaging element during the photographing standby state.

The photograph transferring step may transmit the photograph to the e-mail address corresponding to the selected face.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing apparatus comprising: an image pickup element for photographing an image; An image processing unit for recognizing at least one face in the photographed image; A communication unit connected to be able to communicate with an external device; And a controller for selecting any one of the at least one face and controlling the communication unit to transmit the photographed image to a destination corresponding to the selected face.

An operation unit for detecting a touch operation of the user; And a display unit for displaying the photographed image on a screen, wherein, when a touch operation is detected in an area where one of at least one face displayed on the screen is displayed, You can also choose faces.

Also, the control unit may search for the person information corresponding to the selected face, and determine the destination based on the person information.

Then, the image processing unit extracts facial feature data of the selected face, and the control unit searches for a portrait photograph corresponding to the extracted facial feature data, extracts portrait information corresponding to the retrieved portrait photograph have.

In addition, the portrait and the person information may be recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium.

In addition, the portrait and the portrait information are recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium, and the controller may search the external storage medium for a portrait photograph corresponding to the extracted facial feature data.

Also, the controller may extract the person information corresponding to the searched person's photo from the address book stored in the external storage medium.

And a storage unit for storing the photographed image, and the image processing unit may recognize at least one face from the image stored by the photographing.

A display unit for displaying an image photographed by the image pickup device on a screen during a shooting standby state; And the image processing unit may recognize at least one face in an image taken by the image pickup device during the image pickup standby state.

In addition, the control unit may control the photo to be transmitted to an e-mail address corresponding to the selected face.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an image transmission method for recognizing at least one face in a photographed image, selecting one of the at least one face, and transmitting the photographed image to a destination corresponding to the selected face, It is possible to provide a photographing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, so that the user can easily transmit the photographed image to another person using the photographing apparatus.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing in detail the configuration of a photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1, the image capturing apparatus 100 includes a lens unit 110, an image sensing device 120, an image processing unit 130, a control unit 140, an input unit 150, a video output unit 160, a display 170, a codec 180, and a storage unit 190.

The lens unit 110 collects the light of the subject and causes the optical image to be formed in the imaging area.

The imaging device 120 captures an image that is incident through the lens unit 110. Specifically, the image pickup device 120 photoelectrically converts light incident through the lens into an electric signal, and performs predetermined signal processing on the electric signal. The image pickup device 120 that performs such a function includes a pixel and an AD converter. Each pixel outputs an analog video signal, which is converted into a digital video signal.

The image processing unit 130 performs signal processing on an image input from the image sensing device 120 and transmits the processed image signal to the image output unit 160 in order to display the photographed image. In addition, the image processing unit 130 outputs the image signal processed by the codec 180 to store the photographed image.

Specifically, the image processing unit 130 performs digital zoom, AWB (Auto White Balance), AF (Auto Focus), and AE (Auto Exposure) for adjusting the format conversion and the image scale of the image signal output from the image pickup device 120. [ ).

In addition, the image processing unit 130 performs a function of recognizing a face in the photographed image. Specifically, the image processing unit 130 performs a process of detecting a face in a photographed image and a process of recognizing facial feature data. The process of detecting a face is a process of detecting an area including a face in the photographed image. The process of recognizing facial feature data is a process of recognizing facial features to distinguish them from other facial features.

The face detection process is performed through color based face region detection, edge based eye region detection, face region normalization, and SVM (Support Vector Machine) based face region verification.

Color based face detection is a process of detecting a face in an input image using face skin color information. Specifically, the color-based face region detection uses a YCbCr information of the input image to generate a color filter to extract a face region. That is, the color based face region detection is a process of extracting only the skin color part from the input image.

Next, the edge-based eye area detection is a process of detecting the eye area using the contrast information. In general, it is possible to easily separate the eye area, but there is a possibility that errors may be caused by various hair style women or glasses.

Thereafter, the face region is normalized using the detected eyes. Then, the normalized face region is verified by using SVM (Support Vector Machine). When SVM face area verifier is used, the possibility of false face area detection is reduced to less than 1%.

Through this process, the image processor 130 detects a face from the photographed image.

Meanwhile, the process of recognizing the facial feature data includes a holistic approach and an analytic approach.

The overall approach is to recognize faces by taking into account the characteristics of the entire area of the face pattern. Such methods include an eigenface method, a template matching-based method, and the like.

The analytical approach is to recognize facial features by extracting geometric features of facial features. The analytical approach has the advantage of fast recognition speed and low memory requirement, but it is difficult to select and extract facial features.

Recognition of facial feature data proceeds through the following steps. The image processing unit 130 receives an image including a face. Then, the image processing unit 130 extracts the components (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth, etc.) of the face. Then, the image processing unit 130 performs correction for the case where the face is rotated and the case where the illumination is reflected. Through this process, the image processor 130 extracts the features of the face included in the photographed image. Through this process, the image processing unit 130 can detect the face of the person in the photographed image.

As a result, the image processing unit 130 detects the overall pattern of the face in the photographed image, and recognizes the facial feature data included in the photographed image using the detected facial pattern.

The video output unit 160 outputs the video signal received from the video processing unit 130 to the internal display 170 or an external output terminal.

The display 170 displays the photographed image on the screen.

The codec 180 encodes the video signal received by the video processor 130. The codec 130 transmits the encoded video signal to the storage unit 190. The codec 180 also decodes the encoded video signal stored in the storage 190. Then, the codec 180 transmits the decoded video signal to the image processing unit 130.

That is, the codec 180 performs encoding when storing the photographed image, and performs decoding when the stored image is output to the image processing unit 130. [

The storage unit 190 stores an image captured by the image pickup device 120 in a compressed form. In addition, the storage unit 190 stores an address book. Here, the address book refers to a database in which contacts of the persons desired by the user are recorded. The address book is person information, and includes at least one of names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of persons. Also, the address book stores photographs corresponding to the respective persons. The storage unit 190 may be implemented using a flash memory, a hard disk, a DVD, or the like.

The operation unit 150 receives a command through the user's operation. The operation unit 150 may be provided in the form of a button on the surface of the photographing apparatus 100 or may be provided on the display 170 in the form of a touch screen.

The operation unit 150 receives a command from the user to select a desired face from a plurality of faces included in the photographed image.

The communication unit 195 is connected to external devices through various networks such as the Internet. The communication unit 195 may be connected to an external device using a wired network such as a wired LAN or may be connected to an external device using a wireless network such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth.

In addition, the communication unit 195 may transmit the photographed image to a device of a specific user.

The control unit 140 controls overall operation of the photographing apparatus 100. Specifically, the control unit 140 controls the image processing unit 130 to process the photographed image. In addition, the control unit 140 controls the codec 180 to encode or decode the video signal.

The control unit 140 selects one of the at least one face recognized by the image processing unit 130. Then, the control unit 140 controls the communication unit to transmit the photographed image to the destination corresponding to the selected face. Here, the destination corresponding to the selected face may be an email address or a telephone number. If the destination is an e-mail address, the control unit 140 transmits the captured image via e-mail. If the destination is a telephone number, the control unit 140 transmits the image through a multimedia message service (MMS). In addition, it goes without saying that any means can be used as long as it is a means for transmitting the photographed image.

In addition, when the touch operation is detected in the area where one of the at least one face displayed on the screen is displayed, the controller 140 selects the face of the area in which the touch is detected.

Then, the control unit 140 searches for the person information corresponding to the selected face, and determines the destination based on the person information. Here, the person information means information related to the user written in the address book. Specifically, the person information includes at least one of a name, an address, an e-mail address, a telephone number, and a photograph of a person.

The control unit 140 searches for a portrait photograph corresponding to the extracted facial feature data, and extracts portrait information corresponding to the retrieved portrait photograph.

Here, the portrait and person information may be recorded in the address book stored in the internal storage medium. Also, the portrait and person information may be recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium. In this case, the controller 140 searches the external storage medium for a portrait photograph corresponding to the extracted facial feature data. Then, the controller 140 extracts the person information corresponding to the searched person's photo from the address book stored in the external storage medium. At this time, the control unit 140 communicates with the external storage medium through the communication unit 195.

Then, the control unit 140 controls the photos to be transmitted to the e-mail address corresponding to the selected face.

In this way, the photographing apparatus 100 can transmit the photographed photograph through the e-mail of the person included in the photographed photograph. Accordingly, the user can select a face of a person included in the photographed picture after photographing, and send the picture by e-mail.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart provided to illustrate a method of sharing a photograph of the photographing apparatus 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the photographing apparatus 100 photographs a photograph according to a user's operation (S210). Then, the photographing apparatus 100 confirms whether it is set to share the photographed photograph (S220). If it is determined not to share the photographed image (S220-N), the photographing apparatus 100 stores the photographed photograph in the storage unit 190 (S225).

On the other hand, if the photograph is set to be shared (S220-Y), the photographing apparatus 100 selects a face according to the user's selection operation in the photographed photograph (S230). Then, the photographing apparatus 100 automatically designates the face area around the point selected by the user (S240). That is, the photographing apparatus 100 selects a face area including a point selected by the user among the faces included in the photographed photograph, thereby designating the face area. At this time, the photographing apparatus 100 detects the face of the person in the photograph using the above-described face recognition technology.

Then, the photographing apparatus 100 extracts the feature data of the face recognition area (S245). In this way, the photographing apparatus 100 detects the face of the person in the photograph, extracts the feature data of the detected face, and recognizes the faces of the characters included in the photographed photograph.

Thereafter, the photographing apparatus 100 compares the facial feature data of the photograph of the person stored in the address book of the storage unit 190 with the facial feature data of the person detected in the photographed photograph (S250).

If the facial feature data of the person corresponding to the facial feature data of the person detected in the photographed photograph does not exist in the address book (S260-N), the photographing apparatus 100 confirms whether or not the information about the person is registered (S265). If the user selects not to register the person (S265-Y), the process ends.

On the other hand, if the user has selected to register the person (S265-Y), the photographing apparatus 100 stores the information about the newly registered person, and stores facial characteristic data of the photograph of the person stored in the updated address book, The facial feature data of the person detected in the photograph is compared again (S250).

If the face feature data of the person corresponding to the facial feature data of the person detected in the photographed photograph exists in the address book (S260-Y), the photographing apparatus 100 displays a person response confirmation message on the screen, (S270).

Thereafter, the photographing apparatus 100 updates the photograph of the person detected in the photographed photograph to the address book DB (S280). Thus, by updating the photograph of the person detected in the photographed photograph to the person in the corresponding address book, the photographing apparatus 100 can secure more facial feature data for the persons.

Then, the photographing apparatus 100 refers to the address book and transmits the photographed photograph to the detected e-mail address (S290). In addition to the e-mail, the photographing apparatus 100 may also transmit the photograph to a device used by the detected person by using another photograph transmission means such as MMS.

Through this process, the photographing apparatus 100 can transmit photographed photographs by e-mail of a person included in the photographed photograph. Therefore, the user can select the face of the person included in the photographed picture after photographing the picture, and send the picture by e-mail.

Hereinafter, a process of selecting and confirming a person in a photographed photograph will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a photograph taken by the photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The photograph taken in FIG. 3A includes a total of four persons. The photographing apparatus 100 recognizes the first face 310, the second face 320, the third face 330 and the fourth face 340 to confirm that a box is displayed around the faces . Among them, when the user selects the first face 310, the confirmation message screen as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed.

FIG. 3B is a view showing a screen in which a person correspondence confirmation message is displayed on the photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3B, the person correspondence confirmation message can confirm that the photograph of the selected first face 310 and the photograph 350 extracted from the address book are displayed together. The photograph 350 extracted from the address book corresponds to the photograph determined that the photographing apparatus 100 corresponds to the person of the first face 310.

That is, the person response confirmation message is a message displayed to display a photograph of a selected person and a photograph of the address book corresponding to the selected person, and to confirm whether the two pictures represent the same person.

If the user selects 'Yes' while the person response confirmation message is displayed, the photographing apparatus 100 refers to the address book and transmits the photographed photograph to the person's e-mail address corresponding to the photograph.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4H, a process of transmitting a photograph to the persons included in the photographed photograph will be described. 4A to 4H are views illustrating a process of transmitting photographed pictures to persons included in a photographed photograph according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A shows a screen on which photographed pictures are displayed. As shown in FIG. 4A, once the user takes a picture, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the photographed picture on the screen.

4B, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the user menu 400 on the screen according to the user's operation. When the 'face recognition photo sharing' item is selected in the user menu, the photographing apparatus 100 operates the face selection mode. Here, the face selection mode means a mode in which a user can select a face in the photographed photograph. At this time, the photographing apparatus 100 uses the face recognition function to grasp in which area the face is included in the photographed photograph. Accordingly, when the user touches the face area included in the photographed photograph, the photographing apparatus 100 selects the touched face and displays a box around the selected face.

4C shows the user selecting the first face 410, the second face 420, and the third face 430 in the photographed photograph. As shown in FIG. 4C, when three faces are selected, the photographing apparatus 100 performs a process of confirming the selected three faces.

FIG. 4D is a view showing a screen in which a character correspondence confirmation message for confirming the first face 410 is displayed on the photographing apparatus 100. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the person correspondence confirmation message can confirm that the photograph of the selected first face 410 and the photograph 450 extracted from the address book are displayed together. The photograph 450 extracted from the address book corresponds to the photograph determined by the photographing apparatus 100 to correspond to the person of the first face 410.

If the user selects 'Yes' in a state in which the person response confirmation message is displayed, the confirmation process for the second face 420 is performed.

4E is a view showing a screen in which a character correspondence confirmation message for confirming the second face 420 is displayed on the photographing apparatus 100. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4E, the person response message can confirm that the photograph of the selected second face 420 and the photo 460 extracted from the address book are displayed together. The photograph 460 extracted from the address book corresponds to the photograph determined by the photographing apparatus 100 to correspond to the person of the second face 420.

If the user selects 'Yes' in the state that the person response confirmation message is displayed, the third face 430 is checked.

FIG. 4F is a view showing a screen in which a character correspondence confirmation message for confirming the third face 430 is displayed on the photographing apparatus 100. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4F, the person correspondence confirmation message can confirm that the photograph of the selected third face 430 and the photograph 470 extracted from the address book are displayed together. The photograph 470 extracted from the address book corresponds to the photograph determined by the photographing apparatus 100 to correspond to the person of the third face 430.

If the user selects 'Yes' while the person response confirmation message is displayed, as shown in FIG. 4g, the photograph is displayed in the form of an e-mail of the characters corresponding to the first face 410, the second face 420 and the third face 430 A confirmation message is displayed whether or not to transmit.

If the user selects 'Yes', the photographing apparatus 100 extracts the e-mail information of the characters corresponding to the first face 410, the second face 420 and the third face 430 from the address book do. Then, the photographing apparatus 100 transmits the photographed image to the extracted e-mail address. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4H, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a message on the screen informing that the photograph has been transmitted to the e-mail address.

Through the above process, the photographing apparatus 100 transmits a photographed photograph at an e-mail address corresponding to the face of the persons included in the photographed photograph. Accordingly, the user can transmit the photographed photograph to the persons only by the operation of selecting the face included in the photographed photograph.

Hereinafter, a process of registering a photograph of a person in the address book will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5H. 5A to 5H are views illustrating a process of registering a photograph of a person in an address book using a face recognition technology according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 5A, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a main menu on the screen. In this state, when the user touches the address book icon 500, the photographing apparatus 100 receives the selection command of the address book icon 500 and executes the address book.

5B is a view showing a screen in which an address book is executed. 5B, when the user selects "Han Hyo-joo" in the address book, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a selection command for "Han Hyo-joo" in the address book.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5C, detailed information about "Han Hyo-joo" is displayed on the screen. Here, when the user selects the photo registration button 510, the photographing apparatus 100 performs a photo registration process. Here, the photo registration process refers to a process of registering a photo corresponding to a person selected in the address book.

Accordingly, when the user selects the picture registration button 510, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a picture list on the screen as shown in FIG. 5D. As shown in FIG. 5D, when the user touches a desired picture in the picture list, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a selection command for the touched picture. Accordingly, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the selected photograph as a full screen as shown in FIG. 5E.

5E, if the selected photograph includes a face, the photographing apparatus 100 recognizes the faces included in the photograph and displays an indicator around the face. 5E includes the first face 520 and the second face 530. It can be seen that box display is made around the first face 520 and the second face 530.

As shown in FIG. 5E, when the user touches the first face 520, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a command to select the first face 520. Therefore, the photographing apparatus 100 separately displays a photograph of the selected face portion as shown in FIG. 5F. Also, as shown in FIG. 5F, it can be confirmed that the storage button 540 is displayed together with the photograph of the first face 520. Here, the storage button 540 receives a command for causing the selected face photograph to be stored in correspondence with the person selected in the current address book.

5F, when the user touches the storage button 540, the photographing apparatus 100 stores the first photograph 520 so as to correspond to "Han Hyo-joo" of the address book. Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 5G, a message confirming the storage is displayed on the screen. Then, as shown in FIG. 5H, after the image registration ends, the address book is returned to the display screen.

Through this process, the photographing apparatus 100 can register a photograph so as to correspond to the person in the address book by using the face recognition function.

6A to 6D illustrate a process of directly photographing a photo and registering it in an address book according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5A to 5C, when the user touches the photographing button 610 as shown in FIG. 6A, the photographing apparatus 100 executes the photograph photographing mode. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the user photographs the face of a specific person, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the photographed photograph on the screen.

6C, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a photographed photograph on a screen and displays a confirmation message on the screen as to whether or not to store the photograph corresponding to the selected person in the address book. When the user touches the storage button 620, the photographing apparatus 100 stores the photographed photograph so as to correspond to the selected person in the address book. In other words, in Fig. 6C, the photographing apparatus 100 stores photographed photographs corresponding to "Han Hyo-joo ". 6D, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a message indicating that the storage is completed when the storage is completed.

As described above, the photographing apparatus 100 can photograph a photograph directly and register it as a photograph corresponding to a specific person in the address book, in addition to a method of selecting a photograph from a photograph list.

Hereinafter, a process of selecting any one of the faces included in the picture displayed on the screen and registering the selected face in the address book will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7I. FIGS. 7A to 7E are diagrams illustrating a process of registering any one of face regions included in a picture displayed on a screen in accordance with an existing person in the address book, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7A is a view showing a screen of the photographing apparatus 100 in which a photograph including a plurality of faces is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the user touches the first face 700, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a command to select the first face 700. Then, the photographing apparatus 100 extracts and selects the area of the first face 700 using the face recognition technology.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7B, the face registration menu 710 of the selected first face 700 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7B, the face registration menu 710 includes an existing address book item 713 and a new address book item 716. Here, the existing address book item 713 is an item for receiving a command to register a selected face photograph in any one of the currently stored address book persons. The new address book entry 716 is an item for receiving a command to register a selected face photograph together with a new person.

When the user selects the existing address book item 713, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a list of persons stored in the current address book as shown in FIG. 7C. Here, as shown in Fig. 7D, when the user selects "Han Hyo-joo ", the photographing apparatus 100 associates the photograph including the first face 700 with the address book information of" Han Hyo-joo ". 7D, when the user touches the save button 720, the photographing apparatus 100 stores the photograph including the first face 700 in association with the address book information of "Han Hyo-joo " . Then, as shown in FIG. 7E, a storage confirmation message is displayed on the screen.

7F to 7H illustrate a process of registering any one of face regions included in a picture displayed on the screen in correspondence with a new person in the address book according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7B, when the user selects a new address book item 716, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a screen for adding a person to the address book, as shown in FIG. 7F. The photographing apparatus 100 can confirm that the photograph of the first face 700 is associated with the address book information of the currently added person and stored. That is, when the new address book entry 716 is selected, the photographing apparatus 100 stores the selected face photograph in association with the information of the person to be newly registered.

7G, when the user selects the save button 720 after inputting the name and the telephone number of the new person, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the name and the telephone number of the new person inputted on the first face 700). Then, as shown in FIG. 7H, a confirmation message indicating that the storage is completed is displayed on the screen.

Through the above process, the photographing apparatus 100 can associate the face included in the photograph displayed on the screen with a newly registered person in the address book.

On the other hand, when the user touches the photograph displayed on the screen of the photographing apparatus 100, a function other than the face registration function may be performed. This will be described with reference to Fig. 7i. FIG. 7I is a diagram showing a screen in which a selected person-related menu 750 is displayed when a face region of a photo is selected according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7A, when the user touches the first face 700, the photographing apparatus 100 may display the selected person related menu 750 as shown in FIG. 7I. The selected person related menu 750 is a menu for displaying functions that can be performed in relation to the person when the person corresponding to the face selected by the user is included in the address book.

As shown in FIG. 7I, it can be seen that the selected person related menu 750 includes a call item 753 and a message creation item 756. That is, the photographing apparatus 100 performs a telephone dialing function and a message sending function to a person corresponding to the first face 700. In this manner, when a face included in the photograph displayed by the user is selected, the photographing apparatus 100 may provide a menu that performs a function related to the person corresponding to the face selected by the user. Accordingly, the user can use the function of making a telephone call or sending a message to a person corresponding to the selected face by selecting the face displayed on the photograph.

Meanwhile, although the address book is stored in the storage unit 190 included in the photographing apparatus 100, it is needless to say that the photographing apparatus 100 may use the address book stored in the external apparatus. In this case, when the address book is required, the photographing apparatus 100 temporarily uses the address book by using wired or wireless communication with the external device. Also, the photographing apparatus 100 may be configured to access the external device and search whether the information of the person is included only when the address book stored in the storage unit 190 does not contain the information of the desired person Of course.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the photographing apparatus 100 transmits the photographed photograph by e-mail, but it is needless to say that the photographing apparatus 100 may transmit the photographed photograph to another specific device of the person to be photographed. At this time, the other specific device of the person to be photographed is a device that has a history with which the photographing device 100 is connected. Since there is a record that is connected to the photographing apparatus 100, the photographing apparatus 100 can easily communicate with another specific apparatus because there is a record of the IP address or the MAC address of another specific apparatus. Other specific devices include electronic frames, digital cameras, and TVs. The photographing apparatus 100 recognizes that the user of another specific apparatus is a person to receive a photograph based on the owner information and the apparatus information of another specific apparatus. Therefore, the photographing apparatus 100 can transmit the photographed photograph to another specific device of the person to be photographed.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, it is explained that the photographing apparatus 100 recognizes the face with respect to the photographed photograph, but it goes without saying that the face can be recognized even in the photographing waiting state before photographing. Here, the photographing waiting state indicates a state in which an image of a subject to be photographed is displayed on a display screen of the photographing apparatus 100 before photographing. Therefore, in this case, the display unit 170 displays an image photographed by the image sensing element 120 during the image sensing standby state. Then, the display unit 170 displays a box-shaped indicator on the face included in the screen waiting for photographing. In addition, the image processing unit 130 recognizes at least one face in the image photographed by the image sensing element 120 during the image sensing standby state.

As described above, since the photographing apparatus 100 recognizes the face in the photographing standby state, the user can select the face displayed on the screen in the photographing standby state. When the user selects a face displayed in the photographing waiting state, the photographing apparatus 100 performs a function related to a person corresponding to the selected face. For example, when a specific face is selected in the shooting standby state, the photographing apparatus 100 may display address book information of a person corresponding to the selected face on the screen. In addition, when a specific face is selected in the shooting standby state, the photographing apparatus 100 may perform a function of making a call to a person corresponding to the selected face or transmitting a text message.

In this way, when the photographing apparatus 100 performs a function related to a person corresponding to a face selected in the photographing standby state, the user performs only an operation of illuminating a desired person to the photographing apparatus 100 in the photographing standby mode, Or send a text message.

Meanwhile, the photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may recommend another person to transmit a photograph together when the photograph is transmitted to a specific person. Here, the other person is a person who is highly acquainted with a specific person to be photographed. The photographing apparatus 100 sets the affinity for each person registered in the address book with other persons. The degree of familiarity increases as the number of faces and the number of frequencies included in one picture increases. For example, if there are people A, B, and C, 5 pictures taken by A and B, 6 pictures taken by B and C, and 8 pictures taken by C and A, A is set to be the most familiar. Therefore, when the photographing apparatus 100 transmits a photograph photographed to the photographing apparatus 100, the photographing apparatus 100 displays A as a recommended person to be transmitted together. As described above, when the photographing apparatus 100 transmits a photograph to a specific person, the photographing apparatus 100 may recommend another person to be photographed together and display it on the screen.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flow chart for explaining a photo sharing method of a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3A is a diagram showing a photograph taken by a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3B is a view showing a screen in which a person response confirmation message is displayed on the photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4A to 4H illustrate a process of transmitting photographed photographs to persons included in a photographed photograph according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5A to 5H illustrate a process of registering a photograph of a person in an address book using a face recognition technology according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6A to 6D illustrate a process of directly photographing a photograph and registering it in an address book according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7A to 7E illustrate a process of registering any one of face regions included in a picture displayed on a screen in correspondence with an existing person in the address book according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7F to 7H illustrate a process of registering any one of face regions included in a picture displayed on a screen in correspondence with a new person in the address book according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7I is a diagram showing a screen in which a selected person-related menu is displayed when a face region of a picture is selected according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (20)

Displaying an image including a plurality of faces on a screen; Recognizing the plurality of faces and displaying a plurality of indicators corresponding to the recognized plurality of faces; Retrieving at least one destination information corresponding to the selected indicator when an input of a user selecting one of the plurality of indicators is received; Displaying a menu for selecting a message transmission function in response to the selection of the indicator; And And transmitting the image based on the searched at least one destination information when a user input for selecting a message transmission function of the displayed menu is received. delete The method according to claim 1, Searching for person information corresponding to a face of the selected indicator; And determining the at least one destination based on the person information. The method of claim 3, The method of claim 1, Extracting facial feature data of the selected face; Searching for a portrait corresponding to the extracted facial feature data; And And extracting the person information corresponding to the searched person's photo. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the portrait and the person information are recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium. 5. The method of claim 4, The person's photograph and the person information are recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium, The method of claim 1, And searching the external storage medium for a portrait photograph corresponding to the extracted facial feature data. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the step of extracting the person information comprises: And extracting the person information corresponding to the searched person's photo from the address book stored in the external storage medium. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising: storing the image, Wherein the displaying the plurality of indicators comprises: And recognizing at least one face from the stored image. The method according to claim 1, Displaying an image photographed by the imaging element during a photographing standby state; Further comprising: Wherein the displaying the plurality of indicators comprises: Wherein at least one face is recognized from an image captured by the imaging device during the imaging standby state. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the transmitting the image comprises: And transmits the photo to at least one email address corresponding to the face of the selected indicator. A display unit for displaying an image including a plurality of faces on a screen; An image processor for recognizing the plurality of faces; And A plurality of indicators corresponding to the recognized plurality of faces are displayed and when at least one input of a user selecting one of the plurality of indicators is received, at least one destination information corresponding to the selected indicator is searched, A controller for displaying the menu for selecting a message transmission function in response to the selection of the message transmission function and transmitting the image based on the searched at least one destination information when a user input for selecting a message transmission function of the displayed menu is received; . delete 12. The method of claim 11, Wherein, Searches for the person information corresponding to the face of the selected indicator, and determines the at least one destination based on the person information. 14. The method of claim 13, Wherein the image processing unit comprises: Extracting facial feature data of a face of the selected indicator, Wherein, Searches for a portrait photograph corresponding to the extracted facial feature data, and extracts portrait information corresponding to the retrieved portrait photograph. 15. The method of claim 14, Wherein the portrait photograph and the person information are recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium. 15. The method of claim 14, The person's photograph and the person information are recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium, Wherein, And searches the external storage medium for a portrait photograph corresponding to the extracted facial feature data. 17. The method of claim 16, Wherein, And extracts the person information corresponding to the searched person's photograph from the address book stored in the external storage medium 12. The method of claim 11, And a storage unit for storing the image, Wherein the image processing unit comprises: And recognizes at least one face from the stored image. 12. The method of claim 11, The display unit includes: An image picked up by the image pickup element is displayed during the image pickup waiting state, Wherein the image processing unit comprises: And recognizes at least one face in the image photographed by the imaging element during the photographing standby state. 12. The method of claim 11, Wherein, And controls to transmit a picture to at least one e-mail address corresponding to the face of the selected indicator.

Images