JP2002185837A - Robot camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a robot camera system in which robot cameras mutually exchange photographing information, cooperate with each other, can automatically photograph an object, depending on the situation and a person can control the robot camera, an needed. SOLUTION: The robot camera system is provided with one or more robot cameras, each having a photographing camera and a robot camera drive section, a position detection section that measures a three-dimensional position of an object within a photographing range, a state detection section that measures information for state detection including sound information of the object, and a scenario server that totally manages various photographing control information items, including a photographing method with respect to a shot specific to a program. The one or more robot cameras, the position detection section, the state detection section, and the scenario server are designed to be units and arranged in a distribution way and the robot camera system is configured, such that the units can mutually conduct communication.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a robot camera device which is used for television program production, movie production, remote video conference, etc., and which can automatically take pictures.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a robot camera device capable of realizing efficient production with camera work utilizing know-how of a program creator, particularly when photographing using a plurality of cameras is required.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of television program production, movie production, and the like, photographing with a camera has heretofore largely been left to humans. One cameraman for each camera,
I was operating the camera. For this reason, when the number of cameras used increases, the number of photographers who operate the cameras must be increased, so that not only is it difficult to secure human resources, but also the cost of program production is increased.

However, with the arrival of the digital broadcasting era, each broadcasting station is demanding efficient shooting in response to an increase in the number of programs and diversification of images. In such a background, a robot camera device that automatically performs photographing has attracted attention.

In a conventional robot camera apparatus for automatic photographing, a robot camera driving unit, a subject position detecting unit, etc.
It was common to adopt a united form. The robot camera device recognizes a subject using a vector such as a color and a motion in a screen where the robot camera is photographing, and performs photographing such as tracking. However, in such a method, the robot camera device cannot track the subject again when the subject comes out of its own shooting screen, and the position of the subject not shown on the screen is unknown. There were difficulties such as being unable to do so.

[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned difficulties, a "television camera photographing control apparatus" disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-240868 has been proposed. The television camera photographing control device includes a camera dedicated to subject detection separately from the camera for photographing, and adopts a method of moving the camera for photographing while grasping the whole situation at a wide angle. The television camera photographing control device is provided with a camera dedicated to subject detection, so that the photographer is shown in the photographing screen of the photographing camera as if the photographer is photographing while checking the entire situation with the naked eye. You can shoot without checking a wide range of situations. The camera for shooting, even if the subject deviates from his own shooting screen,
The subject can be tracked again as long as it is within the field of view of the camera dedicated to subject detection.

However, since the above-mentioned conventional robot camera device has been developed for use alone, it cannot exchange photographing information with another camera or perform photographing according to the situation. A robot camera device capable of automatically photographing in cooperation with a plurality of cameras using camera work utilizing the know-how of a program creator has not yet been realized.

[0007]

As described above, the conventional robot camera apparatus is intended to be used alone. Actual broadcast programs are often produced using a plurality of cameras. The roles are roughly assigned to each camera, and photographers exchange photography information with each other and photograph in cooperation. The conventional robot camera apparatus has a disadvantage that it is impossible to exchange photographing information with another camera or perform photographing according to the situation, and thus it is impossible to perform photographing in a cooperative operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to allow a plurality of robot cameras to exchange photographing information with each other and operate cooperatively, so that photographing according to a situation is automatically performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot camera device which can perform the operation in a convenient manner and allow a person to operate the robot camera as needed.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a robot camera device, and an object of the present invention is to provide at least one robot camera having a photographing camera and a robot camera driving unit, and a three-dimensional object of a subject within a photographing range. A scenario for comprehensively managing various shooting control information including a shooting method related to a program-specific shot, a position detecting unit for measuring a position, a state detecting unit for measuring information for detecting a state including voice information of the subject, And a server, wherein the one or more robot cameras, the position detecting unit, the state detecting unit, and the scenario server are unitized and distributed and can communicate with each other via a communication network. This is achieved by being configured as follows.

The object of the present invention is that the robot camera driving unit receives information from each of the units other than the robot camera unit itself, and controls the camera work in accordance with the received information. By automatically photographing the subject, or the robot camera driving unit incorporates information on the photographing method of the program creator in advance, and together with the IP address assigned to itself, the direction of the photographing camera. The position detecting unit transmits the measurement information of the three-dimensional position of the subject together with the IP address assigned to the communication network to the communication network. The state detection unit transmits the audio information of the subject together with the IP address assigned to the state detection unit. , Identification information of the speaker, have become the information of the speech time to deliver to the communication network,
The scenario server is more effectively achieved by transmitting, to the communication network, a control command corresponding to a shooting method relating to a shot specific to the program, together with an IP address assigned to the scenario server.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which a robot program according to the present invention is used to shoot a television program (for example, a talk program in which a moderator and a guest are subjects). Also, a communication network is described as an example of a network constructed by Ethernet (registered trademark). Hereinafter, the communication network is referred to as Ethernet. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a robot camera device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of robot cameras 10
And the subject within the shooting range (in this embodiment, a person)
A position detecting unit 20 for measuring the three-dimensional position of the subject, a state detecting unit 30 for measuring the audio information of the subject, a scenario server 40 for comprehensively managing various information including a shooting method for a program-specific shot, An operating device 50 used when the operator remotely controls the robot camera 10 is provided.

Each component of the robot camera device is formed as a separate unit, and is distributed via an Ethernet. Each unit has an IP address that identifies itself and can exchange information with other units via Ethernet. Each unit uses the Ethernet broadcast command to transmit information detected by itself (for example, subject position information and audio information) or information generated by itself (for example, control commands and shooting information) to the Ethernet together with its own IP address. It is configured to be able to send out.
The robot camera driving unit 11 is a robot camera 10
Therefore, the IP address of the robot camera driving unit 11 is set to be the same as the IP address of the robot camera 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot camera 10 includes a photographing camera 12 and a robot camera driving unit 11 which controls the photographing camera 12 to photograph. The robot camera driving unit 11 receives all the information necessary for shooting transmitted from the other units of the robot camera device on the Ethernet, and receives the received information and the shooting method of the program creator incorporated in advance. By taking into account, determine the subject and shooting method and perform automatic shooting,
At the same time, it transmits shooting information (for example, shooting information including the direction, angle of view, and position of the shooting camera) on the subject and the shooting method to the Ethernet together with its own IP address.

The scenario server 40 receives all information sent to the Ethernet from time to time and comprehensively manages the received information. That is, the scenario server 40
Plays the role of technical director who manages all video and audio information in the coordinating room of the actual program production site. When it becomes necessary to shoot a program-specific shot, the scenario server 40 specifies the IP address of the robot camera driving unit 11 to be operated as a transmission destination, and together with the IP address allocated to the scenario server 40 itself, the program-specific shot. A control command corresponding to the shooting method for the shot is transmitted to the Ethernet.

The operating device 50 designates, as a transmission destination, the IP address of the robot camera driving section 11 which is remotely controlled by the operator, and the I assigned to the operating device 50 itself.
Along with the P address, a control command corresponding to an imaging method desired by the operator is transmitted to the Ethernet.

When the robot camera driving unit 11 receives a control command sent to the Ethernet and receiving the IP address of the robot camera driving unit 11 as a transmission destination during automatic photographing, the robot camera driving unit 11 changes the automatic photographing state to the remote control state. And shooting is performed in accordance with the received control command. When the robot camera 10 is added to the robot camera device according to the present invention, the IP address of the robot camera driving unit 11 of the added robot camera 10 is separately added.

In the robot camera apparatus according to the present invention, by using a plurality of robot cameras 10, a plurality of robot camera driving units 11 receive information necessary for photographing, and thus an optimum image according to the situation is formed. You can shoot. Each of the robot camera driving units 11 is controlled by the robot camera driving unit 11 and performs a photographing camera 1 that performs photographing.
2 and the photographing information relating to the photographed subject are exchanged via the Ethernet. Each robot camera drive unit 1
1 receives information necessary for all shootings transmitted on the Ethernet from time to time, obtains information on the subject (for example, the size of the subject) being shot by the other robot camera driving unit 11 and the shooting status (for example, the image of the robot camera). Since the shooting according to the situation is automatically performed by grasping the angle), the same video is not repeatedly shot.

Further, since information of a subject which is not reflected in the image of the subject is always grasped, it is possible to smoothly shift to photographing of another subject. Which robot camera 10 during automatic shooting
Also, since a person can perform remote control using the operation device 50, it is possible to cope with an emergency.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing main functions of the position detecting section 20 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the position detection unit 20 obtains three-dimensional position information of the subject within the shooting range, and obtains and obtains three-dimensional coordinates of the subject 60 based on the obtained position information. And a position information communication unit 22 for transmitting the three-dimensional coordinates of the subject to the Ethernet by an Ethernet broadcast command.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a first embodiment of the position detecting section 20. In the present embodiment, two sensor cameras 211 (RGB cameras) are used as the position information acquisition unit 21 to three-dimensionally photograph a photographing space (photographing range) where the subject 60 exists. The captured video information is taken into the position information communication unit 22. Position information processing communication means 2
In step 2, the color of the subject 60 specified in advance is extracted from the captured video information, the three-dimensional coordinates of the subject 60 are obtained by a predetermined algorithm, and the obtained three-dimensional coordinate data of the subject 60 is obtained. I of the position detector 20
The packet is transmitted to the Ethernet using the broadcast command of the Ethernet together with the P address.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of the position detector 20. In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic transmitter 21
2 and the ultrasonic receiver 213 as the position information acquisition unit 21 to acquire the position information of the subject 60. Subject 60
One ultrasonic transmitter 212 and one ultrasonic receiver 2 for each
13 is required. First, the ultrasonic transmitter 212 is attached to the subject 60. Then, the ultrasonic receiver 213 is set around the subject 60. Ultrasonic receiver 213
As a result, the level and phase of the ultrasonic transmitter 212 are detected. Information on the detected level and phase is further taken into the position information communication unit 22. The position information processing communication unit 22 obtains the three-dimensional coordinates of the subject 60 by a predetermined algorithm based on the acquired level and phase information, and outputs the obtained three-dimensional coordinate data of the subject 60 to the position detection unit 20. The packet is transmitted to the Ethernet using the broadcast command of the Ethernet together with the IP address.

The locations of the ultrasonic transmitter 212 and the ultrasonic receiver 213 may be exchanged. That is, the ultrasonic receiver 213 is attached to the subject 60, and the subject 6
The ultrasonic transmitter 212 may be installed around 0.

A sensor such as a magnetic sensor having an Ethernet communication function, an infrared sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like can be used as the position information acquiring means 21.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the main functions of the state detector 30 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the state detection unit 30 obtains state information obtaining means 31 for obtaining audio information of the subject 60 within the shooting range, and generates the object 60 state information based on the obtained audio information, and generates the generated object 60. 60 state information (for example, audio information of a subject,
State information communication means 32 for sending speaker identification information and speaking time information) to the Ethernet by an Ethernet broadcast command.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the state detector 30 according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the subject 60
Microphones 311 and amplifiers 312 equal in number to
Is used as the state information acquisition means 31, and the audio level of each subject 60 is acquired. When the subject 60 is a person, the microphone 311 is attached to each subject 60, and the audio level of each microphone 311 is taken into the state information communication unit 32 through the amplifier 312.

In this example, the state information processing communication means 32 is provided with a channel corresponding to each subject 60,
A threshold sound level value used to determine whether the subject 60 is a speaker or a listener is set in advance for each channel.

The state information processing communication means 32 compares the fetched audio level of the microphone 311 with the threshold value of the channel corresponding to the microphone 311. If the voice level of the captured microphone 311 exceeds the threshold value of the corresponding channel, the subject 60 corresponding to the channel is determined to be a speaker, and the speech time of the subject 60 is measured. When the audio level of the captured microphone 311 falls below the threshold value of the corresponding channel, or when the audio level cannot be detected, the subject 60 corresponding to the channel is determined to be the listener. The state information processing communication unit 32 includes the number of the subject 60,
Sends the state information of each subject 60, such as the talker (or listener), and the speaking time if it is a talker, to the Ethernet using an Ethernet broadcast command together with the IP address of the state detection unit.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the robot camera driving section 11 according to the present invention. The robot camera driving unit 11 receives, from time to time, all the information necessary for shooting transmitted from the other units of the robot camera device to the Ethernet, and receives the received information and the shooting method of the program creator incorporated in advance. In consideration of the above, the subject 60 and the photographing method are determined according to the situation, and the automatic photographing is performed. At the same time, the photographing information on the subject 60 and the photographing method is transmitted together with the IP address of the robot camera driving unit 11 using the Ethernet broadcast command. Out to Ethernet.

A method of photographing a program creator which is incorporated in the robot camera driving unit 11 in advance and regulates the movement of the robot camera driving unit alone is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 8-15.
No. 3131, "Automatic photographing camera system", Japanese Patent Application No. 8-153132, "Robot Camera Control Method and Apparatus (1)" in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-153132, and Japanese Patent Application No. 8-153132. −153133
The technique proposed in “Control method and device (2) of robot camera in automatic photographing camera system” disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-15095 is used.

The photographing method of the plurality of robot camera driving units 11 will be described with reference to an example in which two robot camera driving units 11 are used. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a shooting method when two robot camera driving units 11 are used. The two robot camera driving units 11 do not use the sequence control depending on the elapsed time, but change the shooting method according to the change in the situation of the subject 60.

In FIG. 8, the robo turtle means a robot camera driving unit, 2S means a shot of two persons, BS means a shot above the chest, and UP means an up shot of the face. Also, two robot camera driving units 1
1 is described as Robo turtle 1 and Robo turtle 2.

Hereinafter, description will be given along the flow of the flowchart of FIG. First, the presence or absence of a temporary object (in this example, an explanation board) is detected (step S10).
1). When the explanation board is detected, the Robo turtle 1 automatically shoots two shots of the guest and the moderator, and at the same time, the Robo turtle 2 automatically shoots the explanation board (step S102). When the explanation board is not detected, the talk time of the speaker is a predetermined time (30 in this example).
Seconds) or more (step S103). If the talk time of the speaker is 30 seconds or more, the Robocamera 1 automatically shoots two shots of the guest and the moderator, while the Robocamera 2 automatically shoots an upshot of the guest's face (step S104). .

On the other hand, if the speaking time of the speaker is less than 30 seconds, it is determined whether the subject has risen (step S).
105). When the subject stands up, the ROBOKAME 2 performs automatic tracking photographing by subtracting the size of the subject (step S106). If the subject has not risen, it is determined whether the continuation time of the same angle of view is 20 seconds or longer (step S107). If the duration of the angle of view is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (in this example, 20 seconds), Robocamera 1 automatically shoots two shots of a guest and a moderator while taking a shot above the moderator's chest. (Step S108). If the duration of the angle of view is less than 20 seconds, the process returns to step S101. As described above, the robocamera 1 and the robocamera 2 change the photographing method according to a change in the situation such as the motion of the subject or the passage of time.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the scenario server 40 according to the present invention. When shooting a program,
Not only is the programmer's shooting technique used, but also the shooting technique for the specific shots of the program. As shown in FIG. 9, the scenario server 40 includes a memory 41 for storing information. The memory 41 previously stores a control command corresponding to a shooting method relating to a specific shot of a program. Further, as described above, the shooting method of the program creator is incorporated in the robot camera driving unit 11 in advance.

The scenario server 40 receives all the photographing information transmitted to the Ethernet, and stores the received information in the memory 41. Further, each time new scenario information is received, the scenario server 40 updates the memory 41 using the received information. The scenario server 40 refers to all the data stored in the memory 41, specifies the IP address of the robot camera driving unit 11 to be operated as a transmission destination when it becomes necessary to shoot a program-specific shot, and IP assigned to server 40 itself
Along with the address, a control command corresponding to a program-specific shooting method for the shot is transmitted to the Ethernet. The robot camera driving unit 11 designated by the scenario server 40 is able to execute the scenario server 4 even during automatic shooting.
The control command sent from 0 is prioritized, and shooting is performed according to the control command.

The operating device 50 is not normally used at the time of automatic photographing, but is used by an operator to remotely control and operate the robot camera driving unit 11 in an emergency or when necessary.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of the operating device 50 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the operating device 50 is provided with a switch 5 for the operator to select the robot camera driving unit 11 to be remotely controlled.
1, an operation unit 52 for adjusting camera data such as pan, tilt, zoom, focus, and iris of the robot camera 10, and a camera data related to the robot camera 10 determined by the operation unit 52. And a communication unit 53 for converting the control command into a control command for driving the Ethernet and transmitting the control command to the Ethernet.

The operator selects the robot camera driving unit 11 to be moved by the switch 51, and then operates the operation unit 52 while watching the image captured by the selected robot camera driving unit 11 to change the camera data of the robot camera 10. decide. The communication unit 53 captures the camera data determined by the operation unit 52, converts the captured camera data into a control command, and converts the converted control command together with the IP address of the robot camera driving unit 11 selected by the switch 51. Send to Ethernet using Ethernet broadcast command.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the operating device 50 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the operating device 50 includes a communication unit 53, a voice input unit 54, and a conversion unit 5.
5 is provided. The operator selects the robot camera driving unit 11 to be moved via the voice input unit 54, and gives an instruction to adjust the robot camera to the selected robot camera driving unit 11. The voice input unit 54 converts the voice instruction of the operator into voice data and sends the voice data to the conversion unit 55. The conversion unit 55 uses the table created in advance to convert the voice data sent from the voice input unit 54 into the robot camera driving unit 11.
Is converted into a control command to drive the control command, and is sent to the communication unit 53.
In the communication unit 53, the selected robot camera driving unit 11
The control command sent from the conversion unit 55 together with the IP address of the packet is transmitted to the Ethernet using the broadcast command of the Ethernet.

An example of the data structure of information transmitted from each unit of the robot camera device according to the present invention to the Ethernet will be described below.

The data sent from the position detecting section 20 to the Ethernet includes an IP address of the position detecting section 20 itself, a subject number for specifying the subject 60, an X coordinate, a Y coordinate, and a Z coordinate indicating the three-dimensional position of the subject 60. And coordinates.

The data sent from the state detection unit 30 to the Ethernet includes the IP address of the state detection unit 30 itself, a subject number for specifying the subject 60, a flag indicating whether the subject 60 is a speaker or a listener, and And the speech time.

The data transmitted from the robot camera driving unit 11 to the Ethernet includes the IP address of the robot camera driving unit 11 itself, the number of the subject being photographed, the size of the subject (2S, BS, UP, etc.), the robot It consists of a camera shooting mode (still, tracking, etc.) and camera data (angle of view, pan, tilt, zoom, focus, iris, etc.) of the robot camera.

The data transmitted from the scenario server 40 to the Ethernet is composed of the IP address of the scenario server 40 itself, the IP address of the robot camera driving unit to be operated, and a control command.

The data transmitted by the operation device 50 to the Ethernet is composed of the IP address of the operation device 50 itself, the IP address of the robot camera driving section to be operated, and the control command.

The control commands in the data sent from the scenario server 40 and the operation device 50 to the Ethernet include the number of the subject to be photographed, the size of the subject, the photographing mode (still, tracking, etc.) of the robot camera, Robot camera data (angle of view, pan, tilt, zoom,
Focus, iris, etc.).

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, an example has been described in which a moderator and a guest photograph a television talk program as subjects, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be suitably applied to various program productions, remote video conferences, and the like. Further, the operation device 50 may be omitted.

[0048]

As described above, according to the robot camera apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to perform automatic photographing by the same mechanism as a production site for photographing a program by ordinary production staff. The production staff can remotely control and operate the robot camera in an emergency or when a need arises, so that the production staff can take pictures as intended. Therefore, since a large number of videos can be photographed by a small number of production staff, efficient production can be realized and at the same time, enhancement of video expression can be achieved. Furthermore, if the robot camera device according to the present invention is introduced into a studio owned by a company or a school, even ordinary people who are not broadcast engineers can easily shoot images with camera work like a professional photographer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a robot camera device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating main functions of a position detection unit 20 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a position detection unit 20 according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of the position detection unit 20 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing main functions of a state detection unit 30 according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a state detection unit 30 according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a robot camera driving unit 11 according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of an imaging method when two robot camera driving units 11 are used.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a scenario server 40 according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of an operating device 50 according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the operating device 50 according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Robot camera 11 Robot camera drive part 12 Imaging camera 20 Position detection part 21 Position information acquisition means 211 Sensor camera 212 Ultrasonic transmitter 213 Ultrasonic receiver 22 Position information communication means 30 State detection part 31 State information acquisition means 311 Microphone 312 Amplifier 32 State information communication means 40 Scenario server 41 Memory 50 Operation device 51 Switch 52 Operation unit 53 Communication unit 54 Voice input unit 55 Conversion unit 60 Subject

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takato Suzuki 3-26-12 Kita-senzuka, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside the Applied Measurement Laboratory Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Daiichiro Kato 1-10 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 11 Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting Research Institute (72) Inventor Takao Tsuda 1-10-1 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting Research Institute (72) Inventor Akio Ishikawa 2-2-2 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 1 Inside Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting Center (72) Inventor Seiki Inoue 1-1-10-11 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Inside Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting Research Institute (72) Inventor Shigeru Shimoda 1-110 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo No. Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting Research Institute F-term (reference) 2F069 AA04 AA66 BB40 DD25 GG04 GG07 GG09 MM04 5C022 AA01 AB61 AB62 AB63 AB65 AC27 AC71 AC72

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A camera for photographing and one or more robot cameras having a robot camera driving section, a position detecting section for measuring a three-dimensional position of a subject within a photographing range, and a state detecting section including voice information of the subject. A state detection unit that measures information; and a scenario server that comprehensively manages various shooting control information including a shooting method related to a program-specific shot. The one or more robot cameras, the position detection unit, and the state detection A robot camera device, wherein the unit and the scenario server are unitized and distributed and arranged so that they can communicate with each other via a communication network. 2. The robot camera driving section receives information from each of the units except for a robot camera unit of the robot camera itself, and controls a camera work in accordance with the received information to automatically capture an image of the subject. The robot camera device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The robot camera driving section incorporates information of a photographing method of a program creator in advance, and includes an IP address assigned to the robot camera driving section, and a direction, an angle of view, and a position of the photographing camera. The position detector transmits the measurement information of the three-dimensional position of the subject to the communication network together with the IP address assigned to the position detector. The state detector, together with the IP address assigned to itself, the voice information of the subject, the identification information of the speaker, the information of the speech time, is sent to the communication network, the scenario server, Along with the IP address assigned to itself, a control command corresponding to a shooting method relating to a shot specific to the program is transmitted through the communication. Robot camera apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it adapted to deliver to the network.