JP2010238145A - Information output device, remote control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information output device, a remote control method and a program, facilitating control by an intuitive gesture of a user. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU 32 detects a face from an image captured by an imaging part 44, detects eyes, ears, and mouth from the detected face, detects the gesture in the vicinity of the eyes, ears, and mouth, specifies processing related to a characteristic object (eyes, ears, or mouth) that is a target of the gesture, and an instruction associated with the detected gesture, and controls the processing related to the characteristic object (eyes, ears, or mouth) detected based on the instruction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information output device, a remote control method, and a program for detecting and controlling human movements.

  Conventionally, various user interfaces (UI: User Interface) have been proposed as man-machine interfaces for manipulating machines. Examples of such an interface include operation panels provided in many electrical appliances and electronic devices. The user operates the operation panel to input various instructions to the appliance or electronic device. There are also remote controllers (hereinafter referred to as “remote controllers”) for remotely operating electrical appliances and electronic devices. The remote control eliminates the need for the user to operate the operation panel directly by approaching an electric appliance or electronic device.

  As a technique related to remote operation, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a person to be photographed is specified from an input image input from a camera, and a camera and a pan head are controlled by gestures by gestures performed by the person to be photographed. Yes.

JP 2005-51472 A

  However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, in order to specify setting items to be operated according to gestures, when the number of setting items to be operated increases, the number of gestures that need to be remembered also increases, and each gesture. You may not be able to remember the relationship between and setting items. In addition, a user may not remember a necessary gesture for a setting item to be operated by the user, and the operation may take time and effort.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides an information output device, a remote control method, and a program that can easily realize control by a user's intuitive gesture. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, an information output apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is an information output device according to claim 1, which the remote control person has from the image pickup means, the output means for outputting information, and the image picked up by the image pickup means. Detecting means for detecting an image of a sensory organ corresponding to the type of the device, and detecting an image of the sensory organ by the detecting means, and detecting a predetermined action on the sensory organ by a person who is remotely controlled; Control means for controlling the output of the information by the output means with the control content specified by the action detected by the action detecting means when a predetermined action is detected by the action detecting means. To do.

  In the information output apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the information is an image, and the sensory organ corresponding to the type of the information is an eye of the person who performs the remote control.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information output device according to the third aspect, the information is a voice, and the sensory organ corresponding to the type of the information is the mouth or ear of the person who performs remote control. .

  An information output apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the invention includes a detection determination unit that determines whether or not a detection has been performed by the detection unit when the output unit outputs information, and the detection determination unit detects the detection. If it is determined that the additional information is input, additional information input means for inputting the additional information, additional information input by the additional information input means, and information adding means for adding to the information output by the output means are further provided. Features.

  The information output apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention further includes voice input means, and the information adding means adds the voice input by the voice input means to the information.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote control method for a device that realizes a plurality of functions, a detection step of detecting a predetermined feature from a captured image, and a predetermined step in the detection step. When detecting a feature, the operation detecting step for detecting a predetermined operation on the feature by a remote controller, and detecting the predetermined operation in the operation detecting step, the predetermined function among the plurality of types of functions is detected. And a control step of controlling the function specified by the characteristic object by the control content specified by the operation detected in the operation detection step.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remote control program for detecting a predetermined feature from a captured image. When the predetermined feature is detected by the detection unit, a remote control person performs a predetermined control on the feature. When a predetermined motion is detected by the motion detection means, the function specified by the predetermined feature among the plurality of types of functions is identified by the motion detected by the motion detection means. It is characterized by causing a computer to execute a function as a control means for controlling according to the control content.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily realize control of setting items by gestures.

1 is an external perspective view of a digital photo frame including a gesture input device that is an information output device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal electrical configuration of the digital photo frame 1 of FIG. 1. 3 is a follow chart showing instruction input processing executed by the control circuit 30 of the digital photo frame of FIG. 1. It is a figure explaining the detection of the sensory organ in an image. It is a figure which shows the table for gesture input. It is a figure which shows the example of gesture. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation example of the digital photo frame 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the system which consists of a remote control apparatus which is the information output device of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure inside the remote control apparatus of FIG.

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

[First Embodiment]
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[Basic configuration]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a digital photo frame provided with a gesture input device as an information output device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The digital photo frame 1 includes a liquid crystal display device 10, a camera lens 12, an operation panel 14 including a plurality of push buttons, a speaker 16, and a circuit board constituting a control circuit (see FIG. 2) in a main body case 5. It is configured. On the front side of the main body case 5, a liquid crystal display device 10, a camera lens 12, a speaker 16, and the like are disposed. A support member 19 for maintaining the digital photo frame 1 in an upright posture is attached to the back side of the main body case 5. An opening / closing member 20 for opening and closing a slot (not shown) for inserting a memory card 50 (see FIG. 2) and an operation panel 14 are provided on the side of the main body case 5.

[Electrical configuration]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal electrical configuration of the digital photo frame 1. The digital photo frame 1 includes a control circuit 30, an imaging unit 44 connected to the control circuit 30, a liquid crystal display device 10, an operation panel 14, a speaker 16, a microphone 18, and the like. The control circuit 30 includes a CPU 32, a ROM 34, a RAM 36, a display control circuit 38 for driving the liquid crystal display device 10, an audio control circuit 40 for driving the speaker 16 and the microphone 18, a card I / F 42, and the like. It is composed of A memory card 50 is detachably connected to the card I / F 42 through a card slot (not shown) of the digital photo frame 1 main body. The gesture input device, which is an information output device according to the present embodiment, includes an imaging unit 44 and a control circuit 30, and the control circuit 30 is imaged based on image data captured by the imaging unit 44. For example, a gesture is detected, and processing corresponding to the detected operation is executed to control components such as the liquid crystal display device 10 and the speaker 16 having functions to be controlled.

  The imaging unit 44 includes a camera lens 12, a CCD 46 that is an imaging device, and a unit circuit (CDS / AGC / AD) 48.

  The CCD 46 converts the light of the subject projected through the camera lens 12 into an electric signal and outputs it to the unit circuit 48 as an imaging signal.

  The unit circuit 48 is a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit that holds the imaged signal output from the CCD 46 by correlated double sampling, and an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) that performs automatic gain adjustment of the imaged signal sampled by the CDS circuit. ) Circuit and an A / D converter that converts an analog image pickup signal subjected to automatic gain adjustment by the ACG circuit into a digital signal, and the image pickup signal output from the CCD 46 is a digital signal via the unit circuit 48. To the CPU 32.

  The CPU 32 executes an application program stored in the ROM 34 to perform image processing, shake correction processing, and image data compression / decompression (for example, JPEG format compression / decompression) sent from the unit circuit 48. It is a one-chip microcomputer that executes functions for processing and the like and controls each part of the digital photo frame 1 according to a control program stored in the ROM 34.

  In the ROM 34, a control program for controlling each part of the digital photo frame 1, a gesture is detected, an application program for executing various functions including a process corresponding to the detected gesture, and an image recognition process are performed. Various information for executing various functions including feature data of images of sensory organs such as the entire face, mouth, ears, eyes, and feature data for detecting gestures is stored.

  The RAM 36 is used as a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data picked up by the CCD 46 and sent to the CPU 32, and further used as a working memory for the CPU 32. In addition, an image database of images to be displayed as a slide show on the liquid crystal display device 10 as information, an audio database of audio to be output to the speaker 16 as information, gestures related to human sensory organs as necessary, and corresponding processing A gesture input table showing the relationship is also stored.

  The display control circuit 38 controls the liquid crystal display device 10 and causes the liquid crystal display device 10 to display image data read from the image database in the RAM 36 based on an instruction from the CPU 32. The liquid crystal display device 10 displays an image based on the control of the display control circuit 38.

  The audio control circuit 40 controls the speaker 16 to cause the speaker 16 to output audio data read from the audio database in the RAM 36 based on an instruction from the CPU 32. The speaker 16 performs audio output based on the control of the audio control circuit 40. In addition, the audio control circuit 40 stores the analog audio data input from the microphone 18 based on an instruction from the CPU 32 in the RAM 36 in association with an image that is digitally converted and displayed and output as information to be added.

  The operation panel 14 includes a plurality of push buttons such as a power button, a selection button, an enter button, and a mode selection button, and inputs a corresponding operation signal to the CPU 32 in accordance with the user's button operation.

  The memory card 50 stores image data, audio data, and the like as information. By operating the operation panel 14, the reading destination of image data or audio data can be set to either one or both of the memory card 50 and the RAM 36.

[Instruction input processing]
The gesture input device, which is the information output device of the present embodiment configured as described above, specifies a user (remote operator) instruction according to an operation (gesture) detected by the imaging unit 44, and a digital photo frame It is possible to cause the digital photo frame 1 to perform various processes corresponding to the instructions by controlling the component having the corresponding function 1. In the present embodiment, the operation detected by the imaging unit 44 will be described as a human gesture. Hereinafter, an instruction input process executed in the control circuit 30 when a human gesture is detected by the imaging unit 44 while the digital photo frame 1 is performing a slide show will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, the CPU 32 performs a process of starting a slide show (step S10). That is, the CPU 32 reads out image data one by one from the image database stored in the RAM 36 at regular time intervals and displays the image data on the liquid crystal display device 10.

  Next, the CPU 32 controls the imaging unit 44 to perform processing for starting repeated imaging at a predetermined cycle interval (step S12). In this process, the CPU 32 processes the image pickup signal output from the CCD 46 by the unit circuit 48 to acquire it as digital signal image data, and sequentially stores the acquired image data in the RAM 36 sequentially.

  Next, the CPU 32 executes image recognition processing on the image data temporarily stored in the RAM 36, and determines whether or not there is a human face in the image (step S14). If it is determined that there is a human face (YES in step S14), the process proceeds to step S16. If it is determined that there is no human face (NO in step S14), the process proceeds to step S24. Various processes can be performed as the image recognition process executed here. In the present embodiment, for example, the CPU 32 recognizes the contours and feature points of the subject imaged from the image data temporarily stored in the RAM 36, the positional relationship thereof, and the like, and numerical data obtained by digitizing them. Certain feature data is calculated, and the calculated feature data is compared with the feature data of the subject for image recognition stored in the ROM 34 in advance. Accordingly, in step S14, the CPU 32 calculates feature data from the image data temporarily stored in the RAM 36, and compares the calculated feature data with the face feature data for image recognition stored in the ROM 34 in advance. .

  In step S14, if the CPU 32 determines that there is a human face in the image (YES in step S14), the process proceeds to step S16, and the CPU 32 includes any sensory organ, for example, mouth, ear, or eye. It is determined whether or not (step S16). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, the CPU 32 specifies the face area F of the image data temporarily stored in the RAM 36, and executes the above-described image recognition processing on the area F to thereby perform mouth, ear, and Determine whether there are eyes. If it is determined that there is at least one of mouth, ear, or eye (YES in step S16), the process proceeds to step S18, and if it is determined that there is no mouth, ear, or eye (in step S16). NO), the process proceeds to step S24.

  Next, in step S18, the CPU 32 detects a gesture for the sensory organ detected in step S16, and determines what kind of gesture is being performed (step S18). If the CPU 32 determines in step S16 that there is a “mouth” as a sensory organ, for example, the CPU 32 uses the mouth as a reference from the image data temporarily stored in the RAM 36 as shown in FIG. An image of the area B around the mouth is cut out and stored in the RAM 36. Similarly, if it is determined that there are “eyes”, as shown in FIG. 4B, an image of the area A around the eyes is extracted from the image data temporarily stored in the RAM 36. When it is determined that there is an “ear” when the process stored in the RAM 36 is performed, as shown in FIG. 4B, the area C around the ear with reference to the ear is determined from the image data temporarily stored in the RAM 36. The image is cut out and stored in the RAM 36. Then, a plurality of pieces of image data of areas A, B, and C for a predetermined period are accumulated (for example, the predetermined period is 3 seconds, and the imaging unit 44 takes one image every 1/4 second). If there are 12 images of region A, region B, and region C, the motion vector is calculated from changes in the images of region A, region B, and region C over a predetermined period. To do. The motion vector may be calculated using, for example, a representative point matching method or a block matching method. The CPU 32 compares the acquired image data and motion vector with the feature data stored in the ROM 34 to detect a gesture. Note that the range of the image around the mouth may be a range in which the palms of both hands can be accommodated, or a range slightly larger than that. Similarly, the range of the image around the ears and around the eyes may be a range where the palms of both hands can be accommodated, or a range slightly larger than that. However, these ranges include the CPU processing capability and the assumed gesture. The size may be determined according to the implementation in consideration of the size of. If this process ends, the process moves to a step S20.

  In step S20, the CPU 32 compares the gesture detected in step S18 with the gesture corresponding to the sensory organ detected in step S16 registered in the gesture input table of the ROM 34, and among the gestures detected in step S18. Then, a process for determining whether there is a gesture that matches the gesture registered in the gesture input table is performed. If it is determined that there is a matching gesture (YES in step S20), the process proceeds to step S22. If it is not determined that there is a matching gesture (NO in step S20), the process proceeds to step S24.

  In step S22, the CPU 32 performs a process of controlling the liquid crystal display device 10 or the speaker 16 based on the processing program corresponding to the gesture determined to match in step S18. Next, the process proceeds to step S24.

  In step S24, the CPU 32 performs a process of determining whether or not there is an instruction to end the slide show. For example, the CPU 32 determines whether or not an instruction to end the slide show is input by operating the operation panel 14. If it is determined that there is an instruction to end the slide show, the process of this routine ends. If there is no instruction to end the slide show, the process proceeds to step S12 to continue the slide show. Note that the captured image data of the imaging unit 44 used for detecting the gesture may be deleted before executing the process of step S24.

  That is, while the slide show display is being executed in the digital photo frame 1, the CPU 32 detects gestures for the human mouth, ears, and eyes within the imaging range of the imaging unit 44 by the imaging unit 44. When the CPU 32 detects a gesture for these human sensory organs, the CPU 32 determines the content of the processing to be executed with reference to the gesture input table, and according to the determined processing, the liquid crystal display device 10 Display control, audio output control of the speaker 16 or audio input control of the microphone 18 is executed.

  Next, the contents of the gesture input table stored in the ROM 34 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The gesture input table associates gestures for human sensory organs, that is, eyes, ears, and mouth, with instructions regarding processing to be performed by the CPU 32 on the liquid crystal display device 10 or the speaker 16. When the CPU 32 specifies an instruction for the liquid crystal display device 10 or the speaker 16, the CPU 32 reads out processing corresponding to the instruction from the ROM 34 and controls the liquid crystal display device 10 and the speaker 16. Specifically, eyes, ears, and mouths correspond to human sensory organs in the present embodiment, and gestures for human sensory organs include, for example, palm or finger movements near the eyes, near the ears This corresponds to the movement of the palm or finger in the hand and the movement of the palm or finger in the vicinity of the mouth.

  From the gesture input table, as an example of the gesture and the processing to be performed by the CPU 32 corresponding to the gesture in the present embodiment, the following can be given. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), when the gesture near the eyes forms a pair of glasses with both hands in front of the face (see FIG. 6 (a)), the display of a photo (slide show) is executed. To do. If the gesture near the eyes is to extend the palm of the hand and make it look like the eaves on both eyes, the slide show is stopped and the same picture is displayed for a while. In addition, when the gesture near the eyes is to put the thumb and index finger in front of the eyes and release them, a part of the image is enlarged. When the gesture near the eyes covers the eyelid with the palm of the hand, the backlight of the liquid crystal display device 10 is turned off (MUTE).

  Also, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the gesture near the mouth is to make a mark with a forefinger and thumb in front of the mouth, BGM playback is executed. Further, when the gesture near the mouth is an operation of “shi-tsu” in which one index finger is raised in front of the mouth (see FIG. 6B), the volume is reduced. Also, if the gesture near the mouth is to release the attached index finger and thumb in front of the mouth, the volume is increased. If the gesture near the mouth covers both ears with the mouth, the audio output is stopped (MUTE). If the gesture near the ear is to close the ear with the index finger (see FIG. 6C), the volume is reduced. Also, if the gesture near the ear is to hold the palm over the ear, the volume is increased. If the gesture near the ear covers both ears with the palm of the hand, the audio output is stopped (MUTE).

  Also, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), when the gesture near the mouth is to imitate holding a microphone in front of the mouth (see FIG. 6 (d)), the voice of the photo Perform additional recording. Also, if the gesture near the mouth is to imitate the microphone away from the mouth, the recording volume is lowered. Also, if the gesture near the mouth is to imitate the microphone close to the mouth, the recording volume is increased.

  FIG. 7 shows a usage example of the digital photo frame 1 provided with the gesture input device which is the information output device of the present embodiment. In order to reduce the volume of the BGM output from the digital photo frame 1, as shown in FIG. 7, the index finger is raised in front of the mouth and the operation “Shi” is performed, so that the volume of the BGM is increased. Get smaller. Note that in the gesture input device that is the information output device of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6C, the volume of the BGM can be reduced even when the ear is closed with the index finger.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the CPU 32 detects a face from the image captured by the imaging unit 44, further detects features such as eyes, ears, and mouth from the face, and further detects the eyes, ears, Detecting what kind of gesture is being performed at the mouth, referring to the gesture input table stored in the ROM 34, identifying the processing content associated with the gesture to the processing associated with the feature, Control is performed on processing related to the detected feature based on the processing content. For this reason, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, if the gesture of releasing the thumb and the index finger attached is performed in front of the eyes, the display processing related to the eyes is controlled (for example, the photographic display is enlarged), and the same gesture is performed. If the sound is performed in front of the mouth, the audio output processing control related to the mouth (for example, BGM volume adjustment) is performed, and the target to be performed even with the same gesture is, for example, eyes, ears, mouth, etc. Since different operation instructions can be specified if they are different, the number of corresponding gestures can be suppressed even when there are many items for instructing operations. In addition, since the processing related to the sensory organ that is the object of the gesture is controlled according to the gesture, it is possible to intuitively cope with an operation instruction.

  In the present embodiment, a gesture for a feature is detected from the detected feature and an image of the surrounding area. For this reason, it is possible to detect a gesture based on a small amount of image data without using all the image data of the image captured by the imaging unit 44 for the gesture detection, and the processing burden on the CPU 32 can be reduced. .

  The gesture input table is not shown in FIG. 5, and the correspondence relationship is not limited to this. For example, if you make a circle with a finger in front of your mouth with one hand and make a circle with your finger on the side of the ear with the other hand, communication is turned on. Also, cover the mouth with one hand and cover the ear with the other hand. One parameter may correspond to gestures of a plurality of sensory organs, such as communication off.

  The gesture input table may be freely set by the user. In the present embodiment, the gesture input table is described as being stored in the ROM 34. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the gesture input table may be stored in an electrically rewritable memory such as the RAM 36. . In this way, by operating the operation panel 14 by the user, the gesture and the corresponding processing may be freely set in the gesture input table according to the user's preference.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the feature detected by the CPU 32 is a human sensory organ, for example, when a display-related operation is instructed, a gesture near the eye is associated, and a volume-related operation is performed. The instruction contents of the operation can be classified by sensory organ, such that the instruction corresponds to a gesture near the ear if the instruction is given, and the gesture near the mouth corresponds to a gesture near the mouth if the instruction is related to the voice. In this way, by making the operation associated with the function of the sensory organ and the gesture correspond to each other, the gesture can be made familiar and easy to remember. In addition, since the interface is based on sensory organs, it can be used as a common interface in countries around the world with different languages and cultures. Furthermore, it is possible to remotely operate a component having a function to be controlled without using a third device such as a remote controller.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, when a plurality of faces are included in the captured image of the imaging unit 44, the face from the center or the face that is most enlarged is selected, and the selected face's eyes, ears, Based on the gesture near the mouth, the function specified by the sensory organ that is the target of the gesture may be controlled.

  In addition, although the first feature to be detected is a human sensory organ, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be included in the imaging range of the imaging unit 44, and if the CPU 32 can recognize the feature, It may be an object associated with the sensory organ, such as glasses. In this case, the CPU 32 detects a gesture in the vicinity of the set feature, determines an operation instruction, and a function specified by a sensory organ (eyes in the case of glasses) related to the object. (If it is an eye, the display function) may be controlled.

  Also, when the owner image is registered in advance and the face is detected from the captured image, it is determined whether or not it is the owner's face, and if it is the owner's face, the eyes, ears, and mouth are detected. By doing so, a function to be controlled may be controlled by a gesture only by the owner.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital photo frame has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the present invention is applied as a control unit of an electric product or electronic device such as a television, a refrigerator, or an air conditioner. Alternatively, any function may be used as long as it detects at least one of the eyes, ears, and mouth shown in the above embodiment and controls the function specified by the detected sensory organ. Or it can be made to operate | move by the program which functions as each means mentioned above which the computer which an imaging part contains CPU and memory has. The program can be distributed via a communication line, or can be distributed by writing on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

  Further, in the digital photo frame 1 shown in FIG. 1, a gesture input device that is an information output device and a component having a function to be controlled such as a liquid crystal display device 10 and a speaker 16 are provided inside the main body case 5. However, the information output device may be separated from the component having the function to be controlled. The case where the gesture input device and the component having the function to be controlled are separated will be described in the next embodiment.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of a system including a remote control device which is an information output device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a remote view which is an information output device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a control block diagram of a control apparatus. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The remote control device, which is the information output device of the present embodiment, is a constituent unit having functions to be controlled with the remote control device in addition to the features of the gesture input device which is the information output device of the first embodiment And are separated from each other. As shown in FIG. 8, the remote control device 70 controls the digital television receiving device 150, the DVD recording / reproducing device 160, the video recording / reproducing device 170, the satellite broadcasting tuner 180, the AV equipment of the terrestrial digital broadcasting tuner 190, and the like. For example, and a function for wirelessly transmitting a command for turning on and off a water heater in a bathroom (not shown). If the command from the remote control device 70 cannot be directly transmitted to the AV device by infrared, the command from the remote control device 70 is transmitted to the AV device via the relay device 120.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the remote control device 70 includes a control circuit 100, an imaging unit 110 connected to the control circuit 100, an operation panel 112, an infrared generation unit 104, and an antenna 108. The control circuit 100 includes a CPU 32, a ROM 34, a RAM 36, an infrared transmission circuit 102, and a wireless transmission circuit 106. In the configuration of the remote control device 70 shown in FIG. 9, the same components as those in the control circuit 30 described with reference to FIG. The imaging unit 110 can also be realized with the same configuration as the imaging unit 44 described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the gesture input table stored in the ROM 34 of the control circuit 100 includes, in addition to the gesture related to the human sensory organ with reference to FIG. 5 and the processing items corresponding to the gesture, It also includes a device that executes the process and a transmission method.

  Similar to the control circuit 30 described with reference to FIG. 2, the CPU 32 constituting the control circuit 100 is based on the image data captured by the imaging unit 110, and the human sensory organ within the imaging range of the imaging unit 110, For example, the mouth, ears, eyes, and gestures around the human mouth, ears, and eyes are detected. When the CPU 32 detects a gesture for a human sensory organ, the CPU 32 refers to the gesture input table and determines a device corresponding to the sensory organ, a transmission method, and processing contents. Then, if the detected sensory organ is for a device that transmits and receives information by infrared rays, the CPU 32 controls the infrared transmission circuit 102 to transfer the determined processing contents from the infrared generation unit 104 to the corresponding device by the infrared signal. Send. When the corresponding device receives the infrared signal thus transmitted, it executes the processing command indicated by the infrared signal and executes the designated processing. In addition, if the detected sensory organ is for a device that transmits and receives information by wireless communication, the CPU 32 controls the wireless transmission circuit 106 and transmits the determined processing content from the antenna 108 to the corresponding device by a wireless signal. To do. When the corresponding device receives the wireless signal transmitted in this manner, the corresponding device executes a processing command corresponding to the detected gesture indicated by the wireless signal, and executes the designated processing.

  Furthermore, in addition to the gesture input table, the ROM 34 of the control circuit 100 further stores commands for remotely operating various devices by using an infrared remote controller or a wireless remote controller.

  The gesture input table may be freely set by the user. In the present embodiment, the gesture input table is stored in the ROM 34. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the gesture input table may be stored in an electrically rewritable memory, for example, the RAM 36. In this way, when the user operates the operation panel 112, according to the user's preference, the gesture is associated with the command corresponding to the function of the model to be remotely operated, and setting input is performed in the gesture input table. be able to. For example, a gesture near the eyes corresponds to an instruction for an operation for controlling the DVD recording / reproducing device 160, and a gesture near the mouth corresponds to an instruction for an operation for controlling the digital television receiver 150. User gestures when the device 150 and the DVD recording / reproducing device 160 are remotely operated may be classified.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various combinations of the above-described embodiments and various modifications are added to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital photo frame 10 Liquid crystal display device 12 Camera lens 14, 112 Operation panel 16 Speaker 18 Microphone 30, 100 Control circuit 32 CPU
34 ROM
36 RAM
44, 110 Imaging unit 70 Remote control device (second embodiment)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102 Infrared transmission circuit 104 Infrared generation part 106 Wireless transmission circuit 108 Antenna 120 Relay apparatus 150 Digital television receiver 160 DVD recording / reproducing apparatus

Claims (7)

Imaging means;
An output means for outputting information; a detection means for detecting an image of a sensory organ corresponding to the type of information possessed by a person remotely controlling from an image taken by the imaging means;
Detecting an image of the sensory organ by the detection means, a motion detection means for detecting a predetermined motion on the sensory organ by the remote control person;
Control means for controlling the output of the information by the output means with the control content specified by the action detected by the action detection means when a predetermined action is detected by the action detection means;
An information output device comprising:   2. The information output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is an image, and the sensory organ corresponding to the type of information is an eye of the person who performs the remote control.   3. The information output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is a voice, and the sensory organ corresponding to the type of information is a mouth or an ear of the person who performs remote control. Detection judgment means for judging whether or not there is detection by the detection means when the output means outputs information;
If it is determined by the detection determination means that there is detection, additional information input means for inputting additional information;
Additional information input by the additional information input means and information adding means added to the information output by the output means;
The information output device according to claim 1, further comprising: A voice input means;
5. The information output apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information adding unit adds the voice input by the voice input unit to the information. A method for controlling an apparatus that realizes a plurality of functions,
A detection step of detecting a predetermined feature from the captured image;
Detecting a predetermined feature in the detection step, an operation detecting step of detecting a predetermined operation on the feature by a person who remotely controls;
When a predetermined operation is detected in the operation detection step, a function specified by the predetermined feature among the plurality of types of functions is controlled by a control content specified by the operation detected in the operation detection step. A remote control method comprising: a control step. Computer
Detecting means for detecting a predetermined feature from the captured image;
An action detecting means for detecting a predetermined action on the feature by a person who remotely controls when a predetermined feature is detected by the detecting means;
Control means for controlling a function specified by the predetermined feature among a plurality of types of functions with a control content specified by the action detected by the action detection means when a predetermined action is detected by the action detection means,
A program characterized by functioning as

Images