EP0663132A1 - Procede et appareil pour commander une camera - Google Patents

Procede et appareil pour commander une camera

Info

Publication number
EP0663132A1
EP0663132A1 EP93921877A EP93921877A EP0663132A1 EP 0663132 A1 EP0663132 A1 EP 0663132A1 EP 93921877 A EP93921877 A EP 93921877A EP 93921877 A EP93921877 A EP 93921877A EP 0663132 A1 EP0663132 A1 EP 0663132A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
camera
pointer
computer
positioning
reference point
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP93921877A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Peter Sander
Ralf Steinmetz
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
International Business Machines Corp
Original Assignee
International Business Machines Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by International Business Machines Corp filed Critical International Business Machines Corp
Publication of EP0663132A1 publication Critical patent/EP0663132A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
    • G08B15/00—Identifying, scaring or incapacitating burglars, thieves or intruders, e.g. by explosives
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
    • H04N23/66—Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N7/00—Television systems
    • H04N7/18—Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
    • H04N7/183—Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast for receiving images from a single remote source

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling a camera, for example, a video camera, as stated by the independent part of Claim 1.
  • Apparatus for controlling cameras, particularly video cameras, which are suited to transmitting continuously images of a specified process to a monitor have, in and of itself, been disclosed in various embodiments.
  • the cameras are panned according to a specified sequencing scheme.
  • monitoring of processes in factory halls - actions by the observer with respect to the camera direction, for example, to interrupt the pan function are required to ensure a suitable camera angle.
  • buttons for panning up, down, right, and left as well as combinations thereof (e.g., left and up simultaneously) .
  • the camera then pans in the prescribed direction until the button is released, or, in an alternative embodiment in which the appropriate button must be actuated only once, until the appropriate button or a stop button is actuated.
  • the button function is occasionally replaced with a joystick, with which the desired direction (indicated by the direction of joystick movement) and in part also the desired panning speed - based on the force of the joystick movement - are selected.
  • the panning direction is selected either by successively executed panning movements (e.g., up right and then up for one direction, corresponding to the display of the time at 1:30 or the compass direction NW) or by a corresponding position of the joystick.
  • Embodiments have also been disclosed in which the monitoring and operating functions are coupled to a computer.
  • the camera image is previously digitized - preferably in the camera itself - and fed to the computer.
  • the computer monitor screen or a portion thereof then serves as a monitor for the camera.
  • the previously mentioned buttons can be keys designated by the computer software or the operator.
  • a further disclosed embodiment employing a computer pans the camera using scroll bars displayed on the monitor and activated by a positioning device, e.g., a so-called mouse or a touch-sensitive screen.
  • a positioning device e.g., a so-called mouse or a touch-sensitive screen.
  • the object of the invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for controlling a camera, by which simpler pan ⁇ ning of the camera is possible.
  • the object is met by the method described in Claim 1 and with the apparatus proposed in Claim 5.
  • the results of the method described in Claim 1 are first that, after entry of the new target position (target selection) by the signal generated by the signal means, all data for panning the camera are available in the computer, which is possibly a considerable distance away from the camera, and in an abstract sense can be passed to an actuator system associated with the camera. This transmission is in no way time-critical, that is, a transmission delay cannot influence the new camera position.
  • the method described in Claim 2 employs pointer- controlled selection of a movement direction.
  • a stop signal must be generated to enable termination of camera movement when desired by the user. This is realized by requiring transmission of at least the stop signal to be instantaneous. This method variant is thus of advantage particularly for local applications in which the new camera position can be selected in a simple manner, at least with respect to the direction in which the camera is to be panned.
  • the embodiment of the inventive method, in which the screen center represents the reference point, is advantageous.
  • the apparatus of Claim 5 is, in and of itself, suited to implementing the basic concepts of the invention.
  • the means for determining the direction and the distance the camera is to be panned are, according to the invention, capable of activating the desired camera control function by output of a single command.
  • ground inspections are necessary between two flights, particularly in unusual situations.
  • An inspection method is particularly favorable when it is carried out with a pan-able video camera, whereby the camera is installed at the aircraft location while evaluation occurs in a central maintenance office, e.g., at the airline's headquarters.
  • the two locations can be separated from one another by any distance.
  • the focal point of the inspection is often a specific detail on the aircraft, e.g., the landing gear.
  • the headquarters operator therefore knows which objects he wants to inspect and in which sequence.
  • the inventive concept can be implemented even if panning comprises only one angle (e.g., only azimuth).
  • the most advantageous embodiment is with panning through two angles (Claim 8) which are orthogonal to each other and represent elevation and direction (Claim 9).
  • stepping motors are commercial, digitally controlled stepping motors, since this approach requires little technical expense (Claim 10). If an autonomous stabilization is necessary, however, an independent actuator system can be used in place of the stepping motors, preferably digitally controlled by the computer, e.g., a gyro-stabilized platform.
  • the camera control can also be used to advantage for two-dimensional translational movements (Claims 11 and 12).
  • the embodiment of the camera control to carry out not only panning but also translational movements.
  • the means for entry of commands at the monitor and for determining the control-related parameters for transmission to the actuators, which in the end carry out the camera panning, must be implemented twice.
  • an implementation is not limited to a pro ⁇ gram or software package in a freely-programmable computer. Rather, it is left to the individual application whether an electrical circuit, a special-pur ⁇ pose computer, or a pro gram in a freely-programmable digital data processing system is used. Further details, characteristics, and advantages of the subject of the invention can be derived from the following description of the related drawings, in which - for purposes of example - an apparatus in accordance with the invention and the inventive method are represented.
  • Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of an apparatus in which two computers are linked by a computer network.
  • Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of an apparatus according to the invention with a single computer.
  • Fig. 3 shows a sequencing scheme of the inventive method.
  • Fig. 4. shows a block schematic of an apparatus for translational control in accordance with the invention.
  • Fig. 5 shows an apparatus with two pointers depicted on the screen, in accordance with the invention.
  • images of the objects to be depicted are captured with the camera 10 and appear at a data output 16 of the camera 10.
  • this data is passed to an input interface 52 of the second computer 50.
  • the output signal of the camera 10 is an RGB (red, green, blue) video signal.
  • This second computer 50 passes the data to a computer network 60, which forwards it to the computer 20 for depiction on its monitor 22.
  • the stated process is conducted with a frame refresh rate of 30 Hz, so that a continuous image sequence is shown on the monitor 22 of the computer 20.
  • the monitor 22 of the computer 20 displays a pointer (cursor) 24 in the shape of an arrow, which can be positioned over the entire screen independently of the screen contents.
  • the positioning device 26 in the embodi ⁇ ment is a so-called computer mouse.
  • the pointer 24 can be moved by displacing the mouse.
  • the current position of the pointer 24 is used to define the new image center 82 of the camera 10, and the camera 10 is to be panned until this target is reached.
  • the image center 80 is the method's standard reference point, but this can be assigned to any other desired point on the screen.
  • angle-determining means 74 are imple ⁇ mented with a computer program, which determines the pan ⁇ ning angle of the camera 10.
  • the computation uses a key- activated zoom setting of the camera 10, possible in the embodiment and realizable in a known manner, and image segment magnification (pseudo-zoom) , which also is activated by keys (image magnify and reduce). Computation of the angle in the embodiment is thus carried out using the formula
  • FIG. 1 Another embodiment with only one computer 20, which is connected to the camera 10 as well as to the monitor 22 and the positioning device 26, is depicted in its entirety as 200 in Figure 2.
  • the angle through which the camera is to be panned is divided into a series of time intervals, in which the camera 10 is moved, starting at a slow speed and increasing stepwise to the maximum speed permitted by the camera panning device, and then, for terminating the move operation and again with stepwise decreasing speed, stopped from the slowest speed level.
  • the angle through which the camera is to be panned is thus divided into a series of time intervals, allowing smooth acceleration of the camera in the panning direction.
  • correction data is included to compensate for nonlin- earity of the acceleration and braking processes. This correction data has been determined experimentally.
  • the camera 10 is not panned but rather moved translationally on a rail 84.
  • the rail 84 itself is in turn attached to a rail pair 86, such that the rail 84 and thus the camera 10 can be moved orthogonal to the movement direction first mentioned.
  • This embodiment is especially suited to applications in which the distance of the camera 10 from an observation plane (reference plane) is known.
  • the location to which the camera 10 is to be moved corresponds to the tangent of the angle, computed as in the previously discussed embodiment, multiplied by the distance from the camera to the reference plane.
  • a further embodiment in which the possibilities of both previously mentioned embodiments are combined, comprises means 90 for translational movement, represented by the combination of the rails 84 and 86, as well as the panning device.
  • a second pointer 92 is shown, in addition to the pointer 24 and the image of the camera 10, which differs symbolically from the pointer 24 ( Figure 5).
  • the second pointer 92 is moved using the same computer mouse as for the pointer 24, but the right button of the computer mouse, with which the means 26 for positioning the pointer 24 as well as the means 94 for positioning the second pointer 92 are implemented, is held depressed in order to move the second pointer.
  • the means 96 for outputting a second control signal are implemented by double-clicking the right button of the computer mouse in an interval of up to 300 milliseconds.
  • the translational movement is therefore actuated with means similar to those for panning.
  • the inventive apparatus described in this embodiment is especially suited for monitoring factory halls from above, whereby the ceiling of the hall represents and comprises the two translational directions, and the camera can observe the objects in the hall by translational positioning to a desired observation point and subsequent panning to the object.
  • the reference plane is either a plane of machinery operations in the hall or the floor itself. Selection of the reference plane is possible by keyboard entry using the computer 20 (e.g., input of a number).
  • a further implementation of this embodiment is possible and useful for the previously mentioned application of monitoring the condition of an aircraft by a service manager, where the service manager must observe individual objects (e.g., the landing gear) from a remote location.
  • the two translational movement directions of the camera 10 are selected such that a vertical observation wall, on which the camera 10 can be moved, is positioned in front of the aircraft.
  • the reference plane is selected as a cross- section through the middle of the aircraft, parallel to the observation wall. Control errors of the camera 10, caused by the observed object's not lying exactly on the reference plane, are insignificant in this embodiment, since during panning this same observed object (e.g., the landing gear) can be positioned to the image center of the camera 10.
  • This approach is therefore especially advantageous in the mentioned embodiment, since the selected object in the selected observation direction can be compared with an archived reference image available to the service manager, and any damage and necessary repair work can thus be determined with high accuracy.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Studio Devices (AREA)
  • Closed-Circuit Television Systems (AREA)

Abstract

On décrit un procédé dans lequel une caméra (10) peut facilement être commandée à l'aide d'un ordinateur (20) ou d'un réseau d'ordinateurs (60). Le mouvement de la caméra peut être un mouvement angulaire, de translation ou une combinaison des deux. L'amélioration particulière repose sur le fait que le mouvement de la caméra peut être obtenu en sélectionnant des points sur l'écran de visualisation de l'ordinateur, au moyen d'un curseur (24, 92), qui est illustré à l'écran en plus de l'image générée par la caméra, la position du curseur étant modifiable à l'aide d'une souris (26).
EP93921877A 1992-10-02 1993-09-29 Procede et appareil pour commander une camera Withdrawn EP0663132A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE4233137 1992-10-02
DE4233137A DE4233137C1 (de) 1992-10-02 1992-10-02 Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Steuerung einer Kamera
PCT/EP1993/002647 WO1994008424A1 (fr) 1992-10-02 1993-09-29 Procede et appareil pour commander une camera

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0663132A1 true EP0663132A1 (fr) 1995-07-19

Family

ID=6469467

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP93921877A Withdrawn EP0663132A1 (fr) 1992-10-02 1993-09-29 Procede et appareil pour commander une camera

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0663132A1 (fr)
JP (1) JPH08504543A (fr)
DE (1) DE4233137C1 (fr)
WO (1) WO1994008424A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB9506802D0 (en) * 1995-04-01 1995-05-24 Meryon Instr Limited Surveillance system
DE19531213A1 (de) * 1995-08-24 1997-02-27 Siemens Ag Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur interaktiven Steuerung einer Videokamera
DE19531593A1 (de) * 1995-08-28 1997-03-06 Siemens Ag Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Videokreuzschienensteuerung
JP3990771B2 (ja) 1997-07-23 2007-10-17 キヤノン株式会社 カメラ制御システム、カメラサーバ、カメラ制御方法、及び記憶媒体
DE19811286C2 (de) * 1998-03-16 2003-06-26 Plettac Ag Kamerabewegungssteuerung
DE19845531A1 (de) * 1998-10-02 2000-04-06 Iws Elektronik Und Information Verfahren und System zur Steuerung einer Kamera
DE10010590A1 (de) * 2000-03-03 2001-09-13 Nedret Sahin Fernsteuerbare Kamera und Verfahren zum Betreiben einer fernsteuerbaren Kamera
DE10033652A1 (de) * 2000-07-11 2002-01-24 Messer Griesheim Gmbh Überwachungssystem und Verfahren zur fernüberwachten Kontrolle von Lagerbeständen
DE10050094C2 (de) * 2000-10-09 2003-06-18 Carsten Rosemann Verfahren zum Steuern des Verschwenkwinkels einer über eine Fernsteuerung verschwenkbaren Kamera
PT102667B (pt) * 2001-09-27 2003-09-30 Inesc Inovacao Inst De Novas T Sistema de direccionamento de camaras de video de qualquer gama do espectro
JP2006295968A (ja) * 2006-06-12 2006-10-26 Sony Corp 画像伝送装置及び撮像装置
DE102006048006A1 (de) * 2006-10-09 2008-04-10 Funkwerk Plettac Electronic Gmbh Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Steuerung einer schwenkbaren Kamera

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3984628A (en) * 1975-01-13 1976-10-05 Paul Grayson Sharp Remote camera-position control
US4720805A (en) * 1985-12-10 1988-01-19 Vye Scott R Computerized control system for the pan and tilt functions of a motorized camera head
JPS63152293A (ja) * 1986-12-09 1988-06-24 マイクロワ−ルド　オブ　インナ−　スペ−ス　リミテイド 表示装置
GB2215568A (en) * 1988-02-22 1989-09-20 Photo Scan Limited CCTV/surveillance system
JP2988676B2 (ja) * 1989-12-22 1999-12-13 コニカ株式会社 撮像装置
GB9119863D0 (en) * 1991-09-17 1991-10-30 Radamec Epo Ltd Pictorial based shot and recall method and equipment for remotely controlled camera systems

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Title
See references of WO9408424A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH08504543A (ja) 1996-05-14
WO1994008424A1 (fr) 1994-04-14
DE4233137C1 (de) 1994-01-05

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