JP2002340558A - System, method and program for generating photo montage image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate a predicted drawing of a planned construction facility with an accurate size at an accurate planned construction position in a landscape (background), photographed at a site in which the landscape exists at the site in a short time concerning a photo montage image generating system, and to provide a method and program. SOLUTION: A camera position is found by receiving images and angle information from a camera provided with a means for measuring the angle information on horizontality and verticality of a photographing direction, centered around the camera and its photopic vision. The image, as seen from the camera position of the planned construction facility, is generated at a designated position in an aspect which is the object of photographing on the basis of the found position and the photographing direction, and an information processing part or compositing and displaying the images photographed from the camera is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called photomontage method in which equipment to be constructed is synthesized in a landscape photograph (background photograph) by computer graphic (CG) to create an expected drawing. The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and a program for creating a photomontage image.

[0002] In recent years, the photomontage method has been used not only as an important method for creating an expected drawing of a building such as a building, but also for producing a commercial film or a movie, as well as for power equipment. This method is used in a wide range of industrial fields, but it is necessary to adjust equipment (towers, buildings, etc.) at planned locations in landscape (background) photos according to the size and angle corresponding to the distance from the viewpoint. It is desired that images arranged in a short time can be performed with high accuracy in a short time.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a photomontage. In the figure, reference numeral 80 denotes a camera position (viewpoint position), 81 denotes a center of a shooting direction of the camera (referred to as a gazing point indicating a depth position in CG technology), and an angle of view (left and right (horizontal direction)) of an image to be shot (horizontal direction). If you know the angle of view of the camera in the horizontal direction (called the horizontal viewing angle), the angle of view of the vertical spread (called the vertical viewing angle), and the angle of inclination of the camera with respect to the horizontal horizontal direction perpendicular to the shooting direction, It is known that computer graphics (CG) can be accurately drawn. Camera viewing angle (horizontal and vertical spread)
Is a known value from the specifications of the camera or a pre-measurement. The tilt angle of the camera with respect to the horizontal direction of the camera, which is orthogonal to the shooting direction, can be measured using a tripod and a level. Can be set to 0 degrees (known). However, there is no simple and accurate means to determine the viewpoint and gaze position. Conventional methods for finding the viewpoint and gaze point outdoors, especially in mountainous areas, such as creating a photomontage of a transmission line, are based on visual measurement. There was no other way but to obtain the position by using a method or surveying.

[0004] Further, an image of a building constructed in a landscape can be obtained by photographing a landscape (background) with a camera from a certain viewpoint position and pasting a reduced figure of the facility to be constructed in the photograph. Can be obtained.

[0005]

As described above, in the prior art, the method of obtaining the viewpoint position and the gazing point position on the map by eye measurement is very inaccurate because it is a scale diagram. In addition, there is a method of estimating a position moved to a photograph from a known target, but it is necessary to always insert the target in the photographing direction, and if the direction is different, photographing is difficult.

In the surveying method, after taking a photograph, a surveying instrument (transit or the like) is installed at the same position as the camera, then the line of sight is measured, and two or more targets whose positions for obtaining the camera position are known are known. There is a problem that it is necessary to measure the angle between objects and it takes time.

[0007] Even if these survey results are wrong, they often do not notice until a photomontage image is created and are often found when they return from the site. Therefore, it is troublesome to go to the site again. .

Furthermore, a method of creating a photomontage by taking a photograph and attaching a reduced figure of a facility to be constructed in the photograph corresponds to a method in which the reduced building is adapted to different distances from various directions. Since figures of various sizes must be prepared in advance, it is costly, time-consuming, and difficult to prepare accurate figures.

According to the present invention, a forecast drawing in which facilities to be constructed are arranged in an accurate size at an exact construction site in an image of a scenery (background) taken on the site where the scenery exists is created in a short time in the site. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photomontage image creating apparatus, method, and program capable of performing the same.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a camera unit for acquiring information necessary for alignment at the time of photographing, and information processing including software for performing alignment using the acquired information and creating a photomontage. This is a device that can be brought to the site and a photomontage can be created locally.

FIG. 1 shows an overall principle configuration of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a basic configuration of a mount attached to a tripod on which the apparatus of the present invention is mounted.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a camera unit, 10 denotes a camera, 11 denotes an aiming telescope for setting a target so that the camera 10 is accurately directed to the target, 12 denotes a camera switch, and 1 denotes a camera switch.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a horizontal angle measuring device for measuring a horizontal angle (or azimuth) of a target object (natural or artificial object) from a camera position (referred to as a viewpoint position), and 13a is necessary when the horizontal angle is obtained as an absolute angle. A north direction detecting means 14 for detecting the north direction, a vertical angle measuring device 14 for measuring a vertical angle (or elevation angle) which is a vertical angle with respect to the horizontal of the target from the viewpoint position, and 14a a horizontal angle for the target direction of the viewpoint position with respect to the target direction. Horizontal detecting means for detecting a vertical angle as a reference of a vertical angle, 15
Is a control unit that controls the transfer to the information processing unit 2 by holding the horizontal angle, the vertical angle, the north direction and the horizontal detection signals serving as vertical and horizontal references, and the switch 12 of the camera 10.
Is inclination detecting means for setting the inclination of the camera in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction of the camera to zero (0 degree), 2 is an information processing unit, 2a is an image and angle information transfer unit, 2b is a camera position calculation unit , 2c is an image generation / synthesis processing unit, 2d is an image connection unit, and 3 is a memory. In the memory 3, reference numeral 3a denotes target position information, 3b denotes a viewing angle of the camera 10, 3c denotes three-dimensional CG data of a facility to be constructed, and 3d denotes a created montage image.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 4 denotes a gantry, and 5 denotes a tripod. The gantry 4 is mounted on the tripod 5 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal direction by a vertical axis A, and one end of the gantry 40 is provided. A plate 41 vertically mounted so as to form an L-shape with the base 40, and a base 42 rotatably supported in parallel with the base 40 by a horizontal axis B provided on the top of the plate 41. Be composed. The rotation angle of the axis A in the vertical direction is measured by the horizontal angle measuring device 13 (encoding output corresponding to the angle is generated), and the rotation angle of the axis B is measured by the vertical angle measuring device 1.
4 measured.

1, a camera 10, a sighting telescope 11, a horizontal angle measuring device 13 for measuring a horizontal angle and a vertical angle,
A vertical angle measuring device 14 and a north direction detecting means 13a for detecting the reference of the horizontal angle measurement and a horizontal detecting means 14a for detecting the reference of the vertical angle (elevation angle) are incorporated and mounted on or around a table on the tripod 5 shown in FIG. Attach to As the north direction detecting means 13a, there are two methods, a method of measuring magnetic north using a magnetic sensor and a method of finding true north using the orbit of the sun. By using the camera unit 1, it is possible to measure the shooting direction by using the angle measurement function at the same time as shooting at the site without moving the place after shooting, and to obtain a target whose position for obtaining the camera position is known. Can be measured.

The information processing unit 2 receives the photographic image, the shooting direction at the time of shooting, and the direction of the target from the camera unit 1 by the operation of the image and angle information transfer unit 2a, and the camera position (viewpoint position) by the camera position calculation unit 2b. ) Is converted from the acquired photographing direction to the gazing point position (the center of the field of view of the camera), and then the viewpoint position and the gazing point position obtained by the image generation / synthesis processing unit 2c are accurately measured in advance. Using a CG data 3c to draw a CG image of an object prepared in advance (a facility planned to be constructed at a specific position in the area where the camera is shooting) prepared using a CG data 3c, based on the viewing angle of the camera. Then, montage image 3 in the field
d can be created. At this time, even if the measurement result is wrong or an unnatural image is drawn, it is possible to immediately start over on site.

When the facility to be constructed is long in the horizontal direction and cannot be accommodated by only one photograph, the image connecting unit 2d rotates the photographing direction at a fixed angle (horizontal angle).
When a plurality of images are taken consecutively, each image is connected to create one continuous photograph (panoramic photograph). CG data 3c is combined with one or more of the linked photographic images in the image generation / combination processing unit 2c.

[0017]

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a physical structure of the embodiment. In the figure, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18,
Reference numerals 4, 40 to 42, and 5 correspond to the same reference numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a description thereof will be omitted. However, the table 42 in the embodiment of FIG. 3 is configured such that the table 42 shown in FIG. 2 is L-shaped. Reference numeral 10 ′ denotes a digital camera, and reference numeral 16 ′ denotes a tilt of the digital camera (horizontal tilt of the camera orthogonal to the gaze direction of the digital camera 10 ′) (0).
This is a level for installing a tripod so that

As shown in FIG. 3, a table 40 of the gantry 4 is mounted on a tripod 5 via a vertical rotation shaft connected to a horizontal angle measuring device 13 so as to be freely rotatable in the horizontal direction.
A personal computer 2 ′ (including the information processing unit 2 and the memory 3 in FIG. 1) is mounted on the computer 0. However, depending on the size of the personal computer 2 ', not the table 40,
It can be placed in an appropriate place nearby. L of this stand 4
The upper part of the letter-shaped plate 41 is connected via a horizontal rotation shaft connected to the vertical angle measuring device 14 to a plate of an L-shaped vertical part of the base 42 and is supported so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. The digital camera 10 ′ is placed on the horizontal table of the table 42.
(Corresponding to the camera 10 of FIG. 1), and the sighting telescope 11 is arranged on the top of the L-shaped vertical plate of the base 42 so as to be parallel to the direction of the digital camera 10 '. In addition, a solar telescope used when a method of finding true north using the orbit of the sun is adopted is also attached to the end of the base 42. A method for finding true north using this solar telescope will be described later.

The camera section 1 has a configuration corresponding to each case as shown in Embodiments 1 and 2 shown in FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the camera unit according to the first embodiment. The first embodiment has a configuration in which a magnetic sensor is used as north direction detection means (13a in FIG. 1) for detecting the north direction serving as a reference for the horizontal angle. In the figure, 1,11-15,4,
Numeral 5 is the same as in FIGS. 1 and 2, 11 is a sighting telescope, 12 is a switch of a digital camera, 13 is a horizontal angle measuring device, 14 is a vertical angle measuring device, 15 is a control unit, 4 is a gantry,
5 is a tripod. Reference numeral 13a denotes a magnetic sensor for detecting the north direction due to terrestrial magnetism, 14a denotes an inclination sensor for detecting horizontality, 16 'denotes a level similar to that in FIG. 3, and 6 denotes a battery for supplying power to each unit.

In the first embodiment, when the north direction is obtained to obtain the current camera position, magnetic north 13 is detected using the magnetic sensor 13a. The horizontal angle of a target or the like can be obtained based on this magnetic north.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a camera unit according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, as a method of detecting the north direction serving as a reference of the horizontal angle, not only the method of detecting magnetic north using the magnetic sensor 13a of the first embodiment but also a method of determining the sun position can be used. This is the configuration. 5, the same circuits or devices as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, reference numerals 17 and 18 are provided only in FIG. 5, 17 is a solar telescope pointing in the direction of the sun, and 18 is the current camera unit 1. GPS (Gl
obal Position System).

In the case of the second embodiment, the current camera position is obtained by the GPS 18, and the current (year, month, day, time) sun position corresponding to the obtained position is obtained by a conventionally known calculation formula. When the sun is adjusted by the solar telescope 17 so that the sun can be seen, the true north direction relative to the current sun position obtained by the calculation formula can be obtained.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a personal computer (corresponding to the information processing device 2 and the memory 3 in FIG. 1) connected to the camera unit as shown in FIGS.
In particular, a program provided according to the invention is shown.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 20 denotes a central processing unit (CP
U, 21 is a RAM, 22 is a ROM, 23 is a liquid crystal (LED) display, and 24 is an image memory (VRA).
M) and 25 are interfaces with the outside including the camera unit,
Reference numeral 26 denotes a hard disk, 27 denotes an external storage device such as a flexible disk device or a CD-ROM device, and 28 denotes an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. The program executed by the CPU 20 is executed by loading the program from the hard disk 26 or the external storage device 27 into the RAM 21.
As shown in the RAM 21 in FIG. 6, the programs relating to the photomontage image creation according to the present invention include an image and angle information transfer program 21a, a photographing and a photographing direction / target direction acquiring program 21b, a camera position calculating program 21c, an image Generation / synthesis processing program 21
d and image linking program 21e, a general-purpose OS
Also, a program for creating a general image is used, but is not shown.

The structure shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
A photomontage creation method using a camera unit having the configuration shown in FIG. 6 and a photomontage image creation device provided with the personal computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows an example of photographing in a mountainous environment. The camera unit 1 and the personal computer unit 2 'of the photomontage image creating apparatus according to the present invention are mounted on a gantry 4 provided on a tripod 5 by the configuration shown in FIG. The position of the digital camera 10 'is represented by P. In Figure 7, in the mountainous area where the person in charge is located, before constructing facilities such as towers and buildings,
To create a landscape map (photomontage) that includes the facility to be constructed in the landscape around the planned construction site, the location including the planned construction site of the facility should be photographed at a certain distance from the planned construction site. When the (point) P is selected, the tripod 5 (including the entire apparatus) is installed at that position. Thereafter, a photomontage image can be created by the operation of each program shown in 21a to 21e in FIG.

FIGS. 8 to 10 and 14 show the processing flow of each of the programs 21a to 21e in FIG. 6 and will be described below.

FIG. 8 is a processing flow for taking a photograph and acquiring a photographing direction and a target direction. First, a tripod is set so that a horizontal position comes out, and a gantry base 40 is set horizontally using a level 16 ′ ( The axis A (FIG. 2) is rotated, and the angle when the magnetic sensor (13a in FIGS. 4 and 5) indicates magnetic north is measured by a horizontal angle measuring device (13 in FIGS. 4 and 5). 8 degrees (see FIG. 8).
S2), the axis B (FIG. 2) is rotated, and the tilt sensor (FIG. 4,
The angle when 14a) in FIG. 5 indicates horizontal is set to 0 degree by the vertical angle measuring device (14 in FIGS. 4 and 5) (S3 in FIG. 8). The next step S4 is executed in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5 when the north (true north) based on the orbit of the sun is used. In such a case, the following processes are performed.

The axes A and B are rotated so that the sun enters the center of the solar telescope (17 in FIG. 5) mounted parallel to the table 42, and the horizontal angle at that time is measured.

At the same time as the above, GPS (18 in FIG. 5)
To get the date and time and latitude / longitude.

By applying the data obtained above to the well-known celestial orbit formula, calculating the original position of the sun (only the horizontal angle), and calculating and correcting the difference from the horizontal angle obtained above, Get true north direction.

When the reference of the horizontal angle and the vertical angle is obtained, FIG.
In S5, a selection is made between a photographing mode and a direction acquisition of a target (performed to obtain a camera position described later with reference to FIG. 10). In the direction acquisition mode of the target, the axes A and B are rotated so that the target enters the center of the sighting telescope (S6 in FIG. 8), and the switch (12 in FIG. 1) is pressed (S7 in FIG. 8). ). Thereby, a photograph including the target captured by the aiming telescope is taken by the camera, and the values of the horizontal angle measuring device and the vertical angle measuring device at that time are obtained (S8). Next, it is determined whether or not the photograph is OK (input by the operator according to the quality of the photograph displayed on the display unit of the digital camera) (S9 in FIG. 8). If not, the process returns to S7 and returns to OK. In this case, the image and the angle information are transferred to the personal computer (S10), it is determined whether there is a next target (S11), and if there is, the process returns to S6.
If not, the process returns to S5, and when the photograph, the horizontal angle, and the vertical angle are measured for all the targets, the direction acquisition mode for the targets is terminated. The photograph taken here is used only for managing the target.

When the photographing mode is selected in S5 in FIG. 8, it is determined whether or not panoramic photographing is to be performed (S12 in FIG. 8), and panoramic photographing (rotating the camera to take a plurality of continuous photographs). Method, the details of which will be described later), the axis B is rotated to level the camera (S14),
Rotate the axis A to point the camera in the shooting direction (S1
5) Press the switch (S16) to take a picture. When the panorama shooting is not performed, the switches are pressed by rotating the axes A and B to orient the camera in the shooting direction (S13). After photographing by pressing the switch, it is determined whether the photograph is OK (good) (S18 in FIG. 8). If not, the process returns to S16. If OK, the image and angle information are transferred to the personal computer (S19 in FIG. 8). ), Shooting ends. In the case of panoramic photography, it is determined whether or not the photography has been completed (S20). If the photography has not been completed, the process returns to S15. If the photography has been completed, the process returns to the mode selection in S5.

FIG. 9 is a processing flow of image and angle-of-view information transfer, which is executed in S10 and S19 of FIG.
In this process, an image is downloaded from a digital camera and stored in a file (S1 in FIG. 9), and angle information is downloaded from a control unit memory and stored in a file (S1).
2). With this processing, the angle information and the image information are transferred from the camera unit to the personal computer.

FIG. 10 is a processing flow of the camera position calculation. Before this description, the camera position (x, y, z coordinates)
The principle of the method for obtaining is described below with reference to FIGS. However, FIGS. 11 and 12 show a method of obtaining the plane position (coordinates x and y) of the camera position on the map.
Is a method for obtaining the height (coordinates z) of the camera position.

FIG. 11 shows a method using three targets. In this method, when the camera position P arbitrarily selected (here, the coordinates (x, y) of a plane on the map is targeted) is obtained, only the relative directions (angles) of the three targets can be obtained. (When north direction cannot be detected)
As shown in FIG. 11A, three targets (pylon, building, etc.) whose positions on the map are known in advance are viewed from the camera position P, and the relative positions of each target from the camera position P are determined. The angle is obtained. The targets 1 to 3 correspond to the targets 1 to 3 installed on the three mountains in the landscape shown in FIG.

In the example of FIG. 11, the angle (relative angle) between the target 1 and the target 2 is α, and the angle (relative angle) between the target 2 and the target 3 is β. As described above, to obtain the relative angle (horizontal angle), the target 1
The angle α when the object 2 is captured is set to 0, and the horizontal angle from when the object 2 is caught is obtained, whereby the angle α can be obtained. The angle when the object 2 is caught is set to 0 and the target object is set therefrom. The horizontal angle before capturing 3 is obtained as β. In this way, when the obtained two relative angles are obtained,
Next, the camera position (viewpoint position) P is obtained according to the principle shown in FIG. That is, the target 1 whose position is known
And the trajectory of the angle α passing through the target 2
Is obtained. Similarly, when the locus of the angle β passing through the target 2 and the target 3 is obtained, a figure B of a circle is obtained. It is clear that the intersection of the two circles A and B represents the viewpoint position P, and the coordinates of P are determined.

FIG. 12 shows a method using two targets. This method is used when an absolute direction can be obtained, and the reference direction (north) is used as shown in FIG.
Is detected, and α and β are obtained as angles (absolute angles) from the direction to the two targets 1 and 2, as shown in FIG. 12 (b) by basic drawing. , Starting from the known coordinate position of the target 2, draw a straight line A having an absolute angle α with respect to the basic direction (north) in the coordinates of the target 1, and draw the straight line A with the absolute angle α in the coordinates of the target 2 with respect to the basic direction (north) A straight line B forming the absolute angle β is drawn, and a point at which the two straight lines A and B intersect can be obtained as a camera position (viewpoint position) P.

FIG. 13 shows the principle of the method for obtaining the elevation (z) of the camera position. After obtaining the coordinates (x, y) of the camera position P by the method shown in FIG. 11 or FIG. The camera is pointed at the tip of a target (building, mountain, etc.) whose altitude z is known. In this example, when the position of the target 1 is (X, Y, Z) and the camera is pointed at the position, the elevation angle (vertical angle) of the camera with respect to the horizontal is measured. finds that the elevation angle is phi _1, with respect to the target 1 elevation Z, elevation of the camera position, Delta] z = R
Using the principle that the altitude is lower by tan φ ₁ , the altitude at the camera position can be obtained. Here, R is the horizontal distance between the camera position and the target 1 represented by the following equation, and x, y
Is the coordinates of the camera position.

R = {(X−x) ² + (Y−y) ² } The method of calculating the altitude (z) of the camera position shown in FIG. 13 is based on the photographing in the mountainous environment shown in FIG. In the example, it corresponds to the elevation of landmark 1, but not only this,
For the target 2 and the target 3 whose coordinate positions of x, y, and z are known, the altitude can be obtained using the elevation angles φ ₂ and φ ₃ , respectively.

The processing flow of the camera position calculation using the principle shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. If there are three or more targets (S1 in FIG. 10),
If not, a straight line with an azimuth angle (absolute direction) passing through the target is obtained (S2), and then the intersection of the two straight lines is obtained (S3). This is the method shown in FIG. If it is determined in step S1 that there are three or more targets, two or more sets of horizontal angle differences between the targets are calculated (step S1 in FIG. 10).
4), the position (X, Y) of the target corresponding to the obtained angle difference
Is obtained from (step S5 in FIG. 10). Subsequently, the intersections of the circles are obtained (S6 in FIG. 10), and when two or more sets of intersections are obtained (when there are four or more targets), an average is obtained (S7). S4 to S7 follow the method shown in FIG. Subsequent to S3 and S7, the camera position (x, y) is calculated from the nearest target (X, Y, Z), its elevation angle and the obtained intersection (x, y).
y, z).

Note that the processing flow of the camera position calculation shown in FIG. 10 generally takes into account that the accuracy of acquisition in the north direction is inferior to the position accuracy of the target, and the above S2 is performed only when the number of targets is only two. , S3, the absolute direction (azimuth angle) is used, and when there are three or more, the relative directions which are the methods of S4 to S7 are used.

FIG. 14 is a processing flow of image generation / synthesis. The CG image (distance from the viewpoint position,
Rendering and synthesis of an image having a size and shape corresponding to the direction).

First, a photographic image of a landscape is read (S1 in FIG. 14), and then CG data is read (S1 in FIG. 14).
2) A viewpoint position (camera position) is input (S3).
The gazing point position converted from the viewpoint position and the shooting direction (the conversion principle is described later with reference to FIG. 15) is input (S in FIG. 14).
4), input the viewing angle (see the description of FIG. 17) which is a known numerical value obtained by the specification or measurement of the camera (S5). Next, based on the input viewpoint, gazing point (center of the shooting direction of the camera), and viewing angle,
A CG image of the facility to be constructed having a size and shape corresponding to the distance and direction from the camera position is drawn on the photographic image,
It is stored in a file (S6).

The image generation / synthesis can also be realized by a CG program having a general image synthesis function.

Here, the principle of obtaining the gazing point position executed in S4 of FIG. 14 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. If the viewpoint position (camera position) is x, y, z and the shooting direction of the camera is determined as shown in the figure, if one point in the shooting direction is determined as the gazing point position, the drawing by CG can be performed. It is possible. Here, a point separated from the viewpoint position by a distance L (L ≠ 0) in the shooting direction is defined as a gazing point position.

Therefore, FIG. The coordinates of the gazing point position at a distance L from the viewpoint position are represented by (x ′, y ′,
z '), the azimuth of the shooting direction is θ, and the vertical angle (elevation angle) is φ, the coordinates x', y ', z' of the gazing point can be obtained as follows, and this value is the converted value Becomes

X ′ = x−Lcos φ · sin θ y ′ = y + Lcos φ · cos θ z ′ = z + Lsin φ Next, a plurality of continuous photographs are taken according to the present invention and a photomontage image is created therein. The configuration will be described.

FIG. 16 shows an example of the photographing direction of each photograph in the continuous photographing by the camera unit (camera, tripod, mount, etc.) of the present invention. This example is also a landscape in the same mountainous environment as in FIG. 7 described above. At the camera position P, only the axis A that rotates in the horizontal direction of the gantry 4 (mounted with a camera or the like) attached to the tripod 5 is rotated. When the photographing direction is changed in the order of photographing direction 1, photographing direction 2 and photographing direction 3, consecutive photographs of photograph 1, photograph 2 and photograph 3 in which the photographing angle between the photographs is set as a known value in advance are photographed. It is possible to easily connect photos by using the angle and the viewing angle of the camera. The details of the method of taking a continuous photograph (panoramic photograph), creating a composite image, and connecting the photographs will be described below.

FIG. 17 shows a procedure for creating a continuous photograph (panoramic photograph). In carrying out this procedure, FIGS.
0, and the programs shown in the flowcharts of FIG. 14 are used.

Photographing a continuous photograph (see FIG. 8) Photographs are taken from the same position by changing only the photographing direction so that the photographs partially overlap. To change the shooting direction, the axis A of the gantry 4 on the tripod 5 is rotated, and shooting is performed at the same angle as much as possible while checking the value of the horizontal angle of the angle measuring device. The angle at this time is stored.

Obtain the viewpoint position (camera position) (FIG. 1)
0 to FIG. 13) The camera position (viewpoint position) at the time of photographing is shown in FIG.
0, using the method shown in FIGS.

Finding the Point of Gaze of Each Photo The position of the point of gaze corresponding to each photograph is obtained by converting from the measured photographing direction and the obtained viewpoint position.

Draw CG (see FIG. 14) On each photograph, C
G is drawn and combined with a photographic image.

Since the horizontal angle of the photographing direction between the photographs at the time of photographing is accurate, a joint point is obtained by simple geometric calculation from the angle and the horizontal viewing angle of the camera, and adjacent photograph images are combined. I do.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a process for linking photographic images, which will be described with reference to FIG. 19 illustrating the principle of image linking.

First, a CG-combined photographic image and the horizontal angle of its photographing direction are read (S1 in FIG. 18). Next, the horizontal viewing angle of the camera (referred to as ω) is input (S
2) The following processes are sequentially performed from the leftmost image to the rightmost image (S3). That is, the width of the image (this is referred to as w) is obtained (S4 in FIG. 18), and it is determined whether the image is the right end in the target continuous image (S5). ), The difference between the horizontal angle and the image on the right (the horizontal angle between the photos, which is assumed to be θ) is determined (S6), and the difference between the horizontal width and the horizontal angle of the image and the camera The width L from the viewing angle to the joining point is determined (S7).

Here, the principle of obtaining the width L from the right end of the image will be described. As shown in FIG. 19 (a), when the horizontal angle (rotation angle) between photographs is θ and the viewing angle in the horizontal direction of the camera is ω with respect to the viewpoint position as the center of the continuous photograph as shown in FIG. The portion of width L from to the joining point overlaps with the adjacent image. The width L can be obtained by the equation shown in FIG. 19B, L = W / 2 {1- (tan θ / 2 / tan ω / 2)}, and the photographic image adjacent to the width L Since the same image overlaps the existing edge, it is deleted.

Returning to the description of FIG. 18, when the width L is obtained in S7, it is determined whether the target photographic image is the left end (S8 in FIG. 18). Cut out by the width L (S9). If it is not the left end (if it is an intermediate image), the width L from the right end of the image
18 (S10 in FIG. 18), then cuts from the left end of the image by the width M (S11), and combines the cut image to the right of the image in the buffer (S1).
2). Next, the image is stored in the buffer (S1 in FIG. 18).
3) The width L is stored as M (L may be equal to M, but not necessarily the same) (S14), and the process returns to S3 to process another photographic image. In this way, when the photographic images are sequentially processed to reach the photographic image on the right end, the determination as to the right end in S5 is YES, and the image is cut out by the width M from the left end of the image (S1 in FIG. 18).
5) Combine the cut image to the right of the image in the buffer (S16), save it as a panoramic photo image (S17), and end the process.

[0061]

According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately obtain information necessary for positioning such as a photographing direction without installing a surveying instrument after photographing, so that an efficient and accurate photomontage image can be obtained. It can be created locally.

Further, in the present invention, it is possible to obtain an accurate relative angle and absolute angle between the photographing direction and the direction of the target, so that an object directly behind the photographing direction can be used as a target. This is effective when used in mountainous areas with few targets.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a gantry attached to a tripod on which the device of the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a physical structure of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a camera unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a camera unit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a block configuration of a personal computer connected to a camera unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of imaging in a mountainous environment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a processing flow of photographing and acquiring a photographing direction and a target direction.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of image and angle-of-view information transfer.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of camera position calculation.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method using three targets.

FIG. 12 illustrates a method of using two targets.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the principle of a method for obtaining an elevation (z) of a camera position.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a processing flow of image generation / synthesis.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a principle of obtaining a gazing point position.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a photographing direction of each photograph of continuous photographing by the camera unit of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a procedure for creating a continuous photograph (panoramic photograph).

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a processing flow of photographic image connection.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the principle of image connection.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a photomontage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera part 10 Camera 11 Aiming telescope 12 Camera switch 13 Horizontal angle measuring device 13a North direction detecting means 14 Vertical angle measuring device 14a Horizontal detecting means 15 Control part 16 Tilt detecting means 2 Information processing part 2a Image and angle information transmitting part 2b Camera position calculation unit 2c Image generation / synthesis processing unit 2d Image coupling unit 3 Memory 3a Target position information 3b Viewing angle of camera 3c CG data 3d Montage image

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification FI FI Theme Court ゛ (Reference) // H04N 101: 00 H04N 101: 00 (72) Inventor Toshiaki Ohashi Egasakicho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa No. 4-1 F-term in Tokyo Electric Power Company System Research Laboratory (Reference) 5B057 AA20 BA02 CA08 CA12 CA16 CA19 CB08 CB12 CB16 CE08 CE10 5C022 AA13 AC27 5J062 AA11 BB08 CC07 FF07 HH04

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A camera unit comprising: a camera; and means for measuring horizontal and vertical angle information of a photographing direction centered on a gazing point of the camera, and a camera receiving an image from the camera unit and the angle information. A position is obtained, and an image is created at the designated position in the scene that has been photographed from the camera position of the facility to be constructed based on the obtained position and the photographing direction, and the image is synthesized with the image photographed by the camera. A photomontage image creating apparatus, comprising: an information processing unit for performing display. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a north direction detector is provided as a horizontal angle measuring unit in the angle information.
A photomontage image creating apparatus, wherein a horizontal angle (azimuth angle) is measured based on the north direction obtained by the detector. 3. The photomontage image creating device according to claim 2, wherein a magnetic sensor is used as the north direction detector to acquire magnetic north as the north direction. 4. The sensor according to claim 2, wherein the sensor for detecting the north direction is a G for detecting the latitude and longitude of the camera position.
A PS device and a solar telescope are provided, and the information processing unit calculates the current orbit of the sun based on the latitude / longitude and the date and time detected by the GPS device to obtain the current position of the sun. A photomontage image creating apparatus, wherein the north of the azimuth is obtained based on the image. 5. A photomontage according to claim 1, wherein a mount having at least the camera unit and a mechanism capable of adjusting the camera to be rotatable in each of horizontal and vertical directions is provided on a tripod. Image creation device. 6. A camera unit comprising: a camera; and means for measuring horizontal and vertical angle information of a photographing direction centered on a gazing point of the camera, and a camera receiving an image from the camera unit and the angle information. A position is obtained, and an image that can be viewed from the camera position of the facility to be constructed is created at a designated position in the landscape that has been photographed based on the obtained position and the photographing direction. An information processing unit for synthesizing, wherein the camera unit includes means for transferring a continuous photographic image obtained by shifting the camera in the horizontal direction at an angle and a horizontal angle of each photographic image at the time of shooting to the information processing unit;
The information processing unit creates, for the continuous photograph image, an image that can be viewed from the camera position of a facility to be constructed at a designated position in the landscape that has been photographed from the camera position obtained from the angle information. A photomontage image creating apparatus, which combines a picture taken by the camera with an adjacent picture to create a panoramic picture image. 7. A camera and means for measuring horizontal and vertical angle information of a photographing direction centered on a gazing point of the camera provide a camera section mounted on a gantry to form a landscape of a certain range including the position of a facility to be constructed. When the image is taken and the angle information is received from the camera unit, an image that can be seen from the camera position of the facility to be constructed at the designated position in the landscape targeted for the image taking based on the obtained position and the image taking direction Create
A method for creating a photomontage image, comprising combining and displaying an image captured by the camera. 8. An image according to claim 7, wherein the image viewed from the camera position of the facility to be constructed at the designated position in the scenery to be photographed is based on computer graphic image data of the facility to be constructed in advance. , Viewpoint position,
A method for creating a photomontage image, wherein the method is created using a fixation point position and a viewing angle of a camera. 9. A photomontage is created in an information processing unit that receives an image and angle information from a camera unit that includes a camera and a unit that measures horizontal and vertical angle information of a photographing direction centered on a gazing point of the camera. And an image from the camera unit and the angle information according to a mode of setting a scene including a facility to be constructed as a shooting target or a target for detecting a camera position as a shooting target. To obtain a camera position, and based on the obtained position and the shooting direction, create an image that can be viewed from the camera position of the facility to be constructed at the designated position in the landscape where the shooting has been performed, and shoot with the camera A program in a photomontage image creating apparatus, comprising: