JP2005109757A - Picture imaging apparatus, picture processing apparatus, picture imaging method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus for increasing an information quantity of a target object in an imaged picture more than the information quantity of the other objects and storing the resulting picture. <P>SOLUTION: The picture imaging apparatus for imaging an object is provided with: an imaging section for imaging the imaged picture of the object; a template storage section for storing a template picture of a predetermined object; an object detection section for detecting a target object coincident with the template picture among a plurality of objects included in the imaged picture; and an image processing section for storing the target so that the target object has more information quantities than those of the other objects. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus and an image capturing method for capturing a subject, an image processing apparatus for storing a captured image, and a program for causing the image capturing apparatus to function. In particular, the present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus for storing captured images as digital data.

  Conventionally, a digital camera or the like is known as an imaging device for imaging a subject. A digital camera images a subject with a number of CCDs and stores output data from the CCDs as digital data.

  However, in recent years, the number of pixels of digital cameras has increased, and the amount of captured image data has become very large. On the other hand, since the memory capacity of the digital camera is limited, the digital camera can store only a small number of images. As a solution to such a problem, there is a digital camera that compresses and stores image data.

  Since related patent documents and the like are not currently recognized, description thereof is omitted.

  However, in a conventional digital camera, an unimportant portion of image data is compressed and stored while maintaining the same amount of information as the important portion. For this reason, when the image data is stored at a higher compression rate, the amount of information in the important part is insufficient. Further, when image data is stored at a lower compression rate, the amount of information in an unimportant part becomes redundant.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to a first embodiment of the present invention, an image imaging device for imaging a subject, which stores an imaging unit that captures a captured image of a subject and a template image of a predetermined object. A template storage unit, an object detection unit that detects a target object that matches the template image from a plurality of objects included in the captured image, and an image processing unit that stores the target object with a larger amount of information than other objects. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

  The imaging unit includes a plurality of imaging elements corresponding to a plurality of pixels of the captured image, and the image processing unit includes an image storage unit that stores pixel data of the captured image and the plurality of imaging elements at a first interval. The number of image sensors smaller than the number of image sensors is extracted, the other object image acquisition unit that stores the pixel data output by the extracted image sensors in the image storage unit, and the target object among the image sensors And an object-of-interest image acquisition unit that extracts the image sensor at a second interval narrower than the first interval and further stores the pixel data output by the extracted image sensor in the image storage unit. .

  The imaging unit captures a moving image, and the image storage unit separates each of a plurality of objects included in the moving image captured by the imaging unit, and compresses and stores each object based on the MPEG4 standard. Good.

  The image storage unit may store the frame rate of another object lower than the frame rate of the object of interest. The image storage unit may store at least one of the luminance and chromaticity gradations of other objects lower than the luminance or chromaticity gradation of the object of interest.

  The image storage unit may store the resolution of another object lower than the resolution of the object of interest. The image storage unit may store other objects as grayscale images and store the object of interest as a color image.

  The image storage unit performs discrete cosine transform on the image data of each object, quantizes and stores the spatial frequency component of the object of interest by dividing by the first quantization coefficient, and stores the spatial frequency components of the other objects as the first. You may quantize and store by dividing by the 2nd quantization coefficient larger than a quantization coefficient.

  In the second aspect of the present invention, an image processing apparatus for storing a captured image of a subject, which includes a template storage unit that stores a template image of a predetermined object, and a plurality of objects included in the captured image, Provided is an image processing apparatus including an object detection unit that detects a target object that matches a template image, and an image processing unit that stores the target object with a larger amount of information than other objects.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image imaging method for imaging a subject, an imaging stage for capturing a captured image of a subject, a template storage stage for storing a template image of a predetermined object, and a captured image An image imaging method comprising: an object detection stage that detects a target object that matches a template image from a plurality of objects included in the image; and an image processing stage that stores the target object with a larger amount of information than other objects. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing an image capturing device that captures a subject to function. The image capturing device includes an image capturing unit that captures a captured image of a subject and a template image of a predetermined object. A template storage unit for storing, an object detection unit for detecting a target object that matches the template image from a plurality of objects included in the captured image, and an image processing unit for storing the target object with a larger amount of information than other objects Provide a program that functions as

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  According to the present invention, the information amount of the object of interest in the captured image can be stored higher than the information amount of other objects. For this reason, image data can be efficiently compressed.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included. It is not necessarily essential for the solution of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an image capturing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image capturing apparatus 100 is, for example, a digital camera that captures a still image or a moving image and stores it as digital data. The image capturing apparatus 100 includes an image capturing unit 10 and an image processing apparatus 20.

  The imaging unit 10 includes a plurality of imaging elements such as CCDs and captures a captured image of the subject by detecting light from the subject. Each image sensor is provided corresponding to each pixel of the captured image, and outputs pixel data according to the detected light.

  The image processing apparatus 20 receives a captured image captured by the imaging unit 10 and performs image processing and display of the captured image. The image processing apparatus 20 includes a display unit 92, a position detection unit 90, and an image processing unit 30.

  The display unit 92 displays the captured image captured by the imaging unit 10. The display unit 92 may display a captured image that has been subjected to image processing such as gamma correction by the image processing unit 30. The display unit 92 is, for example, a liquid crystal display.

  The position detection unit 90 detects an attention position that the user is paying attention to in the captured image displayed on the display unit 92 based on the user's line of sight on the display unit 92. That is, the position detection unit 90 detects a target position that the user is paying attention to in the captured image based on the user's line-of-sight position on the display unit 92.

  The position detection unit 90 may detect the user's line-of-sight position by capturing and analyzing an image of the user's eyeball, detect the position of interest, and may detect the line-of-sight position by an operation performed by the user. For example, the position detection unit 90 may detect a position at which the user presses the display surface of the display unit 92 as a line-of-sight position, and a position specified by the user operating a cursor or the like displayed on the display unit 92. You may detect as a gaze position. The position detection unit 90 may detect the approximate center of the display surface of the display unit 92 as the line-of-sight position.

  When the image capturing apparatus 100 captures a still image, when a user performs an image capturing operation, the image processing unit 30 captures image data of a captured image captured by the image capturing unit 10. At this time, the position detection unit 90 transmits the detected position of interest to the image processing unit 30. When the image capturing apparatus 100 captures a moving image, the image processing unit 30 sequentially captures image data of the captured image captured by the image capturing unit 10, and the position detection unit 90 corresponds to the sequentially captured captured image. The attention position is transmitted to the image processing unit 30.

  The image processing unit 30 stores the target object displayed at the target position detected by the position detection unit 90 among the plurality of objects included in the received captured image with a larger amount of information than the other objects. The image processing unit 30 includes an original data storage unit 40, an object detection unit 50, an attention object image acquisition unit 60, another object image acquisition unit 70, and an image storage unit 80.

  The original data storage unit 40 stores the captured image captured by the imaging unit 10 and the target position detected by the position detection unit 90 in association with each other. When the image capturing apparatus 100 captures a moving image, the original data storage unit 40 may store a target position for each captured image of each frame of the moving image.

  The object detection unit 50 extracts a target object from a plurality of objects based on the captured image stored in the original data storage unit 40 and the corresponding target position. That is, the object detection unit 50 detects, for example, edges in the captured image, and detects a plurality of objects included in the captured image based on the detected edges. And the object containing the pixel in an attention position is detected as an attention object among several objects. The object detection unit 50 detects a plurality of objects as objects used in image compression according to the MPEG4 standard.

  In addition, when the image capturing apparatus 100 captures a moving image, the object detection unit 50 has the number of frames in which the target position matches the position of the object among a plurality of objects equal to or greater than a predetermined number of frames. One or more objects may be detected as the object of interest. When the image capturing apparatus 100 captures a moving image, the object detection unit 50 may detect the object displayed at the position of interest in the first frame of the moving image as the object of interest.

  The image storage unit 80 stores the object of interest detected by the object detection unit 50 with a larger amount of information than other objects. For example, the image storage unit 80 may store another object as a grayscale image and store the target object as a color image. The image storage unit 80 may determine at least one of the luminance and chromaticity of the other object as the brightness of the target object. Alternatively, it may be stored by lowering the chromaticity gradation.

  Further, when the image capturing apparatus 100 captures a moving image, the image storage unit 80 may store the frame rate of another object lower than the frame rate of the object of interest. Further, the image storage unit 80 may store the resolution of another object lower than the resolution of the object of interest. In this example, the target object image acquisition unit 60 and the other object image acquisition unit 70 acquire images of the target object and other objects at different resolutions and store them in the image storage unit 80.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a captured image displayed by the display unit 92. The captured image includes a plurality of objects (22, 24, 26, 28). When the captured image is a moving image, the image storage unit 80 separates each of the plurality of objects (22, 24, 26, 28) included in the captured image captured by the imaging unit 10, and each of them is based on the MPEG4 standard. The object is compressed and stored. In this example, the object 22 is a person object, and the objects (24, 26, 28) are background objects. The image storage unit 80 separately stores the object 22 detected as the object of interest and the other objects (24, 26, 28).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of each object stored in the image storage unit 80. As described above, the image storage unit 80 of this example separately stores the object of interest 22 shown in FIG. 3B and the other objects (24, 26, 28) shown in FIG. . At this time, as described above, the image storage unit 80 stores the target object 22 with a larger amount of information than the other objects (24, 26, 28).

  When the captured image is a still image, the image storage unit 80 first stores the image data of the captured image shown in FIG. 2 at a low resolution, and then increases the image data of the object of interest 22 shown in FIG. You may store with resolution. In this case, when acquiring low-resolution image data, low-resolution image data may be acquired by thinning out a plurality of imaging elements of the imaging unit 10 that outputs pixel data.

  In this example, the other object image acquisition unit 70 extracts a smaller number of image sensors from the plurality of image sensors of the image capture unit 10 than the number of the plurality of image sensors at the first interval. For example, the imaging unit 10 includes a plurality of imaging elements continuously arranged at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and the other object image acquisition unit 70 performs imaging in at least one of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. An image sensor is extracted at a first interval larger than a predetermined interval at which the element is provided. Then, the other object image acquisition unit 70 receives the pixel data output from the extracted image sensor as the image data of the other object (24, 26, 28), and stores it in the image storage unit 80. Moreover, the other object image acquisition part 70 may receive the pixel data which image sensors other than the extracted image sensor output as image data of other objects (24, 26, 28).

  The object-of-interest image acquisition unit 60 extracts an image sensor at a second interval narrower than the first interval from the image sensor corresponding to the object of interest 22 among the plurality of image sensors of the image capturing unit 10. Then, the target object image acquisition unit 60 receives the pixel data output by the extracted image sensor as the image data of the target object 22 and further stores it in the image storage unit 80. In this example, the object-of-interest image acquisition unit 60 extracts the image sensor at a second interval equal to the predetermined interval where the image sensor is provided. That is, the target object image acquisition unit 60 receives pixel data from all the image sensors that have captured the target object 22. By such an operation, the target object 22 can be easily stored with a higher amount of information with respect to the other objects (24, 26, 28). For this reason, image data can be efficiently compressed.

  Further, the image storage unit 80 may store the image data of each object by performing discrete cosine transform. In this case, the image storage unit 80 may reduce the information amount of the other object by making the quantization coefficient for the other object larger than the quantization coefficient for the object of interest.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining discrete cosine transform in the image storage unit 80. The image storage unit 80 divides each object into transform regions of 8 × 8 pixels, performs discrete cosine transform on 64 pixel data in each transform region, and calculates 64 spatial frequency components.

FIG. 4A shows a data array of spatial frequency components obtained by performing discrete cosine transform on the transform region. Each data D _ab (where a and b are integers of 1 to 8) indicate spatial frequency component data in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and a higher subscript indicates a higher frequency component. The image storage unit 80 compresses the image data by dividing each spatial frequency component _Dab by a predetermined quantization coefficient and removing the remainder of the division.

FIG. 4B shows an example of a predetermined quantization coefficient table. The image storage unit 80 stores in advance a table composed of a plurality of quantization coefficients corresponding to a plurality of spatial frequency components. Each coefficient _{Q ab} corresponds to the spatial frequency components _{D ab.} Here, the image storage unit 80 stores in advance a table of first quantization coefficients to be used in compression of image data of the object of interest and a table of second quantization coefficients to be used in compression of image data of other objects. It is preferable.

The image storage unit 80 divides the spatial frequency D _ab of the image data of each object by the corresponding quantization coefficient Q _ab and stores a value obtained by removing the remainder as a new spatial frequency D _ab . At this time, the image storage unit 80 uses the second quantization coefficient larger than the first quantization coefficient for the target object for the other object, thereby reducing the information amount of the other object from the information amount of the target object. be able to.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the image capturing apparatus 100 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. As described above, first, in the imaging step S200, the imaging unit 10 images a subject, and in the display step S202, the display unit 92 displays a captured image. In the attention position detection step S204, the position detection unit 90 detects the attention position of the user, and in the object detection step S206, the object detection unit 50 detects the attention object. In the image storage step S208, the image storage unit 80 stores the captured image with the information amount of the object of interest higher than the information amount of the other object.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an image capturing apparatus 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Similar to the image capturing apparatus 100, the image capturing apparatus 300 is a digital camera or the like that captures a still image or a moving image and stores it as digital data, for example. The image capturing apparatus 300 includes the image capturing unit 10 and the image processing apparatus 20. 6, components having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 may have the same configurations and functions as the components described in relation to FIG.

  The imaging unit 10 has the same configuration and function as the imaging unit 10 described with reference to FIG. In addition, the image processing apparatus 20 includes a display unit 92, an object detection unit 50, a template storage unit 52, and an image processing unit 30. The display unit 92 has the same configuration and function as the display unit 92 described with reference to FIG.

  The template storage unit 52 stores a template image of a predetermined object. Here, the template storage unit 52 stores, for example, a template image for detecting a person.

  The object detection unit 50 detects a target object that matches the template image provided from the template storage unit 52 from a plurality of objects included in the captured image captured by the imaging unit 10. The template storage unit 52 may store a plurality of template images, and supply one preset template image or a template image selected by the user as needed to the object detection unit 50.

  Further, the object detection unit 50 selects whether to detect the target object based on the user's target position as described with reference to FIG. 1 or to detect the target object using the template image as described above. May be. In this case, the image capturing apparatus 100 further includes a template storage unit 52 in addition to the configuration of the image capturing apparatus 100 described in FIG.

  For example, the object detection unit 50 may detect an object of interest based on the user's attention position when there is no object that matches the template image. If the user's attention position is not determined, the object detection unit 50 may use the template image. You may detect an attention object.

  The attention object image acquisition unit 60, the other object image acquisition unit 70, and the image storage unit 80 are the same as the attention object image acquisition unit 60, the other object image acquisition unit 70, and the image storage unit 80 described with reference to FIG. The object of interest is stored with a higher amount of information than other objects. Also with the image capturing apparatus 300 in this example, the object of interest can be easily stored with a higher amount of information with respect to other objects, similarly to the image capturing apparatus 100 described with reference to FIG. For this reason, image data can be efficiently compressed.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the image capturing apparatus 300 described with reference to FIG. First, in the imaging step S200, the imaging unit 10 images a subject. Then, in the template storage step S210, the template storage unit 52 stores the template. The template storage stage S210 may be performed before the imaging stage S200.

  In the object detection step S212, the object detection unit 50 detects the object of interest from the captured image based on the template image received from the template storage unit 52. In the image storage step S208, the image storage unit 80 stores the captured image by setting the information amount of the object of interest higher than the information amount of other objects.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a computer 400 that controls the imaging apparatus. In this example, the computer 400 may store a program that causes the imaging apparatus to function as the image imaging apparatus 100 described with reference to FIG. 1, and the imaging apparatus as the image imaging apparatus 300 described with reference to FIG. 6. You may store the program to function. The computer 400 may further function as the image processing device 20 of the imaging device.

  The computer 400 includes a CPU 700, a ROM 702, a RAM 704, a communication interface 706, a hard disk drive 710, a flexible disk drive 712, and a CD-ROM drive 714. The CPU 700 operates based on programs stored in the ROM 702, the RAM 704, the hard disk drive 710, the flexible disk 720, and / or the CD-ROM 722.

  For example, the program that causes the imaging device to function causes the computer 400 to function as the image processing device 20 described in relation to FIG. 1 or FIG. 6, and the imaging unit 10 to be described in relation to FIG. Make the imaging device function.

  The communication interface 706 communicates with, for example, the imaging unit 10, receives information regarding each state and the like, and transmits a control signal for controlling each. The hard disk drive 710, the ROM 702, or the RAM 704 as an example of a storage device stores setting information, a program for operating the CPU 700, and the like. The program may be stored in a recording medium such as the flexible disk 720 and the CD-ROM 722.

  When the flexible disk 720 stores a program, the flexible disk drive 712 reads the program from the flexible disk 720 and provides it to the CPU 700. When the CD-ROM 722 stores a program, the CD-ROM drive 714 reads the program from the CD-ROM 722 and provides it to the CPU 700.

  Further, the program may be read directly from the recording medium into the RAM and executed, or once installed in the hard disk drive 710, the program may be read into the RAM 704 and executed. Further, the program may be stored in a single recording medium or a plurality of recording media. The program stored in the recording medium may provide each function in cooperation with the operating system. For example, the program may request the operating system to perform a part or all of the function and provide the function based on a response from the operating system.

  As a recording medium for storing a program, in addition to a flexible disk and a CD-ROM, an optical recording medium such as a DVD and a PD, a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MD, a tape medium, a magnetic recording medium, an IC card, a miniature card, etc. A semiconductor memory or the like can be used. A storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a figure showing an example of composition of image pick-up device 100 concerning an embodiment of the present invention. (Example 1) It is a figure which shows an example of the captured image which the display part 92 displays. It is a figure which shows an example of each object which the image storage part 80 stores. 3A shows the other objects (24, 26, 28), and FIG. 3B shows the object of interest 22. It is a figure explaining the discrete cosine transform in the image storage unit. 4A shows a data array of spatial frequency components obtained by performing discrete cosine transform on the transform region, and FIG. 4B shows an example of a table of predetermined quantization coefficients. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the image capturing apparatus 100 described in FIGS. 1 to 4. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the imaging device 300 which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. (Example 2) 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the image capturing apparatus 300 described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a computer 400 that controls an imaging apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Imaging part, 20 ... Image processing apparatus, 22 ... Object of interest, 24, 26, 28 ... Other object, 30 ... Image processing part, 40 ... Original data storage part , 50... Object detection unit, 52... Template storage unit, 60... Object image acquisition unit, 70 .. other object image acquisition unit, 80. Detection unit, 92... Display unit, 100... Image capturing device, 300... Image capturing device, 400. ... Communication I / F, 710 ... Hard disk drive, 712 ... FD drive, 714 ... CD-ROM drive, 720 ... Flexible disk, 722 ... CD-ROM

Claims (11)

An image imaging apparatus for imaging a subject,
An imaging unit that captures an image of the subject;
A template storage unit for storing a template image of a predetermined object;
An object detection unit for detecting an object of interest that matches the template image from a plurality of objects included in the captured image;
An image capturing apparatus comprising: an image processing unit that stores the object of interest with a larger amount of information than the other objects. The imaging unit includes a plurality of imaging elements corresponding to a plurality of pixels of the captured image,
The image processing unit
An image storage unit for storing pixel data of the captured image;
Other objects that extract a smaller number of image sensors than the number of the plurality of image sensors at a first interval from the plurality of image sensors, and store the pixel data output by the extracted image sensors in the image storage unit An image acquisition unit;
The image sensor is extracted from the image sensor corresponding to the object of interest among the plurality of image sensors at a second interval narrower than the first interval, and pixel data output by the extracted image sensor is The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an attention object image acquisition unit that is further stored in the image storage unit. The imaging unit captures a moving image,
The said image storage part isolate | separates each of these objects contained in the said moving image imaged by the said imaging part, and each said object is compression-encoded based on MPEG4 specification, and stores it. Imaging device. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image storage unit stores a frame rate of the other object lower than a frame rate of the object of interest. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image storage unit stores at least one gradation of luminance or chromaticity of the other object lower than a gradation of luminance or chromaticity of the object of interest. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image storage unit stores a resolution of the other object lower than a resolution of the object of interest. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image storage unit stores the other object as a grayscale image and stores the object of interest as a color image. The image storage unit performs discrete cosine transform on the image data of each object, quantizes and stores the spatial frequency component of the object of interest by dividing it by a first quantization coefficient, and stores the spatial frequency of the other object. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the component is quantized and stored by dividing the component by a second quantization coefficient larger than the first quantization coefficient. An image processing apparatus for storing a captured image of the subject,
A template storage unit for storing a template image of a predetermined object;
An object detection unit for detecting an object of interest that matches the template image from a plurality of objects included in the captured image;
An image processing apparatus comprising: an image processing unit that stores the object of interest with a larger amount of information than the other objects. An image imaging method for imaging a subject,
An imaging stage for capturing an image of the subject;
A template storage stage for storing a template image of a predetermined object;
An object detection step of detecting an object of interest that matches the template image from a plurality of objects included in the captured image;
An image processing method comprising: an image processing step of storing the object of interest with a larger amount of information than other objects. A program for causing an image capturing apparatus for capturing a subject to function,
The imaging device
An imaging unit that captures an image of the subject;
A template storage unit for storing a template image of a predetermined object;
An object detection unit for detecting an object of interest that matches the template image from a plurality of objects included in the captured image;
A program that causes the noted object to function as an image processing unit that stores a larger amount of information than the other objects.

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