JP2007079894A - Image processor, processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display an image by applying an effect further suitable to the content of the image. <P>SOLUTION: A face detection part 32 detects the number of face images contained in images and, for each of the face images, face position, face size and face direction. A display control part 36 controls, when the images are successively switchingly displayed, the display of images while applying a switching effect of image according to the detected face images. This invention is applicable to a personal computer or a digital steel camera. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, method, and program, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus, method, and program that can apply an effect suitable for the contents of an image to display an image.

  Many methods of detecting human face images (face images) in images have been proposed, and various uses such as detection of people using surveillance cameras and detection of moving image scenes have been proposed. (For example, refer nonpatent literature 1).

  However, its use is in a specific limited business, and usage in daily life such as private life or home life has not been proposed so much.

  On the other hand, so-called digital still cameras have become widespread and functions for taking still images have been installed in mobile phones, and opportunities for taking still images (photographs) in daily life are steadily increasing.

“Focus 1000 hours with total mobilization from face, telop to cheers”, “Nikkei Electronics”, Nikkei BP, June 21, 2004, p.114-123

  However, the only ways to use the captured images are simple browsing in units of files and simple slideshows in which images are simply displayed in order.

  As an effect of switching between images in this slide show, there are cases where the next image is displayed as being slid from the previous image, or is displayed so as to be merged.

  Conventionally, the effect of switching cannot be changed depending on the contents of an image. Further, there is no effect using information about the face included in the image.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and enables an image to be displayed by applying an effect more suitable for the content of the image.

  One aspect of the present invention is a detection means / step for detecting a face image, which is a face image included in each image, and, in the case of sequentially switching and displaying the images, image switching according to the face images. An image processing apparatus, method, or program comprising / including display control means / steps for controlling display of the image to which an effect is applied.

  In one aspect of the present invention, when a face image that is a face image included in each image is detected and the images are sequentially switched and displayed, an image switching effect according to the face image is applied. The display of the image is controlled.

  The detection means detects the number of the face images included in each of the images, and the image processing apparatus detects the images in which one or more of the face images are detected among the images stored in advance. Read control means for controlling reading of the image so as to read can be further provided, and the display control means can control the display of the read image.

  The detection means detects the number of the face images included in each of the images, and the display control means controls display of the images to which an image switching effect is applied according to the number of the face images. To be able to.

  The detection means detects the size of the face image, and the display control means controls display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to the size of the face image. Can do.

  The detection unit detects a position of the face image in the image, and the display control unit controls display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to the position of the face image. be able to.

  The detection unit may detect a face direction in the face image, and the display control unit may control display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to the face direction. it can.

  The detection means detects the number of the face images, the size of each face image, the position of each face image, or the orientation of the face in each face image for each of the images, and performs image processing. In the apparatus, each of the images, and the number of the face images in each of the images, the size of each of the face images, the position of each of the face images, or the orientation of the face in each of the face images. The display control means further includes an association means for relating the number of the face images, the size of each of the face images, and each of the faces in each of the images related to the face image. Controlling the display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to the position of the image or the orientation of the face in each face image It can be.

  As described above, according to one aspect of the present invention, an image can be displayed.

  In addition, according to one aspect of the present invention, an image can be displayed by applying an effect more suitable for the content of the image.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Correspondences between the configuration requirements of the present invention and the embodiments described in the detailed description of the present invention are exemplified as follows. This description is to confirm that the embodiments supporting the present invention are described in the detailed description of the invention. Accordingly, although there are embodiments that are described in the detailed description of the invention but are not described here as embodiments corresponding to the constituent elements of the present invention, It does not mean that the embodiment does not correspond to the configuration requirements. Conversely, even if an embodiment is described here as corresponding to a configuration requirement, that means that the embodiment does not correspond to a configuration requirement other than the configuration requirement. It's not something to do.

  An image processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention firstly includes a detection unit (for example, the face detection unit 32 in FIG. 3) that detects a face image that is a face image included in each image, and the images in order. In the case of switching display, a display control unit (for example, the display control unit 36 in FIG. 3) that controls display of the image to which the image switching effect is applied according to the face image is provided.

  Secondly, in the image processing device according to one aspect of the present invention, the detection unit detects the number of the face images included in each of the images, and among the images stored in advance in the image processing device. Read control means (for example, the read control unit 35 in FIG. 3) for controlling reading of the image so as to read the image in which one or more face images are detected is further provided, and the display control means reads the image. The display of the outputted image can be controlled.

  Thirdly, in the image processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention, the detection unit includes, for each of the images, the number of the face images, the size of each of the face images, the position of each of the face images, or The orientation of the face in each of the face images is detected, and the image processing apparatus is provided with each of the images, the number of the face images in each of the images, the size of each of the face images, and each of the face images. , Or an association means (for example, the face information database 33 in FIG. 3) for associating the position of each face image with the face orientation in each face image, and the display control means is associated with the face image. , The number of face images in each image, the size of each face image, the position of each face image, or the orientation of the face in each face image It can be as to control the display of the image to which the effect of the switching of the images according to.

  An image processing method or program according to an aspect of the present invention includes a detection step (for example, step S31 to step S38 in FIG. 4) for detecting a face image that is a face image included in each image, and sequentially switching the images. Display control step (for example, step S56 in FIG. 8) for controlling the display of the image to which the effect of image switching is applied according to the face image.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a personal computer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Image 1 is a still image taken by a photographing device that photographs a subject such as a digital still camera, a mobile phone, a digital scanner, or a portable information terminal device. One or more images 1 are supplied to the personal computer 2 as image data.

  Here, the image 1 as the image data may be a bitmap format, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, JPEG 2000 format, GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), or the like.

  The personal computer 2 detects a face (image) from each of the images 1, and associates each of the images 1 with each of the face detection information 3 indicating the result of the face detection.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the personal computer 2. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 executes various processes according to a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12 or a storage unit 18. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 13 appropriately stores programs executed by the CPU 11 and data. The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 are connected to each other by a bus 14.

  As the CPU 11, a cell described in "Birth of Cell", Nikkei Electronics, Nikkei BP, February 28, 2005, pages 89 to 117 can be used.

  An input / output interface 15 is also connected to the CPU 11 via the bus 14. The input / output interface 15 is connected to an input unit 16 including a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a photographing unit for capturing a still image, and an output unit 17 including a display and a speaker. The CPU 11 executes various processes in response to commands input from the input unit 16. Then, the CPU 11 outputs the processing result to the output unit 17.

  The storage unit 18 connected to the input / output interface 15 includes, for example, a hard disk, and stores programs executed by the CPU 11 and various data. The communication unit 19 communicates with an external device via a network such as the Internet or a local area network.

  A program may be acquired via the communication unit 19 and stored in the storage unit 18.

  The drive 20 connected to the input / output interface 15 drives a removable medium 21 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, and drives the program or data recorded therein. Get etc. The acquired program and data are transferred to and stored in the storage unit 18 as necessary.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration realized in the personal computer 2 that executes the program. In the personal computer 2 that executes the program, an image database 31, a face detection unit 32, a face information database 33, a read condition setting unit 34, a read control unit 35, and a display control unit 36 are realized.

  The image database 31 stores an image 1 captured by an external device and input by the input unit 16 as image data. The image database 31 supplies the stored image 1 to the face detection unit 32 or the read control unit 34.

  For example, the image database 31 manages the storage of the image 1 as the image data in the storage unit 18 that is a hard disk, and stores the image 1 as the image data in the storage unit 18 or the storage unit 18 as the image data. The stored image 1 is read out.

  The face detection unit 32 detects a face image included in each image 1. For example, the face detection unit 32 detects a face image included in the image 1 as the image data supplied from the image database 31. The face detection unit 32 supplies face detection information 3 that is information about the detected face image to the face information database 33.

  The face information database 33 associates each image 1 with the face detection information 3 regarding the face image detected from each image 1. For example, the face information database 33 stores each image 1 and the face detection information 3 in association with each other.

  The face information database 33 is configured such that the face detection information 3 is stored in the storage unit 18.

  The read condition setting unit 34 sets a condition for reading the image 1 based on a signal from the input unit 16 according to an operation by the user to the input unit 16 such as a keyboard or a mouse. The read condition setting unit 34 supplies the set conditions to the read control unit 35.

  The read control unit 35 reads the image 1 from the face information database 33 based on the set conditions supplied from the read condition setting unit 34 and the face detection information 3 stored in the face information database 33. Control. The read control unit 35 supplies the read image 1 to the display control unit 36.

  The display control unit 36 controls the display of the image 1 so that the image 1 supplied from the read control unit 35 is displayed on the output unit 17 as a display. The display control unit 36 includes a determination unit 51 and an effect application unit 52.

  Based on the face detection information 3 stored in the face information database 33, the determination unit 51 determines whether the face image included in the image 1 to be displayed satisfies a predetermined condition.

  The effect applying unit 52 applies the display effect corresponding to the determination result by the determining unit 51 to the image 1 to be displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating face detection processing. In step S <b> 31, the face detection unit 32 inputs the image 1 from the image database 31 and detects a face image from the input image 1.

  For example, in step S <b> 31, the face detection unit 32 inputs the image 1 illustrated in FIG. 5 from the image database 31, and detects a face image from the input image 1.

  More specifically, for example, in step S31, the face detection unit 32 specifies a pixel having a pixel value indicating a color belonging to a predetermined color range corresponding to the color of human skin among the pixels of the image 1. To do. Then, the face detection unit 32 sets, as a face image, an area constituted by pixels adjacent to each other by a predetermined number or more among the pixels specified by color.

  In step S32, the face detection unit 32 counts the number of face images detected in the process of step S31. That is, in step S32, the face detection unit 32 detects the number of face images included in each image 1.

  In step S33, the face detection unit 32 determines whether or not one or more face images are detected. If it is determined that one or more face images are detected, the process proceeds to step S34 and is detected. One of the face images is selected.

  In step S35, the face detection unit 32 detects the position of the face in the image 1 for the selected face image.

  For example, in step S <b> 35, when the overall height and the overall width of the image 1 are 1 respectively, the face detection unit 32 determines the face position relative to the entire image 1 as the position of the face image in the image 1. The vertical position and the horizontal position of the image are detected.

  In step S36, the face detection unit 32 detects the size of the face image for the selected face image.

  For example, in step S36, the face detection unit 32 assumes that the overall height and overall width of the image 1 are 1, and the relative size of the face in the image 1 is relative to the entire image 1. Detect the height and width of the face image.

  In step S <b> 37, the face detection unit 32 detects the face orientation of the selected face image. Although details will be described later, in step S37, the face detection unit 32 detects a face roll angle, a pitch angle, and a yaw angle as the face orientation.

  For example, in step S37, the face detection unit 32 determines whether or not a plurality of patterns for each assumed face direction that are defined in advance match the selected face image, and the face orientation is determined. The direction of the face is detected by setting the direction corresponding to the pattern matching the face image.

  In step S38, the face detection unit 32 determines whether or not all face images have been selected. If it is determined that all face images have not been selected, the process proceeds to step S34, where A face image is selected and the above-described processing is repeated.

  Thus, for example, the face detection unit 32 detects a face image for each of the images 1 stored in the image database 31, further detects the number of face images, and detects each face image. , The size of each face image, and the face orientation in each face image.

  If it is determined in step S38 that all face images have been selected, the process proceeds to step S39, where the face detection unit 32 determines the number of detected face images and the position of the face for each face image. The face detection information 3 indicating the face size and the face orientation is output, and the face information database 33 associates the image 1 with the face detection information 3, stores the face detection information 3, and performs processing. Ends.

  For example, the face detection unit 32 outputs the face detection information 3 in the example shown in FIG. 6 for the image 1 exemplified in FIG. The face detection information 3 is described by, for example, an XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language) method.

  Between the <photo> tag and the </ photo> tag, information indicating the relationship with the image 1 and information regarding the face image are arranged.

  The C: \ hoge \ hoge.jpg arranged between the <filepath> tag and the </ filepath> tag is a record in which the face detection information 3 illustrated in FIG. It is related to the image 1 that is the image data stored in the file with the file name hoge.jpg stored in the folder with the folder name hoge under the root folder of the medium) Show.

  Between the <Faceinfo> tag and the </ Faceinfo> tag, information related to the image 1 that is image data stored in the file having the file name hoge.jpg is arranged. That is, information about the face image included in the image 1 that is image data stored in the file having the file name hoge.jpg is arranged between the <Faceinfo> tag and the </ Faceinfo> tag.

  1 placed between the <TotalFace> tag and the </ TotalFace> tag is the number of face images included in the image 1 that is image data stored in the file with the file name hoge.jpg. Indicates that That is, the value arranged between the <TotalFace> tag and the </ TotalFace> tag indicates the total number of face images included in the image 1.

  Information about one face image is arranged between the <FaceEntry> tag and the </ FaceEntry> tag. Since the total number of face images in the face detection information 3 illustrated in FIG. 6 is 1, a set of <FaceEntry> tags and </ FaceEntry> tags are arranged.

  The value arranged between the <x> tag and the </ x> tag indicates the position in the horizontal direction of the face image in the image 1. In FIG. 6, 0.328767 arranged between the <x> tag and the </ x> tag indicates that the left end of the image 1 is 0.0 and the right end of the image 1 is 1.0, and the side of the right end of the face image is horizontal. This indicates that the direction position is 0.328767.

  A value arranged between the <y> tag and the </ y> tag indicates the position in the vertical direction of the face image in the image 1. In FIG. 6, 0.204082 arranged between the <y> tag and the </ y> tag indicates that the top edge of the face image is vertical when the top edge of the image 1 is 0.0 and the bottom edge of the image 1 is 1.0. The direction position is 0.204082.

  That is, the normalized horizontal position of the face image is placed between the <x> tag and the </ x> tag, and the face image is placed between the <y> tag and the </ y> tag. The normalized vertical position of the image is placed.

  A value arranged between the <width> tag and the </ width> tag indicates the width (lateral size) of the face image in the image 1. In FIG. 6, 0.408163 arranged between the <width> tag and the </ width> tag indicates that the width of the face image is 0.408163 when the width of the image 1 is 1.0.

  Arranged between the <height> tag and the </ height> tag indicates the height (vertical size) of the face image in the image 1. In FIG. 6, 0.273973 arranged between the <height> tag and the </ height> tag indicates that the height of the face image is 0.273973 when the height of the image 1 is 1.0. .

  That is, the normalized width of the face image is placed between the <width> tag and the </ width> tag, and the face image normalization is placed between the <height> tag and the </ height> tag. The height is arranged.

  The value arranged between the <roll> tag and the </ roll> tag indicates the roll angle of the face in the face image. In FIG. 6, 0.000000 arranged between the <roll> tag and the </ roll> tag indicates that the face roll angle in the face image is 0.000000 degrees.

  The value arranged between the <pitch> tag and the </ pitch> tag indicates the pitch angle of the face in the face image. In FIG. 6, 0.000000 arranged between the <pitch> tag and the </ pitch> tag indicates that the pitch angle of the face in the face image is 0.000000 degrees.

  The value arranged between the <yaw> tag and the </ yaw> tag indicates the face yaw angle in the face image. In FIG. 6, 0.000000 arranged between the <yaw> tag and the </ yaw> tag indicates that the face yaw angle in the face image is 0.000000 degrees.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the roll angle is a movement angle around the front-rear axis (x-axis) indicating the position of the face in the front-rear direction. The pitch angle is a movement angle around the horizontal axis (y axis) indicating the position of the face in the left-right direction. The yaw angle is a movement angle around the vertical axis (z axis) indicating the vertical position of the face.

  If it is determined in step S33 that one or more face images have not been detected, the process proceeds to step S39, where the face detection unit 32 indicates that the number of detected face images is zero. 3, the face information database 33 associates the image 1 with the face detection information 3, stores the face detection information 3, and the process ends.

  The face detection process described with reference to FIG. 4 is applied to each image 1, and a face image is detected for each image 1. As a result, for each image 1, the number of detected face images and the face detection information 3 indicating the face position, face size, and face orientation for each face image are related to image 1. And stored in the face information database 33.

  The face detection information 3 has been described as being recorded in the face information database 33 separately from the image 1. However, the face detection information 3 is stored in a file storing the image 1 as additional information of the data of the image 1 compliant with the Exif standard. It may be.

  By using the face detection information 3, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the range of the face image in the image 1 can be displayed.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining display processing. In step S51, the read condition setting unit 34 detects the face image based on the signal from the input unit 16 according to the operation by the user or the data indicating the mode stored in the ROM 12 or RAM 13 in advance. It is determined whether or not the mode is to display only the face detection image that is 1, and if it is determined to be the mode to display only the face detection image, the process proceeds to step S52, and the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is set to 1. Set to above. For example, in step S52, the read condition setting unit 34 writes a value indicating that the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is 1 or more in the read control unit 35, thereby increasing the number of faces of the image 1 to be read by 1 or more. Set to.

  If it is determined in step S51 that the mode is not the mode for displaying only the face detection image, the process proceeds to step S53, and the reading condition setting unit 34 stores in advance a signal from the input unit 16 according to the operation by the user or the ROM 12 or RAM 13 in advance. Based on the data indicating the stored mode, it is determined whether or not the mode is a mode in which only the non-face detection image that is the image 1 in which the face image is not detected is displayed. If it is determined in step S53 that the mode is for displaying only the non-face detection image, the process proceeds to step S54, and the reading condition setting unit 34 sets the number of faces of the image 1 to be read to zero. For example, in step S54, the read condition setting unit 34 sets the number of faces of the image 1 to be read to 0 by writing a value indicating that the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is 0 in the read control unit 35. To do.

  If it is determined in step S53 that the mode is not a mode for displaying only the non-face detection image, the mode is a mode for displaying all the images. Set to 0 or higher. For example, in step S55, the read condition setting unit 34 writes a value indicating that the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is 0 or more in the read control unit 35, thereby setting the number of faces of the image 1 to be read to be 0 or more. Set to.

  In step S56, a slide show process is executed, and the process ends.

  In this way, by setting the number of faces of the image 1 to be read to 1 or more, 0, or 0 or more, by selecting the image 1 based on the face detection information 3 in the slide show, It is possible to display only the image 1 in which the image is detected, to display only the image 1 that is a landscape image in which no face image is detected, or to display the entire image 1. .

  It has been described that the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is set to 1 or more, 0, or 0 or more in the internal processing in accordance with the operation by the user. However, as shown in FIG. In the mode in which only the face of the image 1 to be read is 1 or more, and in the mode in which only the non-face detection image is displayed, the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is set to 0, and all the images 1 are displayed. In the display mode, a setting file indicating that the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is 0 or more is stored in advance, and when starting a slide show, the setting file is read and the setting file and the face are read. The image 1 may be selected based on the detection information 3.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the slide show process corresponding to step S56 in FIG. In step S <b> 71, the read control unit 35 determines the display order of the image 1.

  That is, for example, in step S <b> 71, the read control unit 35 reads the face detection information 3 of each image 1 from the face information database 33. The read control unit 35 determines the image 1 to be displayed based on the face detection information 3 of each image 1 and the set number of faces of the read image 1.

  More specifically, when the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is set to 1 or more, the read control unit 35 selects the image 1 having the number of faces indicated by the face detection information 3 being 1 or more. When the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is determined to be 0 and set to 0, the image 1 with the number of faces indicated by the face detection information 3 is determined to be the image 1 to be displayed. When the number of faces of the image 1 to be read is set to 0 or more, the image 1 (that is, all the images 1) in which the number of faces indicated by the face detection information 3 is 0 or more is displayed. 1 is determined.

  Then, the read control unit 35 determines the display order of the determined image 1 to be displayed. More specifically, for example, the read control unit 35 displays, as additional information of the image 1 data compliant with the Exif standard, in the order of the shooting dates stored in the file storing the image 1. The display order of the determined image 1 to be displayed is determined. Further, for example, the read control unit 35 determines the display order of the determined image 1 to be displayed based on the name of the image 1.

  In step S72, the read control unit 35 reads one image 1 from the image database 31 in the determined order. The read control unit 35 supplies the read image 1 to the display control unit 36. In step S <b> 73, the read control unit 35 reads the face detection information 3 associated with the image 1 read in the process of step S <b> 72 from the face information database 33. The read control unit 35 supplies the read face detection information 3 to the display control unit 36.

  Thus, the image 1 is filtered using the face detection information 3 stored in the face information database, and the image 1 used for the slide show is selected.

  In step S <b> 74, the determination unit 51 of the display control unit 36 determines whether there is an image 1 to be displayed next, based on whether there is the image 1 supplied from the read control unit 35. In step S74, since there is the image 1 supplied from the read control unit 35, when it is determined that there is an image 1 to be displayed next, the process proceeds to step S75, and the determination unit 51 is related to the image 1. It is determined from the number of face images shown in the face detection information 3 whether or not the number of faces is one.

  If it is determined in step S75 that the number of faces is one, the process proceeds to step S76, where the determination unit 51 determines the face orientation indicated in the face detection information 3 associated with the image 1. Then, it is determined whether or not the face is facing the front.

  Here, the face is facing the front means a so-called front face, and the face roll angle, pitch angle, and yaw angle in the face image are all 0 degrees. When the face roll angle, pitch angle, and yaw angle in the face image are within a predetermined range centered on 0 degrees (for example, plus or minus 10 degrees), it is determined that the face is facing the front. You may do it.

  If it is determined in step S76 that the face is facing the front, the process proceeds to step S77, and the effect applying unit 52 of the display control unit 36 applies the effect of zooming out from the face to the image 1 to display the display control unit. 36 displays the image 1 on the output unit 17 which is a display so as to zoom out from the face. After the process of step S77, the procedure returns to step S72 and repeats the process described above.

  12 and 13 are diagrams illustrating an example of the image 1 displayed so as to zoom out from the face.

  In step S77, first, the effect applying unit 52 applies the effect of zooming in on the size of the face to the image 1. In the image 1 zoomed in to the size of the face, the center position of the face image is arranged at the center position (Xd / 2, Yd / 2) of the display area of the output unit 17 which is a display, and the width of the face image And the image is enlarged and displayed so that the height does not exceed the short side of the display area. Here, Xd indicates the horizontal width of the display area of the output unit 17, and Yd indicates the height of the display area of the output unit 17.

That is, the center point (x, y) of the face image is expressed by Expression (1).
Center point of face image (x, y) = (Xd / 2, Yd / 2) (1)
Further, when the short side of the display area is in the vertical direction, the height of the image 1 is set to 1.0, and thus the enlargement ratio Zr of the face image is expressed by Expression (2).
Zr = 1 / face_height (2)
The face_height is the height of the face image arranged between the <height> tag and the </ height> tag of the face detection information 3.

When the short side of the display area is in the horizontal direction, since the width of the image 1 is set to 1.0, the enlargement ratio Zr of the face image is expressed by Expression (3).
Zr = 1 / face_width (3)
face_width is the width of the face image arranged between the <width> tag and the </ width> tag.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the effect application unit 52 displays the entire face image in the display area of the output unit 17 based on the width of the face image or the height of the face image. Based on the formula (2) or the formula (3), the enlargement ratio Zr of the face image is determined. In the example shown in FIG. 12, since the short side of the display area is in the vertical direction, the effect applying unit 52 determines the enlargement ratio Zr of the face image based on Expression (2).

  In FIG. 12, the bold line indicates the range of the face image. When the face is zoomed in to the size of the face, the enlargement ratio Zr of the face image is set to a value determined based on Expression (2), and the height of the face image is the height of the display area of the output unit 17. So that the face image is enlarged. The height Y of the display area which is the area of the image 1 including the face image and is the area of the image 1 displayed in the display area of the output unit 17 is set equal to the height face_height of the face image.

  The width X of the display area which is the area of the image 1 including the face image and which is displayed in the display area of the output unit 17 is Xd / Zr. Since the long side of the display area is in the horizontal direction, the width X of the display area is longer than the height Y of the display area.

  The display area is enlarged by Zr and displayed in the display area of the output unit 17. That is, the height Y of the display area is enlarged by Zr and the height of the enlarged image is PY = Y / face_width, and the width X of the display area is enlarged by Zr and the width of the enlarged image. The enlarged image with PX = X / face_width is displayed in the entire display area of the output unit 17. Here, PY = Yd and PX = Xd.

  Next, the effect applying unit 52 applies the effect to be zoomed out to the image 1.

  That is, the effect application unit 52 calculates the distance dn from each of the vertices of the enlarged image (each of the four corners) to each of the vertices of the display area (each of the four corners), and the farthest distance dn The entire image 1 is finally drawn on the entire display area of the output unit 17 while reducing the enlargement ratio Zr so that the point is reduced at a designated time.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, in switching of image 1, image 1 is displayed so as to be zoomed out to the entire image 1 from a state where the face image is zoomed in as time passes. It will be.

  In this case, a process of replacing the images while changing the transmittance of the previously displayed image 1 may be performed.

  If it is determined in step S76 that the face is not facing the front, the process proceeds to step S78, where the effect applying unit 52 of the display control unit 36 applies the effect of sliding in the face direction to the image 1 and displays it. The control unit 36 displays the image 1 on the output unit 17 that is a display so as to slide in in the direction of the face. After the process of step S78, the procedure returns to step S72 and repeats the process described above.

  14 and 15 are diagrams illustrating examples of the image 1 displayed so as to slide in in the direction of the face.

  For example, in step S78, when applying the effect that slides in the face direction to the image 1, the effect applying unit 52 first applies the face angle θ projected on the two-dimensional plane and the position of the face image. From the above, the position of the image 1 where the slide starts is obtained.

  Here, the angle θ of the face projected on the two-dimensional plane will be described. Since the face image is displayed on the plane, as shown in FIG. 7, the angle when the vertical vector L extending vertically from the front of the face is projected onto the screen is the angle of the face projected on the two-dimensional plane. The angle is θ.

  The effect applying unit 52 moves the image 1 in the direction opposite to the face angle θ as the position of the image 1 to start the slide, and the image of the face of the image 1 at the boundary of the display area (drawing area). Find the position where the touches.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the effect applying unit 52 moves the image 1 in the opposite direction to the angle θ of the face projected on the two-dimensional plane, and the image 1 is displayed offset X0 on the left side. And the position where the image 1 is moved upward by the display offset Y0 is set as the position of the image 1 where the slide is started. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the effect applying unit 52 has a position where the left edge of the face image of the image 1 matches the left edge of the display area, and the upper edge of the face image of the image 1 matches the upper edge of the display area. That is, the position where the face image is arranged at the upper left of the display area is the position of the image 1.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, the offset distance d0 is (X0 ² + Y0 ² ) ^1/2 . The entire face image of image 1 is displayed in the display area of output unit 17 at the position of image 1 where the slide starts.

  The effect applying unit 52 draws while moving the object of the image 1 in the direction of the face angle θ so that the slide of the image 1 is completed at the time specified with respect to the offset distance d0.

  When the display of the image 1 is shifted so as to display the next image 1 (the display is switched), the image 1 is further slid in the direction of the face angle θ from the state where the entire image 1 is displayed. Thus, the image 1 is displayed in the display area of the output unit 17 so that the face image moves until it touches the boundary of the display area (drawing area).

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, when switching image 1, image 1 is displayed so as to slide in the face direction.

  When the image 1 is displayed by sliding in, the transmittance of the image 1 may be changed.

  If it is determined in step S75 that the number of faces is not one, the process proceeds to step S79, where the determination unit 51 of the display control unit 36 indicates the face indicated in the face detection information 3 associated with the image 1 Whether the number of faces is four or not is determined from the number of.

  If it is determined in step S79 that the number of faces is four, the process proceeds to step S80, where the effect applying unit 52 of the display control unit 36 zooms to the face in each of the four divided screen areas. By applying the effect of cross-fading to the image 1, the display control unit 36 applies the image 1 to the output unit 17 that is a display so as to perform cross-fading while zooming to the face in each of the four divided screen areas. indicate. After the process of step S80, the procedure returns to step S72 and repeats the process described above.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the effect application unit 52 gradually applies the face image included in the image 1 currently displayed to each of the regions obtained by dividing the display region of the output unit 17 into four regions. The face image is displayed while changing the transmittance of the image. Then, the effect applying unit 52 displays the face image in each of the four divided areas so that the face image included in the image 1 to be displayed next is gradually changed and displayed. The image of the face is displayed while changing the transmittance.

  Further, the effect applying unit 52 displays the next image 1 while changing the transmittance of the image so that the entire image 1 is gradually displayed on the entire display area of the output unit 17.

  If it is determined in step S79 that the number of faces is not four, the process proceeds to step S81, and the display control unit 36 selects a face of interest based on the face detection information 3. For example, in step S <b> 81, the display control unit 36 selects the largest face based on the face detection information 3. For example, when it is determined that the number of faces is 0 and the image 1 is a landscape image, in this case, no face is selected. Alternatively, for example, when the image 1 is a landscape image, an image object included in the image 1 is selected at random.

  In step S82, the effect applying unit 52 of the display control unit 36 applies the effect of sliding in the selected face direction to the image 1, and the display control unit 36 slides in the selected face direction. The image 1 is displayed on the output unit 17 which is a display. For example, when it is determined that the number of faces is 0 and the image 1 is a landscape image, no effect is selected, so the effect applying unit 52 of the display control unit 36 effects the slide-in in a predetermined direction. Is applied to the image 1, and the display control unit 36 displays the image 1 on the output unit 17 that is a display so as to slide in in a predetermined direction.

  In addition, processing may be applied to a randomly selected image object in the same manner as a face image.

  After the process of step S82, the procedure returns to step S72 and repeats the above-described process.

  If it is determined in step S74 that there is no image 1 to be displayed next, the processing ends.

  Note that the effect applied to the image 1 is not limited to zoom-in / zoom-out, slide-in, or cross-fade, but the effect (effect) to be applied to the image 1 may be selected from information included in the face detection information 3. Good. In this case, the selection method may be selected randomly, or the effect may be selected by weighting the size or position of the face image.

  As described above, the image 1 can be displayed by applying an effect more suitable for the face image included in the image 1. That is, the image 1 can be displayed by applying an effect more suitable for the content of the image 1.

  By executing the slide show process using the meta information (face detection information 3) obtained as a result of the detection of the face image, an effect corresponding to the contents of the image 1 can be created. Thereby, the impression of the displayed image 1 further increases, and the user can easily recall the memories.

  In addition to the slide show using the image 1 in which a person is shown, the slide show process can be executed using the image 1 in which no person is shown. By excluding the image 1 in which the person is shown from the image 1 to be selected, it is possible to provide a slide show for enjoying the scenery purely or to provide a slide show in consideration of the privacy of the person in the image 1.

  Thus, when the stored image 1 is read and the image 1 is displayed, the image can be displayed. In addition, when a face image that is a face image included in each image is detected and the images are sequentially switched and displayed, the display of the image to which the image switching effect is applied according to the face image is controlled. In this case, the image can be displayed by applying an effect more suitable for the content of the image.

  Although the personal computer 2 has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention may be applied to the digital still camera 101 as shown in FIG. In this case, the digital still camera 101 performs the above-described processing, detects a face from the image 1 captured by the digital still camera 101, and generates face detection information 3. The digital still camera 101 associates the captured image 1 with the face detection information 3. The digital still camera 101 executes the above-described slide show process.

  In this way, the display unit of the digital still camera 101 can display the image 1 by applying an effect more suitable for the content of the image 1.

  In addition, the electronic device is not limited to the personal computer 2 or the digital still camera 101, and may be an electronic device having a function of displaying an image, such as a mobile phone, a digital scanner, a portable information terminal device, a digital video camera, a television device, and a hard disk video recorder. The present invention can be applied.

  Note that the slide show processing may be executed based on the image 1 and the face detection information 3 related by another device.

  The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or can be executed by software. When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software executes various functions by installing a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware or various programs. For example, the program is installed in a general-purpose personal computer from the program storage medium.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a program storage medium that stores a program that is installed in a computer and can be executed by the computer includes a magnetic disk (including a flexible disk), an optical disk (CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only). Memory), DVD (including Digital Versatile Disc)), magneto-optical disk (including MD (Mini-Disc)), or removable media 21 that is a package medium made of semiconductor memory, or the program is temporary or permanent Is configured by a ROM 12 stored in the hard disk, a hard disk constituting the storage unit 18, and the like. The program is stored in the program storage medium using a wired or wireless communication medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting via a communication unit 19 that is an interface such as a router or a modem as necessary. Done.

  In the present specification, the step of describing the program stored in the program storage medium is not limited to the processing performed in time series according to the described order, but is not necessarily performed in time series. Or the process performed separately is also included.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a figure explaining the personal computer of one embodiment of this invention. And FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a personal computer. It is a block diagram which shows the example of a structure of a function of a personal computer. It is a flowchart explaining the process of face detection. It is a figure which shows the example of an image. It is a figure which shows the example of face detection information. It is a figure explaining the angle of a face. It is a figure which shows the example of the image displayed. It is a flowchart explaining the process of a display. It is a figure which shows the example of the setting file of an operation mode. It is a flowchart explaining the detail of the process of a slide show. It is a figure which shows the example of the image displayed so that it may zoom out from a face. It is a figure which shows the example of the image displayed so that it may zoom out from a face. It is a figure which shows the example of the image displayed so that it may slide in in the direction of a face. It is a figure which shows the example of the image displayed so that it may slide in in the direction of a face. It is a figure which shows the example of the image displayed when the number of faces is four. It is a figure explaining the digital still camera of one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1 image, 2 personal computer, 3 face detection information, 11 CPU, 12 ROM, 13 RAM, 17 output unit, 18 storage unit, 21 removable media, 31 image database, 32 face detection unit, 33 face information database, 34 reading condition Setting unit, 35 readout control unit, 36 display control unit, 51 determination unit, 52 effect application unit

Claims (9)

Detecting means for detecting a face image that is a face image included in each image;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a display control unit configured to control display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to the face image when the images are sequentially switched and displayed. The detection means detects the number of the face images included in each of the images,
A reading control means for controlling reading of the image so as to read the image in which one or more face images are detected among the images stored in advance;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls display of the read image. The detection means detects the number of the face images included in each of the images,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to the number of the face images. The detecting means detects the size of the face image;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to the size of the face image. The detecting means detects a position of the face image in the image;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to the position of the face image. The detecting means detects a face direction in the face image;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to a face orientation. The detecting means detects, for each of the images, the number of the face images, the size of each of the face images, the position of each of the face images, or the orientation of the face in each of the face images;
Relationships that relate each image to the number of face images, the size of each face image, the position of each face image, or the face orientation of each face image in each image. A further attaching means,
The display control means relates to the face image, the number of the face images, the size of each face image, the position of each face image, or each face in each of the images. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein display of the image to which an image switching effect is applied according to a face orientation in the image is controlled. A detection step of detecting a face image that is a face image included in each image;
An image processing method comprising: a display control step of controlling display of the image to which an effect of image switching is applied according to the face image when the images are sequentially switched and displayed. A detection step of detecting a face image that is a face image included in each image;
A program for causing a computer to execute a process including a display control step of controlling display of the image to which an effect of image switching is applied according to the face image when the images are sequentially switched and displayed.

Images