JP2009194900A - Imaging apparatus and method of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve sound source direction following control of an imaging apparatus to provide an appropriate follow-up control based on the imaged subjects. <P>SOLUTION: An sound source detection part 202 detects direction of a sound source, and a camera control part 204 controls an orientation of the imaging apparatus for following up the direction of the sound source detected. During the control, when the orientation of the imaging apparatus is within the direction range in which a specific object can be imaged, control of the orientation of the imaging apparatus is stopped. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a control method thereof.

  In the conventional video conference system, it is necessary to manually control the direction of the camera. In order to solve this, a camera control method has been proposed in which the direction of a sound source is detected and the camera is directed in that direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this method, since the camera is automatically panned in the direction of the speaker, it is not necessary to manually operate the direction of the camera.

JP 61-198891 A

  In video conferences, discussions using whiteboards are often held. In this case, while one of the participants in the conference stands next to the whiteboard, the whiteboard appears on the monitor together with the participant. However, if another participant who is seated speaks, the sound source is detected and the direction of the camera changes, and the whiteboard is not shown. Usually, while you are discussing with a whiteboard, you want the whiteboard to always appear on the monitor.

  The present invention is an improvement of tracking control in the direction of a sound source of an imaging apparatus, and an object thereof is to realize appropriate tracking control according to a subject to be photographed.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, an imaging unit, a detection unit that detects a direction of a sound source, and a control unit that controls the orientation of the imaging unit so as to follow the direction of the sound source detected by the detection unit. And an image pickup apparatus characterized in that the control means suppresses the control when the direction of the image pickup means is within a direction range in which a specific object can be photographed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize tracking control of an appropriate imaging apparatus according to an imaging target.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following embodiment, It shows only the specific example advantageous for implementation of this invention. In addition, not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are indispensable as means for solving the problems of the present invention.

<First Embodiment>
In this embodiment, camera control in a video conference system will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an overall image of a video conference room in which the video conference system according to the present embodiment is installed.

  In FIG. 5, 510 is an imaging device. The imaging apparatus 510 includes a camera 104 that can control the shooting direction, a microphone 105 that can detect the direction of the sound source, and a control terminal 501 that performs camera control and direction determination of the sound source. Reference numeral 502 denotes a display that is connected to the imaging apparatus 510 and displays an image.

  Reference numeral 503 denotes a whiteboard on which characters and figures are written with a pen by a participant during a conference. Reference numeral 504 denotes a conference participant who stands next to the whiteboard 503 and writes characters / graphics on the whiteboard 503, 505 to 508 are seated participants, and 509 is a conference table.

  In the video conference system, there is a similar system on the communication partner side, and the systems are interconnected via a communication line, but they are omitted in this figure. In addition, as the microphone 105, it is appropriate to use a microphone array including a plurality of microphones in order to detect the sound source direction. The microphone 105 is also used to collect the conversations of the conference participants.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the imaging apparatus 510 according to the present embodiment.

  The control terminal 501 includes a control program 1011 for realizing camera control of the present embodiment and a control memory 101 for storing fixed data, a central processing unit 102 for performing processing such as numerical calculation / control, and temporary data storage. The memory 103 is provided. In addition to the control memory 101, central processing unit 102, and memory 103, the above-described camera 104, microphone 105, and display 502 are connected to the bus 106.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a module configuration (functional configuration) of the imaging apparatus 510 according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, the specific direction holding unit 201 holds information on the direction when the white board 503 used for a meeting, which is a specific object, is viewed from the camera 104. The sound source detection unit 202 analyzes the sound collected by the microphone 105 and specifies the direction of the sound source, that is, the direction of the conference participant who speaks. The sound source direction holding unit 203 holds information on the direction of the specified sound source.

  The camera control unit 204 controls the orientation of the camera 104 so as to follow the sound source direction held by the sound source direction holding unit 203.

  The control state update unit 205 updates the control state information held by the control state holding unit 206. The control state holding unit 206 holds control state information. The control state includes a sound source tracking state in which the direction of the camera 104 is controlled so as to follow the direction of the sound source, and a suppression state in which the control of the direction of the camera 104 is stopped so as to follow the direction of the sound source.

  The image recognition unit 207 performs image recognition on the image captured by the camera 104.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing in which the imaging apparatus 510 according to the present embodiment transitions from the sound source tracking state to the suppression state. Note that a program corresponding to each flowchart described below is included in the control program 1011 and executed by the central processing unit 102.

  In step S301, the sound source detection unit 202 detects the direction of the sound source based on the sound collected from the microphone 105. If there is no sound input, the process returns to step S301. When the sound source detection unit 202 specifies the direction of the sound source, information on the specified direction of the sound source is held in the sound source direction holding unit 203, and the process proceeds to step S302.

  In step S302, the camera control unit 204 directs the camera 104 in the direction of the sound source held by the sound source direction holding unit 203, and proceeds to step S303.

  In step S303, the camera control unit 204 matches the direction of the sound source held by the sound source direction holding unit 203 (that is, the current direction of the camera 104) and the direction of the whiteboard 503 held by the specific direction holding unit 201. It is determined whether or not. If they match, the process proceeds to step S304. If they do not match, the process returns to step S301.

  In step S304, the control state update unit 205 changes the control state to the suppressed state, saves the control state in the control state holding unit 206, and ends. In the suppressed state, the shooting direction of the camera 104 matches the direction of the whiteboard 503. That is, in this restrained state, the camera 104 is not directed to directions other than the direction of the whiteboard 503 held by the specific direction holding unit 201.

  In step S <b> 303, it is not always necessary to determine whether the directions coincide with each other, and it is only necessary that the direction of the camera 104 is within a direction range in which at least the whiteboard 503 can be imaged. For example, if the direction of the camera 104 is within a direction range of, for example, 10 degrees or less with respect to the direction of the sound source held by the sound source direction holding unit 203, it may be regarded as matching.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for transitioning from the suppression state of the camera 104 to the sound source tracking state in the present embodiment.

  In step S <b> 401, the image recognition unit 207 recognizes that a person standing beside the whiteboard 503, which is a specific object, moves away from the whiteboard 503 by image recognition. If it is recognized that a person is leaving the whiteboard 503, the process proceeds to step S402. If it is not recognized that the person is leaving the whiteboard 503, the process returns to step S401.

  In step S <b> 402, the control state update unit 205 changes the control state from the suppression state to the sound source follow-up state to release the stop of the follow-up control of the camera 104 in the sound source direction, and controls the control state information. Save to and exit.

  As described above, in the sound source tracking state, by comparing the direction of the whiteboard 503 and the current direction of the camera 104, it is determined whether the current direction of the camera 104 is within a range of directions in which the whiteboard 503 can be imaged. To do. And when it is judged that it exists in such a direction range, it changes to a suppression state from a sound source tracking state. On the other hand, when it is recognized that the person moves away from the whiteboard 503 in the suppression state, the state changes from the suppression state to the sound source tracking state. Due to the transition of these control states, the whiteboard continues to be reflected on the camera while the discussion using the whiteboard is performed, and when the discussion using the whiteboard is completed, the camera follows the sound source.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment described above, the control state of the camera is controlled as sound source tracking by determining whether the direction of the whiteboard held by the specific direction holding unit 201 matches the direction of the sound source held by the sound source direction holding unit 203. The case where the state is changed to the suppressed state has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the sound source is detected and the direction of the camera is controlled, the camera control state is suppressed from the sound source tracking state when it is confirmed that the whiteboard is reflected on the camera. You may make it change into a state.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a module configuration of the imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 6, modules that perform the same processing as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2, and description thereof is omitted. The configuration shown in FIG. 6 is a configuration in which a specific object holding unit 601 is provided instead of the specific direction holding unit 201 shown in FIG. The specific object holding unit 601 holds an image of the whiteboard 503 that is a specific object or a parameter thereof. In the sound source tracking state, as a result of the camera control unit 204 controlling the camera 104 in the direction of the sound source, the image recognition unit 207 determines whether the image captured by the camera 104 includes the image of the whiteboard 503. When it is determined that the image captured by the camera 104 includes the image of the whiteboard 503, the control state update unit 205 changes the control state from the sound source tracking state to the suppression state.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the imaging apparatus 510 in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 7, steps that perform the same processing as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 3, and description thereof is omitted.

  In step S703, the image recognition unit 207 determines whether or not the image object of the whiteboard 503 held by the specific object holding unit 601 is included in the image captured by the camera 104, and is determined to be included. If it does, it appears in step S304. If it is determined that it is not included, the process returns to step S301. Note that the image object means a partial image obtained by extracting an object from the video displayed on the camera 104.

  As explained above, by using image recognition, the whiteboard continues to be reflected on the camera while the discussion using the whiteboard is in progress, and the camera follows the sound source when the discussion using the whiteboard ends. become.

<Third Embodiment>
In the first and second embodiments described above, the case where the imaging device is applied to the video conference system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to use in any system.

  In the present embodiment, an imaging device in a monitoring system will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an overall image of a lobby of a building where a monitoring system according to this embodiment is installed.

  In FIG. 8, imaging devices that perform the same processing as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of the processing is omitted.

  In FIG. 8, 801 is a building entrance door, and 802 is an elevator. 803 is a person who enters the building through the entrance door 801 of the building, and 804 to 806 are people who are in the lobby 807 of the building. Reference numeral 807 denotes a building lobby, and reference numeral 808 denotes a monitoring room for monitoring images monitored by the camera 104.

  Similar to the first embodiment, in the sound source tracking state, the imaging device 510 detects a sound source and controls the camera 104 in the direction of the sound source. On the other hand, in the suppressed state, the direction control of the camera 104 is stopped.

  The main purpose of monitoring in the building lobby 807 is to monitor people entering and leaving the building. Another possible purpose is to monitor events occurring in the lobby 807 of the building. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that monitoring of people entering and leaving the building is the first priority.

  For example, when a sound source is detected in the vicinity of the entrance door 801, it is assumed that even if a sound source is detected in the vicinity of the elevator 802, the camera 107 continues to display the vicinity of the entrance, and priority is given to monitoring people entering and leaving the building. In order to realize this, the whiteboard 503 in the first embodiment may be regarded as the entrance door 801. That is, the specific direction holding unit 201 holds information on the direction of the entrance door 801 of the building. The sound source detection unit 202 detects a sound source from the vicinity of the entrance, and the camera control unit 204 points the camera 104 in the direction of the sound source. At this time, since the direction held by the specific direction holding unit 201 matches the current direction of the camera 104, the control state of the camera 104 changes from the sound source tracking state to the suppression state.

  On the other hand, the transition from the suppression state to the sound source tracking state is performed when the image recognition unit 207 recognizes that the person 803 on the entrance door 801 side of the building has moved away from the entrance door 801.

  As described above, when the imaging apparatus 510 is applied to a monitoring system, if the camera 104 faces in an important direction as a monitoring target, the control of the camera 104 can be stopped even if a sound source is detected from other directions. It is.

<Fourth embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the case where only one whiteboard exists in the video conference system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is also applied to a case where a plurality of whiteboards exist. Can do.

  In this case, the specific direction holding unit 201 holds data on the directions of a plurality of whiteboards. When the sound source is detected in the sound source tracking state and the camera 104 is pointed in that direction, if one of a plurality of directions held by the specific direction holding unit 201 matches the current direction of the camera 104, the state is suppressed from the sound source tracking state. Transition to.

  On the other hand, when a sound source is detected in a suppressed state, the camera 104 is pointed in that direction only when the direction matches one of a plurality of directions held by the specific direction holding unit 201. If it does not match the direction of any whiteboard, the camera 104 is not moved.

  The module configuration of the imaging apparatus 510 in the present embodiment is the same as that in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow in which the imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment transitions from the suppression state to the sound source tracking state.

  In FIG. 9, the start is a suppressed state and the end is a sound source tracking state. Steps for performing the same processing as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG.

  In step S901, the image recognition unit 207 recognizes an image that a person standing next to the whiteboard is moving away from the whiteboard. If it is recognized that the person is away from the whiteboard, the process proceeds to step S402. If it is not recognized that the person is leaving the whiteboard, the process proceeds to step S902.

  In step S902, the sound source detection unit 202 detects the direction of the sound source based on the sound collected from the microphone 105. If no sound is input, the process proceeds to step S901. The sound source detection unit 202 specifies the direction of the sound source, holds the information on the specified sound source direction in the sound source direction holding unit 203, and proceeds to step S902.

  In step S903, the camera control unit 204 determines whether or not the direction of the sound source matches one of a plurality of directions held in the specific direction holding unit 201. If the directions match, the process proceeds to step S904. If not, the process moves to step S901.

  In step S904, the camera control unit 204 directs the camera 104 to the sound source direction held by the sound source direction holding unit 203, and proceeds to step S901.

  As described above, when there are a plurality of whiteboards, the direction of the camera can be directed only to the sound source from the direction of the whiteboard in the suppressed state.

<Fifth Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the case of a conference using a whiteboard has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a conference using any device or tool instead of a whiteboard. Specifically, an electronic blackboard or the like may be used. In particular, in the case of an electronic blackboard that can use a digitizer, the use of the electronic blackboard may be detected by detecting the signal of the digitizer.

<Sixth Embodiment>
In the first to third embodiments, the case has been described in which the stop of camera control is canceled by detecting that a person has moved away from a specific photographing target such as a whiteboard or an entrance door. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the suppression of camera control may be canceled by detecting the absence of a person on the side of the photographing target. As a simple detection method, a method of comparing an image with an initial state (a state in which no person is nearby) and determining that there is no person when the images match is effective. Any method may be used as long as it detects that there is no person on the side of the image capturing target.

<Seventh embodiment>
In the first and second embodiments, the case where the control state of the camera is controlled fully automatically has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a switching means for correcting a control state transition error or the like may be separately prepared. Furthermore, providing a notification means for notifying the user of the current control state is effective for control state recovery. When the notification means presents the current control state, the user can easily determine that the control state is not a desired state.

  In this embodiment, the switching means may be installed as a button on the control terminal 501 in FIG. 5 or may be realized as a voice command by voice recognition. On the other hand, the notification means may be installed in the camera 104 of FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a notification unit is provided in the camera 104. Reference numeral 1001 denotes a lens, reference numeral 1002 denotes a lamp (such as an LED) that lights when the control state is a sound source tracking state, and reference numeral 1003 denotes a lamp that lights when the control state is a suppression state.

<Eighth Embodiment>
In the above-described third embodiment, a case has been described in which the imaging device in the monitoring system has only one monitoring area (building door) having a high priority. In this embodiment, a case where there are a plurality of monitoring areas with high priority will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an overall image of a lobby of a building where a monitoring system according to this embodiment is installed. In FIG. 11, 1101 is a front entrance, 1102 is a service port, 1103 is an elevator, and 1104 is a reception. These four areas are high priority monitoring areas. Since other configurations are the same as those in FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table describing priorities for each monitoring area. The monitoring area is classified into a front entrance 1101, a service entrance 1102, an elevator 1103, a reception 1104, and others. Further, there are three monitoring levels, and the higher the number, the higher the priority of the monitoring level. Furthermore, the monitoring level varies depending on the monitoring mode (daytime / nighttime), and is different between daytime when people go in and out and nighttime when people go in and out less. The monitoring level of the elevator 1103 is 2 when the monitoring mode is daytime, but is set to 3 when it is nighttime. Similarly, the monitoring level of the other areas is set to 1 when the monitoring mode is daytime, but is set to 2 when the monitoring mode is nighttime. Note that the monitoring mode (daytime / nighttime) is switched according to the time zone.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a module configuration of the monitoring system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 12, the specific direction holding unit 201 holds the direction of the monitoring area with high priority (the direction in which the monitoring area is viewed from the camera 104). There may be a plurality of monitoring areas with high priority. In the present embodiment, the direction of the monitoring area (the front entrance 1101, the service entrance 1102, the elevator 1103, the reception 1104) of the monitoring level 2 or higher is maintained.

  The sound source detection unit 202 analyzes the sound collected by the microphone 105 and identifies the direction of the sound source. The sound source direction holding unit 203 holds information on the direction of the specified sound source. The camera control unit 204 controls the orientation of the camera 104 so as to follow the sound source direction held by the sound source direction holding unit 203. However, the direction of the camera 104 is not controlled so as to always follow the sound source, and if the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the direction of the camera 104 is prevented from following the sound source.

  The monitoring mode determination unit 1201 determines the monitoring mode. The monitoring mode includes a daytime monitoring mode and a nighttime monitoring mode, which are determined by the time zone. The monitoring mode holding unit 1202 holds the determination result of the monitoring mode determination unit 1201. The monitoring level determination unit 1203 determines the monitoring level in the current monitoring area and the monitoring area in the sound source direction. The monitoring level holding unit 1204 holds the determination result of the monitoring level determination unit 1203 (the monitoring level in the current monitoring area and the monitoring area in the sound source direction).

  The abnormal sound determination unit 1205 determines whether the sound source detected by the sound source detection unit 202 is a normal sound or an abnormal sound. The abnormal sound holding unit 1206 holds the determination result of the abnormal sound determination unit 1205. The volume level determination unit 1207 determines the volume level of the sound source detected by the sound source detection unit 202. The volume level holding unit 1208 holds the determination result of the volume level determination unit 1207. The shooting time measuring unit 1209 measures the time during which the camera is shooting in a certain direction. The shooting time holding unit 1210 holds the measurement result of the shooting time measuring unit 1209.

  The monitoring information holding unit 1211 holds the monitoring level (FIG. 14) for each monitoring mode for each monitoring area. Also, information (FIG. 15 (described later)) for discriminating between normal sound and abnormal sound for each monitoring mode is held. Further, the volume level (FIG. 16 (described later)) for each monitoring mode for each monitoring area is also held. The camera direction holding unit 1212 holds the camera direction.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the monitoring system in the present embodiment. In FIG. 13, a thick arrow represents a flow directly or indirectly related to suppression of camera control.

  In step S1301, the shooting time measurement unit 1209 starts measuring the shooting time. The shooting time measured by the shooting time measuring unit 1209 is the time when the camera is shooting in the same direction. The shooting time measuring unit 1209 holds the current time in the shooting time holding unit 1210, and proceeds to step S1302. The time during which the camera is shooting in the same direction is obtained from the difference between the time information held by the shooting time holding unit 1210 and the current time information.

  In step S1302, the sound source detection unit 202 detects a sound source. If a sound source is detected, the process proceeds to step S1303. If no sound source is detected, the process returns to step S1302.

  In step S1303, the sound source detection unit 202 detects the direction of the sound source, holds the detected sound source direction in the sound source direction holding unit 203, and proceeds to step S1304.

  In step S1304, the camera control unit 204 compares the direction of the sound source detected by the sound source detection unit 202 with the current camera direction held by the camera direction holding unit 1212. If the directions match, the process moves to step S1302. If the directions do not match, the process moves to step S1305. In determining whether or not the directions match, it is not always necessary to match completely, and the direction may have a certain width. More specifically, it is effective to consider that the angle difference is equal to or less than 10 degrees. By this step, stable video shooting can be continued without finely controlling the camera for sounds generated from the same direction.

  In step S1305, the monitoring mode determination unit 1201 identifies the current monitoring mode. The monitoring mode includes a daytime monitoring mode and a nighttime monitoring mode. In the present embodiment, the time zone in which the monitoring mode is daytime is from 6 am to 11 pm, and the time zone in which the monitoring mode is night is from 11 pm to 6 am. For example, if the current time is 7:00 am, the monitoring mode is daytime, and if the current time is 3:00 am, the monitoring mode is nighttime. The monitoring mode determination unit 1201 identifies the current monitoring mode based on the current time, holds the current monitoring mode in the monitoring mode holding unit 1202, and moves to step S1306.

  In step S1306, the monitoring level determination unit 1203 identifies the monitoring level (Lc) in the current camera direction and the monitoring level (Ld) in the sound source direction. First, the current camera direction monitoring level is identified. It is confirmed whether or not the current camera direction held by the camera direction holding unit 1212 matches one of the directions of the monitoring areas of the monitoring level 2 or higher held by the specific direction holding unit 201. If they match, the monitoring level corresponding to the monitoring area is acquired from the monitoring information holding unit 1211. If they do not match, the monitoring level of the monitoring area “others” is acquired from the monitoring information holding unit 1211. At this time, the monitoring level is identified based on the current monitoring mode information held by the monitoring mode holding unit 1202. For example, in FIG. 14, when the current camera direction faces the elevator 1103 and the monitoring mode is nighttime, the monitoring level of the current camera direction is 3.

  Similarly, the monitoring level of the sound source direction is identified. It is confirmed whether or not the sound source direction held by the sound source direction holding unit 203 matches one of the directions of the monitoring areas of the monitoring level 2 or higher held by the specific direction holding unit 201. If they match, the monitoring level corresponding to the monitoring area is acquired from the monitoring information holding unit 1211. If they do not match, the monitoring level of the monitoring area “others” is acquired from the monitoring information holding unit 1211. At this time, the monitoring level is identified based on the current monitoring mode information held by the monitoring mode holding unit 1202. For example, in FIG. 14, when the sound source direction is “other” and the monitoring mode is daytime, the sound source direction monitoring level is 1. The monitoring level determination unit 1203 holds the current monitoring direction in the camera direction and the monitoring level in the sound source direction in the monitoring level holding unit 1204, and proceeds to step S1307.

  In step S1307, the camera control unit 204 compares the monitoring level in the current camera direction with the monitoring level in the sound source direction. If the monitoring level in the current camera direction matches the monitoring level in the sound source direction, the process proceeds to step S1309. If not, the process moves to step S1308.

  In step S1308, the camera control unit 204 compares the monitoring level in the current camera direction with the monitoring level in the sound source direction. If the monitoring level in the sound source direction is higher than the monitoring level in the current camera direction (the priority is high), the process proceeds to step S1309. If the monitoring level in the sound source direction is lower (priority is lower) than the monitoring level in the current camera direction, the process proceeds to step S1310.

  In step S1309, the camera control unit 204 controls the camera in the direction of the sound source held by the sound source direction holding unit 203, and the process returns to step S1301.

  In step S1310, the abnormal sound determination unit 1205 identifies the type of sound generated from the sound source direction, and determines whether or not the sound is abnormal. This will be described later with reference to FIG. The determination result of the abnormal sound determination unit 1205 is held in the abnormal sound holding unit 1206. If the determination result held by the abnormal sound holding unit 1206 is an abnormal sound, the process proceeds to step S1309. If it is a normal sound, the process moves to step S1311.

  In step S1311, the volume level determination unit 1207 determines the volume level of the sound generated from the sound source direction. This will be described later with reference to FIG. The determination result of the volume level determination unit 1207 is held in the volume level holding unit 1208. If the volume level is greater than level 2, the process moves to step S1312. If the volume level is equal to or lower than level 2, the process proceeds to step S1302.

  In step S1312, the shooting time measurement unit 1209 calculates the shooting time in the current camera direction. The shooting time is calculated from the shooting start time in the current camera direction held by the shooting time holding unit 1210 and the current time. If the shooting time is longer than 2 seconds, the process proceeds to step S1309. If the shooting time is 2 seconds or less, the process returns to step S1302.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table for abnormal sound determination in step S1310. In order to determine the abnormal sound, first, the type of sound generated from the sound source direction is identified. Examples of the types of sounds to be identified include gunshots, sounds that break glass, sounds that break objects, screams, yells, conversations, and shoe sounds. A known technique can be used for these identifications.

  Further, it is determined whether the identified sound type is an abnormal sound or a normal sound depending on whether the monitoring mode is daytime or nighttime. For example, in FIG. 15, the gunshot is determined as an abnormal sound regardless of the monitoring mode. On the other hand, speech and shoe sounds are determined to be normal sounds when the monitoring mode is daytime, but are determined to be abnormal sounds when the monitoring mode is nighttime. In the present embodiment, the case where the type of sound is identified as the pre-processing for determining the abnormal sound has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be directly determined whether the sound is abnormal. In this case as well, existing methods such as discriminant analysis can be used.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a table for determining the volume level in step S1311. The volume level is set for each monitoring area. For example, in FIG. 16, the level 1 of the service port 1102 when the monitoring mode is night is set to 40 dB. On the other hand, the level 1 of the elevator 1103 when the monitoring mode is night is set to 45 dB. This is effective for considering environmental noise for each monitoring area. The volume level is set for each monitoring mode. For example, in the case of the front entrance 1101, the daytime volume level is set to 70 dB in the monitoring mode, but the nighttime volume level is set to 60 dB in the monitoring mode. This is effective for taking into account the difference in the amount of environmental noise between daytime and nighttime.

  As explained above, depending on the monitoring level, camera and sound source direction, monitoring mode, sound source volume level, sound source type, and shooting time in the same direction when there are multiple monitoring areas with high monitoring level priority Camera control. Thereby, it becomes possible to photograph the area to be photographed more appropriately.

  In addition, by controlling camera control based on information on the current camera direction and sound source direction, it is possible to continue shooting stable images without finely controlling the camera for sound generated from the same direction. It becomes possible to do.

<Other embodiments>
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention may be applied to the system comprised from several apparatuses, and may be applied to the apparatus which consists of one apparatus.

  In the present invention, a program for realizing each function of the above-described embodiments is supplied directly or remotely to a system or apparatus, and a computer included in the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code. Can also be achieved.

  Accordingly, since the functions and processes of the present invention are implemented by a computer, the program code itself installed in the computer also implements the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functions and processes is also one aspect of the present invention.

  In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.

  Examples of the computer-readable storage medium for supplying the program include a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW. Examples of the recording medium include a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a ROM, and a DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R).

  The program may be downloaded from a homepage on the Internet using a browser on a client computer. That is, the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function may be downloaded from a home page to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Further, it is also possible to divide the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and download each file from a different home page. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functions and processing of the present invention on a computer may be a constituent requirement of the present invention.

  Further, the program of the present invention may be encrypted and stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed to users. In this case, only the user who cleared the predetermined condition is allowed to download the key information to be decrypted from the homepage via the Internet, decrypt the program encrypted with the key information, execute it, and install the program on the computer May be.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments may be realized by the computer executing the read program. Note that an OS or the like running on the computer may perform part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program. Of course, also in this case, the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized.

  Furthermore, the program read from the recording medium may be written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Based on the instructions of the program, a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit may perform part or all of the actual processing. In this way, the functions of the above-described embodiments may be realized.

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the imaging device in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the module structure of the imaging device in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which the imaging device in 1st Embodiment changes from a sound source tracking state to a suppression state. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which the imaging device in 1st Embodiment changes from a suppression state to a sound source tracking state. It is a figure which shows the whole image of the video conference room in which the video conference system in 1st Embodiment is installed. It is a block diagram which shows the module structure of the imaging device in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the imaging device in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the whole image of the lobby of the building in which the monitoring system in 3rd Embodiment is installed. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which the imaging device in 4th Embodiment changes from a suppression state to a sound source tracking state. It is a figure which shows the example of the camera which has a notification means in 7th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the whole image of the lobby of the building in which the monitoring system in 8th Embodiment is installed. It is a block diagram which shows the module structure of the monitoring system in 8th Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the monitoring system in 8th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the table which described the priority for every monitoring area in 8th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the table for abnormal sound discrimination | determination in 8th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the table for volume level discrimination | determination in 8th Embodiment.

101 Control memory 102 Central processing unit 103 Memory 104 Camera 105 Microphone 106 Bus

Claims (13)

Imaging means;
Detection means for detecting the direction of the sound source;
Control means for controlling the orientation of the imaging means so as to follow the direction of the sound source detected by the detection means;
With
The control device suppresses the control when the orientation of the imaging means is within a range of directions in which a specific object can be photographed.   The control means changes the orientation of the imaging means to the direction of the sound source detected by the detection means, and as a result, when the orientation of the imaging means is within a direction range in which the specific object can be photographed, The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is suppressed. Further comprising holding means for holding data of the direction of the specific object viewed from the imaging means;
The control means determines whether the orientation of the imaging means is within the direction range by comparing the direction of the specific object obtained from the holding means and the current orientation of the imaging means. Item 2. The imaging device according to Item 1. The holding unit holds data of a plurality of directions of the specific object,
The control means prevents the image pickup means from being directed in directions other than the direction held by the holding means when the direction of the image pickup means is within a direction range in which the specific object can be taken. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control is suppressed. A determination unit for determining whether an image of the specific object is included in the image captured by the imaging unit;
The control unit determines that the direction of the imaging unit is within the direction range when the determination unit determines that the image of the specific object is included in the image captured by the imaging unit. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1. Recognizing means for recognizing that a person is moving away from the specific object;
6. The imaging according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further cancels the suppression when the recognition unit recognizes that a person is moving away from the specific object. 7. apparatus.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying a user of the control state.   A video conference system that photographs a conference using the imaging device according to claim 1. The detection means detects a direction of a conference participant who speaks,
9. The video conference system according to claim 8, wherein the specific object is a whiteboard or an electronic blackboard used for a conference.   A monitoring system that performs monitoring using the imaging apparatus according to claim 1. A method for controlling an imaging apparatus,
A detection process for detecting the direction of the sound source;
A control step of controlling the orientation of the imaging device so as to follow the direction of the sound source detected in the detection step;
Have
The control method of the imaging apparatus, wherein the control step suppresses the control of the orientation of the imaging apparatus when the orientation of the imaging apparatus is within a direction range in which a specific object can be photographed.   The program for making a computer perform the control method of the imaging device of Claim 11.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 12.

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