JP2009255600A - Communication party identifying apparatus, communication party identifying method and communication party identifying program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To specify the other communication device communicating with a self-device under application of information about an outer appearance shape of a communication party and exchanging the information about the outer appearance shape through communication with the communication party present around the proper communication device. <P>SOLUTION: Exchanging of information is carried out between a proper communication device and the other communication device with a communication means. An image photographing an outer appearance shape of another communication device positioned around the proper communication device is analyzed with an outer appearance feature extracting means and the feature of the outer appearance shape of the other device is extracted from the image. The outer appearance shape information extracted with the outer appearance feature extracting means of the proper communication device is compared with the outer appearance shape feature of the other communication device by the outer appearance feature comparing means. The other communication device is identified by an identification part in response to a result of comparison transmitted from the outer appearance feature comparing means of the other communication device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication partner specifying device, a communication partner specifying method, and a communication partner specifying program, and in particular, a communication partner specifying device, a communication partner specifying method, and a communication partner specifying method for specifying a communication partner using shape information of the communication partner. Related to the program.

  In recent years, in mobile non-communication devices, services that exchange information only with a specific partner have attracted attention. In particular, in the field of ITS (Intelligent Transport System), there is a system that improves the safety and convenience of drivers by attaching mobile wireless communication devices to vehicles and exchanging local information between vehicles. Has appeared.

  For example, in Patent Literature 1, vehicle control information and position information acquired by GPS (Global Positioning System) are transmitted to a base station via wireless communication, and the base station is based on position information received by wireless communication. The positional relationship with respect to a plurality of vehicles is specified, and the control information of the preceding vehicle is transmitted to a specific subsequent vehicle via wireless communication. The specific subsequent vehicle is based on the control information of the preceding vehicle received by wireless communication. In addition, the vehicle is automatically controlled. Thereby, when the preceding vehicle suddenly brakes, the occurrence of a ball hitting accident can be avoided by automatically operating the brake of the subsequent vehicle.

  Moreover, in patent document 2, the image of the surroundings of the own vehicle image | photographed with the camera and the positional information acquired by GPS are transmitted to a surrounding vehicle via wireless communication. A vehicle that has received the image and the position information via wireless communication compares the position information of the host vehicle acquired by GPS with the position information received by wireless communication, so that the position of the transmission source and the host vehicle is determined. The relationship is specified, and the image received by wireless communication is displayed at a position on the display corresponding to the positional relationship. Thereby, it is possible to intuitively understand at which position around the vehicle the image is viewed from the vehicle, and it is possible to determine from the image the status of the position that is a blind spot from the vehicle.

  However, in the inventions described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the position information of each vehicle is acquired using GPS, and the positional relationship between the vehicles is grasped using the position information. The location information contains an error of several hundred meters. For this reason, in the invention (DGPS) described in Patent Document 3, error correction information broadcast by FM multiplex is received and the position information obtained by GPS is corrected. An error of 10 meters occurs.

  For this reason, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the control information of the vehicle that has operated the sudden brake is also transmitted to a vehicle that is unrelated to the operation of the sudden brake of the vehicle, and the unrelated vehicle is erroneously controlled by the vehicle. The problem that will do. Moreover, in the invention of Patent Document 2, there is a problem that an image received from a surrounding vehicle is displayed at an incorrect position on the display, causing the driver to make an incorrect determination.

  Therefore, in Patent Literature 4, the license plate of the following vehicle from the preceding vehicle is monitored by the camera unit, and the ID signal, the synchronization signal, and the information to be transmitted are transmitted from the preceding vehicle to the following vehicle. In the case where the information from the preceding vehicle is the information on the own vehicle, a technique for communicating between the vehicles and avoiding an accident or the like has been developed.

Further, in Patent Document 5, the current direction and size of the subject are predicted from the calculated direction and size of the subject, the vehicle speed, and the steering angle in the image before the comparison target image is taken, A technique for selecting a template to be used for comparison using the prediction information is disclosed.
JP 2002-222491 A JP 2006-031328 A JP-A-5-27005 JP-A-9-98125 JP 2005-318546 A

  Certainly, if the technique according to Patent Document 4 is used, an accident or the like can be avoided by establishing a communication transmission path between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle and performing mutual communication. However, the mutual communication is limited to the vehicles positioned in the front and rear, and it becomes impossible to establish communication with the vehicle traveling diagonally behind the host vehicle. Therefore, in the technique of Patent Document 4, there is a problem that it is impossible to avoid danger in advance when a vehicle traveling forward and backward changes lanes.

  Moreover, in patent document 5, the reference | standard which selects a template is limited to the information only of the own vehicle, and the subject that it is difficult to respond to the traffic state of the vehicle which changes every moment remains.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a communication partner identification device, a communication partner identification method, and a communication partner identification program that solve the above-mentioned problems in consideration of the protection of personal information.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a communication partner specifying device according to the present invention is arranged in each of its own and other devices, and specifies a communication partner specifying device that specifies another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the own device. Because
A communication means for exchanging information between itself and other devices;
Appearance feature extraction means for analyzing an image obtained by photographing the appearance shape of another device located in the periphery of the own device, and extracting features of the appearance shape of the other device from the image;
Appearance feature comparison means for comparing the appearance shape information extracted by the appearance feature extraction means of the own device and the features of the appearance shape possessed by the other device;
And an identification unit that identifies the other device of the communication partner based on the comparison result transmitted from the appearance feature comparison unit of the other device.

  The communication means of the own device transmits the feature data of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by the appearance feature extraction means of the own device to the other device, and receives the comparison result by the appearance feature comparison means of the other device. Is also good.

  An imaging region detecting means for analyzing position data of another device in an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the own device; and a relative position calculating means for calculating a relative position of the other device with respect to the own device based on the position data of the other device. It is good also as individuality to have.

  A configuration having appearance feature selection means for selecting feature data of an appearance shape corresponding to the relative position using the information on the relative position as a key, and transmitting the feature data of the selected appearance shape to appearance feature extraction means of another device It is good.

  It is good also as a structure which has a communication object selection means which selects a communication other party based on the information of the said relative position, and transmits the information of the selected communication other party to the communication means of an own apparatus.

The communication partner specifying method of the present invention is a communication partner specifying method for specifying another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the own device,
An external feature extraction step of analyzing the external shape of the other device located in the periphery of the own device and extracting the feature of the external shape of the other device from the image, and the external feature extraction means of the own device An external feature comparison step for comparing the external shape information with the external shape characteristics possessed by the other device, and identification for identifying the other device of the communication partner based on the comparison result transmitted from the external feature comparison means of the other device And executing steps.

  The feature data of the external shape of the other device extracted by the own device may be transmitted to the other device, and the external feature comparison result in the other device may be received.

  An imaging region detecting step for analyzing position data of another device in an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the own device; and a relative position calculating step for calculating a relative position of the other device with respect to the own device based on the position data of the other device; It is good also as a structure which performs these.

  The feature information of the appearance shape corresponding to the relative position is selected using the information on the relative position as a key, and the feature of the appearance shape may be compared based on the feature data of the selected appearance shape. .

  A communication partner may be selected based on the relative position information, and the information may be transmitted to the selected communication partner.

The communication partner specifying program of the present invention is a computer that configures a communication partner specifying device that specifies another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the own device.
A function of analyzing an image of the external shape of another device located in the periphery of the own device, and extracting features of the external shape of the other device from the image;
A function for comparing the appearance shape information extracted by the appearance feature extraction means of the own device with the feature of the appearance shape possessed by the other device;
And a function of identifying the other device of the communication partner based on the comparison result transmitted from the appearance feature comparison means of the other device.

  The computer may be configured to execute the function of transmitting the feature data of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by the own device to the other device and receiving the result of comparison of the appearance feature of the other device.

  The computer has a function of analyzing position data of another device in an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the device, and a function of calculating a relative position of the other device with respect to the device based on the position data of the other device. It may be configured to be executed.

  The computer executes a function of selecting feature data of the appearance shape corresponding to the relative position using the information on the relative position as a key, and comparing the feature of the appearance shape based on the feature data of the selected appearance shape. It is good also as a structure made to do.

  The computer may be configured to execute a function of selecting a communication partner based on the relative position information and transmitting the information to the selected communication partner.

The communication partner specifying device of the present invention is a communication partner specifying device that is arranged in each of the other devices, and specifies another device that is a communication partner from any other device located around the own device,
Communication means for exchanging information between the self-other devices, and an external appearance analyzing the image obtained by photographing the external shape of the other devices located around the self-device, and extracting features of the external shapes of the other devices from the images Appearance feature comparison means for comparing the feature extraction means, the appearance shape information extracted by the appearance feature extraction means of the device itself, and the feature of the appearance shape acquired from another device, and the comparison transmitted from the appearance feature comparison means And an identification unit that identifies another device of the communication partner based on the result.

The communication partner specifying method of the present invention is a communication partner specifying method for specifying another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the own device,
Analyzing an image obtained by photographing the external shape of another device located around the own device, and extracting an external feature of the external device from the image, and an external shape information extracted by the own device; An appearance feature comparison step that compares the feature of the appearance shape acquired from the other device and an identification step that identifies the other device of the communication partner based on the comparison result are executed.

The communication partner specifying program of the present invention is a computer that configures a communication partner specifying device that specifies another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the own device.
Analyzing an image that captures the external shape of another device located in the vicinity of the own device, extracting the feature of the external shape of the other device from the image, the external shape information extracted by the own device, and from the other device A function of comparing the acquired feature of the external shape and a function of identifying another device of the communication partner based on the comparison result are executed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the communication apparatus of a communicating party can be pinpointed accurately by using the image information of the external shape of a communication apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)

  As shown in FIG. 2, the communication partner specifying apparatus according to the first embodiment includes a control unit 10, a communication unit 11, an appearance feature extraction unit 12, an appearance feature comparison unit 13, and a storage unit 14. The control means 10, the communication means 11, the appearance feature extraction means 12, the appearance feature comparison means 13, and the storage means 14 are connected to each other by a system bus. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 2 is mounted on the own device and another device serving as a communication partner. In FIG. 1, a block indicated by a dotted line indicates that the communication partner is in a suspended state, and a block indicated by a solid line indicates that the block is in an operating state.

  The control means 100 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 1, the control means 200 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the control means 300 included in the communication partner specifying device C correspond to the control means 10 in FIG. . The communication means 101 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus A shown in FIG. 1, the communication means 201 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus B, and the communication means 301 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus C correspond to the communication means 11 in FIG. . The appearance feature extracting means 102 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 1, the appearance feature extracting means 202 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the appearance feature extracting means 302 included in the communication partner specifying device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature extraction means 12. The appearance feature comparison means 103 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 1, the appearance feature comparison means 203 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the appearance feature comparison means 303 included in the communication partner identification device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature comparison means 13. The storage means 104 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 1, the storage means 204 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the storage means 304 included in the communication partner specifying device C correspond to the storage means 14 of FIG. .

  The control means 10 controls the operations of the communication means 11, appearance feature extraction means 12, appearance feature comparison means 13, and storage means 14. Further, the control means 11 has an interface with an external device (not shown), and receives an image around the own device and various sensor information via the interface, and transmits data such as a communication partner identification result. . Moreover, the control means 10 identifies the other apparatus of a communication other party based on the comparison result transmitted from the external appearance characteristic comparison means of another apparatus.

  For example, a camera is used as an external device that captures an image around the device itself. When the camera (external device) is an automobile, the camera (external device) is attached to the rear and images other vehicles that are traveling directly behind and obliquely behind the vehicle. In addition, the camera is attached to a posture that makes a round around the vehicle and images the surrounding situation. Since a general technique is applied to a camera that captures the periphery of its own device, a detailed description of its configuration and imaging method is omitted.

  The communication unit 11 transmits / receives extracted feature data of the outer shape, comparison result of the feature of the outer shape, and the like using a communication standard such as IEEE802.11b and UWB.

  The appearance feature extraction unit 12 extracts the feature of the external shape of the other device reflected in the image around the own device received by the control unit 10 from the external device. An image obtained by imaging the periphery of the own apparatus includes not only other apparatuses but also an unnecessary background. Therefore, the appearance feature extraction unit 12 cuts out the target other device from the image, and extracts the feature of the appearance shape of the other device from the cut out image. Since a general technique is applied to a configuration and method for extracting features of another target device from an image, detailed description of the configuration and extraction method is omitted. The appearance feature extraction unit 12 transmits the extracted feature data of the appearance shape of the other device to the communication unit 11.

  The external feature comparison unit 13 receives the external shape feature of the other device received by the communication unit 11 and is extracted by the external feature extraction unit 12 of the communication partner, and the external shape feature of the own device stored in the storage unit 14. And the comparison result is transmitted to the communication partner by the communication means 11.

Appearance feature comparison means 13 determines that the communication partner's appearance feature extracted by the communication partner's appearance feature extraction means 12 matches the communication device's appearance shape feature stored in storage means 14. The communication means 11 transmits the comparison result that the object reflected in the image taken by the camera is its own device to the communication partner.
Appearance feature comparison means 13 determines the communication partner if the feature of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by appearance feature extraction means 12 of the communication partner does not match the feature of the appearance shape of the own device stored in storage means 14. The communication means 11 transmits the comparison result that the target object reflected in the image taken by is not its own device to the communication partner.

  In the process of identifying the other party of communication, when the other device is photographed from the own device, if the other device is a car, the image of the occupant of the car may be included in the image of the appearance of the car. In this case, the occupant's image has a problem of portrait rights. Further, when the own device and the other device are mobile phones, if the mobile phone of the other device of the communication partner is photographed from the mobile phone of the own device, the user of the mobile phone is included in the photographed image. Even in this case, the user's image has a problem of portrait rights. Recently, the Personal Information Protection Law has been enforced, and it has become important to handle information related to personal information carefully. The handling of personal information becomes a problem even when identifying the communication partner.

  In the first embodiment, the external feature comparison unit 13 compares the external shape feature of the other device extracted by the external feature extraction unit 12 of the communication partner with the external shape feature of the own device stored in the storage unit 14. Therefore, the comparison of the features of the external shape is performed by another device. For this reason, the external appearance feature data including the personal information is not transmitted to the photographing apparatus. Therefore, the personal information is not leaked to the communication partner because it is included in the feature of the external shape, and the present invention is excellent in terms of protecting the personal information.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the comparison result between the external shape feature of the other device extracted by the external feature extraction unit 12 of the communication partner and the external shape feature of the own device stored in the storage unit 14 is the communication partner. Sent. However, the comparison result is information on whether or not the object captured in the image taken by the communication partner is the device itself, that is, information “YES” or “NO”, and this information includes personal information. Is never included. Therefore, even if the comparison result of the feature of the external shape is exchanged, the personal information is not leaked to the communication partner, and the present invention is excellent in terms of protecting the personal information.

  It should be noted that a general technique is applied to the comparison between the external shape feature of the device read from the storage unit 14 and the external shape feature of the device transmitted from the external feature extraction unit 12 of the communication partner. Therefore, detailed description of the configuration and the comparison method is omitted.

  The storage unit 14 provides a work storage area required when the control unit 10, the communication unit 11, the appearance feature unit 12, and the appearance feature comparison unit 13 execute operations. In addition, the storage unit 14 stores data on the appearance shape of the own device and identification ID data for identifying the own device. The information stored in the storage means 14 is the data of the feature of the external shape of the own device and the data of the identification ID, which are the minimum necessary, and the storage capacity can be suppressed to a very small amount.

  In addition, although the communication partner specific apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 was constructed | assembled as hardware, it is not restricted to this. The communication partner specifying apparatus according to the first embodiment may be constructed as software. In this case, the communication partner specifying program is incorporated in the computer constituting the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 1, and the computer is read and executed by the CPU of the computer. The external feature extraction unit 12 and the external feature comparison unit 13 are configured to execute functions.

  Next, a communication partner specifying method for specifying a communication partner using the communication partner specifying apparatus shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The communication partner specifying method according to the first embodiment will be described in the case where a vehicle (automobile) traveling on a road is used as the own device and the other device, and the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the first embodiment, it is assumed that two other vehicles (other devices) are traveling in a diagonally backward direction of the own vehicle (own device). In FIG. 3, the communication partner specifying device mounted on the own device is referred to as self communication device A, and the communication partner specifying device mounted on the other device is referred to as other communication devices B and C.

  3, it is assumed that a communication path R is formed between the own communication device A and the other communication device B, and communication is performed between the own communication device A and the other communication device B. The same applies when a communication path R is formed between the own communication device A and the other communication device C instead of the other communication device B.

  First, the control means 100 of the own communication device A acquires an image obtained by photographing an area around the own vehicle by an external device (such as a camera), and transmits the acquired image data to the appearance feature extraction means 102 (step in FIG. 4). S1).

  The appearance feature extraction unit 102 of the own communication device A extracts the feature of the appearance shape of the other communication device (B or C) reflected in the image acquired from the external device transmitted from the control unit 100 and extracts the feature. The feature data of the external shape is transmitted to the communication means 101 (step S2 in FIG. 4).

  The communication unit 101 transmits the feature data of the appearance shape transmitted from the appearance feature extraction unit 102 to the other communication device B of the communication partner (step S3 in FIG. 4).

  The communication means 201 of the other communication device B in communication with the own communication device A (connected via the communication path R) receives the feature data of the outer shape extracted by the own communication device A, and receives the received outer shape of the outer shape. The feature data is transmitted to the appearance feature comparison means 203 of the other communication device B (step S4 in FIG. 5).

  The appearance feature comparison unit 203 of the other communication device B compares the feature data of the appearance shape transmitted from the own communication device A with the feature data of the appearance shape of the other communication device B stored in advance in the storage unit 204 ( Step S5 in FIG.

  In step S5 of FIG. 5, the appearance feature comparison unit 203 extracts the feature of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by the appearance feature extraction unit 102 of the communication partner and the other communication device (own device) B stored in the storage unit 204. When the feature of the external shape matches the comparison result that the object reflected in the image captured by the communication partner is the other communication device (own device) B, and the other communication device stored in the storage unit 204 The identification ID for identifying B is transmitted to the communication partner by the communication means 11 (step S6 in FIG. 5).

  In step S5 of FIG. 5, the appearance feature comparison unit 203 extracts the feature of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by the appearance feature extraction unit 102 of the communication partner and the other communication device (own device) B stored in the storage unit 204. When the feature of the external shape does not match, the comparison result that the object reflected in the image captured by the communication partner is not the other communication device (own device) B, and the other communication device B stored in the storage unit 204 The identification ID for identifying is transmitted to the communication partner by the communication means 11 (step S6 in FIG. 5).

  The communication unit 101 of the own communication device A connected to the other communication device B201 via the communication path R identifies the comparison result and the other communication device B from the communication unit 201 of the other communication device B of the communication partner. The identification ID is received, and the received comparison result and identification ID are transmitted to the control means 100 (step S7 in FIG. 4).

  Based on the comparison result transmitted from the communication unit 101, the control unit 100 of the own communication device A uses the appearance shape feature extracted by the appearance feature extraction unit 102 of the own communication device A as the other communication device B of the communication partner. Whether it matches or does not match the feature of the external shape is detected (step S8 in FIG. 4).

  In step S8 of FIG. 4, the control unit 100 of the own communication apparatus A has a comparison result that the comparison results transmitted from the other communication apparatuses B match, that is, the appearance shape feature transmitted from the own communication apparatus A. However, if it is recognized that it matches the feature of the external shape of the other communication device B copied in the image (step S8 in FIG. 4; YES), the vehicle copied in the image captured by the external device is the communication partner. The other communication device B is stored in the storage unit 104 in association with the identification ID of the other communication device B (step S9 in FIG. 4).

  In step S8 of FIG. 4, the control unit 100 of the own communication device A has a comparison result that the comparison result transmitted from the other communication device B is inconsistent, that is, the appearance shape transmitted from the own communication device A. If the feature does not match the feature of the external shape of the other communication device B copied in the image, if it is recognized (step S8 in FIG. 4; NO), the process returns to step S1 in FIG. An image around the communication device A is acquired and the processing is continued (steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 4).

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the communication device of the communication partner can be accurately identified by using the image information of the external shape of the communication device.

  According to the first embodiment, the communication partner is specified based on the feature of the appearance shape appearing in the appearance of the own / other device without narrowing down to the characteristic portion appearing in the specific part of the own / other device. The other party can be identified without being affected.

  According to the first embodiment, the process of imaging a specific object and the process of extracting features from the captured image are performed by one device, and the features are compared by the other device. Is not overburdened. Therefore, even if the communication partner identification device is applied to the car navigation system for vehicle guidance, the operation of the vehicle guidance is not affected. In addition, since the storage means only stores the data of the feature of the external shape of the device itself and the data of the identification ID, the information stored in the storage means becomes the minimum necessary, so that the storage capacity can be suppressed to an extremely low level. . Therefore, the present invention can be applied without changing the specifications of the existing car navigation system.

  In the process of identifying the communication partner, when the other device is photographed from the own device, if the other device is a vehicle, the image of the passenger in the vehicle may be included in the image of the external shape of the vehicle. . In this case, the occupant's image has a problem of portrait rights. However, in the first embodiment, the external feature comparison unit of the other communication device includes the external shape feature extracted by the external feature extraction unit of the communication partner's own communication device and the external shape stored in the storage unit of the other communication device. In order to compare with the above-mentioned features, the feature of the appearance shape is compared with other devices. For this reason, the feature data of the external shape including personal information is not transmitted to the imaging device. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the personal information from being unnecessarily diffused in the feature of the external shape, and to protect the personal information.

In the first embodiment, the comparison result compared by the appearance feature comparison unit of the other communication device of the communication partner is transmitted to the own communication device of the communication partner. However, the comparison result is information on whether or not the object captured in the image taken by the communication partner is the device itself, that is, information “YES” or “NO”, and this information includes personal information. Is never included. Therefore, even if the comparison results of the features of the external shape are exchanged, the protection of personal information can be strengthened.
(Embodiment 2)

  Next, an example in which the relative position between the own communication device and another communication device that are communication targets is calculated will be described as a second embodiment. In the second embodiment, an expiration date is set for the calculated relative position data, and the relative position data is managed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the communication partner specifying apparatus according to the second embodiment has a circuit configuration in which an imaging unit 15, an imaging region detection unit 16, and a relative position calculation unit 17 are added to the circuit configuration shown in FIG. It is. Between the control means 10, the communication means 11, the appearance feature extraction means 12, the appearance feature comparison means 13, the storage means 14, the imaging means 15, the imaging area detection means 16, and the relative position calculation means 17. Are connected by a system bus. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication partner identifying device shown in FIG. 7 is mounted on the own device and the other device serving as the communication partner. In FIG. 6, a block indicated by a dotted line indicates that the communication partner is in a suspended state, and a block indicated by a solid line indicates that the block is in an operating state.

  The control means 100 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 6, the control means 200 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the control means 300 included in the communication partner specifying device C correspond to the control means 10 in FIG. . The communication means 101 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus A shown in FIG. 6, the communication means 201 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus B, and the communication means 301 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus C correspond to the communication means 11 in FIG. . The appearance feature extracting means 102 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 6, the appearance feature extracting means 202 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the appearance feature extracting means 302 included in the communication partner specifying device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature extraction means 12. The appearance feature comparison means 103 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 6, the appearance feature comparison means 203 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the appearance feature comparison means 303 included in the communication partner identification device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature comparison means 13. The storage means 104 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 6, the storage means 204 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the storage means 304 included in the communication partner specifying device C correspond to the storage means 14 of FIG. . The imaging unit 105 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 6, the imaging unit 205 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the storage unit 305 included in the communication partner identification device C correspond to the imaging unit 15 in FIG. . The imaging area detection means 106 included in the communication partner identification apparatus A shown in FIG. 6, the imaging area detection means 206 included in the communication partner identification apparatus B, and the imaging area detection means 306 included in the communication partner identification apparatus C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the imaging region detection means 16. The relative position calculating means 107 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 6, the relative position calculating means 207 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the relative position calculating means 307 included in the communication partner specifying device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the relative position calculation means 17.

  The photographing unit 15 obtains image data obtained by photographing the entire surroundings of the own device with the entire surroundings of the own device as a photographing range. The imaging unit 15 adds imaging parameters to the acquired image data, and transmits these data to the imaging area detection unit 16. The shooting parameter is information on the camera that has captured the image to be transmitted, and the shooting parameter includes information such as position information of the camera attached to its own apparatus, direction when the camera shot. Since general camera technology is applied to the photographing means 15, the details of the configuration, photographing method, photographing parameters, and the like are omitted.

  The photographing means 15 is configured to install a plurality of cameras around the own device, photograph the entire situation of the own device to acquire image data, or move a single camera around the own device, Any configuration may be used in which image data is acquired by photographing the situation around the entire device. In short, the configuration of the imaging means 15 may be any configuration as long as it can acquire image data by capturing the situation around the entire device.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the photographing unit 15 is installed as a component of the communication partner identification device, but is not limited thereto. It is also possible to acquire imaging parameters such as image data obtained by imaging the situation of the entire surroundings of the device itself and information relating to imaging position information and imaging posture corresponding to the image data from an external device via an interface. .

  The imaging area detection unit 16 analyzes the image based on the imaging parameters and the image transmitted from the imaging unit 15 to detect an area where another device is captured in the image, and detects the area in the image of the area. The position of the other device is transmitted to the relative position calculation unit 17, and the section image obtained by cutting out the region is transmitted to the appearance feature extraction unit 13.

  The position of the other device is specified using the coordinates of the center of gravity of the detected other device, the coordinate group of the point sequence constituting the detected silhouette of the other device, or the coordinates of the rectangular area including the silhouette. However, it is not limited to this. Since a general technique is applied to specify the position of the other device, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The relative position calculation unit 17 calculates the relative position of the other device with respect to the own device using the position of the other device in the image transmitted from the imaging region detection unit 16 and the imaging parameter transmitted from the imaging unit 15. . The relative position data calculated by the relative position calculation means 17 is stored in the storage means 14.

  An example in which the relative position calculation unit 17 calculates the relative position will be described. The image received by the relative position calculation means 17 from the photographing means 15 includes another device such as a vehicle at the position (xg, -yg) on the coordinates of the horizontal axis Xg and the vertical axis Yp. (FIG. 9A).

  The relative position calculation means 17 performs projective transformation of the image screen of the screen coordinate system shown in FIG. 9A onto the coordinates (h, Yp) shown in FIG. 9B, and also shown in FIG. 9C. Projective transformation is performed on the coordinates of (Yp, Xp).

The relative position calculation means 17 derives the relationship between yp and yg based on the following equation when performing projective transformation to the real world coordinate system shown in FIG. 9B.
f: -yg = (f + yp): h where f << yp.

The relative position calculation means 17 derives the relationship among xp, yp, and xp based on the following equation when performing projective transformation to the real world coordinate system shown in FIG.
f: xg = (f + yp): xp where f << yp.

  As shown in FIG. 9 (d), the relative position calculating means 17 uses the real-world coordinate system position data shown in FIGS. The relationship between the vehicle) and other devices (for example, other vehicles) is plotted on the real world coordinate system.

In FIG. 9D, (Xg, Yg) is the screen coordinate system, (Xp, Yp) is the real world camera coordinate system, and (Xv, Yv) is the real world host vehicle coordinate system. In the real world coordinate system shown in FIG. 9D, the relative position calculation means 17 calculates the coordinate position (xv, yv) of the other vehicle of the communication partner based on the following equation.

  The relative position calculation method described above is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. Since a general technique is applied to the relative position calculation method, detailed description of the relative position calculation methods other than those described above is omitted.

  The appearance feature extraction unit 12 receives a section image cut out from an area in which another device is transmitted, which is transmitted from the imaging region detection unit 16, and extracts the feature of the appearance shape of the other device from the received section image. Note that the data relating to the feature of the external shape of the other device extracted by the appearance feature extraction unit 12 is stored in the storage unit 14.

  The storage means 14 extracts the relative position data of the other apparatus calculated by the relative position detection means 17 of the own apparatus and the appearance feature extraction of the own apparatus with respect to the same other apparatus detected by the imaging region detection means 16 of the own apparatus. The feature data of the external shape of the other device extracted by the means 12 is stored as a pair, and the data of this pair is transmitted to the communication means 11. In addition, the storage unit 14 stores the relative position regarding the same other device transmitted from the communication unit 11 and the feature of the external shape of the other device as a pair. The storage unit 14 pairs the identification ID for identifying the communication partner, the relative position of the other device of the communication partner transmitted from the control unit 10, and the validity period of the relative position data of the other device set by the control unit 10. Remember as. The storage unit 14 stores in advance the features of the external shape of the device itself. The storage unit 14 includes a control unit 10, a communication unit 11, an appearance feature extraction unit 12, an appearance feature comparison unit 13, a storage unit 14, an imaging unit 15, an imaging region detection unit 16, and a relative position. A working storage area required when the calculation means 17 executes an operation is provided.

  The communication unit 11 stores the pair of the relative position and the feature of the external shape and the identification ID for identifying the communication unit 11 of the own device, which are stored in the storage unit 14, with respect to other devices located around the own device. Send to. In addition, the communication unit 11 includes a pair of features of a relative position and appearance shape with respect to another device existing around the other device from another device equipped with the same communication partner identifying device, and the communication device 11 of the other device. The identification ID for identifying is received, and these data are transmitted to the storage means 14.

  The communication means 11 possesses the communication partner identification apparatus shown in FIG. 7, and a pair of relative position data and external appearance feature data about other apparatuses located in the vicinity, and an identification ID for identifying the communication means 11 of the other apparatus Receive. The information received by the communication unit 11 is stored in the storage unit 14.

  The communication of the communication means 11 includes ad-hoc communication in which direct communication is performed between the own device and another device, or vehicles in which part or all of the communication path between the own device and the other device is realized as road-to-vehicle communication. Communication is also included. Since a general technique is applied to the communication of the communication unit 11, the detailed description of the configuration and the communication method is omitted.

  The identification ID is an identifier assigned to the own device and another device, an identifier assigned to each car navigation device when the own device is a car navigation device, and the other device according to the communication protocol between the communication means 11. Any device can be used as long as it can identify the device itself and other devices, such as an identifier assigned to the device.

  The communication means 11 transmits an identification ID for identifying its own device to the communication partner. The communication unit 11 receives the identification ID for identifying the communication unit 11 of the other device of the communication partner, and transmits the identification ID to the control unit 10.

  The communication unit 11 transmits the comparison result of the appearance feature comparison unit 13 of the own apparatus to the communication partner. The communication unit 11 receives the comparison result of the appearance feature comparison unit 13 of the other device of the communication partner, and transmits the comparison result to the control unit 10.

  The appearance feature comparison unit 13 stores the feature of the appearance shape of the own device stored in the storage unit 14 and the appearance shape transmitted from another device having the same communication partner identification device and stored in the storage unit 14 of the own device. Compare with the characteristics of. The appearance feature comparison unit 13 transmits the comparison result to the communication unit 11 and the control unit 10 of its own device.

  The control unit 10 controls the operations of the imaging unit 15, the imaging region detection unit 16, the communication unit 11, the appearance feature extraction unit 12, the appearance feature comparison unit 13, the storage unit 14, and the relative position detection unit 17. The control unit 10 has an interface with an external device, and receives an image around the device and various sensor information, and outputs a communication partner identification result.

  Specifically, the control unit 10 collates the identification ID for identifying the communication partner transmitted from the communication unit 11 and the identification ID stored in the storage unit 14. When there is no matching identification ID or when the expiration date of the relative position stored as a pair with the matching identification ID is invalid, the control means 10 acquires the relative position data for the communication partner's own device, And identification ID data are stored in the storage means 14.

  The control unit 10 refers to the expiration date of the relative position data of the communication partner stored in the storage unit 14 at regular intervals, and acquires the relative position data for the communication partner's own device when the expiration date is invalid. The data of the relative position and the identification ID are stored in the storage unit 14.

  Although the communication partner specifying device according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is constructed as hardware, the present invention is not limited to this, and a communication partner specifying program is installed in the computer constituting the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. By incorporating and reading the communication partner specifying program by the CPU of the computer and executing it, the imaging region detection means 16, the control means 10, the appearance feature extraction means 12, the appearance feature comparison means 13, and the relative position It may be constructed so that the function of the calculation means 17 is executed.

  Next, an example of a communication partner specifying method for mounting the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 7 on the vehicle as the own device and identifying the relative position between the communication specifying devices mounted on the host device. This will be described with reference to FIG. 8, FIG. 10, and FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the second embodiment, the communication partner is specified even when the other device is located behind, diagonally backward, or diagonally forward of the own device. In FIG. 8, the communication partner specifying device of FIG. 7 mounted on the vehicle as its own device is referred to as self communication device A, and the communication partner specifying device of FIG. . In FIG. 8, in addition to the other communication device B of the communication partner, there is a communication partner specifying device C in FIG. 7 mounted on a vehicle traveling diagonally rearward or a vehicle traveling diagonally forward. , D, and E exist.

  In the second embodiment, the communication apparatus A performs the process shown in FIG. 10 and the other communication apparatus B performs the process shown in FIG. 11, thereby identifying the communication partner and calculating the relative position with the communication partner. The communication apparatus A performs the process shown in FIG. 11 and the other communication apparatus B performs the process shown in FIG. 10 so that the communication partner is specified and the relative position with the communication partner is calculated. Good. Further, the communication partner is specified between the own communication device A and the other communication device C, or between the other communication device B and the other communication device C, and the relative position with the communication partner is calculated. Good.

  First, when the control unit 100 of the own communication device A acquires an identification ID for identifying communication with the other communication device B via the communication unit 101 (step S10 in FIG. 10; YES), the processing is performed in FIG. In step S11, if the identification ID is not acquired (step S10 in FIG. 10; NO), the process proceeds to step S13 in FIG.

  In step S <b> 11 of FIG. 10, the control unit 100 of the own communication device A searches for the identification ID that matches the identification ID acquired from the other communication device B from the storage information of the storage unit 104.

  In step S11 of FIG. 10, the control unit 100 of the own communication apparatus A is invalid because the identification ID acquired from the other communication apparatus B does not exist in the storage information of the storage unit 104 or the validity period of the matching identification ID has passed. If it is determined, the process proceeds to step S15 in FIG. When the control unit 100 of the own communication device A determines that the identification ID acquired from the other communication device B exists in the stored information of the storage unit 104 or is within the valid period of the matching identification ID and is valid. The process returns to step S10 in FIG.

  In step S <b> 13 of FIG. 10, the control unit 100 of the communication apparatus A confirms the expiration date of the relative position data stored in the storage unit 104. If the expiration date has passed, the control unit 100 proceeds the process to step S15 in FIG. 10, and if not, the process proceeds to step S10 in FIG.

  In step S15 of FIG. 10, under the control of the control unit 100, the imaging unit 105 captures the situation around the communication apparatus A and acquires image data, and the acquired image data is sent to the imaging region detection unit 106. Send.

  The imaging area detection unit 106 detects an area in which the other communication device B is reflected in the image data transmitted from the imaging unit 105 (step S16 in FIG. 10), and performs the following processing for each detected other communication device (FIG. 10 steps S18 to S22).

  First, the relative position calculation means 107 calculates the relative position of the other communication device B with respect to the own communication device A. Here, the relative position calculation unit 107 is configured such that the position in the image of the other communication apparatus B detected by the imaging area detection unit 106 and the camera that has captured the image provided by the imaging unit 105 are the own communication apparatus A. The relative position of the other communication device B with respect to the own communication device A is calculated based on the attachment position information attached to the camera and the shooting parameters indicating the direction in which the camera is facing (step S19 in FIG. 10).

  The camera parameters may be stored in the storage unit 104 in advance, and the storage unit 104 may provide the camera parameters to the relative position calculation unit 107.

  The appearance feature extraction unit 102 extracts the feature of the appearance shape of the other communication apparatus B whose relative position has been calculated (step S20 in FIG. 10). Here, the outer shape of the vehicle, the vehicle type, the color, the license plate, and the like are used as features of the outer shape of the vehicle. As the outer shape of the vehicle, a vehicle silhouette, rear / tail lamp mounting positions, front grille / rear grille shape, vehicle width and height, front / rear tire mounting width, window frame shape, and the like are used. Further, it is estimated whether the vehicle type of the vehicle is a truck, a minivan, or a sedan by pattern matching with respect to the outer shape of the vehicle.

  The control unit 100 stores the relative position of the other communication device B calculated by the relative position calculation unit 107 and the feature of the external shape of the other communication device B calculated by the appearance feature extraction unit 102 as a pair in the storage unit 104 ( Step S21 in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 302 increments and returns the process to step S18 in FIG. 10, and causes the other communication apparatuses C, D, and E existing around the next communication apparatus A to execute the above-described process.

  At the time when the above processing (steps S18 to S22 in FIG. 10) is completed for the other communication devices B, C, D, and E existing in all the surroundings detected by the imaging region detection means 106, the own communication device A The control unit 100 includes a pair of the relative position of all the other communication devices B, C, D, and E (No. 1 to n) stored in the storage unit 104 and the feature of the external shape of the vehicle (other device). The identification ID for identifying the communication means 101 of the communication apparatus A is transmitted to the other communication apparatus B of the communication partner via the communication apparatus 101 of the own communication apparatus A (step S23 in FIG. 10).

  Next, a communication partner specifying method in the other communication device B of the communication partner will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the control unit 200 of the other communication device B transmits the paired data of the feature of the external shape and the relative position regarding the vehicle around the own communication device A and the communication device 101 via the communication unit 101 from the own communication device A of the communication partner. The data of the identification ID for identifying the communication means 101 of the device A is received (step S24 in FIG. 11), and the received paired data of the feature of the external shape of the vehicle and the relative position, and the number of vehicle information transmitted (n) Is stored in the storage means 204 (step S25 in FIG. 11).

  The control means 200 of the other communication device B performs the following processing for each received vehicle (steps S27 to S30 in FIG. 11).

  First, the external feature comparison unit 203 of the other communication device B includes the feature of the external shape of the vehicle regarding the i-th vehicle stored in the storage unit 204 and the vehicle of the other communication device B stored in the storage unit 204 in advance. Compare the features of the external shape.

  If the appearance feature comparison unit 203 determines that there is a feature of the matched vehicle appearance shape, the process proceeds to step S31 in FIG.

  If the appearance feature comparison unit 203 determines that the features of the appearance shape of the vehicle do not match, the process returns to step S27 in FIG. 11, and the above process is performed for all received vehicles. If the appearance feature comparison unit 203 determines that the features of the appearance of the vehicles do not match for all the received vehicles, the process proceeds to step S33 in FIG.

  In step S31 of FIG. 11, the control device 200 of the other communication device B reads from the storage unit 204 the data of the relative position paired with the matched feature data of the appearance shape of the vehicle. Since the relative position is information on the position of the other communication device B viewed from the own communication device A, the control unit 200 performs a reverse calculation of the relative position, and the relative position of the own communication device A viewed from the other communication device B. Is calculated.

  After calculating the relative position, the control means 200 of the other communication device B pairs the identification ID for identifying the communication partner's own communication device A, the calculated relative position, and the expiration date of the calculated relative position. Is stored in the storage means 204.

  By the way, the relative position of the communication partner changes with time, and the error between the relative position of the communication partner estimated at an arbitrary time and the actual relative position of the communication partner becomes large. An appropriate number (for example, 10) is set corresponding to the expiration date of the information on the relative position, and when the relative position is not updated, the number (10) is decremented every appropriate time (for example, 100 ms), and the number is Decrement until “0”. The control means 200 sequentially updates the relative position where the expiration date becomes 0 after decrementing using this communication partner specifying method.

  In step S33 of FIG. 11, the control unit 200 compares the result of comparing the external appearance characteristics of the vehicle acquired in step S29 of FIG. 11 with the identification ID of the other communication device B via the communication unit 201. Send to A.

  Through the above processing steps, the processing in the communication device A and the other communication device B that is the communication partner ends, and the processing shifts to the processing in the communication device A.

  The communication device 101 of the own communication device A receives the comparison result regarding the feature of the appearance of the vehicle from the other communication device B of the communication partner and the identification ID of the other communication device B (step S34 in FIG. 10). Data is transmitted to the control means 100.

  When the control means 100 obtains a comparison result that the feature of the appearance shape of the vehicle matches from the other communication device B of the communication partner (step S35 in FIG. 10; YES), the control means 100 proceeds to step S36 and does not match. If so (NO in step S35; NO), the process returns to step S10.

  The control unit 100 of the own communication apparatus A reads out the matched appearance feature of the vehicle and the pair relative position data from the storage unit 104. Then, the control unit 100 stores the data of the read relative position, the expiration date for the relative position information, and the identification ID of the other communication device B of the communication partner as a pair in the storage unit 104 (step of FIG. 10). S36), the process returns to step S10 in FIG.

  According to the second embodiment, the self-communication device A, which is one of the communication partners, extracts the features of the external shape of the other communication device B, which is the other communication partner, extracted from the peripheral image of the own device, Is transmitted to the other communication device B, the other communication device B of the communication partner compares the features of the external shape, and receives the comparison result. It is possible to identify the communication device B, the feature of its external shape, and its relative position.

  Further, the other communication device B of the communication partner can identify the communication partner's own communication device A and its relative position by calculating the received relative position information in reverse.

In the second embodiment, since the expiration date is set for the calculated relative position data and the relative position data is managed, the data can always be identified based on the latest relative position data.
(Embodiment 3)

  Next, an example in which the communication partner identifying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is changed will be described as a third embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the communication partner specifying apparatus of the third embodiment has the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 7 as a basic configuration, and is constructed as a circuit configuration in which an appearance feature selection means 18 is added to the circuit configuration shown in FIG. It is a thing.

  Control means 10, communication means 11, appearance feature extraction means 12, appearance feature comparison means 13, storage means 14, imaging means 15, imaging area detection means 16, relative position calculation means 17, appearance characteristics The selection means 18 is connected to each other by a system bus. As shown in FIG. 12, the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 13 is mounted on the own device and the other device serving as the communication partner. In FIG. 12, a block indicated by a dotted line indicates that the communication partner is in a suspended state, and a block indicated by a solid line indicates that the block is in an operating state.

  The control means 100 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus A shown in FIG. 12, the control means 200 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus B, and the control means 300 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus C correspond to the control means 10 in FIG. . Communication means 101 included in communication partner specifying apparatus A shown in FIG. 12, communication means 201 included in communication partner specifying apparatus B, and communication means 301 included in communication partner specifying apparatus C correspond to communication means 11 in FIG. . The appearance feature extracting means 102 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 12, the appearance feature extracting means 202 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the appearance feature extracting means 302 included in the communication partner specifying device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature extraction means 12. The appearance feature comparison means 103 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 12, the appearance feature comparison means 203 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the appearance feature comparison means 303 included in the communication partner identification device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature comparison means 13. The storage means 104 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 12, the storage means 204 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the storage means 304 included in the communication partner specifying device C correspond to the storage means 14 of FIG. . The imaging unit 105 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 12, the imaging unit 205 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the storage unit 305 included in the communication partner identification device C correspond to the imaging unit 15 in FIG. . The imaging area detection means 106 included in the communication partner identification apparatus A shown in FIG. 12, the imaging area detection means 206 included in the communication partner identification apparatus B, and the imaging area detection means 306 included in the communication partner identification apparatus C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the imaging region detection means 16. The relative position calculation means 107 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 12, the relative position calculation means 207 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the relative position calculation means 307 included in the communication partner specifying device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the relative position calculation means 17. The appearance feature selection means 108 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 12, the appearance feature selection means 208 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the appearance feature selection means 308 included in the communication partner identification device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature selection means 18.

  Below, the difference of the structure of FIG. 7 and FIG. 13 is demonstrated. The storage unit 14 classifies and stores in advance the features of the external shape of the device extracted from an image taken from the surrounding relative position of the device, for each relative position.

  The appearance feature selection unit 12 searches the storage unit 14 using the relative position information received by the communication unit 11 as a key, selects the feature of the external shape of the other device corresponding to the relative position, and sends it to the appearance feature comparison unit 13. Send.

  Although the communication partner specifying device according to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 13 is constructed as hardware, the present invention is not limited to this, and a communication partner specifying program is installed in the computer constituting the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. By incorporating and reading the communication partner specifying program by the CPU of the computer and executing it, the imaging region detection means 16, the control means 10, the appearance feature extraction means 12, the appearance feature comparison means 13, and the relative position The calculation unit 17 and the appearance feature selection unit 18 may be configured to execute functions.

  Next, an example of a communication partner specifying method for mounting the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 13 on the vehicle as the own / other device and identifying the relative position between the communication specifying devices mounted on the host / other device. This will be described with reference to FIG. 8, FIG. 12, and FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the third embodiment, the communication partner is specified even when another device is present behind, diagonally backward, or diagonally forward of the own device. In FIG. 8, the communication partner specifying device of FIG. 7 mounted on the vehicle as its own device is used as its own communication device A, and the communication partner specifying device of FIG. In FIG. 8, in addition to the other communication device B of the communication partner, there is a communication partner specifying device C in FIG. 7 mounted on a vehicle traveling diagonally rearward or a vehicle traveling diagonally forward. , D, and E exist.

  In the communication partner specifying method using the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 13, the processing procedure performed in the own communication device A is the same as that in the second embodiment. The processing procedure of the other communication apparatus B will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The control unit 200 of the other communication device B transmits the pair data of the feature of the external shape of the vehicle located around the communication device A and the relative position from the communication device A through the communication device 201, and the communication device A. The data of the identification ID for identifying the communication means 101 is received (step S40 in FIG. 14). The control means 200 of the other communication device B stores the received pair data of the feature of the external shape of the vehicle and the relative position and the data of the number (n) of vehicle information sent in the storage means 204 (FIG. 14). Step S41).

  The control means 200 of the other communication device B performs the following processing for each received vehicle (step S43 to step S47 in FIG. 14).

  First, the appearance feature selection unit 208 searches the stored information in the storage unit 204 using the information on the relative position related to the i-th other communication device stored in the storage unit 204 as a key, and the other communication device corresponding to the relative position. The feature of the appearance shape B is selected, and the feature of the selected appearance shape is read from the storage unit 204 (step S45 in FIG. 14). The appearance feature selection unit 208 transmits the read appearance shape feature to the appearance feature comparison unit 203.

  The appearance feature comparison unit 203 compares the feature of the appearance shape of the other communication device B selected by the appearance feature selection unit 208 with the feature of the appearance shape of the i-th other communication device B stored in the storage unit 204. (Step S46 in FIG. 14).

  In step S47 of FIG. 14, when the appearance feature comparison means 203 determines that there is a feature of the vehicle appearance shape that matches (step S47; YES), the process proceeds to step S48 of FIG.

  When the appearance feature comparison unit 203 determines that the features of the appearance shape of the vehicle do not match, the process returns to step S43 in FIG. 14, and the above process is performed for all the received vehicles. If the appearance feature comparison means 203 determines that the features of the appearance shape of the vehicles do not match for all the received vehicles (step S43 in FIG. 14; NO), the process proceeds to step S50 in FIG.

  In step S <b> 48 of FIG. 14, the control device 200 reads from the storage unit 204 information related to the relative position that is paired with the matching feature of the external shape. Since the relative position is the position of the other communication device B as viewed from the own communication device A, the control means 200 of the other communication device B performs the reverse calculation of the information regarding the relative position, and the own communication device as viewed from the other communication device B. The relative position of A is calculated.

  In step S49 of FIG. 14, the control means 200 of the other communication device B sets a pair of an identification ID for identifying the communication partner's own communication device A, the calculated relative position, and the expiration date of the calculated relative position data. Is stored in the storage unit 204.

  By the way, the relative position of the communication partner changes with time, and the error between the relative position of the communication partner estimated at an arbitrary time and the actual relative position of the communication partner becomes large. An appropriate number (for example, 10) is set corresponding to the expiration date of the information on the relative position, and when the relative position is not updated, the number (10) is decremented every appropriate time (for example, 100 ms), and the number is Decrement until “0”. The control means 502 sequentially updates the information on the relative position that has been decremented and the expiration date becomes 0 using this communication partner identification method.

  In step S50 of FIG. 14, the control unit 200 compares the result of comparing the external appearance characteristics of the vehicle acquired in step S47 of FIG. 14 with the identification ID of the other communication device B via the communication unit 201. Send to A.

  According to the third embodiment, the own communication device A transmits the information regarding the feature of the external shape of the other communication device extracted from the peripheral image of the own device and the information regarding the relative position to the other communication device B of the communication partner, The other communication device B classifies the features of the appearance shape extracted from images taken from various relative positions, stores them in advance for each relative position, and uses the relative position data received from the own communication device A, By selecting the feature of the external shape of the other communication device B and comparing the feature of the selected external shape with the feature of the external shape received from the self-communication device A, the self-communication device A It is possible to identify the other communication device B of the communication partner in the relationship, the feature of the external shape and the relative position thereof.

In addition, the other communication device B of the communication partner can identify the communication partner's own communication device A having an arbitrary positional relationship and its relative position by back-calculating the received relative position.
(Embodiment 4)

  Next, an example in which the communication partner identifying apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is changed will be described as a fourth embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the communication partner specifying apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention has the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 13 as a basic configuration, and the communication target selection means 19 is added to the circuit configuration shown in FIG. It is constructed as a circuit configuration.

  Control means 10, communication means 11, appearance feature extraction means 12, appearance feature comparison means 13, storage means 14, imaging means 15, imaging area detection means 16, relative position calculation means 17, appearance characteristics The selection means 18 and the communication target selection means 19 are connected by a system bus. As shown in FIG. 15, the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 16 is mounted on the own device and another device serving as the communication partner. In FIG. 15, a block indicated by a dotted line indicates that the communication partner is in a suspended state, and a block indicated by a solid line indicates that the block is in an operating state.

  The control means 100 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus A shown in FIG. 15, the control means 200 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus B, and the control means 300 included in the communication partner specifying apparatus C correspond to the control means 10 in FIG. . Communication means 101 included in communication partner specifying apparatus A shown in FIG. 15, communication means 201 included in communication partner specifying apparatus B, and communication means 301 included in communication partner specifying apparatus C correspond to communication means 11 in FIG. . The appearance feature extracting means 102 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 15, the appearance feature extracting means 202 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the appearance feature extracting means 302 included in the communication partner specifying device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature extraction means 12. The appearance feature comparison means 103 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 15, the appearance feature comparison means 203 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the appearance feature comparison means 303 included in the communication partner identification device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature comparison means 13. The storage means 104 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 15, the storage means 204 included in the communication partner specification device B, and the storage means 304 included in the communication partner specification device C correspond to the storage means 14 in FIG. . The imaging unit 105 included in the communication partner identification device A illustrated in FIG. 15, the imaging unit 205 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the storage unit 305 included in the communication partner identification device C correspond to the imaging unit 15 in FIG. 16. . The imaging area detection means 106 included in the communication partner identification apparatus A shown in FIG. 15, the imaging area detection means 206 included in the communication partner identification apparatus B, and the imaging area detection means 306 included in the communication partner identification apparatus C shown in FIG. This corresponds to the imaging region detection means 16. The relative position calculation means 107 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 15, the relative position calculation means 207 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the relative position calculation means 307 included in the communication partner specifying device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the relative position calculation means 17. The appearance feature selection means 108 included in the communication partner identification device A shown in FIG. 15, the appearance feature selection means 208 included in the communication partner identification device B, and the appearance feature selection means 308 included in the communication partner identification device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the appearance feature selection means 18. The communication target selecting means 109 included in the communication partner specifying device A shown in FIG. 15, the communication target selecting means 209 included in the communication partner specifying device B, and the communication target selecting means 309 included in the communication partner specifying device C are shown in FIG. This corresponds to the communication target selection means 19.

  Below, the difference of the structure of FIG. 13 and FIG. 16 is demonstrated. The communication target selection unit 19 selects a communication partner based on the relative position data calculated by the relative position calculation unit 17 based on the relative position data calculated by the relative position calculation unit 17 from the region where the other communication device exists detected by the imaging region detection unit 16. For the selected communication partner, the pair of the feature of the external shape extracted by the external feature extraction unit 12 and the relative position calculated by the relative position calculation unit 17 stored in the storage unit 14 is stored in the communication device 11. Send.

  The communication device 11 broadcasts the pair of the feature of the external shape and the relative position selected by the communication target selection unit 19 and the identification ID for identifying the communication device 11 of the own device to surrounding vehicles.

  The communication partner specifying apparatus according to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 16 is constructed as hardware. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the communication partner specifying program is installed in the computer constituting the communication partner specifying apparatus shown in FIG. By incorporating and reading the communication partner specifying program by the CPU of the computer and executing it, the imaging region detection means 16, the control means 10, the appearance feature extraction means 12, the appearance feature comparison means 13, and the relative position The calculation unit 17, the appearance feature selection unit 18, and the communication target selection unit 19 may be configured to execute functions.

  Next, an example of a communication partner specifying method for mounting the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 16 on the vehicle as the own device and identifying the relative position between the communication specifying devices mounted on the host device. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 8, 15, and 17. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the fourth embodiment, the communication partner is specified even when another device is present behind, diagonally backward, or diagonally forward of the own device. In FIG. 8, the communication partner specifying device of FIG. 7 mounted on the vehicle as its own device is used as its own communication device A, and the communication partner specifying device of FIG. In FIG. 8, in addition to the other communication device B of the communication partner, there is a communication partner specifying device C in FIG. 7 mounted on a vehicle traveling diagonally rearward or a vehicle traveling diagonally forward. , D, and E exist.

  In the communication partner specifying method using the communication partner specifying device shown in FIG. 16, the processing procedure performed by the own communication device A is the same as that in the second embodiment. The processing procedure of the other communication apparatus B will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  Since steps S60 to S72 in FIG. 17 are the same as steps S10 to S22 in FIG. 10, steps S73 to S77 will be described.

  In step S73 of FIG. 17, the communication target selection unit 109 of the own communication device A stores all the data stored in the storage unit 104 based on the relative position condition of the other communication device B designated from the external device via the control unit 100. The relative position of the vehicle that matches the relative position condition and the feature of the external shape of the vehicle that is the pair are selected from the relative positions of the surrounding vehicles.

  Next, the communication means 101 of the own communication device A uses the relative position and the vehicle characteristic pair data, and the identification ID data for identifying the communication means 101 of the own communication device A as the other communication devices B, Broadcast to C, D, E (step S74 in FIG. 17).

  Next, in the other communication devices B, C, D and E, the procedure shown in FIG. 14 is executed (from step S40 to step S50).

  Finally, in step S75 of FIG. 17, the own communication device A compares the comparison of the features of the external shape of the other peripheral communication devices B, C, D, and E with each communication device B, C, D, E. Is received via the communication means 101.

  The control unit 100 of the own communication apparatus A stores the identification ID of the other communication apparatus B whose received external shape feature comparison results match in the storage unit 104 (steps S76 and S77 in FIG. 17).

  According to the fourth embodiment, the own communication device A broadcasts the feature of the external shape of the other communication device extracted from the peripheral image of the own device and the data of the relative position to the other communication device in the vicinity. Other peripheral communication devices located in the own communication device A classify the features of the external shape extracted from images taken from various relative positions, hold them in advance for each relative position, and receive the relative received from the own communication device A. Using the position data, the feature data of the appearance shape of the own device is selected, the feature of the selected appearance shape is compared with the feature of the appearance shape received from the own communication device A, and the comparison result is compared with the own communication device. Send to A. Then, the self-communication device A can identify the specific other communication device B that communicated, the feature of the external shape, and the relative position based on the received comparison result.

Further, the other communication device B can identify the communication partner (self-communication device A) and its relative position in an arbitrary positional relationship by calculating the received relative position in reverse.
(Embodiment 5)

  As shown in FIG. 18, the communication partner identifying apparatus according to the fifth embodiment includes a control unit 20, a communication unit 21, an appearance feature extraction unit 22, an appearance feature comparison unit 23, and a storage unit 24. The control unit 20, the communication unit 21, the appearance feature extraction unit 22, the appearance feature comparison unit 23, and the storage unit 24 are connected to each other by a system bus.

  The control means 20 controls the operations of the communication means 21, appearance feature extraction means 22, appearance feature comparison means 23, and storage means 24. Further, the control means 21 has an interface with an external device (not shown), and receives an image around the device and various sensor information via the interface, and transmits data such as a communication partner identification result. . Further, the control unit 20 identifies another device of the communication partner based on the comparison result transmitted from the appearance feature comparison unit 23.

  For example, a camera is used as an external device that captures an image around the device itself. When the device (external device) is an automobile, the camera (external device) is attached to the rear, and images other vehicles traveling directly behind and obliquely behind the vehicle. In addition, the camera is attached to a posture that makes a round around the vehicle and images the surrounding situation. Since a general technique is applied to a camera that captures the periphery of its own device, a detailed description of its configuration and imaging method is omitted.

  The communication means 21 transmits and receives the extracted appearance shape feature data, appearance shape feature comparison result data, and the like using communication standards such as IEEE802.11b and UWB.

  The appearance feature extraction unit 22 extracts the feature of the appearance shape of the other device that is reflected in the image around the own device received by the control unit 20 from the external device. An image obtained by imaging the periphery of the own apparatus includes not only other apparatuses but also an unnecessary background. Therefore, the appearance feature extraction unit 22 cuts out the target other device from the image, and extracts the feature of the appearance shape of the other device from the cut out image. Since a general technique is applied to a configuration and method for extracting features of another target device from an image, detailed description of the configuration and extraction method is omitted. The appearance feature extraction unit 22 transmits the extracted feature data of the external shape of the other device to the communication unit 21.

  The appearance feature comparison unit 23 receives the feature of the other device extracted by the appearance feature extraction unit 22 of the communication partner received by the communication unit 21 and the feature of the appearance shape of the own device stored in the storage unit 24. And the comparison result is transmitted to the communication partner by the communication means 21.

Appearance feature comparison means 23 communicates with the communication partner if the feature of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by appearance feature extraction means 22 of the communication partner matches the feature of the appearance shape of its own device stored in storage means 24. The communication means 21 transmits a comparison result that the object reflected in the image taken by the camera is its own device to the communication partner.
The appearance feature comparison unit 23 determines whether or not the feature of the external shape of the other device extracted by the appearance feature extraction unit 22 of the communication partner and the feature of the external shape of the own device stored in the storage unit 24 do not match. The communication means 21 transmits the comparison result that the target object reflected in the image taken by is not its own device to the communication partner.

  In addition, since a general technique is applied to the comparison between the feature of the external shape of the own device read from the storage unit 24 and the feature of the external shape of the device transmitted from the external feature extraction unit 22, Detailed description of the configuration and comparison method is omitted.

  The storage unit 24 provides a work storage area required when the control unit 20, the communication unit 21, the appearance feature unit 22, and the appearance feature comparison unit 23 execute operations. In addition, the storage unit 24 stores data of features of the external shape of the own device.

  In addition, although the communication partner specific apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention shown in FIG. 1 was constructed | assembled as hardware, it is not restricted to this. The communication partner specifying apparatus according to the first embodiment may be constructed as software. In this case, a communication partner specifying program is incorporated in the computer constituting the communication partner specifying apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and the computer is read out and executed by the CPU of the computer, so that the control means 20 and The external feature extraction unit 22 and the external feature comparison unit 23 are configured to execute functions.

  Next, a communication partner specifying method for specifying a communication partner using the communication partner specifying apparatus shown in FIG. 18 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the fifth embodiment, as a self-other device, a vehicle traveling on a road is used, and the communication partner identifying device shown in FIG. 18 is mounted on each vehicle to identify other communication devices communicating with the self-communication device. Will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 19, in the fifth embodiment, in addition to the case where one other device exists right behind the own device, the communication partner can be changed even when another other device exists diagonally behind the own device. It is something to identify.

  The communication partner specifying device mounted on the own device will be described as self communication device A, and the communication partner specifying device mounted on the other device will be described as other communication devices B and C.

  In FIG. 19, it is assumed that a communication path R is formed between the own communication device A and the other communication device B. The same applies when a communication path is formed between the own communication device A and the other communication device C instead of the other communication device B.

  The control unit 20 of the other communication device B that is the communication partner of the own communication device A, the external shape information of the own vehicle, the other communication device B, and the own communication device A stored in the storage unit 124 shown in FIG. The information of the identification ID that uniquely identifies is transmitted to the communication apparatus A through the communication means 21 (step S80 in FIG. 20).

  When the control unit 20 of the own communication device A receives the information regarding the external shape feature and the identification ID of the other communication device B from the other communication device B via the communication unit 21, the control unit 20 displays the information regarding the external shape as the external feature comparison unit. 23 and information about the identification ID is stored in the storage means 24 (step S81 in FIG. 21).

  The control unit 20 acquires information about an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the self-communication device A from an external device, and transmits the image information to the appearance feature extraction unit 22 (step S82 in FIG. 21).

  The appearance feature extraction means 22 uses the work storage area of the storage means 24 to extract the feature of the appearance shape of the other communication device (B or C) reflected in the image from the image provided by the control means 20, The extracted feature data of the appearance shape is transmitted to the appearance feature comparison means 23 (step S83 in FIG. 21).

  The appearance feature comparison means 23 uses the work storage area of the storage means 24 to receive the data relating to the feature of the appearance shape of the other communication device B received via the communication means 21 and the feature of the appearance shape extracted by the appearance feature extraction means 22. (Step S84 in FIG. 21).

  In step S85 of FIG. 21, when the comparison with the feature of the appearance shape in the appearance feature comparison unit 23 does not match (step S85; NO), the control unit 20 repeatedly executes the processing from step S80 to step S85.

  In step S85 of FIG. 21, if the comparison of the feature of the appearance shape in the appearance feature comparison unit 23 matches (step S85; YES), the control unit 20 and the other communication device B having the feature of the matching appearance shape. Then, the identification ID of the communication partner (other communication apparatus B) received via the communication means 21 is associated (step S86 in FIG. 21).

  Accordingly, the control unit 20 of the own communication device A performs necessary communication between the communication unit 21 of the own communication device A and the communication unit 21 of the other communication device B that is a communication partner.

  According to the fifth embodiment, the feature of the external shape of the other communication device extracted from the image obtained by photographing the periphery of the communication device is compared with the feature of the external shape of the communication partner received from the other communication device of the communication partner. Thus, the communication partner and the other communication device can be associated with each other.

  Furthermore, in order to identify the other communication device by obtaining information on the external shape characteristics of the other communication device from the other communication device of the communication partner, accurately identify the other communication device communicating with the own communication device without misidentifying can do. In addition, since the information of the external shape that identifies the other communication device is acquired from the communication partner, the amount of information that the own communication device should have can be minimized.

  In addition, although the above embodiment demonstrated the example which mounts the communication partner specific apparatus which concerns on this invention in a vehicle, and specifies a communication partner between vehicles, it is not restricted to this. The communication partner identification device according to the present invention is incorporated into a device other than a vehicle, for example, a public transportation or a mobile phone, as long as it is necessary to identify the communication partner, and directly without using a network. The present invention can also be applied to communication, and its application range is wide.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the communication device of the communication partner can be accurately identified by using the image of the appearance of the communication device. Also, by calculating the relative position of the communication partner from the image, the positional relationship with the communication device of the communication partner can be specified with high accuracy. Moreover, it is possible to communicate only with a specific communication device by broadcasting an image of the appearance of the communication device that has communicated.

It is a block diagram explaining the operation | movement which specifies a communicating party using the communicating party identification device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communicating party specific device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the positional relationship of a some communicating party specific device. It is a flowchart explaining the communicating party identification method which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the communicating party identification method which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the operation | movement which specifies a communication other party using the communication partner specific device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communicating party specific device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the positional relationship of a some communicating party specific device. It is a figure explaining the process which calculates a relative position. It is a flowchart explaining the communicating party identification method which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the communicating party identification method which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the operation | movement which specifies a communication other party using the communication partner specific device which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communicating party specific device which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the communicating party identification method which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the operation | movement which specifies a communication other party using the communication partner specific device which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communicating party specific device which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the communicating party identification method which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communicating party specific device which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the positional relationship of a some communicating party specific device. It is a flowchart explaining the communicating party identification method which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the communicating party identification method which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 302, 502, 602 Control means 101, 303, 503, 603 Communication means 102, 304, 504, 604 Appearance feature extraction means 103, 303, 505, 605 Appearance feature comparison means 307 Relative position calculation means,
608 appearance feature selection means,
609 communication target selection means

Claims (18)

A communication partner identifying device that is arranged in each of its own other devices and identifies other devices as communication partners from any other devices located around the own device,
A communication means for exchanging information between itself and other devices;
Appearance feature extraction means for analyzing an image obtained by photographing the appearance shape of another device located in the periphery of the own device, and extracting features of the appearance shape of the other device from the image;
Appearance feature comparison means for comparing the appearance shape information extracted by the appearance feature extraction means of the own device and the features of the appearance shape possessed by the other device;
An apparatus for identifying a communication partner, comprising: an identification unit that identifies another device of a communication partner based on a comparison result transmitted from an appearance feature comparison unit of the other device. The communication unit of the own device transmits the feature data of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by the appearance feature extraction unit of the own device to the other device, and receives the comparison result by the appearance feature comparison unit of the other device. The communication partner specifying device according to 1. An imaging region detecting means for analyzing position data of another device in an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the own device;
The communication partner identification device according to claim 1, further comprising a relative position calculation unit that calculates a relative position of the other device with respect to the own device based on position data of the other device. Appearance feature selection means for selecting feature data of the appearance shape corresponding to the relative position using the information on the relative position as a key, and transmitting the feature data of the selected appearance shape to appearance feature extraction means of another device, The communication partner specifying device according to claim 3. The communication partner specifying device according to claim 3, further comprising: a communication target selecting unit that selects a communication partner based on the information on the relative position and transmits information on the selected communication partner to a communication unit of the own device. A communication partner specifying method for specifying another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the own device,
An external feature extraction step of analyzing an image obtained by photographing the external shape of another device located in the periphery of the device, and extracting features of the external shape of the other device from the image;
Appearance feature comparison step for comparing the appearance shape information extracted by the appearance feature extraction means of the own device with the features of the appearance shape possessed by the other device,
An identification step for identifying the other device of the communication partner based on the comparison result transmitted from the appearance feature comparison means of the other device. The communication partner specifying method according to claim 6, wherein the feature data of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by the own device is transmitted to the other device, and the appearance feature comparison result in the other device is received. An imaging region detection step for analyzing position data of another device in an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the device;
The communication partner identification method according to claim 6, wherein a relative position calculation step of calculating a relative position of the other device with respect to the own device is executed based on the position data of the other device. The feature data of the appearance shape corresponding to the relative position is selected using the information on the relative position as a key, and the feature of the appearance shape is compared based on the feature data of the selected appearance shape. Communication partner identification method. The communication partner specifying method according to claim 8, wherein a communication partner is selected based on the information on the relative position, and the information is transmitted to the selected communication partner. To a computer that constitutes a communication partner specifying device that specifies another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the device itself,
A function of analyzing an image of the external shape of another device located in the periphery of the own device, and extracting features of the external shape of the other device from the image;
A function for comparing the appearance shape information extracted by the appearance feature extraction means of the own device with the feature of the appearance shape possessed by the other device;
A program for identifying a communication partner, which executes a function of identifying another device of a communication partner based on a comparison result transmitted from an appearance feature comparison unit of the other device. In the computer,
The communication partner specifying program according to claim 11, wherein the function for transmitting the feature data of the appearance shape of the other device extracted by the own device is transmitted to the other device and the function of receiving the appearance feature comparison result by the other device is executed. . In the computer,
A function for analyzing the position data of other devices in an image of the periphery of the device,
The communication partner specifying program according to claim 11, wherein a function for calculating a relative position of the other device with respect to the own device is executed based on the position data of the other device. In the computer,
The feature data of the appearance shape corresponding to the relative position is selected using the information on the relative position as a key, and the function of comparing the feature of the appearance shape is executed based on the feature data of the selected appearance shape. 13. A communication partner specifying program according to 13. In the computer,
The communication partner specifying program according to claim 13, wherein a communication partner is selected based on the information on the relative position, and a function of transmitting information to the selected communication partner is executed. A communication partner identifying device that is arranged in each of its own other devices and identifies other devices as communication partners from any other devices located around the own device,
A communication means for exchanging information between itself and other devices;
Appearance feature extraction means for analyzing an image obtained by photographing the appearance shape of another device located in the periphery of the own device, and extracting features of the appearance shape of the other device from the image;
Appearance feature comparison means for comparing the appearance shape information extracted by the appearance feature extraction means of the own device and the feature of the appearance shape acquired from another device;
An apparatus for identifying a communication partner, comprising: an identification unit that identifies another device of a communication partner based on a comparison result transmitted from the appearance feature comparison unit. A communication partner specifying method for specifying another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the own device,
An external feature extraction step of analyzing an image obtained by photographing the external shape of another device located in the periphery of the device, and extracting features of the external shape of the other device from the image;
Appearance feature comparison step for comparing the appearance shape information extracted by the own device with the features of the appearance shape obtained from another device;
An identification step of identifying another device of the communication partner based on the comparison result. To a computer that constitutes a communication partner specifying device that specifies another device as a communication partner from any other device located around the device itself,
A function of analyzing an image of the external shape of another device located in the periphery of the own device, and extracting features of the external shape of the other device from the image;
A function for comparing the external shape information extracted by the own device with the features of the external shape acquired from another device;
And a function for identifying another device of a communication partner based on the comparison result.

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