JP2010129032A - Device and program for retrieving image - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for retrieving an image on which a subject is taken by specifying the position of the subject. <P>SOLUTION: An image acquiring section 1 acquires image data, photographing position information of the image data and the photographing direction range information, and a data accumulating section 2 accumulates the data. When a position specifying section 3 inputs the position of a retrieving object specified by the user, a data retrieving section 4 retrieves the image data whose specified position is included in the image from the data accumulating section 2 based on the photographing position information and the photographing direction range information of the image data. A data display section 5 displays the retrieved image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image search apparatus and an image search program for searching for stored images.

  As described in Patent Document 1, there is a conventional technique for recording position information obtained from GPS (Global Positioning System) in synchronization with image information.

  When recording image data, a specification called “Exif” is defined and widely used in practice. However, in the Exif, the recording format of GPS position information (latitude, longitude, moving direction, etc.) at the time of shooting is also available. (See Non-Patent Document 1, page 55). Devices that take image data to which position information is assigned based on this format are also commercially available. Non-patent document 1 can be downloaded from “http://it.jeita.or.jp/document/publica/standard/exif/japanese/Exifj.pdf”.

  When collecting a plurality of Exif format image data with position information, which is taken by such a device, and storing it in a server, the Exif format is analyzed to extract latitude and longitude information, and the image data ID (or file) Name) and position information are managed by a database, and an image search device is configured to search and display only image data taken at a position specified by the user (or within a certain distance from the specified position). It was possible.

  Another method for users to search from an image database in which a large number of image data is stored is to search for the tag by adding information to the stored image (commonly called "tagging"). A method of performing a search by doing so is also known. For example, there is a system that provides a service in which image data tagged with “Mt. Fuji” is searched when a keyword “Mt. Fuji” is input to perform a search.

  As image data, it is possible to acquire image data having a wide angle, that is, including a large number of subjects, by photographing with a camera equipped with a wide-angle lens or a fish-eye lens.

Further, as described in the fourth to sixth paragraphs and FIG. 4 of Patent Document 2, instead of using such a lens, a camera photographed from the same point is rotated horizontally or vertically. Similarly, panoramic image data including a large number of subjects can be acquired by synthesizing the obtained images.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-123348 JP-A-11-15593 "Image file format standard for digital still cameras (Exif) Version 2.1", Japan Electronics Industry Development Association, revised in December 1998, P.55

  However, it is the position of the photographed camera that is managed by these conventional techniques, not the position of the subject. Therefore, the user cannot search the image data obtained by photographing a specific subject by designating the position where the subject exists.

  When the subject is not so far away from the camera, the target position is approximated as the position of the camera, and an appropriate threshold value is set to obtain a substantially desired effect (search result of a specific subject). Can do. For example, if an image photographed at a position within 30 m from a specific power pole position is retrieved, it is possible to retrieve image data that is likely to be photographed. However, this method has a problem that, for example, an image taken with the utility pole in the back (of course, the utility pole is not shown) is included in the search results.

  That is, in such a conventional technique, there is a problem that an image in which a subject to be searched is not included is included in the search result.

  In the tagging method, a search can be performed regardless of the distance between the camera and the subject. For this purpose, tagging of the subject must be performed when data is accumulated. However, in general, an image shot normally includes a large number of subjects, but it is difficult to add all of them as tags. In particular, a subject that is unintentionally captured by the photographer (for example, a utility pole that happens to be captured when Mt. Fuji is photographed) is not tagged and is not included in the search results.

  That is, in such a conventional technique, there is a problem that an image showing a subject to be searched is not included in the search result.

  In addition to the problem of whether or not it is included in the search results as described above, especially in the case of an image including a large number of subjects such as a wide-angle or panoramic image, where the search target is included in the image. There is also a problem that identification is difficult.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a system that can search for an image showing a subject by specifying the subject position rather than the camera position.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention stores information about the shooting position (latitude and longitude) of the camera and the shooting direction (left and right) as additional information for an image. When the position (longitude / latitude) of the shooting target is specified, an image showing the specified shooting target is retrieved from the camera position and shooting direction.

  That is, the present invention provides an image acquisition unit that acquires imaging position information and imaging direction range information of image data together with image data, a data storage unit that stores data acquired by the image acquisition unit, and a search target A position specifying unit that inputs and specifies the position of an object from an input device, and whether or not the position specified by the position specifying unit is included in the image of the image data is stored in the data storage unit together with the image data. A data retrieval unit that retrieves image data in which the designated position is included in the image from the data storage unit, and the retrieved image data is displayed based on the obtained photographing position information and photographing direction range information And a data display unit for outputting to the apparatus.

  As a result, the present invention can search for an image in which the subject is captured by specifying the subject position rather than the camera position.

  In the above invention, the data search unit includes a condition for searching for image data based on the shooting position information and the shooting direction range information, that is, the position specified by the position specifying unit is included in the image of the image data. As a condition for determining whether or not the specified position is between the left end direction and the right end direction of the image, and the specified position is within a predetermined distance from the shooting position. Can be used.

  The predetermined distance may be determined in advance, or may be specified by the user in advance or at the time of search. As a result, it is possible to select an image with a high probability that the search object is reflected without tagging the image.

  In the above invention, the data display unit displays the image data retrieved by the data retrieval unit with a mark in a direction indicating the designated position in the image when the image data is displayed on a display device. It is also suitable. As a result, when the search result image is an image including a large number of subjects, such as a wide-angle or panoramic image, the user can easily identify where the search object is included in the image. become.

  In the above invention, when the data display unit displays the image data searched by the data search unit on a display device, the direction indicating the designated position in the image has a predetermined offset on the display screen. It is also preferable that the display position is adjusted so that the display position is adjusted. As a result, the search object can be displayed at a fixed position on the display screen, and particularly when a large number of search results are output, the search object can be displayed in an easy-to-see manner.

  In the above invention, the data display unit sorts the directions from the shooting position to the designated position in a predetermined order when displaying the image data searched by the data search unit on a display device. It is also suitable to display. This makes it easier to grasp the directional positional relationship between the camera and each search object in each image, particularly when many search results are output.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily search for an image showing a shooting target to be searched from the position of the shooting target.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image acquisition unit 1 is means for acquiring image position information and image direction range information of image data together with image data. The data storage unit 2 stores the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 1, and shooting position information and shooting direction range information as additional information thereof. The position designation unit 3 is a means for designating an image to be retrieved by inputting the position of a retrieval object designated by the user from an input device. The data search unit 4 is a unit that searches the data storage unit 2 for image data in which the position specified by the position specifying unit 3 is included in the image. The data search unit 4 includes a shooting position / direction determination unit 41, and determines whether or not the position specified by the position specification unit 3 is included in the image. This is determined by determining the search condition. The data display unit 5 is means for displaying the data searched by the data search unit 4 on a display device.

  Note that the input device for inputting the specified position by the position specifying unit 3 and the display device of the display destination for displaying the data by the data display unit 5 may be terminals connected via a network.

  First, a configuration example of the image acquisition unit 1 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the image acquisition unit 1 in the present embodiment.

  As an image, position, and direction information input method in the image acquisition unit 1, for example, a method using a sensor as shown in FIG. 2A or a device mounted on a vehicle as shown in FIG. 2B is used. The method can be used.

  In FIG. 2A, a digital camera 102 is used as an apparatus for acquiring an image, and a GPS apparatus 101 is used for acquiring a position. Furthermore, for obtaining the direction, sensors capable of detecting the direction such as a gyroscope or a geomagnetic sensor 103 are commercially available. These sensors are attached to the digital camera 102 and synchronized with the image acquisition by the digital camera 102. The direction can also be acquired. The acquired information is recorded in the memory card 104 and is taken into the processing personal computer (PC) 10 via the memory card 104 or via a wired or wireless interface.

  In the following, the direction will be described using a notation as shown in FIG. That is, in the present embodiment, the direction is described with the true north direction being 0 degrees and the clockwise direction described by the angle from the true north direction. For example, the southeast direction of D1 shown in FIG. 3 is 135 degrees, and the west direction of D2 is described as 270 degrees.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2B, a method is used in which the GPS device 112 and the digital camera 113 are fixedly installed on a vehicle 111 (assuming an automobile) and image data is acquired as the vehicle 111 moves. The direction is obtained as follows.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of acquiring a direction by a device mounted on the vehicle. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the vehicle 111 is viewed from directly above. It is assumed that the digital camera 113 is fixed and attached at α degrees (α = 90 in this example) with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 111. The image is acquired by the digital camera 113 and the position is acquired by the GPS device 112.

  From the difference between the current position acquired by the GPS device 112 and the previous position, if the difference is not zero, the moving direction between them can be calculated. Since the GPS position acquisition cycle (usually about one second) is shorter than the time for the vehicle 111 to change direction, there is no practical problem even if the direction obtained by this difference is approximated as the direction of the vehicle 111 at that moment. . The difference is zero when the vehicle 111 is stopped, but the vehicle 111 (assuming an automobile) cannot be changed only in the direction without changing the position, so it can be obtained from the latest non-zero difference. You can use direction. In this way, the direction of the vehicle 111 can be obtained from only the GPS data.

Since the digital camera 113 is fixedly installed on the vehicle 111, the direction of the digital camera 113 with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 111 is not changed. Therefore, the direction of the digital camera 113 is calculated by adding the value. Is possible. For example, in the case of FIG. 4B, if the vehicle traveling direction obtained from the GPS movement difference is t degrees, the shooting direction of the digital camera 113 is
Shooting direction = (t + α) mod 360 degrees. Here, “mod 360” is a remainder when divided by 360.

  As described in Non-Patent Document 1, since the Exif format also defines a format for storing the traveling direction and the direction of the captured image in addition to the position information, these data are stored in the Exif format. Can be stored in the memory card 114 together with the image data.

  The image data, position data, and camera direction data acquired in this way are sent to the processing PC 10 for calculating the direction range through the memory cards 104 and 114 and the like, and the direction range calculation unit 11 uses the camera horizontal image. The calculation of the direction range from the corner is performed. Of course, it is also possible to configure so that the calculations so far are performed simultaneously with photographing on a small portable PC.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method for acquiring the image capturing direction range. In general, the angle of view of the range of a scene captured in an image taken by a camera is called an angle of view. This value is determined by the structure of the camera and the attached lens. Therefore, the direction range calculation unit 11 can calculate the left end direction and the right end direction for indicating the direction range based on the value of the angle of view as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, it is assumed that the shooting direction of the camera is a degree and the horizontal angle of view of the camera is s degree. The left end direction and the right end direction of the image can be obtained from the equations shown in FIG. That is, the left end direction is “(as−2) mod 360 degrees” when viewed from the camera center. The right end direction is “(a + s / 2) mod 360 degrees” when viewed from the camera center.

  In the configuration of the image acquisition unit 1, a panorama composition unit 12 can be provided as an option. The panorama synthesizing unit 12 panorama synthesizes a plurality of images by the method of Patent Document 2 to obtain a wider-angle image. In this case, since it is known which images were combined in the panorama creation process, the left end direction of the panoramic image finally obtained by holding the maximum value and the minimum value in the left end direction and the right end direction, The right end direction can be obtained.

  As described above, the image acquisition unit 1 acquires the image data, the position (latitude and longitude) of the image, and the directions of the left end and the right end of the image.

  FIG. 6 shows an example in which the configuration other than the image acquisition unit 1 in the present embodiment is realized by a single computer.

  A computer 60 used in the present embodiment includes a hard disk device (HDD) 20 for storing digital data such as images, in addition to a CPU and a memory necessary for executing an operation according to an instruction, and a user. A display 50 for displaying information and a pointing device 30 such as a mouse for the user to input information.

  First, a configuration example of the data storage unit 2 will be described. The data storage unit 2 can be realized as the HDD 20, an input / output function for controlling the HDD 20, and a database management system (DBMS) 21 that is generally available on the market. That is, the image data obtained by the image acquisition unit 1 is stored in a specific folder on the HDD 20 as, for example, a file in JPEG format, and the shooting position information and shooting direction information are stored on the DBMS 21 as shown in FIG. It can be realized as a table.

  The table shown in FIG. 7 is a position / direction information management table for storing image data and position information / direction information. In this example, the image data itself is stored in a specific folder in the JPEG format, and the implementation method for storing the image file name instead of the image data is described. However, the binary data itself of the image data is described. Can be stored in the DBMS 21.

  Next, a configuration example of the position specifying unit 3 will be described. Since it is necessary for the position specifying unit 3 to specify the position where the subject to be searched is located by latitude and longitude, the simplest embodiment is that a numerical value can be directly input by a keyboard connected to the computer 60. Good.

  As a more practical example of the position specifying unit 3, map data is displayed on the display 50, and search is performed by specifying an enlargement / reduction / scroll display, an address, a landmark, or the like by a user operation. There is also a way to use software that can do this. There are many such softwares available on the market as digital map software.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of a position designation information input screen by the position designation unit 3. FIG. 9 shows a process flowchart of the position specifying unit 3.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the position designation unit 3 displays a map of the designated position on the screen and expands the function of the digital map software to display a specific menu such as “subject search”, for example. When the user selects the “subject search” menu, the subject search menu state is set (step S10). When the user clicks on the screen with a pointing device 30 such as a mouse in this state, the position specifying unit 3 is displayed on the screen. The latitude and longitude on the map are obtained from the mouse position (step S11). Next, the position specifying unit 3 calls the data search unit 4 and passes the specified latitude and longitude to the data search unit 4 (step S12). The conversion from the position of the pointer on the display 50 to the position on the map (latitude and longitude) is performed by the digital map software holding the display state at that time as a conversion parameter, and can be converted using this function. it can.

  Next, a configuration example of the data search unit 4 will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a conversion method from a latitude / longitude to a local orthogonal coordinate system, and FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of a search condition.

  First, the data search unit 4 needs to obtain a direction and a distance from two latitudes and longitudes. For exact calculation, it is necessary to analyze the exact shape of the earth. In FIG. 10, the approximation method is described. That is, the earth can be regarded as a sphere with a circumference of 40,000 km. In a local range (for example, a range within 10 km from the base point), the surface of the sphere can be approximated as a plane. In this case, the distance and direction can be obtained by the following calculation formula. In the following, trigonometric functions such as cos and arctan are described as being calculated by the 360 degree method, not by the radians angle.

Let P _{0 be} the base point on the map, the latitude be α, and the longitude be β. Let P ₁ be a target point, and let its latitude be φ and longitude be ψ. If the distance of one round of the earth is E _r [m], the distance per longitude at the base point P ₀ is E _r × cos (α) × 1/360 m, and the distance per latitude 1 degree is E _r × 1/360 m.

A north-south direction distance D _n from the base point P ₀ to the target point P ₁ (the north direction is positive) is obtained by the following equation.

D _n (φ) = E _r × (φ−α) / 360
The distance D _{e in} the east-west direction from the base point P ₀ to the target point P ₁ (the east direction is positive) is obtained by the following equation.

D _e (ψ) = E _r × cos (α) × (ψ−β) / 360
A distance D from the base point P ₀ to the target point P ₁ is obtained by the following equation.

D (φ, φ) = E _r × (D _n (φ) ² + D _e (φ) ² ) ^1/2
A direction θ (see the notation in FIG. 3) from the base point P ₀ to the target point P ₁ is obtained by the following equation.

・ When D _e ≠ 0 (that is, when ψ ≠ β)
θ (φ, ψ) = arctan (D _n (φ) / D _e (ψ))
・ When D _e = 0 (that is, when ψ = β)
θ (φ, ψ) = 0 degrees (true north) or θ (φ, ψ) = 180 degrees (true south)
At this time, whether θ is 0 degrees or 180 degrees can be determined by the magnitude relationship between φ and α.

Since the direction θ ′ from the target point P ₁ to the base point P ₀ changes in direction from θ by 180 degrees, it is as follows.

θ ′ (φ, ψ) = (θ (φ, ψ) +180) mod 360
In the data search unit 4, it is necessary to determine whether or not the position where each image data is specified is included in the image direction range when searching for image data. As shown in FIG. 11A, the camera position is (C _x , C _y ), the left end direction of the image is T _l , and the right end direction is T _r . Also, the designated position designated by the user is (α, β). In the determination by the data search unit 4, it is necessary to consider the possibility that the image direction range crosses 0 degrees (true north direction) as shown in FIG. The case of FIG. 11A will be described as Case 1, and the case of FIG. 11B will be described as Case 2.

As conditions for the search, for example, a direction condition (condition 1) and a distance condition (condition 2) are used.
[Condition 1]: The designated position is in the range of the left end direction and the right end direction as viewed from the camera.
[Condition 2]: The designated position is within the distance R as seen from the camera (R is a threshold value).

In condition 1, it is determined whether θ ′ (C _X , C _y ) is between the left end direction and the right end direction. Therefore, in Case 1 (when T _l <T _r ), it is determined whether or not the following conditional expression is satisfied.

T _l ≦ θ ′ (C _X , C _y ) ≦ T _r
In Case 2 (when T ₁ > T _r ; when crossing 0 degree), it is determined whether or not the following conditional expression is satisfied.

T _l ≦ θ ′ (C _X , C _y ) <360 or 0 ≦ θ ′ (C _X , C _y ) ≦ T _r
Further, since condition 2 is whether or not the designated position is within the distance R when viewed from the camera, it is determined whether or not the following conditional expression is satisfied.

D (φ, ψ) ≦ R
As described above, the distance is set with a certain threshold value R as a condition. However, this R may be appropriately set according to the purpose of carrying out the present invention, and is input by the user at every search. You may be able to do it. When the user can input R, for example, the value of R can be input as a submenu of the subject search menu on the screen shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is a process flowchart of the data search unit 4 that searches for image data in accordance with the above search conditions.

  First, the data search unit 4 acquires the latitude α and longitude β of the specified position from the argument received from the position specifying unit 3 (step S20). Next, from the acquired latitude α and longitude β, an SQL statement is set so that a record search is performed with the distance condition (the above condition 2) as the WHERE clause of SQL (search language) (step S21). The set SQL sentence is sent to the DBMS 21 constituting the data storage unit 2, and a search for image data in which the designated position is imaged is requested (step S22).

Next, the repetition process of steps S231 to S233 is executed for each of the search results from the DBMS 21 (step S23). The search result is a record in the position / direction information management table shown in FIG. First, θ ′ (C _x , C _y ) is calculated from the left end direction T ₁ and the right end direction T _{r of} the search result (step S231). Next, it is determined whether or not the direction condition (the above condition 1) is satisfied (step S232). When the condition is satisfied, the determination target image data is left as a search result, and when the condition is not satisfied, the determination target image data is deleted from the search result (step S233). The above processing is repeated for all search results.

  Thereafter, the remaining search result data is transferred to the data display unit 5 (step S24).

FIG. 13 shows an example of a search result. For example, assume that the position of P ₀ is specified on the map as shown in FIG. Based on latitude and longitude information of the designated position P _0, within a certain distance R, the image which the designated position P ₀ is within the left and right ends of the range of the image, the position-direction shown in FIG. 7 It is retrieved from the information management table. In this example, three images R1, R2, and R3 are obtained as search results.

  Finally, a configuration example of the data display unit 5 will be described. FIG. 14 is a process flowchart of the data display unit 5. The display of images, the superimposition of other images, the designation of the display position, etc. used in this processing can be performed by using standard functions such as Windows (registered trademark) OS.

  First, the data display unit 5 sorts the search result data received from the data search unit 4 using θ ′ as a key (step S30). Thereafter, the processing of steps S311 to S314 is repeated for each data of the search result (step S31). This iterative process may be performed one image at a time in accordance with an instruction from the user, or the iterative process may be performed continuously to display a list of search result images, for example, as a thumbnail display. .

  In the iterative process, the image file is displayed based on the image file name in the search result data (step S311). Next, the number p of pixels from the left end of θ ′ in the image is obtained (step S312).

Here, a method for obtaining the number of pixels p will be described. As shown in the lower side of FIG. 14, the number of horizontal pixels in the entire image is PX. The method of obtaining is classified as follows according to the direction condition (condition 1).
・ Case 1 (when T _l ≦ θ ′ ≦ T _r )
p = PX × (θ′−T _l ) / (T _r −T _l )
Case 2-1 (when T _l > T _r and T _l ≦ θ ′ <360)
p = PX × (θ′−T _l ) / (T _r + 360−T _l )
Case 2-2 (when T _l > T _r and 0 ≦ θ ′ ≦ T _r )
p = PX × (θ ′ + 360−T _l ) / (T _r + 360−T _l )
When the number of pixels p is calculated by the above formula, a mark indicating the direction of the designated position is drawn at the position of p in the obtained image (step S313). Further, the display position of the image is shifted horizontally by (offset-p) pixels so that p is at the offset position of the display screen (step S314). If (offset-p) is positive, the image is shifted to the right. If (offset-p) is negative, the image is shifted to the left. In the iterative process, the above process is repeated for each search result image.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of adjusting the image display position. The horizontal width of the display frame is W _x pixels. The display frame is a display window or a simple display screen in Windows (registered trademark). “offset” indicates a reference in which position of the display frame an image is displayed, and the following method can be used for determining the offset.
[How to determine offset 1]
Fix the offset at the center of the screen. _Let offset = W _x / 2.
[How to decide offset 2]
Offset is always a fixed value. For example, offset = 100.
[How to decide offset 3]
Prior to display, the position specified by the user with the mouse is used. Let offset = (abscissa of the mouse pointer).

  The process of step S314 in FIG. 14 is a process of adjusting the display position so that the marks M1 and M2 are positioned at the offset position as shown in FIG.

Next, a display example by the data display unit 5 when the image data of the search results R1, R2, and R3 is obtained by the data search unit 4 at the user specified position P ₀ as shown in FIG. FIG. 16 shows.

The search results R1, R2, and R3 are sorted and displayed clockwise from the true north direction using the direction θ ′ from the designated position P ₀ to the shooting position as a key. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the search results R3 , The image of the search result R2, and the image of the search result R1 are displayed in this order. Note that the search results may be displayed not in the order of θ ′ but in the ascending order of θ in the opposite direction. Alternatively, it can be sorted clockwise or counterclockwise from directions other than the true north direction.

The upper and lower ends of each image search results, marks M11~M32 indicating the direction of the designated position P ₀ is given. Further, the image is displayed so that the positions of these marks M11 to M32 are matched with the offset indicating the display position within a predetermined display frame or the offset specified by the user.

  The above-described image search processing can be realized by a computer and a software program, and the program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium or provided through a network.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration other than the image acquisition unit 1 has been described as an example implemented by a single computer. However, the present invention can be easily applied to an embodiment in which each function is configured by a separate computer. it can.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image acquisition part in this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the notation about a direction. It is a figure explaining the acquisition method of the direction by the apparatus mounted in the vehicle. It is a figure explaining the acquisition method of the imaging direction range of an image. It is a figure which shows the example in the case of implement | achieving structures other than an image acquisition part in this Embodiment with one computer. It is a figure which shows the example of the position and direction information management table managed by DBMS. It is a figure which shows the example of the input screen of the position designation information by a position designation part. It is a process flowchart of a position designation part. It is a figure explaining the conversion method from the latitude longitude to a local orthogonal coordinate system. It is a figure explaining the example of search conditions. It is a processing flowchart of a data search part. It is a figure which shows the example of a search result. It is a process flowchart of a data display part. It is a figure which shows the example of adjustment of an image display position. It is a figure which shows the example of a display by a data display part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image acquisition part 2 Data storage part 3 Position designation part 4 Data search part 41 Shooting position and direction determination part 5 Data display part

Claims (6)

An image acquisition unit that acquires image data and shooting position information and shooting direction range information of the image data;
A data storage unit for storing data acquired by the image acquisition unit;
A position specification unit for specifying the position of the search object by inputting from the input device;
Whether the position specified by the position specifying unit is included in the image of the image data is determined based on shooting position information and shooting direction range information stored in the data storage unit together with the image data, A data search unit that searches the data storage unit for image data in which the designated position is included in an image;
An image search device comprising: a data display unit that outputs the searched image data to a display device. The image search device according to claim 1,
The condition that the data search unit searches for image data based on the shooting position information and the shooting direction range information is that the specified position is between the left end direction and the right end direction of the image and the specified The image search device is characterized in that the position is within a predetermined distance from the photographing position. In the image search device according to claim 1 or 2,
The data display unit includes means for adding and displaying a mark in a direction indicating the designated position in an image when displaying the image data searched by the data search unit on a display device. An image search device. In the image search device according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3,
The data display unit displays the image data retrieved by the data retrieval unit so that a direction indicating the designated position in the image is a predetermined offset position on a display screen when the image data is displayed on a display device. An image search apparatus comprising: means for adjusting and displaying a position. In the image search device according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3 or claim 4,
The data display unit includes means for sorting and displaying directions from a photographing position to the designated position in a predetermined order when displaying the image data retrieved by the data retrieval unit on a display device. An image search device characterized by the above.   The computer includes the image acquisition unit, the data storage unit, the position specifying unit, the data search unit, and the data provided in the image search device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An image search program for functioning as a display unit.

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