JP2012058353A - Image display device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique which reduces the possibility that an image is displayed in a position where the image and an observation object are viewed one over the other by an observer.SOLUTION: An image display device includes display control means for displaying an image on a display surface and acquisition means for acquiring position information showing a positional relation among the observation object, the display surface, and the observer of the observation object. The display control means displays the image on the outside of a prescribed region including an intersection between a line connecting the position of the observation object and the position of the observer and the display surface, on the basis of the position information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device and a control method thereof.

  Traditionally, as a method of presenting exhibits (observation objects) such as products to the viewer, a method of presenting the exhibit and the viewer separately with a transparent case such as a showcase or a transparent screen is generally used. It is used. In recent years, in addition to such a form, an image such as an advertisement is displayed on a transparent case or a transparent screen to enhance the advertising effect. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an example of an exhibition system that presents exhibits by such a method.

  In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 100 denotes a transparent screen. Reference numeral 101 denotes an observation object, which is placed on the pedestal 102 and presented to the observer through the transparent screen 100. Reference numerals 103, 104, and 105 denote observers. A projector 106 displays a projection image 107 on the transparent screen 100. Here, for example, by displaying information (such as a price) related to the observation object 101 as the projection image 107, the advertising effect of the observation object 101 can be enhanced for the observer.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an example of such an exhibition system. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for switching between a transparent state that is visible as if only an exhibit is present and an information display state that displays information including patterns and / or characters in a showcase. Yes.

  As a problem in such an exhibition system, when viewed from a certain viewpoint, the projected image 107 on the transparent screen 100 and the observation object 101 appear to overlap each other, and visibility is impaired. An example of a situation where visibility is impaired is shown in FIG. FIG.1 (b) is the top view which looked at the exhibition system from overhead. For example, assume that the projection image 107 is displayed at position A on the transparent screen 100. In this case, the observer 104 and the observer 105 can see both the observation object 101 and the projection image 107 without overlapping. However, when the observation object 101 is viewed from the observer 103, the projection image 107 exists in the middle of the line of sight, and these overlap.

  Patent Document 2 is known as a technique that considers an overlap between an image and an observation object. According to Patent Document 2, when observing a ticket through a transparent viewer, the position of the wireless tag attached to the ticket is detected, and a place where the ticket is seen through is set as a non-display area, and other than the non-display area The selected image is displayed in the display area. As a result, the user of the transparent viewer can simultaneously view the image and the ticket displayed so as not to overlap the ticket.

JP 2007-061446 A JP 2006-145922 A

  However, according to Patent Document 2, the portion closest to the ticket is set as a non-display area as a portion through which the ticket is seen. Therefore, when the technique of Patent Document 2 is applied to the display system of FIG. 1A, the position closest to the observation object 101 on the transparent screen 100 regardless of the position of the observer (position C shown in FIG. 1B). ) Is set in the non-display area. Therefore, depending on the position of the observer, the position C that does not interfere with the observation of the observation target is set as the non-display area, while the image is displayed at the position A where the observation target and the image appear to overlap. There is a possibility that. Similar problems may occur in an exhibition system in which the observation object and the viewer are on the same side of the screen.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for reducing the possibility that an image is displayed at a position where an image and an observation object appear to overlap with each other. And

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the first aspect of the present invention provides display control means for displaying an image on a display surface, and positional information representing a positional relationship between an observation object, the display surface, and an observer of the observation object. Acquisition means for acquiring, based on the position information, the display control means of a predetermined region including an intersection of a straight line connecting the position of the observation object and the position of the observer and the display surface An image display device characterized by displaying an image outside is provided.

  Other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following description of the preferred embodiments.

  With the above configuration, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the possibility that an image is displayed at a position where the image and the observation object appear to overlap with each other.

(A) is a figure which shows the exhibition system which displays an image on the transparent screen which separates an observation target object and an observer, (b) is a top view of the exhibition system shown to Fig.1 (a). (A) is a block diagram which shows the structure of the exhibition system 10 which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (b) is the concept which shows the intersection N which is a position which is not suitable for the display of an image in 1st Embodiment. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the image display apparatus 204 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) conceptually shows a plan view of the stereo imaging unit 309, (b) shows an example of an image obtained by the left imaging sensor 400, and (c) shows an image obtained by the right imaging sensor 401. An example of It is a flowchart which shows the image display process which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A)-(d) is a figure which shows the example of the display form of the image which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) is a block diagram which shows the structure of the exhibition system 20 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (b) is the concept which shows the intersection N which is a position which is not suitable for the display of an image in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the image display apparatus 700 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. (A) is a block diagram which shows the structure of the exhibition system 30 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, (b) is the concept which shows the intersection N which is a position unsuitable for the display of an image in 3rd Embodiment. FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The technical scope of the present invention is determined by the claims, and is not limited by the following individual embodiments. In addition, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the present invention.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the exhibition system 10 according to the first embodiment. The exhibition system 10 includes a showcase 200 having a transparent screen 100. The transparent screen 100 is configured so that the opposite side can be seen transparently from the display surface side (the right side of the transparent screen 100). Accordingly, the observer can transparently observe the observation object 101 that is the display object from the outside of the showcase 200 (the right side of the transparent screen 100).

  A marker 202 is added to the observation object 101 in the direction of the stereo camera 201, and a personal computer (PC) 203 described later can identify the observation object 101 by using the marker 202.

  The exhibition system 10 also includes an image display device 204 which is an example of the image display device of the present invention. The image display device 204 includes a projector 106, a stereo camera 201, and a PC 203.

  The projector 106 displays an image at an arbitrary place on the display surface of the transparent screen 100 (display unit) by projecting an image according to the control of the PC 203. The stereo camera 201 faces the transparent screen 100, and can photograph the observation object 101, the transparent screen 100, and the outside thereof. The PC 203 is connected to the stereo camera 201 and the projector 106. The PC 203 controls and calculates the image display device 204, analyzes the image captured by the stereo camera 201, and instructs the projector 106 about the position and content of the image to be displayed.

  In the present embodiment, the PC 203 and the projector 106 cooperate to function as display control means for displaying an image on the transparent screen 100. However, for example, using a transparent organic EL display instead of the transparent screen 100, the PC 203 may directly input an image signal to the organic EL display (without using the projector 106). In this case, the PC 203 functions alone as a display control unit.

  In the present embodiment, the PC 203 calculates the position of each subject such as the observer 103 (strictly, the relative position with respect to the stereo camera 201) by analyzing the image captured by the stereo camera 201. Accordingly, the PC 203 and the stereo camera 201 cooperate to function as a position detection unit that detects the position of each subject. The PC 203 also functions as an acquisition unit that acquires the position thus detected. However, the form of information (position information) related to “position” required in the present embodiment is not limited to this. If the position information is information indicating the positional relationship between the observation object 101, the transparent screen 100, and the observer, which is information necessary for determining whether the observation object 101 and the image appear to overlap each other. Good. Further, it is sufficient that the image display device 204 can finally acquire position information, and it is not essential to detect the position of each subject (that is, the stereo camera 201 is not an essential component). Therefore, for example, the position information obtained by a method such as detecting the position of the subject from information obtained by another camera or detecting the position corresponding to the wireless tag arranged at the corresponding position of the subject is stored in the server. The location information may be stored and the PC 203 may acquire the location information from the server via the network.

  When the image display device 204 is configured so as not to require the projector 106 and the stereo camera 201 as described above, the image display device of the present invention can be implemented by the PC 203 alone. Further, even a projector equipped with the function of the PC 203 can independently mount the image processing apparatus of the present invention. However, in this embodiment, an implementation that requires the projector 106 and the stereo camera 201 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the image display device 204. The PC 203 includes a bus 300, a CPU 301 connected thereto, a nonvolatile memory 302, a volatile memory 303, an operation input unit 304, a video output unit 305, and a communication unit 306.

  The CPU 301 controls the entire PC 203 (further, the entire image display device 204). This control will be described later. The nonvolatile memory 302 is used for storing programs executed by the CPU 301 and image data to be displayed provided from the PC 203 to the projector 106. The volatile memory 303 is used as a work area when the CPU 301 executes a program.

  The operation input unit 304 includes an interface for connecting a keyboard and a mouse (not shown) and receives an input instruction from the user. The operation input unit 304 is used, for example, for a user to input an instruction for maintenance of the image display device 204 (power activation, shutdown, etc.).

  The video output unit 305 outputs a video to a display (not shown). The video output unit 305 is used, for example, to present information (operation status, failure information, etc.) for maintenance of the image display device 204 to the user.

  The communication unit 306 is used to communicate with the stereo camera 201 and the projector 106. For example, the communication unit 306 transmits an imaging instruction and a stereo image to the stereo camera 201, and transmits an image display position instruction and image data to be displayed to the projector 106.

  The stereo camera 201 includes a communication unit 307, a CPU 308, a volatile memory (not shown), and a stereo imaging unit 309. The communication unit 307 communicates with the communication unit 306 of the PC 203. The CPU 308 controls the entire stereo camera 201 based on a control program developed in a volatile memory (not shown) according to an instruction from the PC 203. When receiving an imaging instruction from the PC 203 via the communication unit 307, the CPU 308 instructs the stereo imaging unit 309, which will be described later, to capture a stereo image. As a result, when the CPU 308 obtains a stereo image from the stereo imaging unit 309, the CPU 308 transmits the stereo image to the PC 203 via the communication unit 307.

  The stereo imaging unit 309 captures a stereo image of the subject. In the present embodiment, the PC 203 analyzes the stereo image obtained by the stereo imaging unit 309, thereby acquiring the position of the observation object 101, the positions of both ends of the transparent screen 100, and the position of the observer (details). Will be described later with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, an example in which the PC 203 analyzes a stereo image obtained by the stereo imaging unit 309 is described. However, the CPU 308 of the stereo camera 201 may analyze the same processing.

  The projector 106 includes a communication unit 311, a CPU 312, a volatile memory (not shown), and a projection unit 313. The communication unit 311 communicates with the communication unit 306 of the PC 203. The CPU 312 controls the entire projector 106 based on a control program developed in a volatile memory (not shown) according to an instruction from the PC 203. The CPU 312 receives an instruction on the position of an image to be displayed and image data from the PC 203 via the communication unit 311, and controls the projection unit 313 to project an image according to them.

  The projection unit 313 includes a liquid crystal panel (not shown), a liquid crystal driving circuit, a lamp, an optical system, and the like, and projects an optical image of the designated image on the transparent screen 100 under the control of the CPU 312.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C, processing for acquiring the position of the subject based on the stereo image captured by the stereo imaging unit 309 will be described. FIG. 4A conceptually shows a plan view of the stereo imaging unit 309. FIG. 4A shows the stereo imaging unit 309 as viewed from above in the direction of gravity. The stereo imaging unit 309 includes two imaging sensors, a left imaging sensor 400 and a right imaging sensor 401. The left imaging sensor 400 and the right imaging sensor 401 are arranged on the left and right sides with a distance B therebetween. In FIG. 4 (a), f is the focal _{length, C L,} C _R indicates the focus of the left and right. Here, when imaging an object at the position O at the stereo imaging unit 309, the location of I _L on the sensor in for left image sensor 400, appears the image to the location of the I _R on the sensor is on the right for the image sensor 401 . Examples of images obtained by the left imaging sensor 400 and the right imaging sensor 401 are shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, respectively. Also, the position when placing the _{I L} to virtually right imaging sensor 401 _{I L} 'and, taking the difference between the _{I R,} parallax p = _{I L'} -I _R is obtained. With these parameters, C for the distance d from _R or C _L to O, it holds the following equation from the geometrical arrangement.

  d / B = (d−f) / (B−p) (1)

  Therefore, the distance d is obtained by the following equation using the focal length f and the distance B that are constants determined when the stereo imaging unit 309 is designed, and the parallax p that is a variable.

d = fB / p (2)
Therefore, the parallax p is obtained by analyzing the images obtained by the left imaging sensor 400 and the right imaging sensor 401 and obtaining the corresponding points I _L and I _R on the sensor of the object O, and substituting them into the equation (2). Thus, the distance d from the stereo imaging unit 309 to the object O can be obtained. Furthermore, if I _L or I _R or both are used, the angle of the object O with respect to the optical axis of the stereo imaging unit 309 can be obtained.

  Thus, by analyzing the image obtained by the left imaging sensor 400 and the right imaging sensor 401 for an arbitrary object O, the distance and angle from the stereo imaging unit 309 can be obtained, and the stereo imaging unit The relative position of the object O with respect to 309 can be obtained. In this embodiment, the CPU 301 of the PC 203 analyzes the stereo image and calculates the relative position of the object.

Next, an image display process according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When the image display device 204 is activated, the processing of this flowchart starts. In step S501, the CPU 301 of the PC 203 determines whether calibration is necessary. Calibration will be described with reference to FIG. The calibration relative position with respect to the position C of the stereo camera 201, the position OBJ observation object 101 is to determine the left end position S _L, and the right end position S _R of the projection range. For example, when these positions are unknown (for example, when the image display device 204 is activated for the first time) or when the user explicitly instructs calibration, it is determined that calibration is necessary. Further, for example, it is determined that calibration is necessary when correction relating to the projection position such as keystone correction of the projector or lens shift is performed. If calibration is necessary, the process proceeds to S502, and if not, the process proceeds to S505.

  In step S <b> 502, the CPU 301 issues a marker projection instruction to the projector 106. Marker projection refers to projecting a predetermined pattern image on the left and right ends of the projectable range. Receiving the marker projection instruction, the CPU 312 of the projector 106 projects a predetermined pattern image on the left and right ends of the projectable range on the projection unit 313.

  In step S <b> 503, the CPU 301 issues an imaging instruction to the stereo camera 201. The CPU 308 of the stereo camera 201 that has received the imaging instruction instructs the stereo imaging unit 309 to perform imaging. Then, the CPU 308 transfers the obtained stereo image to the PC 203. Here, the stereo image is an image composed of two images, a right image and a left image, obtained by each of the imaging units in the stereo imaging unit 309 described above. The CPU 301 of the PC 203 acquires a stereo image transmitted from the stereo camera 201. This stereo image includes a marker 202 added to the observation object 101, a pattern image at the left end of the projectable range, and a pattern image at the right end of the projectable range.

In S504, CPU 301 uses the stereo image obtained in S503, by the method described above with reference to FIG. 4, the position OBJ observation object 101, the left end position _{S L} of the projection range, and the right end position _{S R} It is obtained and stored in the nonvolatile memory 302.

  In step S <b> 505, the CPU 301 determines whether an end instruction has been given by the user using a keyboard, mouse, or the like (not shown) connected to the operation input unit 304. If an end instruction is given, the process ends. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S506.

  In step S <b> 506, the CPU 301 issues an imaging instruction to the stereo camera 201. The CPU 308 of the stereo camera 201 that has received the imaging instruction instructs the stereo imaging unit 309 to perform imaging. Then, the CPU 308 transfers the obtained stereo image to the PC 203. The CPU 301 of the PC 203 acquires a stereo image transmitted from the stereo camera 201. At this time, as viewed from the stereo camera 201, a projected image on the transparent screen 100 and an observer's face, which will be described later, may overlap, and the face recognition rate may decrease. Therefore, the CPU 301 may instruct the projector 106 to pause image projection in synchronization with the imaging instruction to the stereo camera 201, and may instruct the projector 106 to resume image projection after completion of imaging. .

  In step S <b> 507, the CPU 301 detects whether each stereo image obtained from the stereo camera 201 includes an image having a high degree of similarity to the human face image model. In the present embodiment, an example in which face detection is performed based on whether or not an image having a high similarity to a human face image model is included has been described, but any other technique is used as the face detection technique. May be. When an image having a high similarity to the human face image model is detected, the attribute information indicating the characteristics of the detected face image, and the detection position of the face image in each of the two images of the stereo image, Is stored in the volatile memory 303. When a plurality of face images are detected, the same number of face image attribute information and sets of detection positions in each image are stored. Further, since the purpose of the processing of S507 is to acquire the position of the observer, the detection target is not limited to the face image, and may be, for example, a human image, an eye arrangement image, or an eye nose arrangement image.

  In step S508, the CPU 301 determines whether one or more face images have been detected in step S507. Specifically, the number of face images having attribute information indicating characteristics that can be regarded as the same in the two images (left image and right image) of the stereo image is counted. If no face is detected (in this case, there is no observer near the showcase 200), the process proceeds to S509. If one or more faces are detected, the process proceeds to S510.

  In step S509, the CPU 301 determines an image display form. This display form includes, for example, the display position, display size, and content of the image. When the process of S509 is performed, there is no observer near the showcase 200. Therefore, the CPU 301 does not need to consider the position of the observer, and selects a predetermined display form as the display form. As the predetermined display form, a fixed value set in advance may be used, or a user instructs to start the image display device 204 using a keyboard or a mouse (not shown) connected to the operation input unit 304. You may do it. As an example of the display form in this case, the display position is the center of the projection range of the projector 106, the display size is, for example, the maximum projection size of the projector 106, and the content of the image is, for example, (advertising effect to a distant observer) It is conceivable that the image has a high contrast. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S516, and the image is displayed in the display form determined in S509.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S508 that one or more faces have been detected, in S510, the CPU 301 calculates the position of the observer from the detected position of the face image. The calculation method is as described above by calculating FIG.

  In step S511, the CPU 301 determines whether only one face has been detected in step S507. If only one is detected, the process proceeds to S512. If a plurality is detected, the process proceeds to S513.

  In step S <b> 512, the CPU 301 stores only one detected face image as a representative face image and stores the position in the volatile memory 303. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S514. That is, since there is one face image detected for each of the right image and the left image of the stereo image, that face image is used as the representative image.

  On the other hand, in S513, the CPU 301 calculates the distance from the position OBJ of the observation object 101 for each of the detected faces. The CPU 301 determines the face image corresponding to the observer with the shortest distance to the observation object 101 (the observer determined to be the position closest to the observation object 101) as the representative face, and sets the position as volatile. Store in the memory 303. Taking FIG. 2B as an example, the distance from the position OBJ of the observation object 101 to the position OBS1 corresponding to the face image of the observer and the position OBS2 corresponding to the face image of another observer, respectively. Is calculated by the CPU 301. In this example, since the position OBS2 is closer to the position OBJ than the position OBS1, it is determined that the position OBS2 is the representative face position. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S514.

  In S513, the CPU 301 may store the positions corresponding to the face images in the volatile memory 303 for two or more of the detected face images instead of selecting the representative face. In this case, in S514, which will be described later, the CPU 301 calculates an intersection N for each face position. In step S515, which will be described later, the CPU 301 determines a display form so as to avoid each intersection N.

In step S <b> 514, the CPU 301 calculates an intersection N between the transparent screen 100 and a straight line connecting the position corresponding to the representative face image stored in the volatile memory 303 and the position of the observation object 101. In the example of FIG. 2 (b), the intersection N to be calculated, the linear OBJ-OBS2, an intersection of the straight line _S L -S _R. Since the representative face image is used even when a plurality of face images are detected, the CPU 301 uses the position corresponding to the representative face image as the position of the observer that defines a straight line for calculating the intersection N. The intersection point N represents a point on the transparent screen 100 that is on the line of sight when the observation target object 101 is viewed from a target observer. In other words, when an image is projected and displayed at the intersection N, the image is overlapped with the observation object 101 when viewed from the target observer. Therefore, the intersection N is not suitable for displaying an image.

  In step S515, the CPU 301 determines an image display form based on the position of the intersection N. As described above, the display form includes, for example, the display position, display size, and content of the image. In S515, the CPU 301 determines the display form so that the image is displayed outside the predetermined area including the intersection N. Although the size of the predetermined area is arbitrary, for example, if the predetermined area is made larger as the observation object 101 is larger, the possibility that the overlap between the image and the observation object 101 can be avoided increases. As a method of determining the size of the predetermined area, there is a method of allowing the user to specify the size of the rectangular area in advance using the operation input unit 304. In addition, the markers 202 are installed at two positions, the left end and the right end of the observation object 101 as viewed from the stereo camera 201, and the intersections corresponding to the two markers are calculated by the above-described method, and between the two intersections. The region may be a predetermined region. That is, in S511 to S515, it is detected whether a face image exists in the right image and the left image of the stereo image. Then, the position of the observer corresponding to the face image is detected by the method shown in FIG. In one example, an effective projection image is not displayed between the observer corresponding to the face image and the observation object 101 so that the observation object 101 is not easily seen. In another example, the observation object 101 is between the observation object 101 and the observer closest to the position of the observation object 101 among the observer positions corresponding to the face image. An effective projection image is not displayed so as not to be difficult to see. In another example, an effective projection image is prevented from being displayed so that the observation object 101 does not become difficult to see between all the observers corresponding to each of the plurality of face images and the observation object 101. .

  In some cases, the CPU 301 may determine the display form so that the image is displayed in a predetermined area including the intersection N. In this case, the CPU 301 determines the display area (for example, by reducing the contrast of the image). The transmittance of the image displayed inside is set to a threshold value or more. In this way, even when the observation object 101 and the image are seen to overlap each other, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the visibility of the observation object 101. That is, the observation object may not be made difficult to see by reducing the contrast of the image displayed between the observer corresponding to the representative face image and the observation object 101.

  With reference to FIGS. 6A to 6D, examples of display modes will be described.

  In the example of FIG. 6A, it is assumed that the standard display position of the image is the position 600. However, if an image is displayed at the position 600, it overlaps the intersection N, so the CPU 301 changes the display position to the position 601. Thereby, an overlap can be eliminated.

  In the example of FIG. 6B, it is assumed that the standard display position of the image is the position 602. However, when an image is displayed on the entire position 602 with the standard display size, the image overlaps the intersection N. Therefore, the CPU 301 reduces the display size of the image and displays it as an image 603. Thereby, an overlap can be eliminated.

  In the example of FIG. 6C, the standard display position of the image is the position 604, and the standard content of the image is as shown in FIG. However, when an image having a standard content is displayed at the position 604, the image overlaps the intersection N. Therefore, the CPU 301 deforms and displays the image at the position 604 so as to avoid the intersection N. Thereby, an overlap can be eliminated.

  In the example of FIG. 6D, the CPU 301 reduces the contrast of the image and displays it as an image 605. Thereby, although the image has overlapped with the intersection N, the fall of the visibility of the observation target object 101 is suppressed.

  Returning to FIG. 5, in S516, the CPU 301 instructs the projector 106 to project an image in accordance with the display mode determined in S509 or S515. The projector 106 projects and displays an image according to the projection instruction. As a result, the image is displayed in the determined display form. Thereafter, the process returns to S505, and the same process is repeated until an end instruction is issued.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image display device 204 displays an image outside a predetermined region including the intersection of the straight line connecting the position of the observation object 101 and the position of the observer and the transparent screen 100. indicate. Thereby, the possibility that the observation object 101 and the image appear to overlap each other can be reduced. Alternatively, when displaying an image in the predetermined area, the image display device 204 sets the transmittance of the displayed image to a threshold value or more. Thereby, even if the observation target object 101 and the image appear to overlap each other, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the visibility of the observation target object 101.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, the stereo imaging unit used for detecting the position of the subject is installed at the same position (a nearby position) as the observation object. This eliminates the need to detect the position of the observation object and eliminates the need to add a marker to the observation object.

  FIG. 7A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the exhibition system 20 according to the second embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the exhibition system 20 includes a showcase 200, a transparent screen 100, and an observation object 101. The exhibition system 20 also includes an image display device 700. The image display device 700 is installed in the vicinity of the observation object 101. For example, the image display device 700 may be built in the pedestal 102 (see FIG. 1A) on which the observation object 101 is placed. The image display device 700 has a function of capturing a stereo image in the direction of the transparent screen 100 as in the stereo camera 201 of the first embodiment. The image display device 700 has a function of projecting and displaying an image on the transparent screen 100 as in the projector 106 of the first embodiment.

  The internal configuration of the image display apparatus 700 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 8, the same or similar components as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The imaging control unit 801 controls the imaging of a stereo image by the stereo imaging unit 309 according to an instruction from the CPU 301. Therefore, the imaging control unit 801 has the same function as the CPU 308 in FIG. The projection control unit 802 controls the projection unit 313 to project an image in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 301. Therefore, the projection control unit 802 has the same function as the CPU 312 in FIG.

Next, image display processing according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described. In step S503, the CPU 301 acquires a stereo image as in the first embodiment. However, this stereo image does not include the marker of the observation object 101. In S504, the CPU 301 performs the same process as in the first embodiment, but the position of the observation object is not calculated. Although here the left end position of the projection range calculated S _L and the right end position S _R is the relative position with respect to the stereo imaging unit 309, it is essentially a relative position with respect to the observation object 101.

  In S510, the CPU 301 calculates a position corresponding to each face image as in the first embodiment. The position calculated here is a relative position with respect to the stereo imaging unit 309, but is substantially a relative position with respect to the observation object 101.

  In step S513, the CPU 301 treats the position corresponding to each face image (relative position with respect to the stereo imaging unit 309) as the distance between the observation object 101 and the observer corresponding to each face image, and determines a representative face image. Taking FIG. 7B as an example, since the position OBS2 is closer to the position OBJ than the position OBS1, the face image at the position OBS2 is determined as the representative face image.

  In S514, the CPU 301 calculates the intersection N as in the first embodiment. Although the position of the observation object 101 is not calculated, the position of the observation object 101 is substantially the same as the position of the stereo imaging unit 309, and the relative position of the observer and the transparent screen 100 with respect to the stereo imaging unit 309 in S504 and S510. Is calculated. Therefore, the intersection N can be obtained by the same calculation as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image display device 204 (particularly, the stereo imaging unit 309) is installed at substantially the same position as the observation object 101. Therefore, it is not necessary to add a marker to the observation object 101.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the observer is located on the opposite side of the observation object 101 with the transparent screen 100 interposed therebetween. However, a reflective screen may be used instead of the transparent screen 100 so that the observer can see the reflective screen from the same side as the observation object 101.

  FIG. 9A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the exhibition system 30 according to the third embodiment. The display system 30 is the same as the display system 10 of the first embodiment except that a reflective screen 900 is used instead of the transparent screen 100 and the showcase 200 does not exist.

  In the exhibition system 30, for example, an intersection N is calculated as shown in FIG. The procedure for calculation is the same as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5).

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Claims (7)

Display control means for displaying an image on the display surface;
An acquisition means for acquiring positional information representing the positional relationship of the observation object, the display surface, and the observer of the observation object;
With
The display control means displays an image outside a predetermined area including an intersection of a straight line connecting the position of the observation object and the position of the observer and the display surface based on the position information. An image display device. The display surface is configured to be transparently visible on the opposite side of the display surface,
The observation object is disposed on the opposite side of the display surface,
The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when displaying an image in the predetermined area, the display control unit sets the transmittance of the image displayed in the predetermined area to be equal to or greater than a threshold value. . The acquisition means is position detection means, and includes position detection means for detecting the relative position of the observation object, the display surface, and the observer with respect to the position detection means, and the observation object is the position information. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the detected relative position of the display surface and the observer is acquired. The acquisition means is position detection means installed at the position of the observation object, and includes position detection means for detecting a relative position of the display surface and the observer with respect to the position detection means, and the position information The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the detected relative positions of the display surface and the observer are acquired. When there are a plurality of observers, the display control unit uses the position of the observer closest to the observation object as the position of the observer defining the straight line. 5. The image display device according to any one of 4. A control method for an image display device, comprising:
A display control step in which the display control means of the image display device displays an image on a display surface;
The acquisition unit of the image display device acquires an observation object, the display surface, and position information representing a positional relationship of an observer of the observation object; and
With
In the display control step, the display control means displays an image outside a predetermined area including an intersection of a straight line connecting the position of the observation object and the position of the observer and the display surface based on the position information. A control method characterized by:   The program for making a computer perform each process of the control method of Claim 6.