JP2013197803A - Image processing device and image processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lighten processing burdens when other images are displayed on top of the image of a specific subject in shot images by correlating them to that image.SOLUTION: An image processing device 1 comprises a target identification unit 63, an inclination detection unit 65, a matching unit 64, and an image synthesis unit 66. The target identification unit 63 identifies features of the image of a target object to be detected. The inclination detection unit 65 detects the attitude of a display unit 16 which displays a shot image. The matching unit 64 detects a portion of the shot image which conforms to the features identified by the target identification unit 63. Then, when a portion conforming to the identified features is detected by the matching unit 64, the image synthesis unit 66 sets the display angle of the image of a character to be superposed on the shot image on the basis of the attitude of the display unit 16 detected by the inclination detection unit 65, and combines the image of the object into the shot image displayed on the display unit 16 at the set display angle by correlating it to the portion conforming to features in the shot image.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program that superimpose and display another image on a captured image.

  In recent years, there exists an image processing apparatus that displays a character image superimposed in association with an image of a specific subject (real object) in a captured image. In such an image processing device, based on the result of image analysis based on the captured frame image, the inclination of the image of the real object in the frame image (for example, the rotation angle from the normal viewing state in the display screen) is determined. To detect. The image processing apparatus records the detected inclination of the real object image as an initial state of the coordinate data of the real object image. The image processing apparatus obtains a relative difference between the inclination recorded as the initial state and the inclination of the real object in the subsequent captured image, that is, a difference in coordinate values. Then, the image processing apparatus executes a process of tilting and superimposing the character image so as to follow a predetermined vector from the obtained coordinate value difference (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As a result, when the image of the real object is tilted in the captured image, the angle of the character image can be corrected and displayed following the tilt.

JP 2006-72667 A

  However, in the case where the technique described in Patent Document 1 is applied, in order to correct the angle of the character image, it is necessary to detect the inclination of the object image by image analysis for each frame image. There is a possibility that the burden of image processing on the image increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to reduce a processing burden when another image is superimposed and displayed in association with an image of a specific subject in a captured image.

In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
Target specifying means for specifying the characteristics of the image of the object to be detected;
Tilt detecting means for detecting the attitude of the display unit for displaying the captured image;
In the captured image, a matching unit that detects a portion that matches the feature specified by the target specifying unit;
When a matching part is detected by the matching unit, the display angle of the object image to be superimposed on the captured image is set based on the orientation of the display unit detected by the tilt detection unit, Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the image of the object with the captured image displayed on the display unit at the set display angle in association with a portion that matches the feature in the captured image;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce a processing burden when displaying another image in a superimposed manner in association with an image of a specific subject in a captured image.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structure for performing a main process among the functional structures of the image processing apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the main process of 1st Embodiment which the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1 which has the functional structure of FIG. 2 performs. 4 is a flowchart illustrating details of a target object feature storage process in the main process of FIG. 3. It is a flowchart explaining the detail of a matching process among the main processes of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the detail of an area | region fluctuation evaluation process among the main processes of FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state where imaging is started by the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the state which is displaying the character on the display part of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of main processing of a second embodiment executed by the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1 having the functional configuration of FIG. 2.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The image processing apparatus 1 is configured as a smartphone, for example.

  The image processing apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input / output interface 15, a display unit 16, and a sensor 17. An input unit 18, an imaging unit 19, a storage unit 20, a communication unit 21, and a drive 22.

  The CPU 11 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 12 or a program loaded from the storage unit 20 to the RAM 13.

  The RAM 13 appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes.

  The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 are connected to each other via a bus 14. An input / output interface 15 is also connected to the bus 14. A display unit 16, a sensor 17, an input unit 18, an imaging unit 19, a storage unit 20, a communication unit 21, and a drive 22 are connected to the input / output interface 15.

  The display unit 16 includes a display and displays an image captured by the imaging unit 19.

The sensor 17 is composed of, for example, a six-axis acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor, and detects the inclination of the apparatus main body of the image processing apparatus 1 provided with the display unit 16. That is, since the sensor 17 can measure the azimuth and the tilt even in an arbitrary posture (tilt angle) state, the position of the display unit 16 can be obtained by incorporating the sensor 17 in the apparatus main body of the image processing apparatus 1. And posture change information can be measured.
The input unit 18 inputs various types of information according to user instruction operations.

  The imaging unit 19 images a subject and supplies data of an image including the image of the subject (hereinafter referred to as “captured image”) to the CPU 11.

The storage unit 20 is configured by a hard disk or a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and stores various image data such as a character to be combined with a captured image, captured image data, and various programs such as an application program.
The communication unit 21 controls communication with other devices (not shown) via a network including the Internet.

  A removable medium 41 composed of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is appropriately attached to the drive 22. The program read from the removable medium 41 by the drive 22 is installed in the storage unit 20 as necessary. The removable medium 41 can also store various data such as image data stored in the storage unit 20 in the same manner as the storage unit 20.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration for executing main processing among the functional configurations of the image processing apparatus 1.
The main process refers to the following process that is started when the user presses a power button (not shown). That is, the main process refers to a series of processes until a character image reflecting a tilt is combined with a captured image and displayed based on the tilt detected by the sensor 17.

  In the CPU 11, when the execution of the main process is controlled, the imaging control unit 61, the display control unit 62, the target specifying unit 63, the matching unit 64, the tilt detection unit 65, and the image composition unit 66 are included. Function.

When the main process is started, the live view imaging process and the live view display process are started after the detection target image is registered.
That is, the imaging control unit 61 starts the imaging operation by the imaging unit 19 and continues the imaging operation. In the meantime, the imaging control unit 61 temporarily stores the captured image data sequentially output from the imaging unit 19 in the storage unit 20. Such a series of processes is a “live view imaging process” referred to herein. The captured image temporarily stored in the storage unit 20 by the live view imaging process is hereinafter referred to as “live view image”.
In addition, the display control unit 62 sequentially reads the data of each captured image temporarily recorded in the storage unit 20 during the live view imaging process, and sequentially displays the corresponding captured image on the display unit 16. Such a series of control processes is the “live view display process” referred to herein. In addition, the display control unit 62 performs control to display the composite image generated by the image composition unit 66 on the display unit 16. The generation of composite image data by the image composition unit 66 will be described later.

  The target specifying unit 63 specifies the characteristics of the target object based on a captured image of an object to be detected (hereinafter referred to as a target object) imaged by the imaging unit 19. The feature of the target object is defined by effective feature points and feature quantities in the image of the target object. An effective feature point is a part specified by a change in pixel value, such as a part where a sharp contrast change (contrast change above a threshold value) occurs, and the feature amount is a change in an effective feature point. Degree of contrast (magnitude of contrast, etc.). In the present embodiment, the target specifying unit 63 stores the effective feature point arrangement and the degree of change in each of the effective feature points in the storage unit 20 in association with each other as the feature of the target object.

The matching unit 64 matches the characteristics of the target object with respect to a plurality of captured images that are captured with time separation. Specifically, the matching unit 64 includes, in the captured image, a portion that matches the feature of the target object specified by the target specifying unit 63 (arrangement of feature points and the degree of change thereof), that is, the target object. It is detected whether or not there is a part that matches the feature. Then, when a portion that matches the feature of the target object is detected from the captured image, the matching unit 64 specifies the detected portion as the region of the target object in the initial state.
In addition, the matching unit 64 evaluates whether or not there is a change in the image of the target object region in the frame of the captured image that is input following the captured image in which the target object region is specified. That is, image fluctuation due to frame transition is evaluated at a position in the frame where a portion matching the characteristics of the target object is detected. Specifically, the matching unit 64 has moved from the target object region in the initial state by a certain amount or more due to a change in the pixel value in the target object region in the initial state (for example, a change in the histogram of luminance values). It is determined whether or not. Then, the matching unit 64 outputs the determination result of the fluctuation in the target object region (whether the target object is continuously imaged) to the tilt detection unit 65 and the image composition unit 66. When matching is not possible, that is, when the target object area is not specified, the matching unit 64 continues the live view display process.

  The tilt detection unit 65 detects the attitude of the display unit 16, that is, the tilt state of the display unit 16, based on tilt information measured by the sensor 17 built in the image processing apparatus 1. Specifically, the tilt detection unit 65 detects the tilt amount of the apparatus main body of the image processing apparatus 1 at the timing when the live view image is displayed on the display unit 16. The tilt detection unit 65 acquires the tilt amount of the image processing apparatus 1 at the time of live view image capturing processing from the sensor 17 at predetermined time intervals. The inclination detection unit 65 supplies the acquired inclination amount to the image composition unit 66.

  Based on the inclination detected by the inclination detection unit 65, the image composition unit 66 sets an image of a predetermined character (a kind of object) at an angle set at the position of the detection target image specified by the target specification unit 63. Superimpose and compose. Specifically, the image composition unit 66 tilts the character image along the vertical direction in the real space displayed on the display unit 16 based on the tilt detected by the tilt detection unit 65. Then, the image combining unit 66 combines the character image tilted along the vertical direction in the real space and the detection target image specified by the target specifying unit 63. In this case, the image composition unit 66 performs composition so that the character image is superimposed on the position of the image of the target object, and generates composite image data. As described above, once the matching is performed, the matching unit 64 evaluates the fluctuation of the image in the target object region. When the variation in the image in the target object area is equal to or smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the image composition unit 66 continues to the inclination detected by the inclination detection unit 65, that is, the inclination detected by the sensor 17. The composite image data is generated while sequentially changing the display angle of the character image. Then, the display control unit 62 executes control to sequentially display the corresponding composite image on the display unit 16 so that the display angle of the character always follows a predetermined direction (for example, the vertical direction in the real space). Display can be performed while tilting. On the other hand, when the variation in the image of the target object region is large, it is determined that the detection target has disappeared, so the image composition unit 66 stops the process of composing the character image with the live view image. When the combining process is stopped, only the normal live view display process is continuously performed.

Next, a main process executed by the image processing apparatus 1 having the functional configuration shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of main processing executed by the image processing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 having the functional configuration of FIG.
When the main processing is executed by the image processing apparatus 1, the functional blocks shown in FIG. 2 function in the CPU 11, and the following processing is performed. That is, the operation subject of the following steps corresponds to the CPU 11 in hardware. However, in order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the processing of the following steps will be described on the assumption that each functional block functioning in the CPU 11 is an operation subject.

  The main process is started when a power button (not shown) of the image processing apparatus 1 is pressed by the user, and the following process is repeatedly executed.

  In step S <b> 11, the target specifying unit 63 performs a target object feature storage process described with reference to FIG. 4 described later. In the target object feature storing process, the process from reading the detection target image to registering the feature amount of the detection target image is performed.

  In step S12, the imaging control unit 61 starts live view imaging processing. The display control unit 62 starts live view display processing based on the live view image started by the imaging control unit 61.

  In step S13, the target specifying unit 63 acquires the live view image stored in the storage unit 20 by the live view imaging process in step S12.

  In step S14, the matching unit 64 executes a matching process described with reference to FIG. In the matching process, a feature amount is extracted by extracting effective feature points in the live view image, and a process of matching the calculated feature amount with the feature amount of the detection target image registered in step S11 is performed.

  In step S15, the matching unit 64 determines whether or not the result of matching in step S14 is matching. If there is no match, it is determined as NO in step S15, and the process returns to step S13. That is, until the matching is performed, the processes of steps S13 to S15 are repeatedly executed, and the main process is in a standby state. Thereafter, in the case of matching, it is determined as YES in Step S15, and the process proceeds to Step S16.

  In step S <b> 16, the matching unit 64 registers the matched area of the target object in the storage unit 20.

  In step S <b> 17, the tilt detection unit 65 acquires tilt information from the sensor 17 and detects the tilt of the display unit 16.

  In step S18, the image composition unit 66 sets and reflects the display angle of the character image based on the inclination detected by the inclination detection unit 65. Then, the image composition unit 66 displays the character image of the set display angle so as to be superimposed on the target object area registered in step S16 among the detection target images specified by the target specifying unit 63. And composite image data is generated. A specific example of inclining the display angle of the character image will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In step S19, the display control unit 62 executes control for displaying the synthesized image on the display unit 16 based on the synthesized image data generated by synthesizing in step S18.

  In step S20, the target specifying unit 63 acquires a live view image. The live view image acquired in this step is a frame image that is temporally separated from the live view image acquired in step S13 by about 1/60 to several seconds. This time can be arbitrarily set by the user.

  In step S <b> 21, the matching unit 64 executes a region variation evaluation process described with reference to FIG. 6 described later. In the region variation evaluation process, a process for evaluating whether or not there is a variation in the image of the region of the target object is performed.

  In step S22, the matching unit 64 has a variation between the target object region image acquired from the live view image compared in step S21 and the target object region image registered in step S16 greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold. It is determined whether or not. If the change in the area of the target object is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, it is determined NO in step S22, and the process returns to step S17. That is, the processes in steps S17 to S22 are repeatedly executed until the change in the area of the target object becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. On the other hand, if the change in the area of the target object is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, it is determined as YES in Step S22, and the process proceeds to Step S23.

  In step S23, the image composition unit 66 ends the composition of the character image. That is, when the variation of the area of the target object is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, that is, when the variation is large, it is determined that the detection target has disappeared and the character display is stopped.

  In step S24, the CPU 11 determines whether or not an instruction to end the live view display process has been received. If an end instruction has not been received, it is determined as NO in step S24, and the process returns to step S13 again. On the other hand, when an end instruction is received, it is determined as YES in Step S24, and the process proceeds to Step S25.

  In step S25, the display control unit 62 ends the live view image display process. When this process ends, the main process ends.

Next, details of the target object feature storing process in step S11 of the main process will be described.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the target object feature storing process of step S11 in the main process of FIG.
As described above, the target object feature storage process is started as the process of step S11 when the power button (not shown) of the image processing apparatus 1 is pressed by the user.

  In step S <b> 41, the target specifying unit 63 determines whether a storage operation for the target object has been received based on the operation of the input unit 18 by the user. When the storage operation of the target object is not accepted, it is determined as NO in Step S41, and the process returns to Step S41. That is, until the storage operation of the target object is accepted, the process of step S41 is repeatedly executed, and the target object feature storage process enters a standby state. Thereafter, when the storage operation of the target object is accepted, it is determined as YES in Step S41, and the process proceeds to Step S42.

  In step S <b> 42, the target specifying unit 63 reads the image of the target object at the time when the storage operation of the target object is received from the captured image output from the imaging unit 19.

  In step S43, the target specifying unit 63 extracts effective feature points in the image of the target object read in step S42.

  In step S44, the target specifying unit 63 stores the feature points extracted in step S43 as the features of the target object and their feature amounts in association with each other. When this process ends, the target object feature storage process ends.

Next, details of the matching process in step S14 of the main process in FIG. 3 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the matching process in step S14 in the main process of FIG.
As described above, the matching process is started as the process of step S14 when the live view image is acquired.

  In step S61, the target specifying unit 63 extracts effective feature points in the live view image acquired in step S13 of FIG.

  In step S62, the target specifying unit 63 calculates a feature amount corresponding to the effective feature point extracted in step S61.

  In step S63, the matching unit 64 performs matching with the characteristics of the target object. Specifically, the matching unit 64 determines whether or not the feature of the target object stored in step S44 of FIG. 4 includes a portion that matches the feature point extracted in step S61 and the feature amount calculated in step S62. Is detected, and the feature of the target object is matched. When this process ends, the matching process ends.

Next, details of the region variation evaluation process in step S21 of the main process of FIG. 3 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the region variation evaluation process of step S21 in the main process of FIG.
As described above, the region variation evaluation process is started as the process of step S21 when the live view image is acquired after the character image is superimposed and displayed.

  In step S81, the matching unit 64 acquires an image of the area of the target object registered in step S16.

  In step S82, the matching unit 64 evaluates whether there is a change in the image of the region of the target object registered in step S16. Specifically, it is evaluated whether or not there is a change in the pixel value in the region of the target object in the live view image acquired in step S20 of FIG. The evaluation of the area of the target object is performed for each n (n is a natural number of 1 or more) frames arbitrarily determined in advance. When this process ends, the region variation evaluation process ends.

Next, a specific example of processing for combining an image reflecting a display angle of a character (a kind of object) based on an inclination detected by a sensor with a captured image will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state in which imaging is started by the image processing apparatus 1 of FIG.

  When a user presses a power button (not shown), the captured image captured by the imaging unit 19 is displayed on the display unit 16 of the image processing apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the display unit 16 displays a wristwatch 101 as a subject.

  When a storage operation for the detected object is received based on the operation of the input unit 18 by the user, a captured image captured by the imaging unit 19 at the time when the storage operation is received is read. Then, a plurality of feature points included in the captured image of the detected object are extracted, and feature amounts of the extracted feature points are calculated. Then, the feature of the detected object is stored based on the extracted feature point and the calculated feature amount. That is, the user registers a captured image including a desired subject to be superimposed and displayed as an image of a character (a type of object) as a detection object image, and the features of the detection object are stored in association with each other.

After storing the feature of the detected object, when a live view image is captured by live view imaging processing, the feature of the target object stored in advance becomes the effective feature point in the live view image and the feature amount of the feature point. Matching is performed to detect whether or not they match. When the matching is successful, as shown in FIG. 7B, the region 110 of the matched target object is registered. In the example of FIG. 7B, the frame of the target object area 110 is illustrated, but the frame of the target object area 110 is an example of an area image and is not actually displayed.
At this time, the image of the character tilted based on the tilt of the apparatus main body of the image processing apparatus 1 detected by the sensor 17 (that is, the tilt of the display unit 16 provided in the image processing apparatus 1) is combined with the live view image. And displayed on the display unit 16. Next, an example in which an image of a character tilted based on the tilt detected by the sensor is displayed on the display unit 16 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a character 120 (a kind of object) is displayed on the display unit 16 of the image processing apparatus 1 in FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 8A, the image of the character 120 is synthesized so as to be superimposed on the image of the registered target object area 110 (see FIG. 7B) and displayed on the display unit 16. .
In this case, the inclination of the display unit 16 is detected by the physical sensor 17 built in the image processing apparatus 1, and the display angle of the image of the character 120 is set based on the inclination detected by the sensor 17. In the present embodiment, the display angle of the character 120 is set so as to be in a substantially vertical direction in real space. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8B, the image of the character 120 with the display angle set is superimposed on the live view image and displayed on the display unit 16. In the present embodiment, the image of the cat character 120 is displayed on the display unit 16 as a kind of object image, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, various objects such as a high school girl character, a human image, a flower image, and a fruit image may be stored in the storage unit 20 as the object image. In this case, the input unit 18 accepts selection of one object selected by the user from among a plurality of objects. Then, the image composition unit 66 composes the image of the selected object with the live view image.

As described above, the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the target specifying unit 63, the inclination detection unit 65, the matching unit 64, and the image composition unit 66. The target specifying unit 63 specifies the characteristics of an image of an object (for example, a wristwatch) to be detected. The inclination detection unit 65 detects the posture of the display unit 16 that displays the captured image. The matching unit 64 detects a portion that matches the feature specified by the target specifying unit 63 in the captured image. Then, when the matching unit 64 detects a portion that matches the specified feature, the image composition unit 66 superimposes the captured image on the captured image based on the orientation of the display unit 16 detected by the inclination detection unit 65. The display angle of the image of the object (for example, character) is set, and the image of the object is combined with the captured image displayed on the display unit 16 at the set display angle in association with the portion that matches the feature in the captured image.
As a result, the image composition unit 66 superimposes the character image in which the display angle is set based on the posture of the display unit 16 detected by the tilt detection unit 65, that is, the tilt detected by the sensor 17 or the like, on the captured image. A composite image can be generated. Normally, when a detection target other than a flat marker is used, the burden on the processing for specifying the motion of the object to be detected increases, so when the detection target moves at high speed, the image of the object with respect to the detection target Tracking becomes difficult. However, in this embodiment, once the detection target is specified, the display angle of the display unit 16 can be detected by the physical sensor 17 and the like, and the display angle of the object image can be set. Therefore, the processing burden on the detection target can be reduced. Therefore, the object can be tracked only by simple measurement by the sensor 17 without limiting the detection target to the plane marker, and the processing load on the image processing can be reduced. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the processing load when other images are superimposed and displayed in association with the image of a specific subject in the captured image.

Further, the matching unit 64 of the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment evaluates image variation due to frame transition at a position in the frame where a portion matching the feature specified by the target specifying unit 63 is detected. Then, the image composition unit 66 determines whether or not to superimpose and display an image of an object (for example, a character) according to the evaluation result by the matching unit 64.
Thereby, for example, when the variation of the image due to the frame transition is large, it is determined that the detection target has disappeared from the angle of view of the captured image, and the image composition by the image composition unit 66 can be stopped.

Furthermore, the image composition unit 66 of the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a constant display angle with respect to the vertical direction of the image of the object (for example, a character) based on the attitude of the display unit 16 detected by the inclination detection unit 65. Synthesize so that
Thus, once the detection target is specified, the orientation of the detection target can be estimated by the physical sensor 17 and the like, and the display angle of the object image can be set. Can be reduced.

Furthermore, the image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment further includes an input unit 18. The input unit 18 accepts selection of any one of the objects (for example, characters).
Accordingly, the user can select a desired object and synthesize an image superimposed on the captured image.

The image processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
Next, an image processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[Second Embodiment]
The image processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention can have basically the same hardware configuration and functional configuration as the image processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment.
Therefore, FIG. 1 is also a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment.

Furthermore, the main process executed by the image processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment is basically the same flow as the main process according to the first embodiment. Therefore, FIG. 3 is also a flowchart for explaining the flow of the main processing according to the second embodiment.
Furthermore, the target object feature storage process executed by the image processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment is basically the same flow as the target object feature storage process according to the first embodiment. Therefore, FIG. 4 is also a flowchart for explaining the flow of the target object feature storing process according to the second embodiment.
Furthermore, the matching process executed by the image processing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment is basically the same as the matching process according to the first embodiment. Therefore, FIG. 5 is also a flowchart for explaining the flow of matching processing according to the second embodiment.
However, in the second embodiment, steps S16, S18, S21, and S22 of the main process are not the flowchart of FIG. 3 employed in the first embodiment but the flowchart of FIG.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of main processing according to the second embodiment, which is executed by the image processing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 having the functional configuration of FIG.

In the main process of FIG. 3 in the first embodiment described above, characters are synthesized based on the registered position of the target object area, whereas in the main process of FIG. 9 in the second embodiment, the character is specified. The difference is that the characters are synthesized based on the target position. Specifically, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that steps S116, S118, S121, and S122 are executed instead of the steps S16, S18, S21, and S22 according to the first embodiment. .
Thus, hereinafter, such differences will be mainly described, and description of the coincident points will be omitted as appropriate.

  In step S116, the matching unit 64 specifies a predetermined coordinate as the target position among the positions included in the image of the target object that has been matched. The specification of the target position is not limited to the position included in the image of the matched object, and the coordinates arbitrarily selected by the user can be specified as the target position.

  In step S118, the image composition unit 66 sets and reflects the display angle of the character image based on the inclination detected by the inclination detection unit 65. Then, the image composition unit 66 displays the image of the character having the set display angle so as to be superimposed on the target position specified in step S116 among the detection target images specified by the target specifying unit 63. Compositing to generate composite image data.

  In step S121, the matching unit 64 detects the motion vector from the coordinates corresponding to the target position specified in step S116, and performs processing for tracking the target object.

  In step S122, the matching unit 64 determines whether the target object tracked in step S121 is out of frame. If the target object is not out of frame, it is determined as NO in Step S122, and the process returns to Step S118. That is, while the target object is displayed on the display unit 16, the processes in steps S118 to S122 are repeatedly executed. On the other hand, when the target object is out of the frame, it is determined as YES in Step S122, and the process proceeds to Step S123.

  In step S123, the image composition unit 66 ends the composition of the character image. That is, when the target object disappears from the display unit 16, the character display is stopped.

  In step S124, the CPU 11 determines whether or not an instruction to end the live view display process has been received. If the end instruction has not been received, it is determined as NO in step S124, and the process returns to step S113 again. On the other hand, if an end instruction is received, it is determined as YES in step S124, and the process proceeds to step S125.

  In step S125, the display control unit 62 ends the live view image display process. When this process ends, the main process of the second embodiment ends.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, in step S20, the target specifying unit 63 has acquired a frame image that is temporally separated from the live view image acquired in step S13 by about 1/60 to several seconds. is not. For example, a live view image corresponding to an arbitrary frame after one to several frames may be acquired as an image that is separated in time.

  In the above-described embodiment, the display angle is set so that the image of the character 120 is in a substantially vertical direction in the real space. However, the display angle is not limited to this, and the display angle setting direction is the real space. In addition to the upper vertical direction, for example, the angle of the character 120 can be set so as to be displayed in a horizontal direction or an arbitrary direction preset by the user.

In the above-described embodiment, the image processing apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied has been described using a smartphone as an example, but is not particularly limited thereto.
For example, the present invention can be applied to general electronic devices having a display function. Specifically, for example, the present invention can be applied to a notebook personal computer, a digital camera, a television receiver, a video camera, a portable navigation device, a mobile phone, a portable game machine, and the like.

The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or can be executed by software.
In other words, the functional configuration of FIG. 2 is merely an example and is not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient that the image processing apparatus 1 has a function capable of executing the above-described series of processing as a whole, and what functional blocks are used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example of FIG. .
In addition, one functional block may be constituted by hardware alone, software alone, or a combination thereof.

When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed on a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. The computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose personal computer.

  The recording medium including such a program is not only configured by the removable medium 41 of FIG. 1 distributed separately from the apparatus main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also in a state of being incorporated in the apparatus main body in advance. For example, a recording medium provided in The removable medium 41 is configured by, for example, a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like. The optical disk is composed of, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. The magneto-optical disk is configured by an MD (Mini-Disk) or the like. In addition, the recording medium provided to the user in a state of being preliminarily incorporated in the apparatus main body includes, for example, the ROM 12 in FIG. 1 in which a program is recorded, the hard disk included in the storage unit 20 in FIG.

  In the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in time series along the order, but is not necessarily performed in time series, either in parallel or individually. The process to be executed is also included.

  As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is only an illustration and does not limit the technical scope of this invention. The present invention can take other various embodiments, and various modifications such as omission and replacement can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention described in this specification and the like, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

The invention described in the scope of claims at the beginning of the filing of the present application will be appended.
[Appendix 1]
Target specifying means for specifying the characteristics of the image of the object to be detected;
Tilt detecting means for detecting the attitude of the display unit for displaying the captured image;
In the captured image, a matching unit that detects a portion that matches the feature specified by the target specifying unit;
When a matching part is detected by the matching unit, the display angle of the object image to be superimposed on the captured image is set based on the orientation of the display unit detected by the tilt detection unit, Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the image of the object with the captured image displayed on the display unit at the set display angle in association with a portion that matches the feature in the captured image;
An image processing apparatus comprising:
[Appendix 2]
The matching means evaluates image variation due to frame transition at a position in the frame where a portion matching the feature is detected;
The image processing apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the image composition unit determines whether or not to superimpose and display the image of the object according to a result of evaluation by the matching unit.
[Appendix 3]
The image composition means includes
The image processing apparatus according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the image processing apparatus synthesizes the images so that a display angle with respect to a vertical direction of the image of the object is constant based on an attitude of the display unit detected by the tilt detection unit.
[Appendix 4]
An input unit that accepts selection of any of the plurality of objects;
The image processing apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the image synthesizing unit synthesizes an image of the object received by the input unit.
[Appendix 5]
In an image processing method executed by an image processing apparatus that controls processing for combining images of an object,
A target identifying step for identifying the characteristics of the image of the object to be detected;
A tilt detection step for detecting the orientation of the display unit that displays the captured image;
In the captured image, a matching step for detecting a portion that matches the feature specified in the target specifying step;
When a matching part is detected in the matching step, the display angle of the object image to be superimposed on the captured image is set based on the orientation of the display unit detected in the tilt detection step. An image combining step of combining the image of the object with the captured image displayed on the display unit at the set display angle in association with a portion that matches the feature in the captured image;
An image processing method including:
[Appendix 6]
A computer that synthesizes images of objects
Target specifying means for specifying the characteristics of the image of the object to be detected;
Inclination detecting means for detecting the attitude of the display unit for displaying the captured image;
In the captured image, a matching unit that detects a part that matches the feature specified by the target specifying unit;
When a matching part is detected by the matching unit, the display angle of the object image to be superimposed on the captured image is set based on the orientation of the display unit detected by the tilt detection unit, Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the image of the object with the captured image displayed on the display unit at the set display angle in association with a portion that matches the feature in the captured image;
A program characterized by functioning as

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image processing apparatus, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... ROM, 13 ... RAM, 14 ... Bus, 15 ... Input / output interface, 16 ... Display part, 17 ... Sensor 18 ... Input unit 19 ... Imaging unit 20 ... Storage unit 21 ... Communication unit 22 ... Drive 41 ... Removable media 61 ... Imaging control 62, display control unit, 63 ... target specifying unit, 64 ... matching unit, 65 ... tilt detection unit, 66 ... image composition unit

Claims (6)

Target specifying means for specifying the characteristics of the image of the object to be detected;
Tilt detecting means for detecting the attitude of the display unit for displaying the captured image;
In the captured image, a matching unit that detects a portion that matches the feature specified by the target specifying unit;
When a matching part is detected by the matching unit, the display angle of the object image to be superimposed on the captured image is set based on the orientation of the display unit detected by the tilt detection unit, Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the image of the object with the captured image displayed on the display unit at the set display angle in association with a portion that matches the feature in the captured image;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The matching means evaluates image variation due to frame transition at a position in the frame where a portion matching the feature is detected;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image synthesizing unit determines whether to superimpose and display the image of the object according to a result of evaluation by the matching unit. The image composition means includes
3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus synthesizes the image so that a display angle with respect to a vertical direction of the image of the object is constant based on a posture of the display unit detected by the inclination detection unit. . An input unit that accepts selection of any of the plurality of objects;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image synthesizing unit synthesizes an image of an object received by the input unit. In an image processing method executed by an image processing apparatus that controls processing for combining images of an object,
A target identifying step for identifying the characteristics of the image of the object to be detected;
A tilt detection step for detecting the orientation of the display unit that displays the captured image;
In the captured image, a matching step for detecting a portion that matches the feature specified in the target specifying step;
When a matching part is detected in the matching step, the display angle of the object image to be superimposed on the captured image is set based on the orientation of the display unit detected in the tilt detection step. An image combining step of combining the image of the object with the captured image displayed on the display unit at the set display angle in association with a portion that matches the feature in the captured image;
An image processing method including: A computer that synthesizes images of objects
Target specifying means for specifying the characteristics of the image of the object to be detected;
Inclination detecting means for detecting the attitude of the display unit for displaying the captured image;
In the captured image, a matching unit that detects a part that matches the feature specified by the target specifying unit;
When a matching part is detected by the matching unit, the display angle of the object image to be superimposed on the captured image is set based on the orientation of the display unit detected by the tilt detection unit, Image synthesizing means for synthesizing the image of the object with the captured image displayed on the display unit at the set display angle in association with a portion that matches the feature in the captured image;
A program characterized by functioning as

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