JP2018037821A - Imaging apparatus, imaging method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology that enables the application of positional information to a captured image while reducing battery consumption, resulting from regularly acquiring information from GPS satellite.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus comprises: position information applying means that applies the position information of a captured image to another captured image that has no position information; display control means that display-controls candidates of a captured image together with image information in order to select the captured image having the position information; and selection accepting means that accepts user selection from the candidates of the captured image display-controlled by the display control means. The position information applying means applies the position information of the captured image, accepted by the selection accepting means, to the captured image that has no position information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, an imaging method, and a program technique.

  In recent years, some compact digital cameras and single-lens reflex digital cameras have a function of acquiring GPS information and adding position information to image information. In addition, some mobile terminals such as smartphones have a mechanism for acquiring GPS position information and a camera function.

  Some imaging devices, such as compact digital cameras and single-lens reflex digital cameras, stop acquiring GPS information when the power is turned off to prevent battery consumption. In addition, even a portable terminal such as a smartphone can be set to stop acquisition of GPS information to save power when the remaining battery level is low.

  Information from GPS satellites includes almanac data (approximate position for searching for satellites) and ephemeris data (information necessary to determine satellite position, accurate orbit information of the satellite transmitted by the satellite) Etc. are included. Almanac data is updated once a day with rough orbit information of all satellites and has a long life, but ephemeris data is updated every 2 hours, and the life is as short as 4 hours with high accuracy. Therefore, hot start can be performed while the GPS receiver stores valid ephemeris data, but after that, only the almanac data is obtained, and the warm start has about 30 seconds to several minutes. In addition, there is a cold start in the absence of any almanac data and has at least 12.5 minutes to receive all of the almanac data. That is, once acquisition of information from a GPS satellite is stopped, it may take time to acquire GPS information for calculating the next GPS position information.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a timer that cuts off the power supply to the GPS receiver when the time that has passed without the operation of the imaging device from the outside exceeds a preset setting time, and effective positioning information If it becomes a state where it is not possible to acquire valid positioning information after acquiring GPS, the timer is set to the first set time sufficient for the GPS receiver to receive information from the GPS satellite, and valid positioning information cannot be acquired. A technique is disclosed in which, when valid positioning information is acquired later, a second set time shorter than the first set time is set in the timer.

JP 2011-172193 A

  However, using the technique of Patent Document 1 is a technique for periodically acquiring information from GPS satellites, so battery consumption is inevitable.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to reduce battery consumption by periodically acquiring information from GPS satellites and to add position information to a captured image. Is to provide technology to

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a position information providing unit that adds position information of a captured image having position information to a captured image that does not have position information, and a method for selecting a captured image having the position information. A display control unit that controls display of captured image candidates together with image information; and a selection receiving unit that receives a user's selection from the captured image candidates that are display-controlled by the display control unit. The means provides the position information of the captured image received by the selection receiving means to the captured image having no position information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce battery consumption by periodically acquiring information from a GPS satellite and to add position information to a captured image.

It is an external view of the portable terminal 100 and the imaging device 110 in this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the portable terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 in this embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an imaging process of the mobile terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 according to the present embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the GPS information registration process of the portable terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 of this embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the thumbnail display process of the portable terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 of this embodiment. It is an example of the screen image currently displayed on the touch panel 210 of the portable terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 of this embodiment. It is an example of the screen image currently displayed on the touch panel 210 of the portable terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 of this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram explaining the user's operation image in the portable terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 of this embodiment.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[First embodiment]

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a mobile terminal according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external view showing an example of the external appearance of a mobile terminal 100 or an imaging device 110 (hereinafter referred to as a mobile terminal) according to the present invention. The mobile terminal 100 of the present invention includes a display unit 101 having a touch panel function and a button 102 like a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, and an imaging device 110, for example. The display unit 101 is an electronic component that combines a display control unit such as a liquid crystal panel and a position input control unit such as a touch pad, and is also called a touch panel.

  The touch panel of the display unit 101 is a capacitive projection type that detects a position by detecting a change in capacitance between the fingertip and the conductive film, and can detect a slide operation (flick operation) by a finger. It is a touch screen with various functions. Since the touch screen function that can detect the flick operation is a known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The button 102 is a button for starting a program executed on the mobile terminal, and activation of an application program (hereinafter simply referred to as an application) is displayed on the screen using the touch panel function of the display unit 101. It can be executed by clicking the application icon. In the case of the imaging device 110, after the power ON button 112 is pressed, the application can be executed by using the touch panel function of the display unit 101. If the button 102 is pressed during application activation, the activated application can be terminated.

  The mobile terminal may have other communication functions, but the description thereof is omitted because it is not directly related to the present invention.

  A hardware configuration of the portable terminal 100 that can be easily carried, such as the smart device shown in FIG. 1, will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 201 comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204.

  Further, the ROM 202 or the flash memory 214 (storage means) is for realizing a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System), an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS), which is a control program of the CPU 201, and a function executed by the portable terminal 100. Various programs to be described later are stored. The RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201.

  The CPU 201 implements various operations by loading a program necessary for execution of processing into the RAM 203 and executing the program. Further, the mobile terminal 100 is provided with GPS receiving means 215 (position information acquiring means) that can receive a signal from a GPS satellite and acquire current position information. The CPU 201 receives GPS signals from the GPS receiving means 215. Coordinate information (position information) acquisition control is performed.

  The input controller 205 controls input from the touch panel 210, the microphone 211, and the camera 212. The touch panel 210 controls input related to a user's touch operation, the microphone 211 controls input of sound, and the camera 212 (imaging means) controls input of captured still images and moving images. The output controller 206 controls image output to the touch panel 210 and sound output to the speaker 213.

  The touch panel 210 detects a touch operation from the user and displays the video (image) sent from the output controller 206 described above. The touch panel 210 is a component in which a display and a position input device are integrated. Touch operations (hereinafter referred to as multi-touch) for a plurality of locations can also be detected.

  A memory controller (MC) 207 controls access to the flash memory 214 that stores a boot program, browser software, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, and the like. In the present embodiment, the flash memory is described, but a storage medium such as a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), or a card type memory connected to a PCMCIA card slot via an adapter may be used.

  The communication I / F controller 209 connects and communicates with an external device via a network, and executes communication control processing on the network. For example, Internet communication using TCP / IP is possible. And the portable terminal 100 can transmit the coordinate information etc. which were received with the GPS receiving means to an external server etc. via such a network.

  Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the touch panel 210 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 203, for example.

  Various programs and the like used for the portable terminal 100 of this embodiment to execute various processes described later are recorded in the flash memory 214 and can be executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 203 as necessary. Furthermore, definition files and various information tables used by the program according to the present embodiment can also be stored in the flash memory 214.

  Next, the flow of the imaging process of the mobile terminal 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing the imaging operation of the mobile terminal 100 of the present embodiment. Each process in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 developing a program stored in the flash memory 214 or the like in the RAM 203 and executing the program.

  First, in the mobile terminal 100, the imaging preparation function is performed by tapping an icon (not shown) of the imaging application displayed on the screen using the touch panel function of the display unit 101 or pressing the power ON button 112 of the imaging device 110. 3 is started, and the flowchart of FIG. 3 is started.

  First, in step S301, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 accepts an imaging application or imaging function activation process.

  Next, in step S302, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 starts acquiring information (GPS information) acquired from GPS satellites in order to add position information (GPS position information) to the captured image. The information to start acquisition here includes almanac data and ephemeris data that the mobile terminal does not yet have.

  Next, in step S303, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 determines whether the GPS information started in step S302 has acquired data that can specify position information. If it is determined that the GPS information has been acquired, the process proceeds to step S307. If it is determined that the GPS information has not been acquired, the process proceeds to step S304.

  When the process proceeds to step S304, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 determines whether an imaging process has been received from the user. As a process for determining that the imaging process has been accepted, for example, a case where the imaging process by the camera 212 is performed by a touch operation on the touch panel 210 while the imaging application is activated is considered. Note that the imaging apparatus 110 can also determine that an imaging process has been received by pressing a shutter button (not shown).

  If the imaging process is accepted in step S304, the process transitions to step S305. On the other hand, if the imaging process is not accepted in step S304, the process returns to step S303, and the process of acquiring GPS information is continued.

  When the process transitions to step S <b> 305, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 executes an imaging process using the camera 212. When the captured image is acquired by executing the imaging process, the necessary GPS information can be acquired. Therefore, the GPS position information cannot be acquired, and no GPS position information is given to the captured image.

  Next, in step S306, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 performs a process of giving the GPS position information with reference to the position information of another captured image. Details will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the process of step S306 ends, the process of the present invention ends, and when the imaging process is performed again, the process transitions to step S303.

  In step S303, when the data that can specify the position information can be acquired, the process proceeds to step S307. In step S307, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 performs the imaging process using the camera 212. The captured image is acquired. Thereafter, in step S308, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 adds the GPS position information calculated from the GPS information acquired in step S303 to the captured image acquired in step S307, and ends the process of the present invention.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a process for giving the GPS position information with reference to the position information of another captured image will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for describing GPS information registration processing of the mobile terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 according to the present embodiment. Each process in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 developing a program stored in the flash memory 214 or the like in the RAM 203 and executing the program.

  The flowchart in FIG. 4 is a flowchart that is started when the processing proceeds to step S306 in FIG.

  First, in step S401, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 displays an image screen such as 600 in FIG. 6 in order to indicate that GPS position information is not added to the captured image in step S305.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a screen image displayed on the touch panel 210 of the mobile terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 according to the present embodiment.

  Reference numeral 600 in FIG. 6 denotes a screen image displayed when the process proceeds to step S401. In 600, a notation 601 indicating that GPS information has not yet been acquired is displayed (position unknown display unit), and in 602, the same GPS position information is given with reference to the GPS position information of the captured image already captured. Prompt the user to enter

  When the “Yes” radio button that gives the same GPS position information with reference to the GPS position information of the captured image that has already been picked up is selected at 602, Only the [Cancel] button 605 is active. Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  After the screen display process in step S401 in FIG. 4, the process transitions to step S402, and the CPU 201 of the portable terminal 100 determines whether or not the [information registration] button 603 in 600 in FIG. 6 has been pressed. If it is determined that the [information registration] button 603 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S403. If it is determined that the [information registration] button 603 is not pressed, the process proceeds to step S408. Transition.

  When the process transitions to step S403, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 refers to the GPS position information of the captured image that has already been captured, and assigns the GPS position information, so that the captured image candidates captured so far are selected. Generate a screen to display. A screen image generated and displayed on the touch panel 210 is 610 in FIG.

  In 610, a captured image that is close in time to the image captured in step S305, that is, a recently captured image is displayed as a candidate for adding GPS position information. From these images, a captured image of position information that the user thinks that the position information may be regarded as the same is sensuously selected. It should be noted that the images picked up at 610 may be recently picked-up images or picked-up images with greatly different position information. Further, the captured image to be displayed may be the most recently captured image, or a plurality of images may be picked up as in 610. Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  Next, in step S <b> 404, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 causes the user to select a good captured image as the same position information from the captured image displayed in 610, receives a press of the [SET] button 612, and accepts the selected image. In 610 of the present embodiment, it is assumed that the [SET] button 612 is pressed after selecting the captured image 611. If the user determines that there is no captured image that should have the same position information, the user presses the [MENU] button 613 and returns the processing to step S401 or processing step S303 for imaging. I do.

  In step S404, when the captured image is selected by the user as the same position information, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 displays the GPS position information of the selected captured image in the next step S405. A screen image displayed on the touch panel 210 is 700 in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is an example of a screen image displayed on the touch panel 210 of the mobile terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 according to the present embodiment.

  Reference numeral 700 in FIG. 7 denotes a screen image displayed when the process proceeds to step S405. In 700, the selected captured image 703 (image A), the GPS position information added to the captured image 703, and the imaging time (UTC) 704 are displayed. The GPS position information displayed here may be converted from latitude / longitude to an address by reverse geocoding and displayed, or the imaging time may be displayed in the local time of the shooting location. Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S405, when the information of the selected captured image is displayed on the touch panel, in the next step S406, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 accepts a determination as to whether or not to add position information from the user. The position information to be added is the GPS position information displayed in step S405, and a determination is made as to whether or not the displayed position information is to be added to the image captured in step S305.

  If the user determines to add the GPS position information displayed in step S405 to the image captured in step S305, that is, if the 700 [Yes] button 701 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S407. If the user determines that the GPS position information displayed in step S405 is not added to the image captured in step S305, that is, if the [No] button 702 of 701 is pressed, the process returns to step S402, The process again accepts pressing of the information registration button.

  When the process transitions to step S407, the CPU 201 of the portable terminal 100 performs a process of adding the GPS position information displayed in step S405 to the image captured in step S305, and ends the subroutine of FIG.

  On the other hand, if the [accept information] button 603 is not pressed in step S402 and another button is pressed, the process proceeds to step S408.

  In step S408, the CPU 201 of the portable terminal 100 determines whether or not the [delete information] button 604 of 600 in FIG. 6 is pressed. The [Delete Information] button 604 is a function that can be executed on an image for which position information has already been assigned by the user. Therefore, in 600, the position information has not yet been given to the image captured in step S305, and therefore the [delete information] button 604 is displayed as inactive. When position information is added to the image captured in step S305, the [Delete Information] button 604 becomes active and the button can be pressed.

  In step S408, when the [Delete Information] button 604 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S409, and the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 deletes the position information attached to the image captured in step S305, The process returns to step S401. On the other hand, in step S408, if the [Cancel] button 605, which is not the [Information registration] button 603 or the [Delete information] button 604, is pressed, the processing of the subroutine of FIG. 4 ends.

With these processes, the GPS function is turned off to prevent battery consumption, and even when GPS position information cannot be obtained immediately when imaging is performed, it is possible to provide approximate position information later. .
[Second Embodiment]

  In the first embodiment, the form in which the position information is given immediately after imaging has been described. In the second embodiment, after the image is taken once, the associated position information is specified while checking the preview image. The technology to do is explained. With this technique, even if the captured image was initially unable to acquire GPS position information, it is possible to link the position information later if the GPS position information can be acquired when the image is captured after a few minutes. A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating thumbnail display processing of the mobile terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 according to the present embodiment. Each process in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 201 developing a program stored in the flash memory 214 or the like in the RAM 203 and executing the program.

  The flowchart of FIG. 5 shows a thumbnail image on the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal 100 has a captured image having GPS position information and a captured image not having GPS position information by the process shown in FIG. Is a flowchart that is started when position information is given.

  First, in step S <b> 501, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 displays a thumbnail image of the captured image on the touch panel 210. A screen image to be displayed will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a screen image displayed on the touch panel 210 of the mobile terminal 100 or the imaging device 110 according to the present embodiment and a user operation image.

  Reference numeral 800 in FIG. 8 denotes a screen image displaying captured images as thumbnails. In 800, a captured image for which position information has not been acquired is displayed in a thick frame so as to be identifiable as in 801. With this display, it is possible to select only a captured image to which position information is not given. The captured images are arranged in time series. By arranging in time series, the user has an effect that it is possible to link roughly positional information from the captured image and the user's memory. Return to the description of the flowchart of FIG.

  When a thumbnail image group such as 800 is displayed in step S501 of FIG. 5, in the next step S502, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 performs a process of determining whether or not a captured image having no GPS position information has been selected by the user. . When the captured image selected by the user does not have GPS position information, that is, when the captured image surrounded by a thick frame in the 800 image diagram is selected, the process proceeds to step S503, and the user selects When a captured image having GPS position information is selected, that is, a captured image that is not covered with a thick frame in the image diagram of 800 is selected, the processing of the present invention ends. Needless to say, when the captured image selected by the user has a GPS position information, a normal preview display or the like may be performed.

  Reference numeral 800 denotes an example in which the user selects a captured image surrounded by a thick frame 801 with a finger 802, that is, a captured image having no GPS position information.

  When the process proceeds to step S503, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 displays the captured image 801 having no GPS position information in another color as indicated by 800 in FIG. Accept the process to select. An image of accepting a user operation will be described with reference to 810. FIG.

  810 is a diagram illustrating an image in which the user selects an image to which the position information is to be linked in a state where a captured image having no GPS position information is selected by the user in 800.

  In 810, when the user determines that the captured image captured at the same location as 801 is 811, the user selects the captured image 811 with the finger 812. In the screen image 810, since 811 is selected, it is displayed in the same color as the captured image 801. Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S <b> 504, and the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 100 accepts pressing of the [SET] button from the user. For example, when the [SET] button 613 is pressed in 810, the process proceeds to the next step S505. If the [MENU] button is pressed, the process proceeds to step S501.

  When the process transitions to step S505, the CPU 201 of the portable terminal 100 displays the GPS position information of the selected captured image. A screen image displayed on the touch panel 210 is 700 in FIG. The subsequent processing is the same as the processing after step S405.

  In this way, it is possible to link images taken at a position that can be regarded as the same position information as the user's sense while comparing the captured images, and the imaging device is activated without regularly acquiring GPS information. There is an effect that the position information desired by the user can be given at the stage.

  As described above, the present invention has been described using the portable terminal. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to this, and any apparatus having an imaging function can be applied to an imaging apparatus or an information processing apparatus.

  In addition, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  Also, when a software program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied from a recording medium directly to a system or apparatus having a computer that can execute the program using wired / wireless communication, and the program is executed Are also included in the present invention.

  Accordingly, the program code itself supplied and installed in the computer in order to implement the functional processing of the present invention by the computer also realizes the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention is also included in the present invention.

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

  The following can be considered as a computer-readable storage medium or recording medium for supplying the program. For example, a magnetic recording medium such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, and a magnetic tape, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVDROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and the like. Further, a non-volatile semiconductor memory of an optical / magneto-optical recording medium may be used.

  As a program supply method using wired / wireless communication, the following method can be considered. That is, a computer program itself or a program data file forming the present invention is stored in a server on a computer network, and the program data file is downloaded to a connected client computer.

  Here, the program data file includes a computer program which is compressed and forms the present invention, and a file including an automatic installation function.

  In this case, the program data file can be divided into a plurality of segment files, and the segment files can be arranged on different servers.

  That is, the present invention includes a server device that allows a plurality of users to download a program data file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer.

  In addition, the program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment is encrypted, stored in a recording medium, distributed to the user, and the user who satisfies the predetermined condition is allowed to download the key information for decryption via the network. It is also possible to use a method that supplies the product. By using the key information, the encrypted program can be executed and installed in a computer to realize the present invention.

  The functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by executing the program code supplied by the computer. The program code is also included in the embodiment of the present invention when the function of the above-described embodiment is realized in cooperation with an OS (operating system) or other application software running on the computer. included.

  Furthermore, the present invention includes the case where the supplied program code is stored in a memory provided in a function expansion board of a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Further, when the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. It goes without saying that it is included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Portable terminal 101 Display part 102 Button 110 Imaging device 112 Power ON button

Claims (7)

Position information providing means for adding position information of a captured image having position information to a captured image having no position information;
Display control means for controlling display of the captured image candidates together with the image information in order to select the captured image having the position information;
Selection accepting means for accepting a user's selection from candidates of captured images whose display is controlled by the display control means,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position information adding unit adds the position information of the captured image received by the selection receiving unit to a captured image having no position information.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays a captured image captured at a close time as the captured image candidate.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays an image at a position where position information is separated from among a plurality of captured image groups. The display control means displays both a captured image without position information and a captured image with position information in time series,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an identification display control unit configured to display and control the captured image having no position information so as to be distinguishable from the captured image having the position information. An imaging means for acquiring a captured image;
Determining means for determining whether or not position information is acquired at the stage of imaging by the imaging means;
If it is determined by the determination means that the position information has not been acquired, a position unknown display means for displaying that the position information has not been acquired;
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: A position information providing step of adding position information of a captured image having position information to a captured image having no position information;
In order to select a captured image having the position information, a display control step of controlling display of a captured image candidate together with image information;
A selection accepting step for accepting a user's selection from the captured image candidates whose display is controlled by the display control step,
In the imaging method, the location information adding step adds the location information of the captured image received in the selection receiving step to a captured image having no location information.   The program for making an imaging device perform with the imaging method described in Claim 6.

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