JP2023037415A - Information processing device and method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To make it possible to exchange position information regardless of a method related to the position information.SOLUTION: An information processing device (100) comprises: acquisition means (120) for acquiring a processed image in which a first character indicated by position information relating to a position of a moving body is imaged and superimposed on an image captured by the moving body (11); extracting means (130) for performing a character recognition process with respect to the processed image and for extracting the imaged first character as character information; and specifying means (140) for specifying a position of the moving body based on the character information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of information processing apparatuses and methods, and computer programs.

As this type of device, for example, based on the monitoring position information, which is the position information of the information terminal device carried by the monitored person, and the drone position information, which is the position information of the drone device that tracks the monitored person, A drone device that controls the movement of its own drone has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2015-207149 A

For example, there are methods such as APIs and SDKs for exchanging location information between devices. Devices using the same method can exchange position information, but devices using different methods cannot exchange position information. For example, when it is attempted to exchange position information between systems that use different methods, the method of one system must be adapted to the method of the other system, which poses a technical problem that cooperation between the systems is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus, method, and computer program capable of exchanging location information regardless of the method of location information.

An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention acquires a processed image in which a first character indicated by position information relating to the position of a moving object is imaged and superimposed on an image captured by the moving object. an extracting means for performing character recognition processing on the processed image and extracting the imaged first character as character information; and specifying the position of the moving object based on the character information. and a specifying means to be provided.

An information processing method according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing method in an information processing device, wherein the information processing device is indicated by position information relating to the position of the mobile body in an image captured by the mobile body. an acquisition step of acquiring a processed image in which a first character is imaged and then superimposed; and the information processing device performs character recognition processing on the processed image to obtain the imaged first character. The method includes an extracting step of extracting character information, and a specifying step of specifying the position of the moving object by the information processing device based on the character information.

A computer program according to an aspect of the present invention causes a computer of an information processing apparatus to superimpose a first character indicated by position information related to the position of the moving object on an image captured by the moving object. obtaining means for obtaining the processed image, extracting means for performing character recognition processing on the processed image and extracting the imaged first character as character information, and based on the character information, the It functions as specifying means for specifying the position of the moving body.

The operation and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a video sharing system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an image acquired from a drone device; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a display image. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a video sharing system according to a second embodiment; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer according to an embodiment; FIG.

An embodiment related to an information processing apparatus will be described. An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes acquisition means, extraction means, and identification means. The acquisition means acquires the processed image. Here, the processed image is an image obtained by superimposing the image of the first character indicated by the position information related to the position of the moving object on the image captured by the moving object. The superimposition of the image captured by the moving body and the imaged first character (that is, the generation of the processed image) may be performed on the moving body.

The image captured by the moving object is not limited to the image capturing the surroundings of the moving object. For example, when the moving object is a vehicle, the image captured by the moving object may be an image of the inside of the vehicle. Examples of mobile objects include flying objects, vehicles, self-propelled robots, and the like. Air vehicles may include drone devices, helicopters, airplanes, and the like.

The position of the mobile object may be identified by existing technologies such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), Dead Reckoning, and the like. The position information related to the position of the mobile object may be, for example, information representing the position of the mobile object by latitude and longitude, or information representing the position of the mobile object by the azimuth and distance from the base point. good. The first character is the character indicated by the positional information. If the position of the moving object is represented by latitude and longitude, the first character may be, for example, "E: 139 74'56'', N: 35 67'08''". In addition to the information indicating the position of the mobile object, the position information may include, for example, information indicating the posture (or orientation) of the mobile object, information indicating the altitude of the mobile object, and the like.

The extraction means applies character recognition processing to the processed image and extracts the imaged first character as character information. The imaged first character constitutes a part of the processed image and has lost its attribute as a character. The extracting means extracts, as character information, the first character whose attribute as a character has been lost, so that the information processing apparatus can treat the first character as a character, for example. For character recognition processing, existing techniques such as OCR (Optical Character Recognition) can be applied.

The identifying means identifies the position of the moving object based on the character information extracted by the extracting means. In this way, the information processing apparatus can identify the position of the mobile object without acquiring position information from the mobile object.

The moving object and the information processing device are different devices. If position information is to be exchanged between a mobile object and the information processing device, it is necessary to match the method (for example, API, SDK, etc.) relating to position information between the two. However, the information processing device does not need to acquire the position information itself output from the mobile object.

Therefore, the information processing apparatus does not need to match the method relating to its own position information with the method relating to the position information of the moving object. Alternatively, the information processing device does not require the function of handling the position information itself output from the mobile object. Therefore, according to the information processing device, the position information can be exchanged regardless of the method related to the position information. As a result, according to the information processing apparatus, it is possible to relatively easily link systems that use different methods for position information.

In the information processing apparatus, the extraction means may image the second character indicated by the character information and compare the image with the imaged first character. In this aspect, the extraction means may detect an error in the character information based on the result of comparison between the imaged second character and the imaged first character. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of erroneous recognition due to character recognition processing.

The information processing apparatus may include display means for displaying at least one of the position and trajectory of the moving object based on the position specified by the specifying means. Further, the information processing apparatus may include transmitting means for transmitting mobile body information indicating the position of the mobile body to another device based on the position specified by the specifying means. With this configuration, it is possible to present at least one of the position and trajectory of the moving body to the user of the information processing device, and to distribute the moving body information indicating the position of the moving body to other devices. can be In addition to the information indicating the position of the moving object, the moving object information includes, for example, information for identifying the moving object, information indicating the posture (or orientation) of the moving object, information indicating the altitude of the moving object, and the like. may be included.

An embodiment relating to an information processing method will be described. An information processing method according to an embodiment is an information processing method in an information processing apparatus. The information processing method includes an acquisition process, an extraction process, and an identification process. In the acquisition step, the information processing device acquires a processed image in which a first character indicated by position information relating to the position of the mobile object is imaged and superimposed on the image captured by the mobile object.

In the extracting step, the information processing device performs character recognition processing on the processed image and extracts the imaged first character as character information. In the identifying step, the information processing device identifies the position of the moving object based on the character information. According to the information processing method, position information can be exchanged regardless of the method related to position information, as in the information processing apparatus described above.

<First embodiment>
A first embodiment of an information processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. In FIG. 1, the video sharing system 1 includes a drone device 11, an operation device 12, a communication device 13, and terminal devices 41 to 43. Note that the "drone device 11" corresponds to an example of the "moving object" described above. The video sharing system 1 may include one or more moving bodies in addition to the drone device 11 .

The drone device 11 is configured to behave according to the signal transmitted from the operation device 12 . The drone device 11 has a camera (not shown) that captures images of its surroundings. The drone device 11 detects, for example, its own position, altitude, and attitude, based on the results of positioning using, for example, a satellite positioning system, and the outputs of each of the altitude sensor, gyro sensor, and magnetic direction sensor. The drone device 11 generates a processed image by imaging and superimposing, for example, characters indicating its own position, altitude and attitude on the image captured by the camera. The "characters indicating position, altitude and orientation" correspond to an example of the above-described "first character indicated by the position information".

For example, the communication device 13 such as a smartphone acquires the processed image generated by the drone device 11 . The communication device 13 is configured to communicate with the radio base station 20 . The communication device 13 is configured to be able to transmit the processed image to at least one of the terminal devices 41 to 43 via the wireless base station 20 and a network 30 such as the Internet.

Especially in this embodiment, the communication device 13 has an information processing device 100 and a display 200 . The information processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The information processing apparatus 100 has a communication unit 110 , an acquisition unit 120 , a processing unit 130 , an identification unit 140 and a display control unit 150 .

The operation of the information processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 in addition to FIG. In FIG. 3, the acquisition unit 120 of the information processing device 100 acquires a processed image (that is, video information) from the drone device 11 (step S101). Here, FIG. 4 shows an example of the processed image. The processed image shown in FIG. 4 includes characters indicating the position of the drone device 11 and the like in the lower left portion of the image.

Next, the processing unit 130 of the information processing apparatus 100 performs character recognition processing on the processed image, and extracts characters indicating the imaged position and the like as character information. The identifying unit 140 of the information processing device 100 identifies (acquires) the position and the like (eg, position, altitude, attitude) of the drone device 11 based on the extracted character information (step S102).

The processing unit 130 converts the character indicated by the position or the like specified in the process of step S102 into an image, and superimposes it on the portion corresponding to the character indicating the position or the like of the processed image (see FIG. 4). Then, the processing unit 130 compares the two superimposed images, and based on the comparison result, determines whether or not there is an error in the position or the like specified in the process of step S102 (step S103). The "character indicated by the position or the like specified in the process of step S102" corresponds to an example of the above-described "second character indicated by the character information".

The processing unit 130 may determine that there is an error in the position or the like specified in the process of step S102 when the difference between the two superimposed is larger than a predetermined amount. The processing unit 130 may determine that there is no error in the position or the like specified in the process of step S102 when the difference between the two superimposed is smaller than a predetermined amount. If the difference between the two overlapped is "equal" to a predetermined amount, it may be handled as being included in either one.

If it is determined that there is an error in the position or the like in the process of step S103, the processing unit 130 may exclude the position or the like, or may perform the character recognition process again to correct the values. (Step S104). If it is determined that there is no error in the position or the like in the processing of step S103, or if the position or the like is corrected in the processing of step S104, the display control unit 150 of the information processing apparatus 100 controls the drone based on the position or the like. A map image showing the position and locus of the device 11 is displayed on the display 200 (step S105).

An example of an image displayed on the display 200 will now be described with reference to FIG. The display control device 150 may display the mark 301 indicating the current position of the drone device 11 on the map based on the position or the like specified in the process of step S102. The display control unit 150 may display the mark 302 indicating the trajectory of the drone device 11 on the map based on a plurality of temporally consecutive positions (in other words, based on the time change of the position of the drone device 11). . The display control unit 150 may display characters indicating the position etc. of the drone device 11 on the map as the position information 303 based on the position etc. specified in the process of step S102. Note that the time of the position specified in the process of step S102 may be specified from, for example, a time stamp or the like given to the processed image.

At least part of the plurality of dots forming the mark 302 indicating the trajectory may disappear after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after being displayed on the map. Further, at least some of the plurality of dots may have their density values reduced with the lapse of time after being placed on the map, for example. The mark 302 indicating the trajectory is not limited to dots, and may be, for example, a solid line, a dotted line, a dashed line, or the like.

The information processing device 100 may transmit mobile body information indicating the position and the like specified by the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. The mobile information may include information for identifying the drone device 11 . At this time, the information processing apparatus 100 may associate the moving object information with the processed image acquired from the drone device 11 (that is, the processed image used for specifying the position indicated by the moving object information).

The "communication unit 110", the "acquisition unit 120", the "processing unit 130", the "identification unit 140", and the "display control unit 150" according to the present embodiment are the above-described "transmission means" and "acquisition means", respectively. , “extracting means”, “identifying means” and “display means”.

<Second embodiment>
A second embodiment of the information processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 6 in addition to FIGS. 6, the video sharing system 2 includes a drone device 11, an operation device 12, terminal devices 41 to 43, and an information processing device 100. As shown in FIG. The video sharing system 2 may include one or more moving bodies in addition to the drone device 11 . The second embodiment differs from the above-described first embodiment in that the drone device 11 is configured to be able to communicate with the radio base station 20 .

The drone device 11 generates a processed image (see FIG. 4) by imaging and superimposing, for example, characters indicating its own position, altitude and attitude on the image captured by the camera. The drone device 11 transmits the processed image to the information processing device 100 via the wireless base station 20 and network 30 . In the second embodiment, the information processing device 100 is configured as a device on the network 30 such as a cloud server.

The information processing apparatus 100 has a communication unit 110, an acquisition unit 120, a processing unit 130, and an identification unit 140 (see FIG. 2). Note that the information processing apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment does not have to have the display control unit 150 .

The information processing apparatus 100 performs the processes of steps S101 to S104 in the flowchart of FIG. That is, the acquisition unit 120 of the information processing device 100 acquires the processed image from the drone device 11 (step S101). The processing unit 130 of the information processing apparatus 100 performs character recognition processing on the processed image, and extracts characters indicating the imaged position and the like as character information. The identifying unit 140 of the information processing device 100 identifies the position and the like of the drone device 11 based on the extracted character information (step S102).

The processing unit 130 converts the character indicated by the position or the like specified in the process of step S102 into an image, and superimposes it on the portion corresponding to the character indicating the position or the like of the processed image (see FIG. 4). Then, the processing unit 130 compares the two superimposed images, and based on the comparison result, determines whether or not there is an error in the position or the like specified in the process of step S102 (step S103).

If it is determined that there is an error in the position or the like in the process of step S103, the processing unit 130 may exclude the position or the like, or may perform the character recognition process again to correct the values. (Step S104). If it is determined that there is no error in the position or the like in the processing of step S103, or if the position or the like is corrected in the processing of step S104, the information processing device 100 outputs the moving body information indicating the position or the like of the drone device 11. , to at least one of the terminal devices 41 to 43 via the communication unit 110 .

In parallel with or before or after the processing of steps S102 to S104, the information processing apparatus 100 transmits the processed image acquired in the processing of step S101 to at least one of the terminal devices 41 to 43 via the communication unit 110. Send to

Of the terminal devices 41 to 43, the terminal device that receives the mobile object information displays a map image (Fig. 5) may be displayed on the display.

When the information processing apparatus 100 has the display control unit 150, the display control unit 150 displays a map image (Fig. 5) may be generated. The information processing device 100 may then transmit the generated map image to at least one of the terminal devices 41 to 43 via the communication section 110 .

<Computer program>
An embodiment relating to a computer program will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a computer according to the embodiment;

In FIG. 7, a computer 50 comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51 , a RAM (Random Access Memory) 52 , a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 53 and an I/O (Input/Output) 54 . The CPU 51 , RAM 52 , HDD 53 and I/O 54 are interconnected by a bus 55 . A computer program 531 according to this embodiment is stored in advance in the HDD 53 .

Processing of the CPU 51 by the computer program 531 will be described. The CPU 51 acquires the processed image from the drone device 11 via the I/O 54 . The CPU 51 performs character recognition processing on the processed image, and extracts characters indicating the imaged position and the like as character information. The CPU 51 identifies the position and the like of the drone device 11 based on the extracted character information.

The CPU 51 may image the character indicated by the specified position or the like and superimpose it on the part corresponding to the character indicating the position or the like of the processed image (see FIG. 4). Then, the CPU 51 may compare the two superimposed images and determine whether or not there is an error in the specified position or the like based on the comparison result. When the CPU 51 determines that there is an error in the specified position or the like, the CPU 51 may exclude the position or the like, or, for example, perform the character recognition process again to correct the value.

The CPU 51 may transmit the mobile body information indicating the specified position or the like to another device (for example, at least one of the terminal devices 41 to 43) via the I/O 54. FIG. The CPU 51 may generate a map image (see FIG. 5) showing the position and trajectory of the drone device 11 based on the specified position and the like. The CPU 51 may display the generated map image on a display (not shown) connected to the computer 50 via the I/O 54 . The CPU 51 may transmit the generated map image to another device (for example, at least one of the terminal devices 41 to 43) via the I/O 54.

The computer 50 reads the computer program 531 from a recording medium such as an optical disc such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory storing the computer program 531. A computer program 531 may be stored in the HDD 53 . Alternatively, the computer program 531 may be stored in the HDD 53 by the computer 50 downloading the computer program 531 via a network such as the Internet.

According to the computer program 531, position information can be exchanged regardless of the method relating to position information, as in the information processing apparatus according to the above-described embodiments. According to the computer program 531, the information processing apparatus according to the above embodiments can be implemented relatively easily.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate within a range that does not contradict the gist or idea of the invention that can be read from the scope of claims and the entire specification. And methods and computer programs are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1, 2 Video sharing system 11 Drone device 12 Operation device 13 Communication device 20 Radio base station 30 Network 41, 42, 43 Terminal device 100 Information processing device 110 Communication unit 120 Acquisition unit 130 Processing unit 140 Identification unit 150 Display control unit

Claims (8)

Acquisition means for acquiring a processed image in which a first character indicated by position information relating to the position of the moving body is imaged and superimposed on an image captured by the moving body;
extracting means for performing character recognition processing on the processed image and extracting the imaged first character as character information;
identifying means for identifying the position of the moving object based on the character information;
An information processing device comprising: 2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said extracting means images the second character indicated by said character information and compares it with said imaged first character. 3. The information according to claim 2, wherein said extracting means detects an error in said character information based on a comparison result between said imaged second character and said imaged first character. processing equipment. 4. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising display means for displaying at least one of the position and trajectory of said moving object based on said identified position. 5. The information processing according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising transmitting means for transmitting mobile body information indicating the position of said mobile body to another device based on said specified position. Device. 6. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the moving object is an unmanned flying object. An information processing method in an information processing device,
an obtaining step in which the information processing device obtains a processed image in which a first character indicated by position information relating to the position of the moving body is imaged and superimposed on an image captured by the moving body;
an extracting step in which the information processing device performs character recognition processing on the processed image and extracts the imaged first character as character information;
an identifying step in which the information processing device identifies the position of the moving object based on the character information;
An information processing method comprising: The computer of the information processing device,
Acquisition means for acquiring a processed image in which a first character indicated by position information relating to the position of the moving body is imaged and superimposed on an image captured by the moving body;
extracting means for performing character recognition processing on the processed image and extracting the imaged first character as character information;
identifying means for identifying the position of the moving object based on the character information;
A computer program characterized by functioning as

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