JP2024017886A - Image display devices, display systems, screens and remote image projection methods - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] An image display device and display system that can be used with good visibility during the day or night, and that can perform guidance and instruction work while moving the device so as not to obstruct the guide line for pedestrians, etc. A screen and remote image projection method are provided. [Solution] A base part, a support column erected on the base part, a screen installed from the support column toward the base part, and a screen installed on the base part diagonally downward with respect to the screen. It includes a projection device that projects an image from a direction, and a reflecting material that is provided on the surface of the screen and performs specific angle reflection that reflects only incident light from an obliquely downward direction in a horizontal direction. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an image display device, a display system, a screen, and a remote image projection method.

Conventionally, humanoid robots are shaped like traffic guides who direct traffic at construction sites, etc., and have technology that allows them to perform very routine actions such as waving a flag under the control of a remote operator. Disclosed.

JP2002-242131A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-301889

According to the conventional technology, it can be applied to very routine guidance tasks such as go/stop guidance for vehicles on the lane and lane changes. However, flexibility is greatly lacking in order to provide appropriate guidance to, for example, cars entering and exiting from a building construction site facing the road, pedestrians on the sidewalk, and general vehicles on the road.

Another idea is to display an image of the remote operator captured by a camera on a display to perform remote guidance work, but there is a problem in that the display is often difficult to see in outdoor sunlight environments. Furthermore, with a fixed display, there is a problem in that guidance work cannot be performed while moving the device so as not to obstruct the guide line for pedestrians and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and is an image that can be used with good visibility both day and night, and can perform guidance and instruction work without interfering with the path of pedestrians, etc. The object is to provide a display device, a display system, a screen and a remote image projection method.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objects, the present invention includes: a base part, a support column erected on the base part, a screen installed from the support column toward the base part, a projection device installed on the base and projecting an image from diagonally downward onto the screen; and a specific angle reflection device installed on the surface of the screen that reflects only incident light from diagonally downward in a horizontal direction. and a reflective material.

According to the present invention, the present invention has the effect that it can be used with good visibility both day and night, and that guidance and instruction work can be performed while moving the device so as not to obstruct the guide line for pedestrians, etc. play.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a display system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the display system. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control server. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a mobile display. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the mobile display when the screen is stored. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a retroreflective material. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing another example of a retroreflective material. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a text message projected onto a screen. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another configuration example of a mobile display. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a display system according to the second embodiment.

Embodiments of an image display device, a display system, a screen, and a remote image projection method will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
Here, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a display system 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the display system 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the display system 1 includes a mobile display 10 that is an image display device, and a VR that is worn by the remote guide 3 in a control room 2 (an example of a second location) where the remote guide 3 is present. It includes goggles 20, a plurality of video cameras 30 used in the control room 2, and a control server 40 that is an external device that processes images captured by the plurality of video cameras 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile display 10, the VR goggles 20, and the plurality of video cameras 30 are communicably connected to the control server 40. Wireless communication is used for communication between the control server 40 and the VR goggles 20 and the plurality of video cameras 30, and the control server 40 can be located at any location within the range where wireless communication is possible with the VR goggles 20 and the plurality of video cameras 30. It can be installed in Further, communication between the control server 40 and the mobile display 10 is performed via a network 50 such as the Internet.

As shown in FIG. 1, the remote guide 3 in the control room 2 captures an image (hereinafter referred to as a "local situation image") of the surroundings of the location where the mobile display 10 is installed (an example of a first location). ) is worn as a local situation display device, VR goggles 20. When the VR goggles 20 are worn by the remote guide 3 and activated, the control server 40 projects the predetermined direction of the local situation image onto the VR goggles 20 as an initial state. Thereafter, the VR goggles 20 detect the head orientation of the remote guide person 3 wearing the head, and transmit the detected head direction to the control server 40 . The control server 40 changes the range of the local situation image projected onto the VR goggles 20 based on the received head orientation of the remote guide 3. Thereby, the remote guide 3 can obtain a virtual reality feeling as if he were in the place where the mobile display 10 is installed. Note that instead of the VR goggles 20, the wall surface of the control room 2 may be used as a local situation display device that projects a local situation image.

Although the details will be described later, the mobile display 10 projects an image X of the remote guide 3 taken by a plurality of video cameras 30, which are imaging devices in the control room 2, to direct the image to, for example, a car in a traffic lane. It is capable of guiding and instructing drivers to proceed, stop, change lanes, etc., and to guide and instruct vehicles entering and leaving building construction sites facing the road and passersby on the sidewalk. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the mobile display 10 is installed near a vehicle entrance/exit of a construction site where a construction vehicle crosses a sidewalk leading in a north-south direction in an east-west direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control room 2 includes a plurality of video cameras 30 that capture images of the remote guide 3 who is located inside the control room 2 and performs guidance instruction work while viewing images projected on the VR goggles 20. will be provided.

The plurality of video cameras 30 can image the appearance of the remote guide 3 from all horizontal directions in real time. In the example shown in FIG. 1, four video cameras 30 are installed in the control room 2 and take images of the remote guide 3 from four directions. In this embodiment, the video camera 30 captures images of the front, back, and left and right sides of the remote guide 3 when the remote guide 3 directly faces one of the four video cameras 30. It shall be installed so that Each video camera 30 outputs an image captured by itself to the control server 40.

Next, the control server 40 will be explained. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control server 40. As shown in FIG. 3, the control server 40 includes a wireless communication section 41, a display section 42, an operation section 43, a microphone 44, a storage section 45, a control section 46, and a communication section 47.

The wireless communication unit 41 performs wireless communication with the VR goggles 20 and the plurality of video cameras 30 using known technology such as specified low power communication, wireless LAN, or LTE (Long Term Evolution) communication. This is the interface section.

The communication unit 47 is a communication interface unit for communicating with the mobile display 10 using communication via a network 50 such as the Internet.

The display unit 42 is composed of a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and is used to output a display to the remote guide 3. The operation unit 43 is composed of an operation device such as a keyboard, and is used to receive operations from the remote guide 3. Further, the display section 42 and the operation section 43 may be integrally configured using a touch panel display or the like. The microphone 44 is a voice input device used for voice input by the operator.

The storage unit 45 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or nonvolatile memory.

The control unit 46 is a control unit that performs overall control of the control server 40. The control unit 46 is equipped with a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and has a hardware configuration using a normal computer. ing.

The control unit 46 processes images captured from four directions by the four video cameras 30 and converts them into a format that can be projected onto the mobile display 10. The control unit 46 executes image processing such as removing scale distortion of the captured image, for example. In addition, the control unit 46 recognizes whether or not the front of the remote guide 3 is being imaged for each of the images of the remote guide 3 captured by the four video cameras 30, and determines whether or not the front of the remote guide 3 is being imaged. Only the captured image of the remote guide 3 captured by the video camera 30 recognized as being present is transmitted to the mobile display 10.

Next, the configuration of the mobile display 10 will be explained.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the mobile display 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the mobile display 10 includes a base portion 11, a plurality of projectors 12, a support column 13, and a screen 14.

The base portion 11 includes a plurality of wheels. The base portion 11 is a disc-shaped truck that can be moved by rotating a plurality of wheels.

The support column 13 is erected vertically at the center of the base portion 11 . The support column 13 is slidable and expandable.

The screen 14 has a conical shape (skirt shape) installed from the apex of the support column 13 toward the circumference of the base portion 11 . The screen 14 includes a retroreflective material 15, which is a reflective material, on the surface of the screen 14. However, although the details will be described later, as shown in FIG. 4, the retroreflector 15 does not perform simple retroreflection, but performs specific angle reflection in which only incident light from an obliquely downward direction is reflected in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the retroreflector 15 performs simple retroreflection of ambient light and direct sunlight.

As shown in FIG. 4, the screen 14 is formed in a conical shape (skirt shape), and is constructed by connecting a plurality of sections of the conical shape horizontally cut at equal intervals in the vertical direction.

Here, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the mobile display 10 when the screen 14 is stored. As shown in FIG. 5, the screen 14 is constructed by connecting a plurality of parts, each of which is formed by cutting the side surface of a cone into horizontal rings at equal intervals in the vertical direction, so that it can be folded up and down in accordance with the sliding expansion and contraction of the support columns 13. It is possible. Further, the shape of the screen 14 may be based on the shape of the side surface of another cone such as a polygonal pyramid instead of a cone. Further, the screen 14 may be attached to a plurality of rings, such as a fish cage used for fishing, with the rings increasing in size at the bottom.

The plurality of projectors 12 are installed around the circumference of the disc-shaped base section 11 . For example, when four video cameras 30 are used in the control room 2, four projectors 12 are installed. The plurality of projectors 12 can project images of the remote guide person 3 from four directions captured by the four video cameras 30 onto the screen 14 using the projectors 12 in directions corresponding to the respective imaging directions. , they are installed at regular intervals from the circumference of the disc-shaped base portion 11 toward the inner side diagonally upward. In the present embodiment, the four projectors 12 are installed around the circumference of the base part 11 at equal intervals, and the mobile display 10 is arranged such that the projection directions of the projectors 12 are on a sidewalk in the north-south direction and on a sidewalk in the east-west direction. It shall be installed to match the direction of vehicle entry and exit.

The mobile display 10 also includes a multidirectional speaker 16, a 360-degree camera 17, and a communication unit 18 on the upper part of the support column 13.

The communication unit 18 is a communication interface unit for communicating between the mobile display 10 and the control server 40 using communication via a network 50 such as the Internet.

The multi-directional speaker 16 outputs the voice or electronic sound input from the remote guide 3 in the control room 2 via the microphone 44 .

The 360-degree camera 17 is a local situation imaging device that captures a local situation image that is an image around the installation location of the mobile display 10 and transmits the image to the control server 40 via the communication unit 18. The control server 40 projects an image of the local situation at the location where the mobile display 10 is installed onto the VR goggles 20, which is a display device worn by the remote guide 3 in the control room 2. Note that, instead of the VR goggles 20, the control server 40 displays an image of the local situation at the location where the mobile display 10 is installed on a display device that forms the wall of the control room 2 and is installed around the remote guide 3. may be projected.

When the remote guide 3 puts on the VR goggles 20 while directly facing one of the four video cameras 30 in the control room 2 and starts the operation, the control server 40 attaches a 360-degree camera to the VR goggles 20 as an initial state. Among the local situation images taken by the mobile display 17, the imaging range in a predetermined direction is projected as an initial state, and the video camera 30 facing directly is projected in the predetermined range among the four projectors 12 of the mobile display 10. is associated with the projector 12 installed in the imaging direction.

In the present embodiment, the control server 40 projects, on the VR goggles 20 as an initial state, the area in which the northward road is reflected in the local situation image, and also directs the video camera 30 facing directly onto the mobile display 10. The projector 12 is associated with the projector 12 in the north direction. Similarly, the video camera 30 on the back of the remote guide 3 is connected to the projector 12 facing south, the video camera 30 on the left side is connected to the projector 12 facing west, and the video camera 30 on the right side is connected to the projector 12 facing east. 12, respectively.

Then, the control unit 46 of the control server 40 recognizes that the captured image of the video camera 30 facing directly ahead captures the front of the remote guide 3, and transmits only this captured image to the mobile display 10. . Then, only the projector 12 installed north of the corresponding mobile display 10 projects its captured image onto the screen 14. As a result, only passersby located on the north side of the sidewalk can view the front image of the remote guide 3 projected on the mobile display 10.

Here, when the above-mentioned remote guide 3 turns to face the video camera 30 on the right side while wearing the VR goggles 20, the VR goggles 20 show the east direction of the local situation image. The range is projected, and according to the same processing flow, the projector 12 installed in the east direction of the mobile display 10 projects the front image of the remote guide 3 onto the screen 14, and the other projectors 12 project the front image of the remote guide 3. This means that the image will not be projected. As a result, only the driver of the construction vehicle approaching from the east can visually recognize the front image of the remote guide 3.

Furthermore, when the remote guide 3, wearing the VR goggles 20, turns and faces the video camera 30 on the right side, the VR goggles 20 show the southern range of the local situation image. Through the same process flow, the projector 12 installed south of the mobile display 10 projects the front image of the remote guide 3 onto the screen 14, and the other projectors 12 project the front image of the remote guide 3. No image will be projected. As a result, only passersby located on the south side of the sidewalk can visually recognize the front image of the remote guide 3.

Furthermore, from there, when the remote guide 3, wearing the VR goggles 20, turns and faces the video camera 30 on the right side, the VR goggles 20 show the westward range of the local situation image. Through the same processing flow, the projector 12 installed in the west direction of the mobile display 10 projects the front image of the remote guide 3 onto the screen 14, and the other projectors 12 project the front image of the remote guide 3. No image will be projected. As a result, only the driver of the construction vehicle approaching from the west can visually recognize the front image of the remote guide 3.

Through the above-described processing, the imaging direction of the local situation image projected by the VR goggles 20 worn by the remote guide 3 matches the direction in which the projector 12 projects the front image of the remote guide 3. The operator 3 is located in the control room 3 away from the location where the mobile display 10 is installed, and performs guidance operations for passersby, construction vehicles, etc. that are reflected in the local situation image projected on the VR goggles 20, and Passersby or the driver of the construction vehicle can visually recognize the guidance operation of the remote guide 3 projected on the mobile display 10, and can carry out remote traffic guidance.

Next, the retroreflective material 15 provided on the surface of the screen 14 will be described in detail.

Here, FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the retroreflective material 15. FIG. 6(a) shows the retroreflective material 15 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 6(b) shows the conventional retroreflective material 115.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), the retroreflector 15 is constructed by inserting a spherical transmitting body 15b, which is a lens, into a spherical reflecting mirror 15a provided continuously on the surface of the screen 14. The spherical transmitter 15b of the retroreflector 15 shown in FIG. 6(a) is similar to the spherical transmitter 115b inserted into the spherical reflector 115a of the conventional retroreflector 115 shown in FIG. 6(b). It is not perfectly round and spherical.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), the spherical transmitter 15b of the retroreflector 15 has a spherical lower half and a straight line at a specific angle only at the diagonal upper left (position where the incident light from the projector 12 is irradiated). It is a plane composed of By configuring the spherical transmitting body 15b of the retroreflector 15 in this way, only the incident light emitted from the projector 12 from the diagonally downward direction is reflected in the horizontal direction, rather than by simple retroreflection. It is now possible to do this.

Here, FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing another example of the retroreflective material 15. FIG. 7(a) shows the retroreflective material 15 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 7(b) shows the conventional retroreflective material 115.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), the retroreflector 15 is composed of a serrated reflective mirror surface 15c provided continuously on the surface of the screen 14. As shown in FIG. The reflective mirror surface 15c of the retroreflective material 15 shown in FIG. 7(a) is not a corner mirror (a box-shaped mirror surface orthogonal to each other) 115c like the conventional retroreflective material 115 shown in FIG. 7(b).

As shown in FIG. 7(a), the serrated reflective mirror surface 15c of the retroreflector 15 is divided into two directions: the diagonally downward direction (the direction in which the incident light from the projector 12 is irradiated) and the horizontal direction. It includes a first mirror surface perpendicular to the line and a second mirror surface perpendicular to the first mirror surface. By configuring the retroreflector 15 in this way, it is possible to perform specific angle reflection in which only the incident light emitted from the projector 12 from an obliquely downward direction is reflected in the horizontal direction instead of simple retroreflection. It has become.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the characteristics of the retroreflective material 15 provided on the surface of the screen 14 enable remote video guidance with high visibility from the surroundings even under direct sunlight. It can be used with good visibility both day and night, and can also respond to sudden or unique events. Furthermore, it becomes possible to provide guidance and instruction while moving the device so as not to obstruct the guide line for pedestrians and the like. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the time required for the remote guide person 3 to travel to the site is eliminated, and the person can engage in the work from any locality, allowing him or her to concentrate on guiding and instructing work in a comfortable indoor environment.

Note that in this embodiment, the image A projection device that performs projection mapping according to the shape of the object may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, the control unit 46 of the control server 40 transmits images of the remote guide 3 taken from four directions by the four video cameras 30 to the mobile display 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a necessary text message may also be sent to the mobile display 10 and projected onto the screen 14. Here, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a text message M projected onto the screen 14.

Further, in this embodiment, the control unit 46 of the control server 40 transmits images of the remote guide 3 taken from four directions by the four video cameras 30 to the mobile display 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the remote guide 3 in the control room 2 may wear a data suit to convert the movements of the remote guide 3 into data as an imaging device, and transmit the data to the mobile display 10. Alternatively, the image X may be projected. Further, the imaging device that converts the movement of the remote guide 3 into data creates an avatar image in which an anime character or the like moves in conjunction with the movement of the remote guide 3 converted into data, and sends it to the mobile display 10. You may also do so. In this case, it can also be used as an advertising tool for characters and goods.

In the present embodiment, the screen 14 is configured by connecting a plurality of portions obtained by horizontally cutting a conical shape at equal intervals in the vertical direction, but the screen 14 is not limited to this. Here, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the mobile display 10. As shown in FIG. 9, the screen 14 may be made of cloth so that it can be folded in accordance with the sliding expansion and contraction of the support columns 13.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that guidance instruction work is performed by a plurality of remote guides. Hereinafter, in the description of the second embodiment, description of the same parts as the first embodiment will be omitted, and only parts different from the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a display system 1 according to the second embodiment. In the example of the display system 1 shown in FIG. 10, different remote guides 3A to 3C are arranged in a plurality of control rooms 2A to 2C, respectively.

In this case, in the mobile display 10, projectors 12A to 12C that project images XA to XC for each of the control rooms 2A to 2C are installed on the circumference of the disk-shaped base portion 11, respectively.

The control server 40 of each control room 2A to 2C displays, for example, a captured image of the front of the remote guide 3 among the captured images from four directions captured by the four video cameras 30 on the mobile display 10. Send.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a single mobile display 10 allows a plurality of remote guides 3A to 3C to perform guidance instruction work in different directions.

The above-described embodiments are preferred examples of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 Display system 10 Image display device 11 Base part 12 Projection device 13 Support column 14 Screen 15 Reflector 15a Spherical reflector 15b Spherical transmitter 15c Serrated reflective mirror surface 17 Local situation imaging device 18 Communication department 20 Local situation display device 30 Imaging Device 40 External device

Claims (14)

The base part and
a support column erected on the base portion;
a screen installed from the support pillar toward the base portion;
a projection device installed on the base portion and projecting an image onto the screen from diagonally below;
a reflective material that is provided on the surface of the screen and performs specific angle reflection that reflects only incident light from diagonally downward in a horizontal direction;
An image display device comprising: The screen is formed in the shape of the side surface of a cone, and is constructed by connecting a plurality of horizontal sections cut vertically at equal intervals from the side surface of the cone, thereby preventing the support column from sliding. Can be folded to accommodate expansion and contraction.
The image display device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The screen is made of a cloth material so that it can be folded according to the sliding expansion and contraction of the support column.
The image display device according to claim 1, characterized in that: An image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
an external device that is communicatively connected to the image display device and transmits an image projected by the projection device provided in the image display device;
an imaging device that images the appearance of a subject from a horizontal direction and outputs the captured image to the external device;
A display system comprising: The external device performs image processing on the image captured by the imaging device.
The display system according to claim 4, characterized in that: A plurality of the imaging devices are provided,
The projection devices are provided in a number corresponding to the number of the imaging devices, and are installed so that each image captured by the plurality of imaging devices can be projected onto the screen, respectively.
The display system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The image display device further includes a local situation imaging device that captures a local situation image that is an image of the surroundings of the first place where the image display device is installed, and transmits it to the external device,
The external device further includes a local situation display device that displays the local situation image.
The display system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The external device transmits, to the image display device, only images determined to show the front of the subject among the images captured by the plurality of imaging devices.
7. The display system according to claim 6. A screen installed toward the base from a support column erected at the base,
A reflective material is provided on the surface of the screen and performs specific angle reflection to horizontally reflect only incident light from diagonally downward.
A screen characterized by: It is formed in the shape of the side surface of a cone, and is constructed by connecting a plurality of parts that are cut horizontally at equal intervals in the vertical direction from the shape of the side surface of the cone. is foldable,
The screen according to claim 9, characterized in that: By being formed of cloth material, it can be folded according to the sliding expansion and contraction of the support column.
The screen according to claim 9, characterized in that: The reflecting material is configured by inserting a spherical transmitting body into a spherical reflecting mirror provided in series with the surface of the screen,
The spherical transmitting body has a lower half as a spherical surface, and only the position where the incident light from the projection device is irradiated is a plane composed of straight lines at a specific angle.
The screen according to claim 9, characterized in that: The reflective material is composed of a sawtooth reflective mirror surface provided continuously on the surface of the screen,
The serrated reflective mirror surface includes a first mirror surface perpendicular to a bisector between a direction in which incident light from the projection device is irradiated and a horizontal direction, and a second mirror surface perpendicular to the first mirror surface. ,including,
The screen according to claim 9, characterized in that: A display device installed around a remote guide at a second location away from a first location where a plurality of projection devices that can be viewed from different directions from each other is installed, or a display device worn by the remote guide. , projecting a local situation image captured by a local situation imaging device installed at the first location;
a step in which the plurality of projection devices project images captured by a plurality of imaging devices installed at the second location and capturing images of the remote guide from different directions;
A frontal image of the remote guider or an avatar image generated based on the frontal image by the projection device corresponding to the imaging direction of the local situation image projected by the display device, which corresponds to the frontal direction of the remote guider. a step of projecting the
A remote image projection method comprising:

Images