JP3759216B2 - Television camera communication device and multipoint connection device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  The present invention relates to a television camera communication device and a multipoint connection device that can be applied to a video conference communication terminal that constitutes a video conference system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
  As conventional techniques related to the present invention, there are disclosed JP-A 06-217301, JP-A 01-228387, JP-A 04-123121, JP-A 04-123122, JP-A 05-260379, And JP-A-05-204534.
[0003]
  The technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-217301 enables a cursor to be combined with an image exchanged with the other party and transmitted.
  The technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 01-228387 is intended to obtain information indicating a position from a photographed image.
  The technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-123121 attempts to display a photographed index member as a cursor.
  The technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 04-123122 seeks to obtain information indicating the position of the index member by detecting the position of the index member with a sensor.
  The technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-260379 is applied to title input for videotape recording by obtaining information indicating a position from an image obtained by photographing an index member.
  In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-204534, the position on the image transmitted from the partner side is designated on the touch panel, and the designated position information is transferred as coordinate data to the partner side for remote pointing. Is to do.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
  However, the prior art described in each of the above publications has a problem that the counterpart device cannot be remotely controlled based on information captured by the television camera.
[0005]
  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and TV camera communication that enables the own apparatus side to obtain position / motion information based on information photographed by the TV camera on the other apparatus side and be remotely controlled. An object is to provide a device and a multipoint connection device.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  The television camera communication device according to claim 1 is a television camera communication device that exchanges moving images with a partner device.ShootPredetermined processing was performedVideoCommunication control means for receiving from the counterpart device, and the receivedFrom videoPosition identification means for identifying the position of the pointing object on the other side, and the receivedFrom videoA movement identifying means for identifying the movement of the pointing object on the other side, and based on the position and movement of the identified pointing object;ThePredetermined image informationThe targetMoving image synthesizing means for synthesizing with the moving image, and transmitting the moving image synthesized by the moving image synthesizing means to the counterpart device.
[0007]
  The television camera communication device according to claim 2 is the television camera communication device according to claim 1, wherein:Predetermined processingIs, DynamicimageCompression processingIt is characterized by being.
[0008]
  The multipoint connection device according to claim 3, wherein the pointing object is connected to a plurality of counterpart devices and exchanges moving images with the counterpart devices.ShootPredetermined processing was performedVideoCommunication control means for receiving from a predetermined partner device of the plurality of partner devices, and the receivedFrom videoPosition identification means for identifying the position of the pointing object on the other side, and the receivedFrom videoA movement identifying means for identifying the movement of the pointing object on the other side, and based on the position and movement of the identified pointing object;ThePredetermined image informationThe targetMoving image synthesizing means for synthesizing with the moving image, and transmitting the moving image synthesized by the moving image synthesizing means to the plurality of counterpart devices.
[0009]
  The multipoint connection device according to claim 4, wherein the multipoint connection device according to claim 3,Predetermined processingIs, DynamicimageCompression processingIt is characterized by being.
[0010]
  6. The television camera communication device according to claim 5, wherein the pointing object is a television camera communication device for exchanging moving images with a partner device.ShootPredetermined processing was performedVideoCommunication control means for receiving from the counterpart device, and the receivedFrom videoPosition identification means for identifying the position of the pointing object on the other side, and the receivedFrom videoA motion identification means for identifying the movement of the pointing object on the other side and a television camera for taking an image, and controlling the orientation of the television camera based on the position or movement of the identified pointing object and the television camera The image captured by the method is transmitted to the counterpart device.
[0011]
  The television camera communication device according to claim 6 is the television camera communication device according to claim 5, whereinPredetermined processingIs, DynamicimageCompression processingIt is characterized by being.
[0012]
  The television camera communication device according to claim 7 is the television camera communication device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the orientation of the television camera is controlled based on the position or movement of the identified pointing object. 7. The TV camera communication according to claim 5, wherein the TV camera communication is a control for displacing the direction of the TV camera vertically or horizontally according to the vertical or horizontal displacement of the pointing object in the image. apparatus.
[0013]
  The television camera communication device according to claim 8 is the television camera communication device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the exchange of moving images with the counterpart device is a predetermined ITU-T recommendation. It is performed according to.
[0014]
  The multipoint connection device according to claim 9 is the multipoint connection device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the exchange of moving images with the counterpart device is performed in accordance with a predetermined ITU-T recommendation. It is characterized by that.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0016]
  FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a video conference communication terminal (TV camera communication device) constituting a video conference system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a television camera 1 is means for inputting a moving image. The microphone 2 is a means for inputting sound. The TV monitor 3 is a means for displaying and outputting a moving image from the other party's video conference communication terminal and a self-portrait taken by the TV camera 1. The speaker 4 is means for outputting sound from the counterpart video conference communication terminal. The control device 5 controls each of the above devices and performs compression / reproduction / communication processing of moving images / sounds.
[0017]
  FIG. 2 shows that video conference communication terminals A and B each having the basic configuration shown in FIG. 1 perform conference communication with each other via a circuit network. 1 displays the moving image A obtained by photographing the real object A on its own TV monitor 3 and transmits it to the TV conference communication terminal B. The TV conference communication terminal B receives the received moving image A on its own TV monitor 3. The video conference communication terminals A and B are displaying the moving image A as the same moving image.
[0018]
  In this case, when a conference participant on the video conference communication terminal A side wants the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B side to pay attention to a specific part in the video image A, the video camera 1 captures the video image as the video image A. Since the actual object A is on the video conference communication terminal A side, the hand or finger may be photographed as a part of the moving image A by pointing the actual object A directly with a hand or finger.
[0019]
  However, if the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B side wants the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal A side to pay attention to the specific part in the video image A, the video camera 1 captures the video image A as the video image A. Since the actual object A is on the video conference communication terminal A side, the actual object A cannot be pointed directly with a hand or a finger.
[0020]
  Therefore, the control device 5 of the video conference communication terminal A is configured as shown in FIG. 3 as an embodiment of the present invention.
[0021]
  In the figure, the moving image from the terminal B is received by the communication control unit 31. The received moving image from the terminal B is a screen B obtained by photographing the moving image including the pencil P as the position indicating object in the plain background with the television camera 1, as shown in FIG. .
[0022]
  The screen B as a moving image from the terminal B is sent from the communication control unit 31 to the pointing object recognition unit 32. The pointing object recognition unit 32 identifies the pencil P in the screen B in cooperation with the pointing / drawing recognition unit 35, and the pointing object position information extraction unit 33 and the pointing object motion information extraction unit 36 include the pointing object recognition unit 32. The position of the pencil P recognized on the image and its movement are identified.
[0023]
  As a technique for recognizing a specific object in an image and extracting its position and movement as a change in the position, a moving image processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-174146, or “conventional” Known techniques listed in “Technology” can be applied.
[0024]
  The position / motion information of the pencil P identified by the pointing object position information extraction unit 33 and the pointing object motion information extraction unit 36 is sent to the position / motion synthesis unit 34, and the position / motion synthesis unit 34 Based on the position / motion information, the pointer P having an arrow shape is superimposed on the moving image A photographed by the television camera 1, and the moving image on which the pointer P is superimposed is connected via the communication control unit 31 to the video conference communication terminal. Transmit as a moving image to B. In addition, the moving image on which the pointer P is superimposed is simultaneously displayed on the television monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminal A.
[0025]
  FIG. 4 shows the situation, in which the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B side holds the position of the pointer P displayed on the TV monitor 3 on the video conference communication terminal B side while holding the hand. The held pencil P is moved in the screen B. The position of the pencil P in the screen B is extracted on the video conference communication terminal A side, and the pointer P is superimposed on the corresponding position in the moving image A to be displayed on the video conference communication terminal A side, and also in the video conference. It is transmitted to the communication terminal B side and displayed on the video conference communication terminal B side.
[0026]
  Accordingly, the pointer P is superimposed on the moving image A displayed on the TV monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminals A and B corresponding to the position of the pencil P in the screen B, and the conference on the video conference communication terminal B side is displayed. A participant can make a specific part in the moving image A pay attention to the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal A side.
[0027]
  For this purpose, the video conference communication terminal B does not need to have a new configuration, and the video conference communication terminal A only has to have the configuration shown in FIG. The video conference communication terminal is a video conference communication terminal having a basic configuration capable of handling only moving images / sound compliant with ITU-T recommendation H.320, or other than a video / sound with a video conference communication terminal of another manufacturer or model. Even if the data is not compatible, so-called telepointing can be performed.
[0028]
  The pointer is not superimposed on the moving image A corresponding to the position in the screen B of the pencil P, but the line drawing in the moving image A corresponding to the movement locus (change in position) in the screen B of the pencil P. If so, so-called telewriting can be performed.
[0029]
  In the embodiment described above, an actual object (object A) to be pointed on the video conference communication terminal (video conference communication terminal A) side is replaced with a video conference communication terminal (TV) that does not have the function according to the embodiment of the present invention. The conference communication terminal B) can be pointed from the side, but the embodiment described below is the opposite, and the video conference communication terminal on the side having no real thing to be pointed to is one embodiment of the present invention. This is the case with such a function.
[0030]
  5 shows that video conference communication terminals A and B each having the basic configuration shown in FIG. 1 perform conference communication with each other via a network, and as one aspect, the video conference communication terminal A has its TV camera 1. The moving image A obtained by photographing the real object A is displayed on its own TV monitor 3 and transmitted to the video conference communication terminal B. The video conference communication terminal B receives the received moving image A on its own TV monitor 3. By displaying, the video conference communication terminals A and B are displaying the moving image A as the same moving image.
[0031]
  In this case, when a conference participant on the video conference communication terminal A side wants the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B side to pay attention to a specific part in the video image A, the video camera 1 captures the video image as the video image A. Since the actual object A is on the video conference communication terminal A side, the hand or finger may be photographed as a part of the moving image A by pointing the actual object A directly with a hand or finger.
[0032]
  However, if the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B side wants the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal A side to pay attention to the specific part in the video image A, the video camera 1 captures the video image A as the video image A. Since the actual object A is on the video conference communication terminal A side, the actual object A cannot be pointed directly with a hand or a finger.
[0033]
  Therefore, in another embodiment of the present invention, the control device 5 of the video conference communication terminal B is configured as shown in FIG.
[0034]
  In the figure, a moving image from the terminal A is received by the communication control unit 41. The received moving image from the terminal A is a moving image A obtained by photographing the real object A as shown in FIG.
[0035]
  The moving image A from the terminal A is sent from the communication control unit 41 to the moving image / position / motion synthesis unit 42. The moving image / position / motion synthesis unit 42 superimposes an arrow-shaped pointer P on the moving image A from the terminal A based on the position / motion information from the pointing / drawing device 43 and superimposes the pointer P on the moving image A. A is transmitted as a moving image to the video conference communication terminal A via the communication control unit 31. Also, the moving image A on which the pointer P is superimposed is simultaneously displayed on the television monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminal B.
[0036]
  FIG. 7 shows the situation, in which the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B side confirms the position of the pointer P displayed on the TV monitor 3 on the video conference communication terminal B side, By operating the pointing / drawing device 43, the pointer P is superimposed on the position in the corresponding moving image A, displayed on the video conference communication terminal B side, and transmitted to the video conference communication terminal A side. Also displayed on the conference communication terminal A side.
[0037]
  Accordingly, the pointer P is superimposed on the moving image A displayed on the TV monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminals A and B corresponding to the position of the pointing / drawing device 43, and the conference participation on the video conference communication terminal B side is displayed. A person can cause a conference participant on the video conference communication terminal A side to pay attention to a specific part in the moving image A.
[0038]
  For this purpose, the video conference communication terminal A does not need to have a new configuration, and the video conference communication terminal B only has to have the configuration shown in FIG. The video conference communication terminal is a video conference communication terminal having a basic configuration capable of handling only moving images / sound compliant with ITU-T recommendation H.320, or other than a video / sound with a video conference communication terminal of another manufacturer or model. Even if the data is not compatible, so-called telepointing can be performed.
[0039]
  Note that the pointer P is not superimposed on the position in the moving image A corresponding to the position of the pointing / drawing device 43, but in the moving image A corresponding to the movement locus (change in position) of the pointing / drawing device 43. If line drawings are superimposed, so-called telewriting can be performed. The pointing / drawing device 43 is not a conventional pointing / drawing device such as a mouse, but extracts the position information by recognizing the position of the position indicating object moving in the screen as shown in the above-mentioned one embodiment. It is good also as composition to do. Then, a pointing / drawing device can be configured using a television monitor that is an essential component as a video conference communication terminal, and there is no need to separately provide a pointing / drawing device such as a mouse.
[0040]
  In each of the above embodiments, telepointing or telewriting is performed between the video conference communication terminal having the function according to the embodiment and the video conference communication terminal not necessarily having the function according to the embodiment. However, one embodiment described below is a case where a multipoint connection apparatus interposed in a plurality of video conference communication terminals has the function according to the embodiment.
[0041]
  FIG. 8 shows a case where video conference communication terminals A, B, and C each having the basic configuration shown in FIG. 1 perform conference communication with each other via the multipoint connection device 100 via the network. Yes.
[0042]
  In this connection mode, the video conference communication terminals A, B, and C are video conference communication terminals having a basic configuration that supports only images and sounds, and cannot be telepointed or telewritten with each other as they are. Therefore, in this embodiment, the multipoint connection device 100 is configured as shown in FIG.
[0043]
  Now, in order for any of the video conference communication terminals A, B, or C to perform telepointing, the screens A, B, or C including the pencils Pa, Pb, or Pc, which are position pointing objects, are multipointed. When transmitted to the connection device 100, the multipoint connection device 100 receives the communication control unit 51a, b, or c as shown in FIG.
[0044]
  The screen A, B, or C from the terminal A, B, or C is sent from the communication control unit 51a, b, or c to the pointing object A recognition unit 52a, the pointing object B recognition unit 52b, or the pointing object C recognition unit 52c, respectively. It is done. The pointing object recognition unit 52a, b, or c identifies the pencil a, b, or c in the screen A, B, or C in cooperation with the pointing / drawing recognition unit 55a, b, or c, and extracts pointing object position information. The units 53a, b or c and the pointing object movement information extraction units 56a, b or c are respectively displayed on the screen A, B or C of the pencil Pa, b or c recognized by the pointing object recognition unit 52a, b or c. And the position of the movement.
[0045]
  The position / motion information of the pencil Pa, b, or c identified by the pointing object position information extraction unit 53A, B, or C and the pointing object movement information extraction unit 56A, B, or C, respectively, is a moving image, sound, position, or motion. Based on the position / motion information of the pencil Pa, b or c, the moving image / sound / position / motion composition unit 54 sends the arrow-shaped pointer P to the TV camera devices A, B, and C. Superimposing on the moving image X being transmitted, the moving image X with the pointer P superimposed thereon is transmitted as a moving image to the video conference communication terminal A, B or C via the communication control unit 51a, b or c, respectively.
[0046]
  FIG. 8 shows this state, in which one of the conference participants among the video conference communication terminals A, B, or C indicates the position of the pointer P displayed on the TV monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminal. , The pencil Pa, b or c held in the hand is moved in the screen A, B or C. The position of the pencil Pa, b, or c in the screen A, B, or C is extracted on the multipoint connection device 100 side, and the pointer P is superimposed on the corresponding position in the moving image X, so that the video conference communication terminal A , B and C and displayed on the video conference communication terminals A, B and C side.
[0047]
  Accordingly, the pointer P is superimposed on the moving image X displayed on the TV monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminals A, B, and C in correspondence with the position of the pencil Pa, b, or c on the screen A, B, or C. Thus, the conference participant of any of the video conference communication terminals A, B, or C can make a particular part in the moving image X focus on the conference participants of the video conference communication terminals other than the video conference communication terminal.
[0048]
  For this purpose, the video conference communication terminal A, B, or C does not have to have a new configuration, and the multipoint connection device 100 only has to have the configuration shown in FIG. B and C are video conference communication terminals having a basic configuration capable of handling only moving images / sound conforming to ITU-T Recommendation H.320, or other manufacturers or models of video conference communication terminals other than video / sound Even if the data is not compatible, so-called telepointing can be performed.
[0049]
  It should be noted that the movement of the pencil A, B or C on the screen a, b or c is not performed on the moving image X corresponding to the position on the screen A, B or C of the pencil Pa, b or c. If a line drawing is superimposed on the moving image X corresponding to the locus (change in position), so-called telewriting can be performed.
[0050]
  Next, another embodiment in which the position of the monitor camera of the video conference communication terminal having the function according to the present invention is remotely controlled from the video conference communication terminal not having the function according to the present invention will be described.
[0051]
  Now, as shown in FIG. 2, a screen B obtained by photographing a range including a pencil P as a position indicating object with a video conference communication terminal B that does not have the function according to the embodiment with the television camera 1 is used in the embodiment. The control device 5 has such a function, and transmits it to the video conference communication terminal A having the configuration shown in FIG.
[0052]
  The screen B as a moving image from the terminal B is received by the communication control unit 61 of the control device 5 of the video conference communication terminal A shown in FIG. 10 and sent to the pointing object recognition unit 62. The pointing object recognition unit 62 identifies the pencil P in the screen B in cooperation with the pointing / drawing recognition unit 65, and the pointing object position information extraction unit 63 and the pointing object movement information extraction unit 66 include the pointing object recognition unit 62. The position of the pencil P recognized on the screen and its movement are identified.
[0053]
  The position / motion information of the pencil P identified by the pointing object position information extraction unit 63 and the pointing object movement information extraction unit 66 is sent to the camera movement control unit 64, and the camera movement control unit 64 detects the position / movement of the pencil P. Based on the information, the orientation of the television camera 1 is controlled.
[0054]
  As a method for controlling the orientation of the television camera 1 in that case, it is intuitively easy to understand that the orientation of the television camera 1 is displaced up, down, left, and right in accordance with the up, down, left, and right displacement in the screen B of the pencil P.
[0055]
  FIG. 2 shows this state. In FIG. 2, a conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B side is photographed by the video camera 1 on the video conference communication terminal A side and transmitted to the video conference communication terminal B to be displayed on the TV monitor. The pencil P held in the hand is moved in the screen B while checking the moving image A displayed in FIG. The position / movement of the pencil P in the screen B is extracted on the video conference communication terminal A side, and the direction of the monitor camera 1 is controlled to the direction corresponding to the extracted position / movement.
[0056]
  This enables remote control of the monitor camera 1 on the video conference communication terminal A side from the video conference communication terminal B side.
[0057]
  For this purpose, the video conference communication terminal B does not need to have a new configuration, and the video conference communication terminal A only has to have the configuration shown in FIG. The video conference communication terminal is a video conference communication terminal having a basic configuration capable of handling only moving images / sound compliant with ITU-T recommendation H.320, or other than a video / sound with a video conference communication terminal of another manufacturer or model. Even if the data is not compatible, it is possible to remotely control the position of the monitor camera.
[0058]
  Next, another embodiment will be described. Now, as shown in FIG. 2, a screen B obtained by photographing a range including a pencil P as a position indicating object with a video conference communication terminal B that does not have the function according to the embodiment with the television camera 1 is used in the embodiment. The control device 5 having such a function transmits the video conference communication terminal A having the configuration shown in FIG.
[0059]
  In FIG. 11, the moving image from the terminal B is received by the communication control unit 71. The received moving image from the terminal B is a screen B obtained by photographing the range including the pencil P as the position indicating object with the television camera 1, as shown in FIG.
[0060]
  The screen B as a moving image from the terminal B is sent from the communication control unit 71 by the moving image composition preprocessing unit 72, subjected to predetermined preprocessing, and sent to the moving image composition processing unit 73. The moving image composition processing unit 73 synthesizes the screen B with the moving image A shot by the television camera 1 and subjected to predetermined processing by the moving image composition preprocessing unit 76.
[0061]
  The synthesized moving image is subjected to predetermined post-processing by the moving image composition post-processing unit 74 and then displayed on the television monitor on the video conference communication terminal A side, and is also displayed on the video conference communication terminal via the communication control unit 31. B is transmitted as a moving image to B.
[0062]
  FIG. 12 shows this state, in which the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B side confirms the position of the pencil P displayed on the video monitor 3 on the video conference communication terminal B side with respect to the moving image A. Meanwhile, the pencil P held in the hand is moved in the screen B. Further, the moving pencil P is synthesized and displayed on the moving image A on the video conference communication terminal A side.
[0063]
  Thereby, the pencil P is synthesized and displayed as it is on the moving image A displayed on the TV monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminals A and B corresponding to the position of the pencil P in the screen B, and the video conference communication terminal B side A conference participant can make the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal A side pay attention to a specific part in the moving image A.
[0064]
  For this purpose, the video conference communication terminal B does not need to have a new configuration, and the video conference communication terminal A only has to have the configuration shown in FIG. The video conference communication terminal is a video conference communication terminal having a basic configuration capable of handling only moving images / sound compliant with ITU-T recommendation H.320, or other than a video / sound with a video conference communication terminal of another manufacturer or model. Even if the data is not compatible, so-called telepointing can be performed. In addition, since the screen on which the pencil P that is the position indicating object is photographed is directly combined with the target moving image, it is not necessary to detect the position or movement of the pencil P on the screen.
[0065]
  Next, another embodiment will be described.
[0066]
  FIG. 13 shows a case in which video conference communication terminals A, B, and C each having the basic configuration shown in FIG. 1 perform conference communication with each other via the multipoint connection device 100 via the circuit network. ing.
[0067]
  In this connection mode, the video conference communication terminals A, B, and C are video conference communication terminals having a basic configuration that supports only images and sounds. If the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal A side wants to point a specific part of the moving image (actual) A to the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal B or C side, the actual participant A is directly selected. This can be done by pointing and transmitting a moving image in which the real A and the pointing hand are photographed to the video conference communication terminals B and C via the multipoint connection device 100. However, it is impossible for the conference participants on the video conference communication terminals B and C side to point to a specific part of the real object A (telepointing) as it is. In addition, even when the actual product is on the video conference communication terminal B or C side, the other actual video conference communication terminal cannot point to the actual product. Therefore, in this embodiment, the multipoint connection device 100 is configured as shown in FIG.
[0068]
  Now, in order for any of the video conference communication terminals B or C to telepoint the real object A, the screens B or C each including the pencil Pb or Pc, which is a position indicating object, are connected at multiple points. When transmitted to the apparatus 100, the multipoint connection apparatus 100 receives the communication control unit 51b or c as shown in FIG. In this case, since the telepointing is performed with respect to the actual object A on the video conference communication terminal A side, the screen including the position indicating object from the video conference communication terminal A is not transmitted to the multipoint connection device 100. Needless to say, telepointing may be performed from the communication terminal A to another video conference communication terminal.
[0069]
  Now, the screen B or C from the terminal B or C is sent from the communication control unit b or c to the moving image synthesis pre-processing unit b or c, respectively, and after being subjected to predetermined pre-processing, the moving image / voice synthesis unit 83. On the other hand, the moving image A from the terminal A is received by the communication control unit A, subjected to predetermined preprocessing by the moving image preprocessing unit 82a, and then sent to the moving image / voice synthesis unit 83.
[0070]
  The moving image / sound synthesis unit 83 synthesizes the screen B or C with the moving image A. The synthesized moving image is transmitted to the terminal A, B, or C via the communication control unit 81a, b, or c after being subjected to predetermined post-processing by the moving image synthesis post-processing unit 84a, b, or c.
[0071]
  FIG. 13 shows the situation, in which the conference participant of either the video conference communication terminal B or C confirms the position of the pencil P displayed on the TV monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminal. Meanwhile, the pencil Pb or c held in the hand is moved in the screen B or C. The pencil Pb or c in the screen B or C is combined with the moving image A on the multipoint connection device 100 side and transmitted to the video conference communication terminals A, B, and C, and the video conference communication terminals A, B, and C side. Is displayed.
[0072]
  Thereby, the pencil P is synthesized and displayed as it is on the moving image A displayed on the TV monitor 3 of the video conference communication terminals A, B, and C corresponding to the position of the pencil Pb or c in the screen B or C, and the TV The conference participant of either the conference communication terminal B or C can cause the conference participant on the video conference communication terminal side other than the video conference communication terminal to pay attention to the specific part in the moving image A.
[0073]
  For this purpose, the video conference communication terminal A, B, or C does not need to have a new configuration, and the multipoint connection device 100 only has to have the configuration shown in FIG. B and C are video conference communication terminals having a basic configuration capable of handling only moving images / sound conforming to ITU-T Recommendation H.320, or other manufacturers or models of video conference communication terminals other than video / sound Even if the data is not compatible, so-called telepointing can be performed. Further, since the screen where the pencil Pb or c as the position indicating object is photographed is synthesized as it is with the target moving image (moving image A), it is not necessary to detect the position or movement of the pencil Pb or c on the screen.
[0074]
【The invention's effect】
  According to the present invention, the image was taken by the television camera on the partner device side.VideoBased on this, the own device side can obtain position / motion information and can be remotely controlled.VideoBased on the above, it becomes possible to remotely control the counterpart device (the device according to the present invention)Because, beforeIf the communication partner apparatus can handle a moving image at a minimum, it is possible to remotely control the own apparatus.Also,Photograph the pointing object in the counterpart device.VideoIs received as a compressed video to recognize the position and motion, so that it is not necessary to occupy a part of the transmission capacity for the transmission of position information.There are also advantages.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a video conference communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a video conference communication terminal that performs conference communication via a line network.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a display example of a pointer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a video conference communication terminal that performs conference communication via a line network.
FIG. 6 is a block configuration diagram of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a display example of a pointer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a video conference communication terminal that performs conference communication via a multipoint connection device via a line network.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a multipoint connection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a block configuration diagram of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a display example of a pointer (position indicating object) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a video conference communication terminal that performs conference communication via a multipoint connection device via a circuit network.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a multipoint connection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
  1 TV camera
  2 Microphone
  3 TV monitor
  4 Speaker
  5 Control device
  31, 41, 51a, 51b, 51c, 61, 71, 81a, 81b, 81c Communication control unit
  32, 62 Pointed object recognition unit
  33, 63 Pointed object position information extraction unit
  34 Position / Motion Synthesis Unit
  35, 65 Instruction / drawing recognition unit
  36, 66 Pointed object motion information extraction unit
  42 Moving Image / Position / Motion Synthesis Unit
  43 pointing and drawing devices
  52a, 52b, 52c Pointed object recognition unit
  53a, 53b, 53c Pointed object position information extraction unit
  54 Animation / Speech / Position / Motion Synthesis
  55a, 55b, 55c Instruction / drawing recognition unit
  56a, 56b, 56c Pointed object motion information extraction unit
  64 Camera motion controller
  72, 76, 82a, 82b, 82c Moving image composition pre-processing unit
  73 Moving Image Composition Processing Unit
  74, 84a, 84b, 84c Moving image composition post-processing unit
  83 Video / speech synthesis unit
  100 Multipoint connection device
  P Pointer, pencil

Claims (9)

In a TV camera communication device that exchanges moving images with a partner device,
Communication control means for capturing a moving image obtained by photographing a pointing object and subjected to predetermined processing;
Position identifying means for identifying the position of the pointing object on the other side from the received moving image ;
Movement identification means for identifying the movement of the pointing object on the other side from the received moving image ;
Rather based on the position and movement of the identified pointing object and a moving image combining means for combining the video image is a referent predetermined image information,
A television camera communication apparatus, wherein the moving picture synthesized by the moving picture synthesizing means is transmitted to the counterpart apparatus. Wherein the predetermined processing, the TV camera communication apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the compression of the dynamic image. In a multipoint connection device that is connected to multiple counterpart devices and exchanges moving images with those counterpart devices,
Communication control means for receiving a moving image obtained by photographing a pointing object and subjected to predetermined processing from a predetermined partner device among the plurality of partner devices;
Position identifying means for identifying the position of the pointing object on the other side from the received moving image ;
Movement identification means for identifying the movement of the pointing object on the other side from the received moving image ;
Rather based on the position and movement of the identified pointing object and a moving image combining means for combining the video image is a referent predetermined image information,
A multipoint connection device, wherein the moving image synthesized by the moving image synthesizing means is transmitted to the plurality of counterpart devices. Wherein the predetermined processing, multipoint control unit according to claim 3, characterized in that the compression of the dynamic image. In a TV camera communication device that exchanges moving images with a partner device,
Communication control means for capturing a moving image obtained by photographing a pointing object and subjected to predetermined processing;
Position identifying means for identifying the position of the pointing object on the other side from the received moving image ;
Movement identification means for identifying the movement of the pointing object on the other side from the received moving image ;
A TV camera for taking images,
A television camera communication device, wherein the orientation of the television camera is controlled based on the position or movement of the identified pointing object and an image photographed by the television camera is transmitted to the counterpart device. Wherein the predetermined processing, the TV camera communication apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the compression of the dynamic image.   The control of the direction of the television camera performed based on the position or movement of the identified pointing object displaces the direction of the television camera vertically or horizontally according to the vertical or horizontal displacement of the pointing object in the image. The television camera communication device according to claim 5, wherein the television camera communication device is control.   8. The television camera communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exchange of moving images with the counterpart apparatus is performed in accordance with a predetermined ITU-T recommendation.   5. The multipoint connection device according to claim 3, wherein the exchange of moving images with the counterpart device is performed in accordance with a predetermined ITU-T recommendation.

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