JP5910729B2 - Position determination system, position determination method, computer program, and position determination apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for determining a position based on a photographed image.

As a technique for determining a position based on a photographed image, for example, there is a technique that makes it possible to determine a position in a parking lot based on a photographed image (see Patent Document 1). Specific processing of the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is as follows.
When the vehicle is parked in the parking lot, the in-vehicle camera mounted on the vehicle images the two-dimensional barcode of the parking position information display body. The two-dimensional bar code is decoded, and parking position specifying information for specifying the parking position is displayed on the mobile terminal carried by the user of the vehicle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-140420

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a two-dimensional barcode generated in association with a position must be arranged in advance at each position. Therefore, this technique cannot be applied to a place where there is no space for arranging the two-dimensional barcode. Further, it is necessary to prepare a two-dimensional barcode according to the number of positions to be determined. For this reason, this technique cannot be applied to a system that determines an unspecified number of positions, for example, to determine positions on a road.
An example of an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that makes it possible to determine a position based on an image without arranging information indicating a position such as a two-dimensional barcode.

  A position determination system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a position information storage unit that stores information in which a feature amount of an image captured in advance and a position where the image is captured are stored in advance, and an imaging apparatus A feature amount acquisition unit that acquires a feature amount from an image captured by the image processing unit, a history storage unit that stores a history of the position of the imaging device, information stored in the position information storage unit, and the history storage unit And a position determination unit that determines a position corresponding to the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit based on the history.

  In the position determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention, a feature amount is acquired from an image captured by an imaging device, a history of the position of the imaging device is stored, a feature amount of an image captured in advance, and the image Determining a position corresponding to the acquired feature amount based on the information associated with the position where the image is captured and the stored history.

  A computer program according to an embodiment of the present invention acquires a feature amount from an image captured by an imaging device, stores a history of the position of the imaging device, and stores the feature amount of a previously captured image and the image The computer is caused to determine a position corresponding to the acquired feature amount based on the information in which the captured position is associated with the stored history.

  A position determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a feature amount acquisition unit that acquires a feature amount from an image captured by an imaging device, and a history storage unit that stores a history of the position of the imaging device in a history storage unit. The feature amount acquisition unit acquires the feature amount of the image captured in advance, the information where the position where the image was captured is associated, and the history stored in the history storage unit. A position determination unit that determines a position corresponding to the feature amount.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine a position based on an image without arranging information indicating a position such as a two-dimensional barcode.

It is a system configuration figure showing the system configuration of the position judging system of a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the position determination system of 1st embodiment. It is a system block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the modification of the position determination system of 1st embodiment. It is a system block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the position determination system of 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the position determination system of 2nd embodiment. It is a system block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the position determination system of 3rd embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the position determination system of 3rd embodiment.

[Outline]
A position determination system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a position information storage unit, a feature amount acquisition unit, a history storage unit, and a position determination unit.
The position information storage unit stores in advance information in which a feature amount of an image captured in advance and information on a position where the image is captured (position information) are associated with each other. The information in which the feature amount stored in the position information storage unit is associated with the position information is generated in advance so as to cover the region that is the target of the position determination by the position determination unit.

The feature amount acquisition unit acquires a feature amount from an image captured by a camera (imaging device) at a position where position determination is to be performed. The camera may be carried by the user, for example. The camera may be installed in the vehicle so as to capture a specific direction (for example, forward) of the vehicle. The camera may be provided in other modes.
The history storage unit stores a history of camera position information. The history stored in the history storage unit may be position information determined by a position determination unit described later. The history may be position information acquired by a position acquisition unit (for example, a satellite positioning system) that acquires position information without using an image captured by a camera.
The position determination unit determines a position (that is, a camera position) corresponding to the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit, based on the information stored in the position information storage unit and the information stored in the history storage unit.

In the position determination system configured as described above, position information is determined based on an image.
The image used for the position determination system is not an image obtained by photographing a pre-prepared artifact such as a two-dimensional barcode, but a landscape image that can be seen from each point. Therefore, it is possible to determine the position information based on the image without arranging information indicating the position such as a two-dimensional barcode.
Further, the current position information is determined based on the position information history. For this reason, it is possible to accurately determine the position information from the image without using a pre-prepared artifact such as a two-dimensional barcode.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of a position determination system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The position determination system according to the first embodiment includes an image learning device 10, a position table providing device 20, and a position determination device 30. The position table providing device 20 and the position determining device 30 can communicate via a network. There may be a plurality of each device. For example, a plurality of position determination devices 30 may be communicably connected to one position table providing device 20.

  The image learning apparatus 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus. The image learning device 10 functions as a device including a feature amount acquisition unit 101 and a position table creation unit 102 by executing an image learning program. All or some of the functions of the image learning apparatus 10 may be realized using hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The above-described image learning program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include a storage device such as a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk built in the computer system. The image learning program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

  The feature amount acquisition unit 101 receives an input of a set of image data and position information at each point in an area for which the position determination device 30 determines position information. The image data is data of an image taken in advance. The position information is information representing the position where the image data was taken. Specific examples of the position information may be latitude and longitude, a parking frame position in a parking lot, and a road position (including lanes). It is desirable that as many image data and position information sets as possible be input to the feature amount acquisition unit 101. A plurality of pieces of image data may be input for one piece of position information. For example, a plurality of image data can be acquired by photographing a plurality of different directions from a position indicated by one position information.

The feature amount acquisition unit 101 acquires a feature amount from each received image data. Any existing technique may be applied to the process in which the feature amount acquisition unit 101 acquires the feature amount from the image data.
The position table creation unit 102 generates one record by associating the feature amount of the image data acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 101 with the position information indicating the position where the image data was captured. The position table creation unit 102 creates a position table by combining a plurality of generated records. The position table has a plurality of records in which the feature amount of the image data is associated with the position information indicating the position where the image data is captured.

  The position table providing device 20 includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus. The position table providing apparatus 20 functions as an apparatus including a position table storage unit (position information storage unit) 201 and a communication unit 202 by executing a position table providing program. All or some of the functions of the position table providing apparatus 20 may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The above-described position table providing program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include a storage device such as a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk built in the computer system. The position table providing program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

The position table storage unit 201 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The position table storage unit 201 stores the position table created by the position table creation unit 102 of the image learning device 10.
The communication unit 202 communicates with the position determination device 30 via a network. The communication unit 202 discloses the information stored in the position table storage unit 201 to the position determination device 30 via the network.

The position determination device 30 includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus.
The position determination device 30 executes a position determination program, thereby allowing an input unit 301, a display unit 302, a communication unit 303, a position acquisition unit 304, an image acquisition unit 305, a feature amount acquisition unit (feature amount acquisition unit) 306, history It functions as an apparatus including a storage unit 307, a position determination unit 308, and a position storage unit 309. All or some of the functions of the position determination device 30 may be realized using hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The position determination program described above may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include a storage device such as a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk built in the computer system. The position determination program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

  The input unit 301 is configured using an existing input device such as a keyboard, a pointing device (such as a mouse or a tablet), a button, or a touch panel. The input unit 301 is operated by the user when inputting a user instruction to the position determination device 30. The input unit 301 may be an interface for connecting the input device to the position determination device 30. In this case, the input unit 301 inputs an input signal generated according to a user input in the input device to the position determination device 30.

  The display unit 302 is an image display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, a liquid crystal display, or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display unit 302 displays position information and the like. The display unit 302 may be an interface for connecting the image display device to the position determination device 30. In this case, the display unit 302 generates a video signal for displaying position information and the like, and outputs the video signal to an image display device connected to the display unit 302 itself.

  The communication unit 303 communicates with the position table providing apparatus 20 via a network. The communication unit 303 acquires the information stored in the position table storage unit 201 from the position table providing apparatus 20 via the network.

  The position acquisition unit 304 acquires position information on the current position of the position acquisition unit 304. The position acquisition unit 304 acquires position information of the current position, for example, by communication with a satellite positioning system or a mobile phone network base station. Specific examples of the satellite positioning system may be GPS (Global Positioning System) or Galileo. The position acquisition unit 304 outputs the acquired position information to the position determination unit 308. The position acquisition unit 304 may not be able to acquire the position information of the current position for reasons such as being unable to receive a signal from a satellite. If the position acquisition unit 304 cannot acquire the position information of the current position, the position acquisition unit 304 outputs error information to the position determination unit 308. The position acquisition unit 304 may be an interface for connecting a position information acquisition device (for example, a receiver of a satellite positioning system) to the position determination device 30. In this case, the position acquisition unit 304 inputs a signal representing the position information generated by the position information acquisition device connected to the position determination device 30 to the position determination device 30.

The image acquisition unit 305 includes a camera (imaging device) 305a. The image acquisition unit 305 captures a scene and generates image data.
The image acquisition unit 305 may be an interface for connecting the camera to the position determination device 30. In this case, the image acquisition unit 305 inputs image data captured by a camera connected to the position determination device 30 to the position determination device 30.

  The feature amount acquisition unit 306 acquires a feature amount from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 305. The feature amount acquisition unit 306 acquires the feature amount by the same type of processing as the feature amount acquisition unit 101 of the image learning device 10. Therefore, if the processing target is the same image, the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 101 and the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 306 are feature amounts acquired from the same image. Matches to the extent that it can be evaluated.

  The history storage unit 307 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The history storage unit 307 stores a history of position information determined by the position determination unit 308. For example, the history storage unit 307 stores position information of a predetermined period (for example, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, etc.) from a predetermined time retroactive to the current time as a history.

  When the position acquisition unit 304 has acquired position information, the position determination unit 308 determines the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 as current position information. When the position acquisition unit 304 cannot acquire position information (when error information is output), the position determination unit 308 stores the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 306 and the history storage unit 307. Based on the stored history and the position table stored in the position table storage unit 201, the position information of the current position is determined.

The position storage unit 309 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The position storage unit 309 stores position information when the position determination unit 308 determines that a predetermined condition is satisfied.
The above is description of each structure of the position determination system of 1st embodiment. Both the image acquisition unit 305 and the position acquisition unit 304 are provided in the position determination device 30. Due to this configuration, the position acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 can be handled as both the position of the camera 305 a of the image acquisition unit 305 and the position of the position determination device 30. Similarly, the position determined based on the image of the image acquisition unit 305 can be handled as the current position of the position determination device 30.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the position determination system according to the first embodiment.
The position acquisition unit 304 continuously acquires the current position information, and outputs the acquired position information to the position determination unit 308. If the current position information cannot be acquired, the position acquisition unit 304 outputs error information to the position determination unit 308. If the position acquisition unit 304 can acquire position information (step S101—YES), the position determination unit 308 determines the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 as position information of the current position (step S102). ). Then, the position determination unit 308 records the position information of the current position in the history storage unit 307 (Step S107).

  If position information cannot be acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 (step S101—NO), the position determination unit 308 instructs the image acquisition unit 305 to acquire an image. The image acquisition unit 305 acquires an image in response to an instruction from the position determination unit 308 (step S103). The feature amount acquisition unit 306 acquires a feature amount from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 305 (step S104). The position determination unit 308 estimates the current area based on the history stored in the history storage unit 307 (step S105). The current region is a region estimated to include the current position. For example, it is possible to estimate the current region by referring to past history in time series and using a technique for estimating the current position that follows thereafter in a certain range. In this case, the estimated range indicates the current area.

  The position determination unit 308 acquires a record related to position information included in the estimated current area from the position table storage unit 201 via the network. The position determination unit 308 compares the acquired feature amount of each record with the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 306, and determines the record with the closest feature amount as the optimum record. Then, the position determination unit 308 determines the position information of the optimum record as the position information of the current position (Step S106). Then, the position determination unit 308 records the position information of the current position in the history storage unit 307 (Step S107).

  After the process of step S107, the position determination unit 308 determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied (step S108). When the predetermined condition is not satisfied (step S108—NO), the position determination unit 308 returns to step S101, and executes the processes after step S101.

  When the predetermined condition is satisfied (step S108—YES), the position determination unit 308 records the current position information (newest position information) in the position storage unit 309 (step S109). The predetermined condition may be any condition as long as the user needs position information at the time when the condition is satisfied in the future. The predetermined condition may be, for example, that an instruction for storing the current position is input from the user via the input unit 101. The predetermined condition may be that the position determination device 30 is removed from a predetermined connection device (for example, a holding device (cradle)). The predetermined condition may be that the engine of the vehicle in which the position determination device 30 is installed is stopped. Regardless of the predetermined condition, the position determination device 30 includes a sensor necessary for determining the predetermined condition.

After receiving the input of the position information display instruction after the process of step S109 (step S110-YES), the position determination unit 308 reads the position information stored in the position storage unit 309 and displays it on the display unit 302 (step S110). S111). The position information display instruction is input by the user operating the input unit 101.
The position determination device 30 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S101 to S108 at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing may be, for example, every second, every ten seconds, or every time the vehicle on which the position determination device 30 is installed travels a predetermined distance.

  The position determination system according to the first embodiment configured as described above determines position information based on an image. The image used for the position determination system is not an image obtained by photographing a pre-prepared artifact such as a two-dimensional barcode, but a landscape image that can be seen from each point. More specifically, the image used for the position determination system is an image obtained by photographing the front from each lane of the road, or an image obtained by photographing the front and rear from each parking position of the parking lot. In this case, for example, a lane pattern drawn on a roadway, a landscape pattern around the road, a wall surface pattern of a parking lot, or the like may be acquired as a feature amount. Since position determination using such an image is performed, it is not necessary to arrange information indicating a position such as a two-dimensional barcode.

  The position determination system according to the first embodiment estimates a current approximate range (current area) based on a history of position information, and determines current position information based on a record corresponding to the current area. Therefore, even if similar features are associated with multiple different positions, the possibility of determining an incorrect position as the current position is reduced, and position information can be determined from an image with higher accuracy. It becomes.

  The position determination system of the first embodiment can display the position at the time when a predetermined condition is satisfied after that. Therefore, even if the user of the position determination device 30 forgets a position that satisfies a predetermined condition after that, the position determination device 30 can check the position at that time. For example, the user performs an operation so as to satisfy a predetermined condition at a position where the vehicle is stopped in a parking lot. By this operation, the user can easily determine the stop position when he / she wants to return to the position of the vehicle thereafter.

<Modification>
FIG. 3 shows a system configuration of a modification of the position determination system of the first embodiment. In the modification, the position determination device 30 further includes a sensor 311. The sensor 311 acquires information for estimating the current region of the position determination device 30.
For example, the sensor 311 may be an orientation sensor. In this case, the sensor 311 detects the direction in which the position determination device 30 is facing. In the position table, the recording direction is also registered in association with each record. The position determination unit 308 may determine the position based only on the record of the image captured in the detected direction.

  The position determination unit 308 may record the output history of the direction sensor of the sensor 311 and may determine that one floor has been raised (or lowered) in a three-dimensional parking lot when the direction has rotated once. In this case, the position determination unit 308 may determine the position based only on the record corresponding to the current floor. The determination of whether the floor should be determined to have gone up or down when the azimuth has rotated once may be made by creating a database in advance for each parking lot and referring to this database.

  The sensor 311 may be a gyro. The position determination unit 308 records the output history of the gyro of the sensor 311, and determines that one floor has been raised (or lowered) in the three-dimensional parking lot when the position determination device 30 makes one rotation. good. In this case, the position determination unit 308 may determine the position based only on the record corresponding to the current floor.

  The position determination device 30 may be configured to include the position table storage unit 201 in advance. For example, the position determination device 30 may download the data of the position table storage unit 201 from the position table providing device 20 to the storage device of the position determination device 30 itself before executing the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. . In this case, the position determination device 30 may download only the record corresponding to the predetermined area corresponding to the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 at that time. With this configuration, the position determination device 30 can determine the position even when communication with the position table providing device 20 is difficult.

  The image acquisition unit 305 may be configured to always acquire an image regardless of whether there is an instruction from the position determination unit 308 (that is, regardless of whether the position acquisition unit 304 can acquire position information). .

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 4 shows the system configuration of the position determination system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Among the position determination system configuration of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the same configuration as the position determination system of the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, the feature amount acquisition unit 101, the position table creation unit 102, the position table storage unit 201, the input unit 301, the display unit 302, the position acquisition unit 304, the image acquisition unit 305, the feature amount acquisition unit 306, and the history illustrated in FIG. The memory | storage part 307 and the position memory | storage part 309 are the same as the structure of the same sign of 1st embodiment. Hereinafter, the configuration of the second embodiment will be described.

The position table providing device 20a of the second embodiment differs from the position table providing device 20 of the first embodiment in that the communication unit 202a is provided instead of the communication unit 202 and the position determination unit 211 is further provided.
The communication unit 202a does not disclose the information stored in the position table storage unit 201, but receives a position determination request from the position determination device 30a via the network. The position determination request includes the feature amount acquired from the image and information indicating the current area. In addition, the communication unit 202a transmits the determination result (position information) by the position determination unit 211 to the position determination device 30a.
The position determination unit 211 determines the position of the position determination device 30a in response to the position determination request transmitted from the position determination device 30a.

The position determination device 30a according to the second embodiment includes a communication unit 303a instead of the communication unit 303 and a point including a position determination unit 308a instead of the position determination unit 308. Different from 30.
The communication unit 303a communicates with the position table providing device 20a via a network. The communication unit 303a transmits the position determination request generated by the position determination unit 308a to the position table providing apparatus 20a. Further, the communication unit 303a receives position information from the position table providing apparatus 20a.

When the position acquisition unit 304 has acquired position information, the position determination unit 308a determines the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 as current position information. When the position acquisition unit 304 cannot acquire the position information (when error information is output), the position determination unit 308 a stores the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 306 and the history storage unit 307. A position determination request is generated based on the stored history. Specifically, the position determination unit 308a estimates the current area based on the history stored in the history storage unit 307.
Then, the position determination unit 308a generates a position determination request including the feature amount acquired from the image by the feature amount acquisition unit 306 and information indicating the current area.
When position information is received from the position table providing apparatus 20a, the position determination unit 308a records the received position information in the history storage unit 307.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the position determination system according to the second embodiment.
In FIG. 5, the flowchart on the left side of the vertically extending broken line shows the processing flow of the position determination device 30a. The flowchart on the right side of the broken line shows the processing flow of the position table providing apparatus 20a.
The position acquisition unit 304 continuously acquires the current position information, and outputs the acquired position information to the position determination unit 308a. If the current position information cannot be acquired, the position acquisition unit 304 outputs error information to the position determination unit 308a. If the position acquisition unit 304 can acquire position information (step S201—YES), the position determination unit 308a determines the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 as position information of the current position (step S202). ). Then, the position determination unit 308a records the position information of the current position in the history storage unit 307 (step S208).

When position information cannot be acquired by the position acquisition unit 304 (step S201—NO), the position determination unit 308a instructs the image acquisition unit 305 to acquire an image. The image acquisition unit 305 acquires an image in response to an instruction from the position determination unit 308a (step S203).
The feature amount acquisition unit 306 acquires a feature amount from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 305 (step S204). The position determination unit 308a estimates the current area based on the history stored in the history storage unit 307 (step S205). The position determination unit 308a generates a position determination request including the feature amount of the image and information on the current region. The communication unit 303a transmits a position determination request including the feature amount of the image and information on the current region to the position table providing apparatus 20a (step S206).

  The communication unit 202a of the position table providing apparatus 20a receives a position determination request including the image feature amount and the current area information from the position determination apparatus 30a (step S301). The position determination unit 211 of the position table providing device 20a acquires a record regarding the position information included in the current area from the position table storage unit 201 based on the information on the current area included in the position determination request. The position determination unit 211 compares the acquired feature amount of each record with the feature amount included in the position determination request, and determines the record having the closest approximate feature amount as the optimum record. Then, the position determination unit 211 determines the position information of the optimum record as the position information of the current position (Step S302). The communication unit 202a transmits the position information of the current position to the position determination device 30a that is the transmission source of the position determination request (step S303).

  The communication unit 303a of the position determination device 30a receives the position information from the position table providing device 20a (step S207). The position determination unit 308a determines that the position information received from the position table providing device 20a is the position information of the current position, and records it in the history storage unit 307 (step S208).

  After the process of step S208, the position determination unit 308a determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied (step S209). When the predetermined condition is not satisfied (step S209—NO), the position determination unit 308a returns to step S201, and executes the processes after S201.

When the predetermined condition is satisfied (step S209—YES), the position determination unit 308a records the current position information (newest position information) in the position storage unit 309 (step S210). When the input of the position information display instruction is received after the process of step S210 (step S211—YES), the position determination unit 308a reads the position information stored in the position storage unit 309 and displays it on the display unit 302 (step S210). S212).
The position determination device 30a repeatedly executes the processes of steps S201 to S209 at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing may be, for example, every time the vehicle on which the position determination device 30a is installed travels a predetermined distance every second or every 10 seconds.

Even in the position determination system of the second embodiment configured as described above, the same effect as that of the position determination system of the first embodiment can be obtained.
In the position determination system according to the second embodiment, the position table stored in the position table storage unit 201 does not need to be disclosed on the network. For this reason, it is possible to maintain high security of the position table.

In the position determination system according to the second embodiment, the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 306 is compared with the feature amount of each record in the position table providing device 20a instead of the position determination device 30a. Therefore, the position determination device 30a can be configured using hardware with low processing capability. It is also possible to reduce the amount of communication between the position determination device 30a and the position table providing device 20a.
The position determination system of the second embodiment may be modified and configured in the same manner as the position determination system of the first embodiment.

[Third embodiment]
FIG. 6 shows the system configuration of the position determination system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Among the position determination system configuration of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the same configuration as the position determination system of the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, the feature quantity acquisition unit 101 and the position table creation unit 102 shown in FIG. 6 have the same configurations as those in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the configuration of the third embodiment will be described.

  The position determination system according to the third embodiment includes an image learning device 10, a position acquisition device 40, and a position determination device 50. The position acquisition device 40 and the position determination device 50 can communicate via a network. There may be a plurality of each device. For example, a plurality of position acquisition devices 40 may be communicably connected to one position determination device 50.

The position acquisition device 40 includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus.
The position acquisition device 40 functions as a device including an input unit 401, a display unit 402, a communication unit 403, a position acquisition unit 404, an image acquisition unit 405, a control unit 406, and a position storage unit 407 by executing a position acquisition program. To do. All or some of the functions of the position acquisition device 40 may be realized by using hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The position acquisition program described above may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.
The computer-readable recording medium may include a storage device such as a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk built in the computer system. The position acquisition program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

  The input unit 401 is configured using an existing input device such as a keyboard, a pointing device (such as a mouse or a tablet), a button, or a touch panel. The input unit 401 is operated by the user when inputting a user instruction to the position acquisition device 40. The input unit 401 may be an interface for connecting the input device to the position acquisition device 40. In this case, the input unit 401 inputs an input signal generated in response to a user input in the input device to the position acquisition device 40.

  The display unit 402 is an image display device such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or an organic EL display. The display unit 402 displays position information and the like. The display unit 402 may be an interface for connecting the image display device to the position acquisition device 40. In this case, the display unit 402 generates a video signal for displaying position information and the like, and outputs the video signal to an image display device connected to the display unit 402 itself.

  The communication unit 403 communicates with the position determination device 50 via a network. The communication unit 403 transmits the history registration request generated by the control unit 406 to the position determination device 50. The communication unit 403 transmits the position information request generated by the control unit 406 to the position determination device 50 and receives a position information response from the position determination device 50.

  The position acquisition unit 404 acquires position information on the current position of the position acquisition unit 404. The position acquisition unit 404 acquires position information of the current position by, for example, communication with a satellite positioning system or a mobile phone network base station. The position acquisition unit 404 outputs the acquired position information to the control unit 406. For example, the position acquisition unit 404 may not be able to acquire position information of the current position for reasons such as being unable to receive a signal from a satellite. If the position acquisition unit 404 cannot acquire the position information of the current position, the position acquisition unit 404 outputs error information to the control unit 406. The position acquisition unit 404 may be an interface for connecting a position information acquisition device (for example, a receiver of a satellite positioning system) to the position acquisition device 40. In this case, the position acquisition unit 404 inputs a signal representing the position information generated by the position information acquisition device connected to the position acquisition device 40 to the position acquisition device 40.

The image acquisition unit 405 includes a camera 405a. The image acquisition unit 405 captures a scene and generates image data.
The image acquisition unit 405 may be an interface for connecting the camera to the position acquisition device 40. In this case, the image acquisition unit 405 inputs image data captured by a camera connected to the position acquisition device 40 to the position acquisition device 40.

  When the position acquisition unit 404 has acquired the position information, the control unit 406 generates a history registration request including the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 404. When the position acquisition unit 404 cannot acquire position information (when error information is output), the control unit 406 generates a history registration request using the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 405. .

When it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the control unit 406 generates a position information request and acquires position information corresponding to the position information request from the position determination device 50. Then, the control unit 406 records the acquired position information in the position storage unit 407.
The position storage unit 407 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The position storage unit 407 stores position information when the control unit 406 determines that a predetermined condition is satisfied.

The position determination device 50 includes a CPU, a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus.
The position determination device 50 functions as a device including a position table storage unit 501, a communication unit 502, a feature amount acquisition unit 503, a history storage unit 504, and a position determination unit 505 by executing a position determination program. All or some of the functions of the position determination device 50 may be realized using hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA. The position determination program described above may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include a storage device such as a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk built in the computer system. The position determination program may be transmitted / received via a telecommunication line.

The position table storage unit 501 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The position table storage unit 501 stores the position table created by the position table creation unit 102 of the image learning device 10.
The communication unit 502 communicates with the position acquisition device 40 via a network. The communication unit 502 receives a history registration request from the position acquisition device 40. The communication unit 502 receives a position information request from the position acquisition device 40 and transmits the position information acquired by the position determination unit 505 to the position acquisition device 40.

  The feature amount acquisition unit 503 acquires a feature amount from an image included in the history registration request received by the communication unit 502. The feature amount acquisition unit 503 acquires a feature amount by the same type of processing as the feature amount acquisition unit 101 of the image learning device 10. Therefore, if the processing target is the same image, the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 101 and the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 503 are feature amounts acquired from the same image. Matches to the extent that it can be evaluated.

  The history storage unit 504 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The history storage unit 504 stores the history of position information determined by the position determination unit 505 for each position acquisition device 40. For example, the history storage unit 504 stores position information for a predetermined period (for example, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, etc.) from a predetermined time period retroactive to the current time for each position acquisition device 40 as a history.

  When the received history registration request includes position information, the position determination unit 505 determines the position information included in the history registration request as the current position information. If the received history registration request does not include position information and does not include image data, the position determination unit 505 and the history storage unit 504 acquire the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 503. The position information of the current position is determined based on the history stored in the position table and the position table stored in the position table storage unit 501.

  The above is description of each structure of the position determination system of 3rd embodiment. Both the image acquisition unit 405 and the position acquisition unit 404 are provided in the position acquisition device 40. Due to this configuration, the position acquired by the position acquisition unit 404 can be handled as the position of the camera 405 a of the image acquisition unit 405 or the position of the position acquisition device 40. Similarly, the position determined based on the image of the image acquisition unit 405 can be handled as the current position of the position acquisition device 40.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the position determination system according to the third embodiment.
In FIG. 7, the flowchart on the left side of the vertically extending broken line shows the processing flow of the position acquisition device 40. The flowchart on the right side of the broken line shows the processing flow of the position determination device 50.
The position acquisition unit 404 continuously acquires current position information, and outputs the acquired position information to the control unit 406. If the current position information cannot be acquired, the position acquisition unit 404 outputs error information to the control unit 406. When the position acquisition by the position acquisition unit 404 is possible (step S501—YES), the control unit 406 receives the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 404 (step S502), and the position information and the position acquisition device. A history registration request including 40 device identification information (for example, user ID, device ID, MAC address, etc.) is generated. Then, the communication unit 403 transmits a history registration request including position information to the position determination device 50 (step S503).

  The communication unit 502 of the position determination device 50 receives a history registration request including position information from the position acquisition device 40 (step S601). The position determination unit 505 associates the position information and the device identification information included in the history registration request with each other and records them in the history storage unit 504 (step S602).

  When the position information cannot be acquired by the position acquisition unit 404 (NO in step S501), the control unit 406 instructs the image acquisition unit 405 to acquire an image. The image acquisition unit 405 acquires an image in response to an instruction from the control unit 406 (step S504). The control unit 406 generates a history registration request including the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 405 and the device identification information of the position acquisition device 40. Then, the communication unit 403 transmits a history registration request including image data to the position determination device 50 (step S505).

  The communication unit 502 of the position determination device 50 receives a history registration request including image data from the position acquisition device 40 (step S603). The feature amount acquisition unit 503 acquires a feature amount from the image data included in the history registration request (step S604). The position determination unit 505 reads a history corresponding to the device identification information included in the received history registration request from the history stored in the history storage unit 504. Then, the position determination unit 505 estimates the current area based on the read history (step S605).

  The position determination unit 505 acquires a record related to position information included in the estimated current area from the position table storage unit 501. The position determination unit 505 compares the acquired feature amount of each record with the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit 503, and determines the record having the closest feature amount as the optimum record. Then, the position determination unit 505 determines the position information of the optimum record as the position information of the current position (step S606). Then, the position determination unit 505 records the position information of the current position and the device identification information in association with each other and records them in the history storage unit 504 (step S607).

The control unit 406 determines whether a predetermined condition is satisfied (step S506). When the predetermined condition is not satisfied (step S506-NO), the control unit 406 returns to step S501 and executes the processes after step S501.
When the predetermined condition is satisfied (step S <b> 506 -YES), the control unit 406 generates a position information request including the device identification information of the position acquisition device 40. The communication unit 403 transmits the generated position information request to the position determination device 50 (step S507).
The communication unit 502 of the position determination device 50 receives a position information request from the position acquisition device 40 (step S608). The position determination unit 505 searches the history storage unit 504 for the latest position information corresponding to the device identification information included in the received position information request (step S609).
The position determination unit 505 generates a position information response including the position information obtained by the search. The communication unit 502 transmits a position information response including the position information to the position acquisition device 40 that is the transmission source of the position information request (step S610).

  The communication unit 403 of the position acquisition device 40 receives a position information response including the position information from the position determination device 50 (step S508). The control unit 406 records the position information included in the received position information response in the position storage unit 407 (step S509). The predetermined condition may be any condition as long as the user needs position information at the time when the condition is satisfied in the future. The predetermined condition may be, for example, that an instruction for storing the current position is input from the user via the input unit 401. The predetermined condition may be that the position acquisition device 40 is removed from a predetermined connection device (for example, a holding device (cradle)). The predetermined condition may be that the engine of the vehicle in which the position acquisition device 40 is installed is stopped. Regardless of the predetermined condition, the position acquisition device 40 includes a sensor necessary for determining the predetermined condition.

When a position information display instruction is input after the process of step S509 (step S510-YES), the control unit 406 reads the position information stored in the position storage unit 407 and displays it on the display unit 402 (step S511). ). The position information display instruction is input by the user operating the input unit 401.
The position acquisition device 40 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S501 to S506 at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing may be, for example, every time the vehicle on which the position acquisition device 40 is installed travels a predetermined distance every second or every 10 seconds.

Even in the position determination system of the third embodiment configured as described above, the same effect as that of the position determination system of the first embodiment can be obtained.
In the position determination system according to the third embodiment, there is no need to disclose the position table stored in the position table storage unit 501 on the network. For this reason, it is possible to maintain high security of the position table.

In the position determination system of the third embodiment, the process for acquiring the feature value and the process for comparing the feature value with the feature value of each record are executed by the position determination device 50 instead of the position acquisition device 40. Therefore, the position acquisition device 40 can be configured using hardware with low processing capability.
The position determination system of the third embodiment may be modified and configured similarly to the position determination system of the first embodiment.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.
For example, although the specific example of three structures was shown as a position determination system, the apparatus provided with each function part is not limited to the example mentioned above. For example, in the first embodiment, the position storage unit 309 may be provided in the position table providing device 20 or may be provided in another device (not illustrated) (for example, a vehicle in which the position determination device 30a is installed). good. The position table providing apparatus 20a according to the second embodiment may be divided into an apparatus including the position table storage unit 201 and an apparatus including the position determination unit 211 and the communication unit 202a. The position determination apparatus 50 according to the third embodiment is divided into an apparatus including a position table storage unit 501, an apparatus including a communication unit 502, a feature amount acquisition unit 503, and a position determination unit 505, and an apparatus including a history storage unit 504. May be configured. In the third embodiment, the history storage unit 504 may be provided in the position acquisition device 40.

  This application claims the priority on the basis of Japanese patent application 2012-075305 for which it applied on March 29, 2012, and takes in those the indications of all here.

  The present invention can be applied to a position determination system, a position determination method, a computer program, and a position determination apparatus. By applying the present invention, it is possible to determine a position based on an image without arranging information indicating the position.

10 Image learning device
101 Feature acquisition unit
102 Location table creation unit
20, 20a Position table providing device
201 Position table storage unit (position information storage unit)
202, 202a Communication unit
211 Position determination unit
30, 30a Position determination device
301 Input section
302 Display section
303, 303a Communication unit
304 Position acquisition unit
305 Image acquisition unit
306 feature amount acquisition unit (feature amount acquisition unit)
307 History storage unit
308, 308a Position determination unit
309 Position storage unit
311 sensor
40 Position acquisition device
401 Input section
402 display unit
403 communication unit
404 Position acquisition unit
405 Image acquisition unit
406 control unit
407 Position storage unit
50 Position determination device
501 Position table storage unit
502 communication unit
503 feature quantity acquisition unit (feature quantity acquisition unit)
504 History storage unit
505 Position determination unit

Claims (10)

A position information storage unit that stores in advance information in which a feature amount of an image captured in advance and a position where the image is captured are associated;
A feature amount acquisition unit that acquires a feature amount from an image captured by an imaging device installed in the vehicle;
A history storage unit for storing a history of the position of the imaging device;
A position determination unit that determines a position corresponding to the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit based on the information stored in the position information storage unit and the history stored in the history storage unit;
A position storage unit for storing the position;
A presentation unit for presenting the position stored by the position storage unit to the user in response to an input by the user ,
The presenting unit is provided in a predetermined device,
The position determination unit records a position at a time when the device is removed from a connection device provided in the vehicle in the position storage unit.
Position determination system.   The position determination system according to claim 1, wherein the history storage unit stores a position determined in the past by the position determination unit as a history.   The history storage unit records the position determined in the past by the position determination unit and the position acquired by the position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the imaging device without using an image captured by the imaging device. The position determination system according to claim 1, stored as:   The position determination system according to claim 3, wherein the position determination unit performs the determination when the position acquisition unit cannot acquire the position.   The position determination unit estimates a region including the current position of the imaging device based on the history, and determines the feature amount based on information on a position included in the region among information stored in the position information storage unit. The position determination system according to claim 1, wherein a corresponding position is determined.   The display unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a presentation unit that reads a position from the position storage unit and presents the position to the user when an instruction is given from the user to display the position recorded in the position storage unit. The position determination system according to claim 1. The position information storage unit stores a plurality of records each including a feature amount of an image and a shooting position where the image is shot,
The position determination unit estimates an area including the position of the imaging device based on a history stored in the history storage unit;
The position determination unit acquires a plurality of records including a shooting position included in the estimated area among the plurality of records,
The position determination unit compares the feature amount of the image included in each of the acquired plurality of records with the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit, and the feature amount acquired by the feature amount acquisition unit is the highest. The record having the approximate feature amount of the image is determined as the optimum record
The position determination system according to claim 1, wherein the position determination unit determines a shooting position included in the optimum record as a position of the imaging device. Obtain feature values from images taken by an imaging device installed in the vehicle,
Storing a history of the position of the imaging device;
A position corresponding to the acquired feature amount is determined based on information in which the feature amount of the image captured in advance is associated with the position where the image was captured, and the stored history. The position determined at the time when the predetermined device including the presentation unit is removed from the connection device provided in the vehicle is recorded in the position storage unit,
The presenting unit presents the position stored by the position storage unit to the user in response to an input by the user;
A position determination method comprising: Obtain feature values from images taken by an imaging device installed in the vehicle,
Storing a history of the position of the imaging device;
A position corresponding to the acquired feature amount is determined based on information in which the feature amount of the image captured in advance is associated with the position where the image was captured, and the stored history. The position determined at the time when the predetermined device including the presentation unit is removed from the connection device provided in the vehicle is recorded in the position storage unit,
The presenting unit presents the position stored by the position storage unit to the user in response to an input by the user;
A computer program that causes a computer to execute the operation. A feature amount acquisition unit that acquires a feature amount from an image captured by an imaging device installed in the vehicle;
A history storage unit for storing a history of the position of the imaging device;
Acquired in the feature amount acquisition unit based on information in which the feature amount of the image captured in advance is associated with the position where the image was captured, and the history stored in the history storage unit. A position determination unit that determines a position corresponding to the feature amount;
A position storage unit for storing the position;
A presentation unit for presenting the position stored by the position storage unit to the user in response to an input by the user ,
The presenting unit is provided in a predetermined device,
The position determination unit records in the position storage unit a position determined at a time when the device is disconnected from a connected device provided in the vehicle ;
Position determination device.

Images