JP6653872B2 - Baseball judgment system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention determines a hit ball hit by a facility user at a facility such as a batting center, a baseball practice field, and a baseball field, and displays the details of a pitch thrown by a facility user to determine a ball type. The present invention relates to a baseball determination system.

  In amusement facilities such as a batting center, a user hits a baseball ball thrown by a pitching machine or the like for the purpose of improving batting technology or for entertainment.

  Conventionally, the batting is evaluated by setting a target at a predetermined position and determining that the target is a home run when hitting the target, giving a prize, or posting the name of the user.

  However, in this conventional method, since it is determined whether or not the ball has hit the target irrespective of the actual flight distance or the speed of the hit ball, it is not realistic as entertainment and it is difficult to contribute to improvement of batting technique.

  As a method for solving this problem, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a method of calculating the flight distance of a hit ball by obtaining the speed and direction of the hit ball using two sets of baseball ball position detecting devices.

JP 2001-269430 A

  In the above-mentioned prior art, a plurality of columns on which a sensor for measuring the position of a hit ball must be installed on the front side of the home base in terms of the measurement principle. Therefore, there is a possibility that a hit ball or a hit ball to be determined as a home run hits the strut, and not only hinders the hit ball from flying, but also a hit ball hitting the strut and rebounding may hit the batter and cause injury.

  Also, for the purpose of improving the pitching technique or for entertainment, a user throws a ball at a target. In this case, a prize is presented or a user's name is posted depending on whether the user has hit the target. As in the case of batting, this conventional method cannot determine the pitching speed, the changing ball, and the like, so that it is difficult to contribute to the improvement of the pitching technique.

  Further, when the above-described conventional technique is used for detecting a pitch, only two three-dimensional positions on a pitch trajectory can be detected. Therefore, it is impossible to detect a detailed change state of the changing ball such as a curve or a shot.

  An object of the present invention is to determine hits, home runs, and the like in facilities such as a batting center, a baseball practice field, and a baseball stadium without disturbing a hit ball hit by a batter who is a facility user. An object of the present invention is to provide a baseball determination system capable of detecting a trajectory of a pitch thrown by a pitcher and determining a strike or a pitch.

A baseball determination system according to one aspect of the present invention is provided with a plurality of imaging units installed at different positions and imaging a baseball ball hit by a batter at the same timing, and Times, and for each imaging means, a brightness difference calculation means for calculating a brightness difference from two temporally adjacent image data, and an area having the brightness difference for each of the imaging means is extracted, A baseball ball determining means for determining that the baseball ball is passing when the characteristics of the baseball ball are satisfied; and an area having the brightness difference determined by the baseball ball determining means to be the baseball ball. Calculating three-dimensional coordinates of the baseball ball for each time, calculating an elevation angle, a direction angle, and a speed of the baseball ball based on the three-dimensional coordinates, and calculating the baseball ball based on the calculation result. And a determination processing means for hitting content by, further comprising pitching means for performing pitching against batter, the baseball, the elevation angle of the calculated baseball, directional angle, the speed, by next bat batter At-bat determining means for determining that the hit ball has been hit back by a target batter instead of a hit ball. Here, the determination of the hit ball content includes, for example, determination of a flight distance and a drop point of the hit ball, and determination of a hit or a home run. The judgment of the pitching content includes the judgment of the pitch and the strike.

With this configuration, a brightness difference is obtained from two image data that are temporally adjacent to each other by using a plurality of pieces of image data captured a plurality of times with a time lag. The region having the brightness difference is extracted every time, and if the region satisfies the characteristics of a baseball, it is determined that the baseball is a passing baseball and the brightness determined to be the baseball is From the region having the difference, the three-dimensional coordinates of the baseball ball for each time are calculated. Then, based on the three-dimensional coordinates, an elevation angle, a direction angle, and a speed at which the baseball ball flies are calculated, or the trajectory of the baseball is detected to determine the hitting content or the pitching content of the baseball. be able to. Thereby, in baseball practice at facilities such as a batting center, a baseball practice field, and a baseball field, it is possible to contribute to improvement of batting technique and pitching technique, and to enjoy as entertainment. In addition, since each imaging unit performs imaging a plurality of times, it is possible to reduce the number of imaging units to, for example, two. It should be noted that the number of imaging units may be three or more.

In this case, hit ball was hit back by striking person (baseball) is, for example, even in baseball that has been pitched by the pitching machine, a person (pitcher) may be in actually threw a baseball ball.

  Since the hit ball is moving, a difference in lightness appears in the hit ball, so that the recognition of the hit ball for each time becomes easy. In addition, instead of the brightness difference, the hitting ball may be recognized for each time based on the pixel such as the area and contour of the hitting ball. Alternatively, a mark may be added to a baseball to recognize the mark.

  Further, it is preferable that the plurality of imaging units are installed above the batter. With this configuration, since the plurality of image pickup units are installed above the batter (for example, near the head of the batter), the hit ball can be imaged without disturbing the hit ball. Further, unlike the case where the imaging means is installed in front, it is possible to prevent the destruction of the imaging means by hitting the ball and the rebound of the hitting ball. In addition, an outdoor batting center is often provided with a roof so that a batter does not get wet with rain, and in that case, a camera installed above the batter is not affected by the rain.

  In addition, the determination processing means is configured to determine a hit ball content when the direction angle is within a set range, the speed is equal to or higher than the first set speed, and the hit ball is separated from the batter. It can be configured to determine that the ball is hit.

  Further, the determination processing means may be configured to calculate a flight distance of the hit ball and determine whether or not it is a home run when the hit ball content needs to be determined.

Also, the determination processing means determines that the flight is a home run when the flight distance exceeds the first set distance, and when the flight distance is equal to or greater than a second set distance smaller than the first set distance, and the speed is higher. A configuration may be adopted in which a hit is determined when the elevation angle is within a predetermined range at or above the set speed. Here, the elevation angle within the predetermined range may be, for example, that the elevation angle is positive or that the elevation angle is in a range of −45 degrees to +45 degrees.
Further, a hit or a home run may be determined based on a determination criterion table for determining a hit or a home run according to the speed and the elevation angle created in advance.
Further, a configuration may be employed in which the user is notified of the hit ball content determined by the determination processing means by voice.

  According to the present invention, in the case of a hit ball determination, a change (difference) of a hit ball is extracted by using a plurality of image data obtained by shifting a time by a plurality of image pickup means, and the hit ball flies from the change. The content of the hit ball can be determined by calculating the elevation angle, the direction angle, and the speed. When used for pitch determination, the trajectory of the pitch thrown by the pitcher is detected and displayed, and the type of the pitch and the strike can be determined.

  Therefore, in facilities such as a batting center, a baseball stadium, and a baseball stadium, it is possible to determine a hit ball hit by a facility user or to display the details of a pitch thrown by a facility user to determine a ball type. Becomes

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an example of a case where a baseball determination system according to the present invention is used as a hit ball determination system. FIG. 2 is a side view of the system shown in FIG. 1. It is a figure showing an example of a picture picturized with left camera 2L, when there is no baseball in a field of view. It is a figure showing an example of an image picturized by right camera 2R, when there is no baseball in a field of view. It is a figure which shows the example of the image imaged with the left camera 2L when the hit ball is in the position P1. It is a figure which shows the example of the image imaged by the right camera 2R when the hit ball is in the position P1. It is a figure showing the example of the picture picturized with left camera 2L, when a hit ball is in position P2. It is a figure showing the example of the picture picturized with right camera 2R, when a hit ball is in position P2. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a left camera difference image of FIGS. 5 and 7. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the difference image between the right camera of FIGS. 6 and 8. It is a figure showing an example of the hardware constitutions of the judgment system for baseball concerning the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an overall processing flow of a program executed by a CPU 11. It is a figure showing the processing flow during a game. It is a figure which shows a hit ball determination processing flow. It is a figure which shows a flight distance calculation processing flow. It is a whole block diagram which shows another example at the time of using the baseball determination system which concerns on this invention as a pitching determination system. It is a side view of the pitching judgment system. FIG. It is a display example of a pitching result in the pitching determination system. It is another example of a display of the pitching result in the said pitch determination system. It is a figure showing the processing flow of the game start processing of the pitching judging system. It is a figure showing the processing flow of pitching processing. It is a figure showing the processing flow of pitching detection processing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Example 1 (when used as a hit ball determination system)
A-1. Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a case where the baseball determination system according to the present invention is used as a hit ball determination system, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the system shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 1 denotes a determination device of a baseball determination system, and when the baseball determination system is used as a hit ball determination system, performs processing related to hit ball determination. Reference numerals 2L and 2R denote left and right cameras (imaging means) for measuring a hitting ball position, which are arranged in different positions near the front end of the batter box 9 and about 3 m above. Since the cameras 2L and 2R are installed with their optical axes parallel, they appear overlapping in FIG. The area surrounded by the dashed line is the field of view of the cameras 2L and 2R. By capturing an image with the two cameras 2L and 2R, the position of the hit ball can be detected, and three-dimensional coordinates can be calculated. The two cameras 2L and 2R are installed so that the optical axes are parallel and the horizontal axis directions of the pixels match.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a pitching machine (ball pitching means) for pitching. Reference numeral 4 denotes a liquid crystal display with a touch panel serving as a monitor, which sets a game on the touch panel and displays a hit ball determination result and a history. Reference numeral 5 denotes a speaker, which makes a special announcement when the hit ball determination result is a home run.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a camera protection cover, which is made of rubber or a net, protects the camera from hitting the ball, absorbs the reflected speed of the hit ball, and prevents the batter from being injured by the hit ball. Further, when the hit ball hits the camera protection cover 6, the hit ball cannot be a hit or home run, that is, a fly, since it is installed so that the angle from the horizontal is about 70 °.

  7 is a facility user, that is, a batter. The front of the batter 7 is imaged by the cameras 2L and 2R. Reference numeral 8 denotes a home base, which defines the coordinate origin of the whole. Reference numeral 9 denotes a batter box, in which the batter battings. The batter 7 hits the baseball at the position P0. P1 and P2 show examples of positions where the shot ball is imaged.

  The hit ball hit back at the position P0 is imaged by the two cameras 2L and 2R at the positions P1 and P2 in the camera field of view. The dotted line portion from the position P2 to the position P3 is the trajectory of the hit ball when there is no obstacle. Since the actual batting center is surrounded by a wall or the like, it is impossible to actually measure the position P3 when the flight distance is long. According to the present invention, the position P3 can be estimated by calculation using the speed and direction of the hit ball measured at the positions P1 and P2.

  In the drawing, x, y, and z indicate the directions of each axis of a coordinate system for calculation. However, the coordinate origin is the rear end of the home base 8, and the y axis extends from the rear end of the home base 8 toward the pitching machine 3.

  FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating examples of images captured by the left camera 2L and the right camera 2R, respectively, when there is no baseball in the field of view. This image is called a background image. In the background image, the pitching machine 3, lines to the first and third bases, fences, and the like are reflected.

  FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams showing examples of images captured by the left camera 2L and the right camera 2R when the hit ball is at the position P1. Due to the parallax between the left and right cameras 2L, 2R, the horizontal position of the hit ball of each camera 2L, 2R is shifted and the image is taken.

  FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing examples of images captured by the left camera 2L and the right camera 2R when the hit ball is at the position P2. The time required for the movement from the position P1 to the position P2 is defined as ΔTd.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the left camera difference image of FIGS. 5 and 7, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the right camera difference image of FIGS. 6 and 8.

Here, P _1L (i, j) and P _2L (i, j) are the brightness of the pixel coordinates (i, j) of the left camera 2L at P1 and P2, respectively, and P _1R (i, j) and P _2R ( i, j) is the brightness of the pixel coordinates (i, j) of the right camera 2R at P1 and P2, respectively, and D _L (i, j) and D _R (i, j) are the left camera difference image and the right camera, respectively. It is a difference image.

  Only the part that changed within the time ΔTd, that is, the part of the hit ball, is extracted as the brightness difference. Since the portion corresponding to the background image that does not change does not change, the brightness becomes almost zero.

Since the hit ball uses white color, the lightness is higher than the background portion. In FIGS. 9 and 10, that is, in D _L (i, j) and D _R (i, j), the portion corresponding to the hit ball at position P1 has a lightness. The value becomes negative, and the brightness corresponding to the position P2 becomes positive. The number of pixels other than near zero is always calculated, and if it is more than a certain value, it can be determined that a hitting ball has entered the field of view. Finally, the hitting direction is calculated by the method described below, and the hitting ball to be determined as a hitting ball or a hitting ball from the next at-bat is determined.

  In general, if corresponding points of images captured by two cameras whose optical axes are parallel and whose horizontal axes are matched are known, three-dimensional coordinates can be calculated by the following equation 3 based on parallax.

Here (i _L, j _L) and (i _R, j _R) is the corresponding pixel coordinates of the left camera 2L and the right camera 2R, B left and right cameras interval, f is the focal length. The conversion equation _{F (i L, j L,} i R, j R) and.

The center of a part where the brightness is positive and the center of a part where the brightness is negative are obtained for each of D _L (i, j) and D _R (i, j). From the respective center positions, the three-dimensional coordinates (x1, y1, z1) of the position P1 and the three-dimensional coordinates (x2, y2, z2) of the position P2 are obtained by using Expressions 4 and 5 to which Expression 3 is applied.

Here, (i _L1 , j _L1 ) and (i _R1 , j _R1 ) are the center positions of the parts where the lightness of D _L (i, j) and D _R (i, j) is negative, respectively, and _L2 , _jL2 ) and ( _iR2 , _jR2 ) are the center positions of the portions where the lightness of D _L (i, j) and D _R (i, j) is positive, respectively.

  Next, using the obtained three-dimensional coordinates of P1 and P2, the velocity (ball speed) Vo, the elevation angle θa, and the direction angle θb are calculated by Equations 6 to 8.

  Once the velocity Vo, the elevation angle θa, and the direction angle θb are obtained, the position P3 and the flight distance L, which are the hitting ball drop point, can be obtained by calculating the equation of motion taking air resistance and gravity into account as a difference equation.

  The direction angle θb is out of the set range of −45 ° to 45 ° (that is, out of the range of −45 ° to 45 ° left and right around the line (y-axis) connecting the pitching machine 3 and the home base 8). ) Is determined to be a ball hit from a foul or the next at bat, and is not determined. When (y2−y1) is negative, it is determined that the hit is not a hit, but a pitch or a hit from the next at-bat, and is not determined. That is, when (y2-y1) is positive, it is determined that the hit ball leaves the batter 7.

  It can be determined whether or not the hit ball is a home run based on the flight distance L of the hit ball that has been determined. Further, it can be determined whether or not the hit ball is hit by using the speed Vo and the elevation angle θa.

A-2. Configuration of Determination Apparatus 1 Next, a description will be given focusing on the inside of the determination apparatus 1 when the baseball determination system is used as a hit ball determination system. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the baseball determination system according to the present invention. A bus 10 connects each device. Reference numeral 11 denotes a CPU (determination processing means), which performs all calculations in the apparatus 1. Reference numeral 12 denotes a ROM, which stores an initialization program at power-on. Reference numeral 13 denotes a RAM, which stores a program to be executed by the apparatus 1, an intermediate result of an operation, image data captured from a camera, and the like.

  Reference numeral 14 denotes a parallel I / O, through which the CPU 11 receives a pitching signal from the pitching machine 3. Reference numeral 15 denotes a solid state drive, which stores programs to be executed by the device and various setting conditions. Since this device is often installed outdoors, it uses an auxiliary storage device using a semiconductor element memory. The program executed by this device is transferred to the RAM 13 by the program stored in the ROM 12 when the power is turned on, and is executed by the CPU 11.

  Reference numeral 16 denotes a serial I / O, through which the CPU 11 receives touch position information from the touch panel of the liquid crystal display 4 with a touch panel. Reference numeral 17 denotes a video interface, through which the CPU 11 displays various selection menus, a hit ball determination result, or a hit ball determination history on the liquid crystal display 4. Reference numeral 18 denotes an audio interface, through which the CPU 11 emits sound according to the situation through the speaker 5. In particular, when a home run is determined, a sound effect and a home run announcement that the batter is pleased with are played.

  Reference numeral 19 denotes a camera interface which takes in image information from the two cameras 2L and 2R into the RAM 13. Reference numeral 20 denotes a synchronization signal generator, which generates a camera exposure start signal so that the two cameras 2L and 2R can capture images at the same timing. In the present embodiment, pulse signals are generated at intervals of 10 msec. Therefore, in this embodiment, ΔTd = 10 msec.

A-3. FIG. 12 is an overall processing flow of a program executed by the CPU 11. As shown in FIG. 12, when power is turned on, initialization is performed at 101. In the initialization, the program and condition setting data stored in the solid state drive 15 are transferred to the RAM 13. Further, initialization of each I / O and interface is also performed, and upon completion, a menu is displayed on the liquid crystal display 4 with a touch panel.

Next, in step 102, the left and right cameras 2L and 2R capture images, and store the images in the initial state in P _BL (i, j) and P _BR (i, j), respectively.

  At 103, a self-diagnosis is performed. Here, mainly, an image taken in advance at the time of installation and an image taken at 102 are compared to diagnose whether there is any displacement between the cameras 2L and 2R.

  The diagnosis result is determined in 104, and if abnormal, that is, if the camera is out of alignment, the content of the abnormality is displayed in 105 and the process is terminated. If normal, a menu is selected at 106.

  At 107, the selected contents are determined, and when the selection is completed, the power is turned off. If the game has started, a game start process is performed at 108. Details of the game start processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the game start processing. When the game start is selected, an image is taken by the left and right cameras at 201.

The image captured at 202 is set on the RAM as an initial previous image at time t = 0, P _1L (i, j), and P _1R (i, j).

  Next, at 203, the state of the pitching machine 3 is determined based on the I / O input. If pitching is not being performed, the determination history of one game is displayed on the liquid crystal display 4 in 213, and the one game is ended. If the pitching is being performed, the processes after 204 are performed.

  In this example, the pitching machine 3 is set to perform 15 pitches per game, and the I / O signal is turned on during the pitching of 15 pitches.

  At 204, the process waits until the time has elapsed by ΔTd seconds.

Next, at 205, the left and right cameras 2L and 2R simultaneously capture images, and set them as current images P _2L (i, j) and P _2R (i, j).

  In step 206, a difference image is calculated by using Expressions 1 and 2. Here, this operation is performed for all i and j.

Next, it is determined at 207 whether or not there is a difference. The judgment is based on the following conditions.
(A) The difference image of the left camera is as shown in FIG.
(1) The number of pixels satisfying | D _L (i, j) | ≧ Th is equal to or greater than Thp.
(2) One circular segment with D _L (i, j) ≧ Th.
(3) One circular segment with D _L (i, j) ≦ Th.
(B) The difference image of the right camera is as shown in FIG.
(4) The number of pixels satisfying | D _R (i, j) | ≧ Th is equal to or greater than Thp.
(5) One circular segment with D _R (i, j) ≧ Th.
(6) One circular segment where D _R (i, j) ≦ Th.

  Here, Th is a threshold value for brightness. The value is set so that a portion having no change in the difference image from the previous time can be determined. Thp corresponds to the number of pixels (area), and is obtained by subtracting the allowable measurement error value from the value of two baseball balls imaged smaller.

  When these are satisfied, it means that the hit ball or the pitch is detected. However, a hit ball from the next at-bat is also detected here. If the above condition is satisfied, proceed to 208. Otherwise, proceed to 212.

Next, at 208, a hit ball determination is made using D _L (i, j) and D _R (i, j). Details will be described with reference to FIG.

  In 209, it is determined whether or not the ball was a normal hit based on the result of the hit ball determination. In the case of a normal hitting ball, go to 210. Otherwise, proceed to 212.

  At 210, the flight distance calculation and the home run determination are performed using the three-dimensional coordinates (x1, y1, z1) of P1 and the three-dimensional coordinates (x2, y2, z2) of P2 calculated in the hit ball determination. Details will be described with reference to FIG.

  At 211, the hit ball calculation result is output to the liquid crystal display 4. If it is determined to be a home run, the sound is also output.

When the above processing is completed, the current images P _2L (i, j) and P _2R (i, j) are copied to the previous images P _1L (i, j) and P _1R (i, j) at 212. Thereafter, the processing from step 203 is repeated.

A-4. Hitting Ball Determination Flow Next, a hitting ball determination method will be described with reference to FIG.
First, at 301, the center of a portion where the brightness of the left difference image D _L (i, j) is negative is determined, and pixel coordinates (i _L1 , j _L1 ) corresponding to the previous position are calculated.

Similarly, at 302, the center of the portion where the brightness of the right difference image D _R (i, j) is negative is obtained, and the pixel coordinates (i _R1 , j _R1 ) corresponding to the previous position are calculated.

  Next, the three-dimensional coordinates (x1, y1, z1) before P1 are obtained by using Equation 4 in 303.

In step 304, the center of a portion where the brightness of the left difference image D _L (i, j) is positive is obtained, and pixel coordinates (i _L2 , j _L2 ) corresponding to the subsequent position are calculated.

Similarly, in 305, the center of the portion where the brightness of the right difference image D _R (i, j) is positive is obtained, and the pixel coordinates (i _R2 , j _R2 ) corresponding to the subsequent position are calculated.

  Next, the following three-dimensional coordinates (x2, y2, z2) corresponding to P2 are obtained by using Equation 5 in 306.

  In step 307, the velocity Vo, the elevation angle θa, and the direction angle θb are obtained using Expressions 6 to 8.

  At 308, it is determined whether it can be determined that the ball is hit. The condition is that the direction angle θb is in the range (set range) of −45 ° to 45 °, and the speed Vo of the hit ball (baseball ball) is 40 km / h (set speed) or more. For example, in the case of a pitch, the direction angle θb is about −180 °, and (y2−y1) is negative, and the pitch from the next at-bat is around 90 ° or −90 °. When the speed Vo is low, a home run or a hit does not occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, the speed Vo is set to 40 km / h or more. Further, by adding this condition, it is possible to eliminate the case where the previous hit ball is rebounding and rolling slowly.

  In the case of a normal hitting ball, a result of normal is set in 309, otherwise, a result of other than normal is set in 310 and this processing is ended.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the flight distance calculation process. Here, the flight distance is approximately calculated using the differential motion equation.

First, at step 401, variables are initialized.
P = (X, Y, Z) = (x1, y1, z1)
t = 0
V = (Vx, Vy, Vz) = ((x2-x1), (y2-y1), (z2-z1)) / ΔTd

  At 402, it is determined whether or not Z is positive. Since Z represents the height of the baseball, when Z becomes 0, the baseball has landed. The flight distance is calculated by finding the position when Z becomes 0 or less.

  At 403, the speed Vn after Δt is calculated by the following equation.

  Here, F is the force applied to the hit ball, d is the air resistance coefficient, m is the mass of the baseball, and g is the gravitational acceleration.

At 404, the next hit position Pn is calculated by the following equation.
Pn = P + Vn · Δt

At 405, each variable is updated as follows.
t = t + Δt
P = Pn That is, (X, Y, Z) = Pn
V = Vn

  When Z becomes 0 or less in this calculation, it is determined that the baseball has landed, and the flight distance L, the flying time T, and the arrival position P3 are calculated in 406 and returned to the upper processing.

  At 407, it is determined whether or not it is a home run. In this example, a home run is performed when L is 80 m (first set distance) or more. If the flight distance L is equal to or greater than the second set distance smaller than the first set distance, the velocity Vo is equal to or greater than 40 km / h (set speed), and the elevation angle θa is positive, it is determined that a hit has occurred.

  In this manner, it is possible to determine whether the hit ball hit by the batter is a hit or a home run using the flight distance L, the speed Vo, and the elevation angle θa, and further, does not disturb the hit ball.

  In this embodiment, the flight distance of the baseball ball is simulated for the determination. However, a determination criterion table for determining a hit or a home run according to the speed Vo and the elevation angle θa using the velocity Vo and the elevation angle θa as parameters is created in advance. Thus, it is possible to determine a hit or a home run based on the speed Vo and the elevation angle θa.

  In addition, since the landing position of the baseball is determined, it is possible to add a detailed judgment such as hit or out, two-base hit or three-base hit based on the relationship with the defensive position.

  According to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. Since the home run is conveyed by voice, the batter does not need to look at the liquid crystal display 4 and can concentrate on batting. Also, since the history of one game is displayed, the content of the hit ball can be self-analyzed, which is useful for improving the batting technique and can be enjoyed as entertainment. Also, since the hit ball is determined near the batter, a batting practice area can be realized even in a narrow place. Further, since the hitting direction is determined, the hitting ball at the next at-bat is not erroneously determined.

Example 2 (when used as pitching determination system)
B-1. Overall Configuration FIG. 16 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a case where the baseball determination system according to the present invention is used as a pitch determination system, FIG. 17 is a side view of the system, and FIG. 18 is a top view of the same. Since the second embodiment has the same basic components as the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the common elements.

  When the baseball determination system 1 is used as a pitching determination system, the determination device 1 of the baseball determination system performs processing related to pitching determination. The left and right cameras 2L and 2R are installed side by side at different positions about 3 m above the front end of the pitcher 10 to measure the position of a pitch (baseball ball). Since the optical axes of the cameras 2L and 2R are installed in parallel, they appear overlapping in FIG. The area surrounded by the dashed line is the field of view of the cameras 2L and 2R. By capturing images with the two cameras 2L and 2R and detecting the position of the pitch (baseball ball), three-dimensional coordinates can be calculated. The two cameras 2L and 2R are installed so that the optical axes are parallel and the horizontal axis directions of the pixels match.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes a liquid crystal display (display means) with a touch panel as a monitor, which performs various settings on the touch panel and three-dimensionally displays a pitch determination result and a pitch trajectory. Reference numeral 5 denotes a speaker that announces the result of determining the type of pitch.

  8 is a home base, 9 is a batter's box, and 10 is a facility user, that is, a pitcher. The facility user 10 pitches assuming a batter. Q1 to Q6 and Q3 'to Q6' show examples of positions where the pitch is imaged.

  In the drawing, x, y, and z indicate the directions of each axis of a coordinate system for calculation. However, the coordinate origin is the center of the pitching mound, and the y-axis extends from the pitcher 10 toward the home base 8.

Pitching is, Q _{k + 1} (in this example, k is 1 to 5) to Q _k, P2 to P1 by substituting, by applying the equations 1 to 8 of Example 1, the position Q _k = (x _k , y _k, z _k), the speed Vo _k, elevation .theta.a _k, the direction angle .theta.b _k can be calculated. If it is desired to obtain a finer pitching trajectory, the imaging frequency of the camera may be increased and ΔTd may be reduced.

  FIGS. 19 and 20 show examples of the display screen of the pitching result displayed on the liquid crystal display 4. The display 30 indicates the number of pitches since the start of the game. FIG. 19 shows the eighth ball and FIG. 20 shows the ninth ball.

  Reference numeral 31 is a top view of the pitching trajectory, and a circle depicts (xk, yk) in Qk = (xk, yk, zk). In FIG. 19, Q1 to Q6 are plotted, and in FIG. 20, Q1 to Q2 and Q3 'to Q6' are plotted. The home base 8 in the figure is a reference for strike determination.

  Numeral 32 is a side view of the pitching trajectory, and a circle depicts (yk, zk) in Qk = (xk, yk, zk). In FIG. 19, Q1 to Q6 are plotted, and in FIG. 20, Q1 to Q2 and Q3 'to Q6' are plotted. Reference numeral 33 in the figure denotes a standard batter strike zone, which is a reference for strike determination. The speeds in the figure indicate the speeds Vo1 to Vo5 at each moment.

  Reference numeral 34 denotes a list of pitching results. The initial speed is Vo1, the final speed is Vo5, the left and right angles are θb5, and the upper and lower angles are θa5. The determination is made based on whether or not the trajectory of the pitch has passed through the strike zone. In FIG. 19, the strike is determined, and in FIG. 20, the ball is determined. The pitch is determined by a table created in advance. In FIG. 19, the pitch is determined to be a slider, and in FIG. 20, it is determined to be a shot. This determination result is announced by the speaker 5.

  With this display, the facility user 10 as a pitcher can grasp in detail what his pitch was like.

  Reference numeral 36 denotes a menu button. Touching this button terminates the pitch and returns to the menu.

B-2. Configuration of Determination Apparatus 1 Next, a description will be given focusing on the inside of the determination apparatus 1 when the baseball determination system is used as a pitch determination system. The determination device 1 shown in FIG. 11 is exactly the same as the case where the baseball determination system is used as the hit ball determination system (Example 1) except that the pitching machine 3 and the parallel I / O 14 are not used.

B-3. Processing Flow The overall processing flow of the program executed by the CPU 11 (determination processing means) is as shown in FIG. 12, as in the case of the first embodiment. The content of the game start processing of 108 is different from that of the first embodiment.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart of the game start process according to the second embodiment. When the game start is selected, all pitching histories are deleted in 501.

  At 502, whether the pitcher throws right or left is input from the touch panel of the liquid crystal display 4. This information is finally used when determining the type of pitch.

  At 503, a menu is displayed on the screen. The menu is “end”, “start pitching”, and “history display”, and any one of them can be input on the screen.

  At 504, the processing content is divided according to the input content (menu selection content). When "end" is selected from the menu, the process exits from this process and returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  When "start pitching" is selected from the menu, a pitching process is performed at 505. Details will be described with reference to FIG.

  When "history display" is selected from the menu, a list of pitching histories since the start of the game is displayed at 506. This display content summarizes the display content of FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, and lists the initial speed, the final speed, the angle, the judgment, and the type of pitch for each number of pitches. When the processes of 505 and 506 are completed, the display returns to the menu display of 503.

  Next, the processing content of 505 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in 601 the pitch number and pitch position are initialized. Specifically, the pitch number n is set to 0, and the index k of the pitch position is also set to 0.

  In step 602, the left and right cameras 2L and 2R capture images, and the captured images are set in the RAM 13 as an initial previous image at time t = 0, P1L (i, j), and P1R (i, j).

  In step 603, it is confirmed whether or not the menu button 35 in FIGS. 19 and 20 has been pressed, and the input on the touch panel is confirmed. If the menu button 35 has been pressed, this processing ends. If it has not been pressed, the processing after step 604 is performed.

  At 604, the process waits until the time has elapsed by ΔTd seconds.

  Next, at 605, the left and right cameras 2L and 2R simultaneously capture images, and set them as current images P2L (i, j) and P2R (i, j).

  In 606, a difference image is calculated using Equations 1 and 2. Here, this operation is performed for all i and j.

  Next, it is determined at 607 whether or not there is a difference. The determination follows the condition (A) of the first embodiment. If this condition is satisfied, it means that a pitch has been detected. If the condition (A) is satisfied, the process proceeds to 608. Otherwise, at 614, the current images P2L (i, j) and P2R (i, j) are copied to the previous images P1L (i, j) and P1R (i, j), respectively, and the process returns to 603.

  Next, at 608, pitch detection is performed using DL (i, j) and DR (i, j). Details will be described with reference to FIG.

  At 609, it is determined whether or not the pitch has reached the home base 8. For this determination, the y coordinate value calculated in the process of 608 is used. In the second embodiment, when the y coordinate value exceeds 18.44 (m), it is determined that the home base has been reached. When the pitch reaches the home base 8, it is determined that the pitch has been completed once, and the process proceeds to 610. Otherwise, go to 614.

  At 610, the type of the ball and the strike are determined. The determination of the type of the ball is performed using a list (judgment criterion table) in which the values of the left and right angles θb1 (initial) and θbk (final) and the vertical angles θa1 (initial) and θak (final) are described. Judge the pitch. This list is prepared for the right pitcher (right throw). In the case of the left pitcher, the signs of θb1 and θbk are inverted and the list is applied. For example, in the case of FIG. 19, θa1 and θb1 are almost 0 for the right pitcher, θak is −18 °, and θbk is −23 °, so it is determined that the slider is a slider. On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 20, since θbk is 10 °, the direction changes in the opposite direction to that of FIG.

  Qk = (xk, yk, zk) is used to determine the strike. It is determined whether or not the straight line connecting Qk-1 and Qk has passed through the strike zone indicated by 33. The strike zones are set in advance as xmin to xmax, ymin to ymax, and zmin to zmax, assuming a standard batter. If any one of the straight lines connecting Qk-1 and Qk falls within this range, it is determined that the strike has occurred, otherwise, the ball has been determined.

  Next, at 611, the contents exemplified in FIGS. 19 and 20 are displayed. At the same time, the pitching result is recorded in the nth row of the pitching history.

  At 612, the number of pitches n is incremented, and at 613, the index k of the position is cleared to 0. Thereafter, the flow advances to 614.

  By the above processing, the pitching result just thrown is displayed until the next pitching is performed.

B-4. Next, a pitch detection method will be described with reference to FIG.

  The processing contents of 701 to 707 in FIG. 23 are exactly the same as 301 to 307 in FIG. 14, respectively. In the processes of 701 to 707, the position (x2, y2, z2), speed Vo, elevation angle θa, and direction angle θb are calculated.

  At 708, the position index k is incremented.

  At 709, the position (x2, y2, z2), velocity Vo, elevation angle θa, and direction angle θb are recorded as position (xk, yk, zk), velocity Vok, elevation angle θak, and direction angle θbk, respectively.

  At 710, yk is returned to the host process as the arrival position y of the ball.

  The pitching results illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20 can be displayed by the above processing.

  According to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. Since the detailed trajectory and speed of the pitch and the history of one game can be displayed, the content of the pitch can be self-analyzed, which contributes to the improvement of the pitching technique and can be enjoyed as entertainment. Further, since the type of the ball is communicated by voice, the pitcher does not need to look at the liquid crystal display 4, and can concentrate on the pitch. Furthermore, the pitch type can be determined on the same determination table as the right pitcher and the left pitcher.

C. Other Embodiments As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings. However, various additions, changes, or deletions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the first embodiment, a pitching machine is used as a pitching means, but a human may pitch instead. Further, the first and second embodiments can be implemented independently of each other, or can be implemented simultaneously by using them in combination. Therefore, these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Judgment apparatus 2L Left camera 2R Right camera 3 Pitching machine 4 Liquid crystal display with touch panel 5 Speaker 6 Camera protective cover 7 Batter 8 Home base 9 Batter box 10 Bus 11 CPU
12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Parallel I / O
15 Solid state drive 16 Serial I / O
17 Video interface 18 Audio interface 19 Camera interface 20 Synchronous signal generator

Claims (7)

A plurality of image pickup means installed at different positions and imaging the baseball ball hit by the batter at the same timing,
A lightness difference calculating means for obtaining a lightness difference from two temporally adjacent image data for each of the plurality of imaging means to take a plurality of images at different times,
Baseball ball determining means for extracting the area having the brightness difference for each of the imaging means, and determining that the baseball ball is passing when the area satisfies the characteristics of the baseball,
The baseball ball determining means calculates three-dimensional coordinates of the baseball ball for each time from the area having the brightness difference determined to be the baseball, and calculates the elevation angle and direction of the baseball ball based on the three-dimensional coordinates. Determination processing means for calculating an angle and a speed, and determining the hitting content of the baseball based on the calculation result,
Further, the pitching means for pitching the batter, and the baseball ball is hit by the target batter instead of the hitter by the batter of the adjacent batter from the calculated elevation angle, direction angle, and speed of the baseball ball. At-bat determining means for determining that
A baseball determination system, characterized in that: The plurality of imaging means,
Installed above the batter,
The baseball determination system according to claim 1. The determination processing means includes:
When the direction angle is within the set range, the speed is equal to or higher than the first set speed, and the baseball ball moves away from the batter, it is determined that the hitting ball content needs to be determined.
The baseball determination system according to claim 2. The determination processing means includes:
When it is necessary to determine the content of the hit ball, calculate the flight distance of the hit ball, and determine whether or not a home run,
The baseball determination system according to claim 3. The determination processing means includes:
If the flight distance exceeds the first set distance, it is determined to be a home run,
If the flight distance is equal to or greater than a second set distance smaller than the first set distance, the speed is equal to or greater than a set speed, and the elevation angle is within a predetermined range, it is determined that a hit has occurred.
The baseball determination system according to claim 4. The determination processing means includes:
Determining a hit or a home run based on a criterion table for determining a hit or a home run according to the speed and the elevation angle created in advance;
The baseball determination system according to claim 1. The baseball determination system according to claim 1, wherein a content of the hit ball determined by the determination processing unit is notified to a user by voice.