JPH05168005A - Photographic display device for pictorial communication - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To display a picture of high presence with the sense of depth regardless of the view point of a communicating person in a pictorial communication system. CONSTITUTION:On a display plane (screen) 13b of a display at the photographic display device, a curved surface approximate to the shape of a figure is provided and the communicating party is displayed on the curved surface. Then, a screen is arranged so that this display image can appear at a front position 15 of a video camera 14 as a stereoscopic virtual image. In this case, the video camera 14 is installed at a dark place and arranged at the back of the virtual image so as not to stand out. On the other hand, the presence is applied to the display image by arranging real objects such as a desk 17 and a chair 16 or the like around the virtual image display position 15. An equipment 22 is a semitransparent mirror and an equipment 13a is the video projector of the display.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographing display device in an image communication system such as a videophone and a video conference,
Particularly, the present invention relates to a photographing display device for image communication, which is suitable for communicating an image with a high sense of presence.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In image communication such as a videophone, line-of-sight matching with a communication partner (being able to have a conversation while looking at the partner's eyes) is an important function for enhancing the sense of presence. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 2, a display 23 and a video camera 24 have been used as a videophone having a line-of-sight matching function.
It is known that a semitransparent mirror 22 tilted at 45 degrees is provided between the two. In this case, the correspondent 21 has a conversation or the like in front of the semitransparent mirror 22, and the appearance is captured by the video camera 24 and transmitted to the other party. However, in such a device, since a CRT or a liquid crystal display is used as the display 23, only an image without a sense of depth can be displayed on the display surface 23a, and it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory realistic sensation. Examples of devices related to this type of device include, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-119586, Hiroshi Yasuda, Spectrum, Vol. 01, No. 05 (1988), p.
p.88-102 "and the like. On the other hand, as a means for displaying an image with a sense of depth, a method using a lenticular plate is known. However, in the display using the lenticular plate, there are problems that the viewing position is limited in the case of the twin-lens type, and it is difficult to manufacture the lenticular plate in the case of the multi-lens type. A method of this kind is described in, for example, "Chihiro Masuda, 3D Display, Sangyo Tosho, pp.124-137".

[0003]

In the above prior art, when a CRT or liquid crystal display is used for the display, it is difficult to obtain an image with a sense of depth. Further, even when the lenticular plate is used, there are problems that the viewing position is limited and the lenticular plate may be difficult to manufacture. An object of the present invention is to improve such problems and provide a photographing display device for image communication capable of displaying an image having a sense of depth and a high sense of presence regardless of the viewpoint of the correspondent. It is in.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, an image communication photographing display device of the present invention includes a video camera for photographing a communicator, a display for displaying a communication partner, a video camera and a communicator. And a semi-transparent mirror tilted between the two, and the display has a display surface composed of a portion (curved surface portion) for displaying the human figure in a curved surface and a flat portion (flat portion) other than that. It is characterized in that it is installed in front of the video camera through a semitransparent mirror so that a virtual image of the head of the communication partner can be displayed.
Another feature is that the display surface is composed of an optical fiber assembly. Further, an optical sensor arranged around the person display position on the display surface, and means for detecting the output of the optical sensor and moving the person display position on the display surface (control circuit, reflecting mirror, rotation mechanism with motor). It is characterized by having and.
Further, it is characterized in that a means (image processing circuit) for controlling the display position of the person on the display surface in real time is provided by image-processing the video signal input from the communication partner.

[0005]

In the present invention, on the display surface of the display,
A curved surface structure close to that of a person is displayed, the communication partner is displayed on the curved surface in a life-size manner, and a display is installed so that this displayed image appears as a virtual image in front of the video camera.
At this time, the installation location of the video camera is made dark and the video camera is arranged behind the virtual image so as not to be conspicuous, so that the line of sight can be easily matched. Further, since it is a virtual image, a real object such as a desk or a chair can be arranged around the position where the virtual image appears to give the displayed image a sense of reality. Furthermore, since the display screen is a curved surface, the communication partner can be seen three-dimensionally from an arbitrary viewpoint, which enhances the sense of presence.

[0006]

【Example】

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an image communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, 3
Numerals 1 to 35 are conferencing devices equipped with a photographing display device for image communication and a communication / control device, and 30 is an integrated service digital network (ISDN) connecting the conferencing devices. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which a one-to-one conversation is held between conference devices and a communicator (speaker) speaks while looking at the face of the communication partner displayed on the photographing display device. Here, the photographing display device in the conference device will be described. FIG. 1 is a top view of a photographing and displaying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a front view of the photographing and displaying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a diagram showing a display surface of the display in FIG. 1 and 4, 22 is a semitransparent mirror, 13a is a video projector of the display, and 13b.
Is a display surface (screen) of the display, 14 is a video camera, and 15 is a virtual image display position. In this embodiment, the translucent mirror 22 is installed in front of the communicator at an angle of 45 degrees, the desk 17 and the chair 16 are placed behind the translucent mirror 22, and the communicator is photographed from the front behind the upper part of the chair 16. A video camera 14 is installed for this purpose. A display (video projector 13a, screen 13b) is installed on the right side of the semitransparent mirror 22. Furthermore, on the screen 13b,
As shown in FIG. 5, a curved surface portion 52 (a portion 41 corresponding to the person's head in FIG.
A portion 42) corresponding to the body is formed. 5A shows a front view of the screen 13b, and FIG. 5B shows a side view thereof. Reference numeral 51 is a flat surface (flat portion) other than the curved surface portion 52. With such a configuration, when performing image communication at the time of a conference, the video camera 14 and the video projector 13 are arranged so that the communication partner is substantially contained within the curved surface portion 52 of the screen 13b.
The magnification of a is adjusted, and the position of the entire display is adjusted so that the virtual image of the display image can be seen while sitting on the chair 16 behind the desk 17. In the present embodiment, during a one-to-one conversation, the output of one video camera of the two photographing display devices is input to the other video projector to perform communication, and whether the other person is present in front of him / her. Get a sense of realism like. In addition to this, for example, a curved surface part having a shape of a plurality of persons is provided on the screen of the display to display a plurality of speakers at one time, or a video camera is installed for each speaker to make a speech. It is possible to switch and display each time. (Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a curved surface portion of a display surface of a display in a second embodiment of the present invention. 6, (a) is a front view showing a curved surface portion (a portion corresponding to the head of a person) of the display surface of the display, and (b) is a side view. Reference numeral 61 denotes an optical fiber assembly. The photographing display device of the present embodiment has the same device configuration as that of the first embodiment, but in particular, the curved surface portion (the portion corresponding to the head of a person) on the display surface of the display is processed by the optical fiber assembly. , As shown in FIG. The flat surface side of the optical fiber assembly is fixed in close contact with the flat portion of the display surface. As a result, even in a part with a large curvature such as the head of a person,
The image is not distorted and an excellent sense of realism is obtained.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a view showing the arrangement of a photographing and displaying apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 shows the arrangement of photosensors according to the third embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure. In FIG. 7, 71 is an optical sensor arranged near the curved surface of the screen 13b of the display, 72 is a control circuit for rotating the reflecting mirror 12 according to the output of the optical sensor 71, and 73 is a motor for rotating the reflecting mirror 12. Reference numeral 74 denotes an attached rotating mechanism, which indicates an area for displaying the head of the speaker (the curved surface of the screen 13b). In addition, the optical sensor 71
As shown in FIG. 8, is installed around the curved surface portion 82 for head display and behind the light shielding portion 81 so as not to be seen by the speaker. 8A is a front view of the screen, and FIG.
Shows a side view. In this embodiment, the photographing display device in the conference device shown in FIG. 3 is provided with means for changing the direction of the reflecting mirror according to the movement of the speaker. That is, the control circuit 72
Detects and processes the output of the optical sensor 71, and
The rotating mechanism 73 with a motor that fixes the
The rotation of 2 moves the projection direction of the video projector 13. For example, if an image is captured under the condition that the background of the speaker is sufficiently dark, the periphery of the person display area on the display surface 13b is also sufficiently dark, so that the speaker moves and the person display area (head display area 74) becomes the optical sensor 71. Optical sensor 71
The direction of the speaker's movement can be detected from the output of. Therefore, if the projected image is moved in the direction opposite to the movement, the speaker can always be displayed on the curved surface portion 82, so that the person image does not deviate from the curved surface portion 82 and the image is distorted. (Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 9 is a view showing the arrangement of photosensors in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, 91
Is a light-shielding portion on the display surface of the display, 92 is a curved surface portion (a portion corresponding to the head of a person), and 93 is a flat portion.
Other than the light shielding portion 91, a transparent or semitransparent member is used. In this embodiment, similarly to the third embodiment, by rotating the reflecting mirror according to the output of the optical sensor 71,
Follow the movement of the speaker. In this case, since the display control of the head position is performed by flattening the upper body display area other than the head, there is no contradiction even for movements other than parallel movement of the entire upper body (for example, tilting the neck a little). Can be displayed.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 10 shows the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a diagram showing a part of the photographing display device in the embodiment of FIG.
6 is a flow chart showing an image processing method in a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, a curved surface is provided on the screen 13b of the display to display a person image. In this case, the image processing circuit 102 shown in FIG. 10 image-processes the video signal input from the communication partner so that the display position of the communication partner is always the curved surface portion 1 of the display surface.
It comes to 01. The algorithm for this process is shown in Figure 1.
No. 1 shown in FIG. 1, each time one frame of the video signal is input (1101), the inter-frame difference amount is checked (110
2) If the difference becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined value because the communication partner has moved (1103), the motion vector is measured (1
104), and shift the display start position by the amount of movement (11
05). Then, the person display area is cut out from the background image and displayed (1106). According to the present embodiment, it is possible to display a person image with the background removed for an arbitrary background.

[0009]

According to the present invention, since the communication partner is displayed on the curved surface of the person shape and the display image is displayed to the correspondent as a virtual image in the real space, it is possible to display with a sense of reality and at the same time. Since line-of-sight matching is also possible, it can be used for image communication to provide an excellent sense of presence.

[0010]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view of a photographing display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a conventional photographing display device.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an image communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the photographing display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display surface of the display according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a curved surface portion of a display surface of a display according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a photographing display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an arrangement of photosensors according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an arrangement of photosensors according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a part of a photographing display device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an image processing method in the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 Reflector 13a Video Projector 13b Display Surface 14 Video Camera 15 Virtual Image Display Position 16 Chair 17 Desk 21 Communicator 22 Semitransparent Mirror 23 Display 23a Display Surface 24 Video Camera 30 ISDN 31 Conference Device 32 Conference Device 33 Conference Device 34 Conference Device 35 Conference Device 41 Part Corresponding to Head Part 42 Part Corresponding to Body 51 Flat Part 52 Curved Part 61 Optical Fiber Assembly 71 Optical Sensor 72 Control Circuit 73 Motor Rotating Mechanism 74 Head Display Area 81 Shading Part 82 Curved Part 91 Light-shielding part 92 Curved part 93 Flat part 101 Curved part 102 Image processing circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 7/15 8943-5C

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A photographing and displaying apparatus comprising a video camera for photographing a communicator, a display for displaying a communication partner, and a semitransparent mirror tilted between the video camera and the communicator. A position at which a virtual image of a communication partner is displayed in front of the video camera through a semi-transparent mirror, which has a display surface composed of a portion for displaying a person shape on a curved surface and a flat portion other than the curved surface portion. A photographing display device for image communication, which is installed in. 2. The image communication photographing display device according to claim 1, wherein the display surface is formed of an optical fiber assembly. 3. An optical sensor arranged around the human display position on the display surface, and means for detecting the output of the optical sensor and moving the human display position on the display surface. The photographing display device for image communication according to claim 1. 4. The image communication according to claim 1, further comprising means for image-processing a video signal input from the communication partner side to control a person display position on the display surface in real time. Shooting display device.