JPH1153563A - Device and method for attitude detection game - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recognize the attitude of a game player through hardware of small scale at high speed. SOLUTION: A game player 1 is photographed by a CCD camera 2, and the attitude (either of standstill, punch or kick) of the player 1 is recognized by an attitude recognizing device 3. When the attitude is determined as punch, a signal PC is made active, when the attitude is determined as kick, a signal KK is made active and in the case of standstill, both the signals are not made active. A game device 4 proceeds a game while receiving the signals PC and KK. The game device 4 links the attitude of the player 1 and the attitude of a prepared character and displays it on a display device 5. At the attitude recognizing device 3, the image of the player 1 is divided into plural areas and strength detecting signals in the respective areas are provided. Then, the distance between the detecting signal and the reference value of each attitude is operated for each area and the result of the minimum distance is recognized as the attitude of the player at that time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a posture detecting game apparatus and a method for allowing a person who enjoys a game to actually change his / her own posture and reflect the change in posture.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A person who enjoys a game actually moves his / her own body, recognizes the posture of this person's body or a human body part, and controls a computer connected to a television or the like according to the recognition result. It is contemplated to configure the device. For example, two players face a specified position, punch or kick, recognize the posture of these players, give the recognition result to the computer, and display the game character created by the computer on the monitor Then, on the monitor, the game character moves in the same manner as the players, and the scores of the two players are totaled and displayed.

In this type of computer game apparatus, it is necessary to recognize the posture of a human body. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the whole or a part of a human body is imaged by a CCD (solid-state image sensor) camera, and the posture of the human body or a human body part is detected based on an image signal (electric signal) output by the CCD camera. There has been proposed a posture detecting device configured to perform the above operation.

[0004] For example, "Artificial Retina Chips as Imag"
e Input Interfaces for Multimedia Systems "(First O
ptoelectronics and Communications Confernce (OECC'9
6) Technical Digest, July 1996, Makuhari Messe p516-p
517) discloses a technique for extracting the contour (edge) of an object in an image by processing image data captured by a CCD. The movement of the human body can be determined from the edge. Then, by inputting the detected movement of the human body to the computer game instead of the input by the controller, for example, a fighting game can be configured.

[0005]

The conventional posture recognition apparatus has a drawback that it takes a long time for signal processing to perform a process of extracting a contour line from an image of a human body, resulting in a slow response. For example, it is said that the time for recognizing the posture of the human body is required to be about 0.6 to 0.7 seconds.
If as much as 0.6 seconds were spent on recognition, the response of the game would be slow and impractical. Further, since the processing of extracting and recognizing the outline is performed by a computer, there is a disadvantage that an expensive computer is required.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a posture detecting game apparatus and method capable of recognizing the posture of a human body or a part of the human body with high-speed, small-scale hardware and reflecting the recognition result in a game. Is to provide.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an image input means for inputting an attitude of a human body or an attitude of each part of a human body as an image signal, and an image input means for inputting the image input means. The image signal is divided into a plurality of areas, a plurality of detecting means for respectively detecting the signal intensity of each area, a recognizing means for recognizing a posture by outputs of the plurality of detecting means, and the human body And an image output unit that outputs image information.

When two or more people play a game, the image input means, the detecting means, and the recognizing means separate and correspond to the plurality of human bodies in order to recognize the postures of the two or more human bodies. Provided.

[0009] Further, in addition to the image information, there are further provided a voice generating means for generating voice information and a voice output means for outputting voice information.

The recognition means according to the present invention includes a storage means for storing a plurality of reference values, and a plurality of distance calculation means for calculating a difference between the plurality of reference values and the outputs of the plurality of detection means. The recognition is performed according to the output of the distance calculation means. As the reference value, a result of previously recognizing a posture of a person who actually enjoys the game is registered.

Further, in the present invention, a part of the plurality of detecting means is allocated to recognize a movement of a part of a human body,
The time difference calculating means for calculating the time difference is connected to the detecting means assigned to recognize the movement of the part, and the recognizing means uses the detection signals of the plurality of detecting means and the output signals of the plurality of time difference calculating means. To recognize the posture of the part.

Further, according to the present invention, the detecting means includes a light intensity modulating means for converting the image signal into a two-dimensional light intensity distribution;
Light diffraction means for dividing the light intensity distribution of the light intensity modulation means into a plurality of regions, and diffracting light in different angular directions for each region,
And a plurality of light detecting means for obtaining the intensity of the diffracted light.

Still further, according to the present invention, a step of inputting a posture of a human body or a posture of each part of the human body as an image signal, dividing the input image signal into a plurality of regions,
Detecting the signal strength of each region, recognizing the posture based on the signal strength of each region, generating image information different from the human body image according to the recognized result, and outputting image information Performing a posture detecting game method.

According to the present invention, the posture of the game player or the posture of each part is recognized by calculating the distance between the signal intensity detected for each of the plurality of regions of the image of the game player and the reference value stored in advance. be able to.
Therefore, the posture can be recognized at high speed with a small-scale hardware as compared with the method of extracting a contour line as previously proposed. Thereby, the responsiveness of the game device can be improved.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall posture detecting game device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this posture detection game device, the posture of the game player 1 is converted into an electric signal (so-called video signal) SV by the CCD camera 2 and input to the posture recognition device 3.
The posture recognition device 3 recognizes the current posture of the game player 1. A typical example is a fighting game, but the present invention can be applied to other types of games. For example, an exercise game such as stretching exercises can be configured. This is a game in which the score improves as the player imitates the gymnastics performed by the coach and the teacher on the screen.

When it is determined that the game player 1 is in a posture of “punching”, the signal PC is activated with respect to the game apparatus 4. Similarly, when the current posture of the game player 1 is recognized as “kick”, the signal KK to the game device 4 is activated. The game device 4 recognizes these external input signals PC or KK as signals for which the posture of the game player 1 has been recognized as “punch” or “kick” and outputs the signals P or KK.
The game proceeds according to C and KK.

Specifically, when the signal PC is active, the game character makes a "punch", and when the signal KK is active, the game character makes a "kick". It has been made like that. The progress of the game is displayed on the display device 5 so that the game player 1 can always grasp the progress of the game. That is, the signals PC and KK from the posture recognition device 3 are used as a substitute for an external input device (a push button key, a joystick, a trackball, or the like) in an existing computer game. A display device 5 is connected to the game device 4, and a video signal VD is supplied from the game device 4 to the display device 5.

As such a game apparatus 4, for example, "PlayStation" sold by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. can be used. As for the display device 5, a general television monitor can be used. In FIG. 1, for easy understanding, the character displayed on the display device 5 has a shape similar to that of the player, but in reality, the character such as an animation for enhancing amusement that is separate from the player is used. The character created on the game device 4 is displayed. A plurality of types of characters are prepared, and the player may be able to select a favorite one.

Further, in accurately recognizing the posture of the player 1, the place where the player stands, the background image of the player, the color of the clothes of the player, and the like are specified as necessary. Further, in the example of FIG. 1, only one player is an example, and an opponent character created by the game device 4 is displayed on the display device 5. The player 1 takes one of three postures while watching the movement of the opponent. In the game device 4, the points are totaled based on the movement of the opponent and the posture of the player, and the points are displayed. Also,
The time of one game is defined, and the total score and the win / loss can be displayed after the game is over. In these aspects, those employed in existing fighting games can be applied.

FIG. 2 shows another example of a game apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. That is, FIG. 2 shows that two game players 1A and 1B can enjoy a fighting game. CCD cameras 2A and 2B are installed to shoot the players 1A and 1B, and video signals SV (A) and SV from the cameras 2A and 2B are provided.
(B) is supplied to the posture recognition devices 3A and 3B, respectively.

The posture recognizing devices 3A and 3B recognize the postures of the players 1A and 1B, and signals PC (A) and PC (B) which become active in the posture of "punch" and "kick"
Signals KK (A) and KK (B) which become active in the posture of
Respectively occur. These signals are received by the game device 4 and displayed on the display device 5 by each of the players 1A, 1A,
Two characters corresponding to B are displayed.
Each character fights according to the attitude of the players 1A and 1B, and the points are counted.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the player
In the case of first name (FIG. 1), it is possible to select the case of two players (FIG. 2). The feature of the present invention resides in the posture recognition devices 3, 3A and 3B. For simplicity, the posture recognition will be described below with reference to an example in which only one player shown in FIG. 1 is used.

FIG. 3 simply shows the operation principle of the posture recognition device 3. In the posture recognition device 3, the input video signal SV is divided into seven regions (C
1, C2, C3, P1, P2, F1, F2), and the signal strength in each area is calculated. The seven areas are partial areas in the shooting screen of the CCD camera 2 (shown as outer frames in FIG. 3). As described above, the position where the game player 1 stands is defined so that the game player 1 matches the position on the screen as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows three postures recognized in the embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG.
4B is a “pick” posture, and FIG. 4C is a “kick” posture. When the game player is in the “still” posture shown in FIG. P1, P2, F1, F2) Considering the signal output from the four detection areas, since the image of the game player 1 is not included in any of these four detection areas, the video signals in these areas have a certain level. At this time, the posture recognizing device 3 controls the game player 1
Is determined to be in the “stationary” posture, no signal is sent to the game device 4, and the game does not proceed.

In FIG. 4B, the game player 1 is in a “punch” posture. At this time, in the area P1, since the image of the arm of the game player 1 is in the signal detection area, the output signal is large. In the other three output signals (P2, F1, F2), since the image of the game player 1 is not included in the detection area, the signal level has a constant value. At this time, the posture recognizing device 3 detects that the signal in the area P1 has reached a large output level, and activates the signal PC for the game device 4. As a result, the game device 4 proceeds with the game so as to cause the character in the game to perform a “punch” operation.

In FIG. 4C, the game player 1 is in a “kick” posture. At this time, the area F1
Since the image of the foot portion of the game player 1 is in the signal detection area, the output signal is large. The other three output signals (P1, F1, F
In 2), since the video of the game player 1 is not included in the detection area, the signal level has a constant value.
At this time, the posture recognizing device 3 detects that the signal in the area P2 has reached a large output level, and recognizes that the game player 1 is in the “kick” posture.
Therefore, the posture recognition device 3 outputs the signal K to the game device 4.
Activate K. As a result, the game device 4 proceeds with the game so as to cause the character in the game to perform a “kick” operation. The posture recognition process in the posture recognition device 3 will be described later in more detail.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of the posture recognition device 3 which performs such an operation. In FIG. 5, a video signal SV from the CCD camera 2 is sent to a liquid crystal display 33 and projected on the liquid crystal display 33 as two-dimensional information. The laser beam from the laser oscillator 31 is converted into a parallel beam by the collimator lens 32 and then irradiates the liquid crystal display 33. Therefore, immediately after the liquid crystal display 33, an image captured by the CCD camera 2 is restored as a coherent laser beam. The image information by this coherent light is
To form an image on the hologram 6. The laser oscillator 31 is a laser power control device 30 (Automatio
(Power Control circuit) so that a predetermined output is always obtained.

The attitude information of the game player 1 obtained on the liquid crystal display 33 in this manner is projected onto the hologram 6 by the imaging lens 34. The hologram 6 converts the projected image into seven regions (C1, C2, C
3, P1, P2, F1, F2) and diffract light rays having an intensity proportional to the intensity in each area in different angular directions.

FIG. 6 shows the direction of the light beam diffracted by the hologram 6. In FIG. 6, light rays having an intensity proportional to the light intensity inside the area F1 are made to fly in the direction of A. Similarly, a light ray having an intensity proportional to the light intensity inside the area F2 is generated in the direction B. Hereinafter, similarly, according to the light intensities of the regions C1 to C3, C to
The light beam flies in the direction of E, and further flies in the directions of F and G according to the light intensities of the regions P1 and P2. Thus, the seven regions (C1, C2, C3, P
1, P2, F1, and F2), it is necessary to form a predetermined stripe pattern in regions corresponding to the seven regions of the hologram 6 in order to set the angle of the light beam to a predetermined value. In other words, the hologram 6 has a CGH configured as a diffraction grating in which each region is diffracted in a predetermined direction.
(Computer Genereted Hologram).

The light beam diffracted from the hologram 6 is converted by the detector array 35 into an electric signal. The detector array 35 has at least one or more independent photodetectors in each direction from A to G in FIG. 6 and independently detects light beams in each direction component to detect seven electrical signals (see FIG. 6). 5, BP1, BP2, BC1, B
C2, BC3, BF1, BF2). The level (peak value or average value) of this electric signal is from A to G
Corresponding to the intensity of the light beam in each direction. In FIG. 5, seven photodetectors are used corresponding to the seven regions, but a plurality of photodetectors may be used for one region.

The seven electrical signals (BP1, BP2, BC1, BC2, BC3, BF1,
BF2) is amplified by the amplification unit 7 for each detection signal, and the detection signals (AP1, AP2, AC1, AC2, AC3, AF) for which a sufficient SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) is obtained.
1, AF2) to the determination unit 8. The amplification unit 7 can be configured by simply arranging, for example, seven operational amplifiers.

The determination unit 8 detects seven detection signals (AP
1, AP2, AC1, AC2, AC3, AF1, AF
When inputting 2) and determining that the attitude of the game player 1 is “punch”, the signal PC is activated, and
When the attitude of the game player 1 is determined to be “kick”, the signal KK is activated and the game player 1
Is determined not to be active when both are determined to be in the "stationary" posture.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the judgment unit 8. FIG.
, Seven input (detection) signals (AP1, AP2,
AC1, AC2, AC3, AF1, AF2) are A / D
By the converters 81A to 81G, 8-bit digital signals (DP1, DP2, DC1, DC2, DC3,
DF1, DF2). The resulting digital signals (DP1, DP2, DC1, DC2, DC3, DF
1, DF2) are taken into the microprocessor 82 through an interface circuit (not shown). The microprocessor 82 determines the attitude of the game player 1 from the input signal described above, activates the signal PC when it determines that the attitude is “punch”, and determines that the attitude is “kick”. If determined, signal K
Activate K. These signals PC and KK
Is supplied to the game device 4.

Next, the determination operation performed by the microprocessor 82 will be described. Inside the microprocessor 82, a (4 rows × 7 bytes) memory as shown in FIG. 8 is mounted. The memory on the first line is the input buffer,
The inputted seven digital detection signals (DP1, DP
2, DC1, DC2, DC3, DF1, DF2) are always held. The memory in the second row holds a reference value used as a stationary posture reference. This memory stores the image when the game player 1 who is actually trying to enjoy the game is in the “still” posture before starting the game.
The 7-byte signal captured by the D camera 2 and obtained from the output of the amplification unit 7 is held. The reference value of “still” held in this memory is represented by (XP1, XP2, XC
1, XC2, XC3, XF1, XF2).

The memory in the third row holds a reference value used as a punch attitude reference. Prior to the start of the game, the memory captures an image when the game player 1 is in the “punch” posture with a CCD camera, and holds a 7-byte signal obtained from the output of the amplification unit 7. The reference value of “punch” held in the memory of the third row is represented by (YP1, YP2, YC1, YC2, YC3, YF
1, YF2).

Similarly, the memory in the fourth row holds a reference value used as a kick attitude reference. Prior to the start of the game, this memory captures an image when the game player 1 is in the “kick” posture by the CCD camera 2 and holds a 7-byte signal obtained from the output of the amplification unit 7. The reference value of “kick” held in the memory of the fourth row is (ZP1, ZP2, ZC1, ZC
2, ZC3, ZF1, ZF2).

The reference values held in the memories in the second to fourth rows are determined, for example, by performing experiments at the time of factory shipment,
(Random access memory). With the use of the ROM as described above, it is possible to immediately start use just by turning on the power. Also,
It is also possible to configure as a RAM (random access memory). By using a RAM and generating the reference value from the actual player's posture as described above, it is possible to absorb a personal difference of the game player 1 and perform a reliable operation.

The microprocessor 82 applies the following expressions (1) to (1) to the values held in these memories.
An operation as shown in (3) is performed. By this operation, the input signals (DP1, DP2, DC1, DC2, DC2
3, DF1, DF2) and reference values (XP1, XP2, X
C1, XC2, XC3, XF1, XF2), (YP1,
YP2, YC1, YC2, YC3, YF1, YF2) and (ZP1, ZP2, ZC1, ZC2, ZC3, ZF
1, ZF2) and distances DX, DY, and DZ, respectively.

DX = (DP1-XP1) ² + (DP2-XP2) ² + (DC1-XC1) ² + (DC2-XC2) ² + (DC3-XC3) ² + (DF1-XF1) ² + (DF 2 -XF2) ² (1) DY = (DP1-YP1) ² + (DP2-YP2) ² + (DC1-YC1) ² + (DC2-YC2) ² + (DC3-YC3) ² + (DF1-YF1) ^{2 + (DF 2-YF2) 2} (2) DZ = (DP1-ZP1) 2 + (DP2-ZP2) 2 + (DC1-ZC1) 2 + (DC2-ZC2) 2 + (DC3-ZC3) 2 + (DF1 ^{-ZF1) 2 + (DF 2-} ZF2) 2 (3) microprocessor 82, in this way the distance generated by DX, DY, controller compares regard DZ, the calculated distance to determine the smallest. As a result of the magnitude comparison, when it is determined that the value of DX is the smallest, the current posture of the game player 1 is closest to the reference posture of “still”, and thus the microprocessor 82
Determines that the game player 1 is in the “stationary” posture, and does not send any signal to the game device 4. However, if the value of DY is determined to be the smallest as a result of the size comparison, the game player 82 determines that the game player 1 is in the “punch” posture, and activates the signal PC to the game device 4. To perform the punching operation. Similarly, as a result of the magnitude comparison, if it is determined that the value of DZ is the smallest, the current attitude of the game player 1 is “Kick”.
Microprocessor 8
2 determines that the game player 1 is in the “kick” posture, activates a signal KK to the game device 4, and instructs the player to perform a kick operation.

Note that the timing of recognizing the attitude of the game player is a predetermined period of time or a point at which a large change in the detection signal occurs.

As described above, the attitude detecting game device 1 of the present invention can recognize the attitude of the game player 1 and configure a game according to the attitude of the game player 1.

Next, another embodiment in which the reliability of the posture recognition is further improved by improving the determination unit 8 will be described. Note that portions other than the determination unit 8 are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of the determination unit 8 in another embodiment. In FIG. 9, four types of signals (AP) for detecting the movement of the arms and legs of the game player 1 are shown.
, AP2, AF1, AF2), time difference calculation circuits 83A to 83D are connected, and the time difference calculation circuit 83A
-83D output signals are A / D converters 81H-81K
To be sent to

FIG. 10 shows an example of the configuration of the time difference calculation circuit 83A. In FIG. 10, an input signal AP1 is adapted to be input to a delay element 84. Delay element 84
A time delay signal AP1D delayed by
The difference from the signal is calculated by the subtraction circuit 85 and output as a time difference signal P1X. The time difference calculation circuits 83B to 83D can also be realized with the same configuration except that the input and output signal lines are different. The time difference calculation circuits 83A to 83D are not limited to analog delay elements, but may be configured using digital delay elements.

The time difference signal (P1
X, P2X, F1X, and F2X) are subjected to the calculation of the time difference by the delay element, so that a high voltage is output to a signal that changes quickly in a short time. Therefore,
A high detection sensitivity can be obtained for a posture change such as a "punch" or a "kick" in which a signal changes quickly within a very short time. On the other hand, when the human body part enters the four types of regions (P1, P2, F1, and F2) in which the body moves slowly and detects the movement of the arm and foot, the signal change is gentle. When the time difference is calculated, the resulting value becomes a small value. Therefore, the output voltages (P1X, P2X, F1) of the time difference calculation circuits 83A to 83D
X, F2X) maintain a low value. As a result, even if the body of the game player 1 moves slightly back and forth, the possibility of erroneously recognizing this as a “punch” or a “kick” can be suppressed.

The time difference calculation circuit 8 having the above features
3A to 83D outputs (P1X, P2X, F1X, F2
X) is sent to A / D converters 81H to 81K,
8-bit digital signal (TP1, TP2, TF1,
After passing through an interface (not shown) as TF2), it is input to the microprocessor 82.

The operation of making a determination in the microprocessor 82 will now be described. Inside the microprocessor 82,
A (4 rows × 11 bytes) memory as shown in FIG. 11 is mounted. The memory in the first row is an input buffer, and the input 11 kinds of signals (DP1, DP2, DC
1, DC2, DC3, DF1, DF2, TP1, TP
2, TF1, TF2) are always held.

The memory in the second row is used as a stationary posture reference. Prior to the start of the game, this memory stores an image when the game player 1 is in the "still" posture.
It holds 11-byte signals captured by a CD camera and obtained from the outputs of the amplification unit 7 and the time difference calculation circuits 83A to 83D. The reference values held in the memory in the second row are (XP1, XP2, XC1, XC2, XC
3, XF1, XF2, XTP1, XTP2, XTF1,
XTF2). However, since these pieces of information are taken in a state where the game player 1 is at rest, the values stored in the outputs of the time difference calculation circuits 83A to 83D,
All four bytes of XTP1, XTP2, XTF1, XTF2) are zero.

The memory in the third row is used as a punch attitude reference. Prior to the start of the game, the memory captures the image when the game player 1 is in the “punch” posture with the CCD camera 2 and the amplification unit 7
, And a 4-byte signal obtained from the outputs of the time difference calculation circuits 83A to 83D. The reference value held in the memory in the third row is
(YP1, YP2, YC1, YC2, YC3, YF1,
YF2, YTP1, YTP2, YTF1, YTF2). Similarly, the memory in the fourth row is used as a kick attitude reference. Prior to the start of the game, this memory captures an image when the game player 1 is in the “kick” posture with the CCD camera 2, and outputs a 7-byte signal obtained from the output of the amplification unit 7 and a time difference calculation circuit 83 A to 83 A to The 4-byte signal obtained from the 83D output is held. The reference values held in the memory of the fourth row are (ZP1, ZP2, ZC1, ZC2, ZC3, ZF
1, ZF2, ZTP1, ZYP2, ZTF1, ZTF
2).

For the memories in the second to fourth rows, values are obtained, for example, at the time of shipment from the factory, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) is used.
Can be configured in advance. With such a ROM configuration, it is possible to immediately start using the posture detecting game device just by turning on the power. By using a ROM, it is possible to immediately start using the posture detecting game device just by turning on the power. When configured with RAM,
By rewriting the contents of the RAM each time the game player 1 changes, it is possible to absorb a personal difference of the game player 1 and perform a reliable operation.

The microprocessor 82 applies the following equations (4) to (6) to the values held in these memories.
Is performed, and the input signals (DP1, DP2, D
C1, DC2, DC3, DF1, DF2, TP1, TP
2, TF1, TF2) and three kinds of posture reference values (XP
1, XP2, XC1, XC2, XC3, XF1, XF
2, XTP1, XTP2, XTF1, XTF2), (Y
P1, YP2, YC1, YC2, YC3, YF1, YF
2, YTP1, YTP2, YTF1, YTF2) and (ZP1, ZP2, ZC1, ZC2, ZC3, ZF1,
ZF2, ZTP1, ZYP2, ZTF1, and ZTF2) are calculated.

DX = (DP1-XP1) ² + (DP2-XP2) ² + (DC1-XC1) ² + (DC2-XC2) ² + (DC3-XC3) ² + (DF1-XF1) ² + (DF 2 ^{-XF2) 2 + (TP1-XTP1} ) 2 + (TP2-XTP2) 2 + (TF1 -XTF1) 2 + (TF2-XTF2) 2 (4) DY = (DP1-YP1) 2 + (DP2-YP2) 2 + (DC1-YC1) ² + (DC2-YC2) ² + (DC3-YC3) ² + (DF1-YF1) ² + (DF2-YF2) ² + (TP1-YTP1) ² + (TP2-YTP2) ^{2 + (TF1 -YTF1) 2 + (} TF2-YTF2) 2 (5) DZ = (DP1-ZP1) 2 + (DP2-ZP2) 2 + (DC1-ZC1) 2 + (DC2-ZC2) 2 + (DC3- ZC3) ² + (DF1-Z ^{F1) 2 + (DF 2-} ZF2) 2 + (TP1-ZTP1) 2 + (TP2-ZTP2) 2 + (TF1 -ZTF1) 2 + (TF2-ZTF2) 2 (6) microprocessor 82, thus The magnitudes of the distances DX, DY, and DZ generated by the above are compared, and the one with the smallest obtained distance is determined. As a result of the magnitude comparison, when it is determined that the value of DX is the smallest, the current posture of the game player 1 is closest to the reference posture of “still”, and the microprocessor 82 determines that the game player 1 is “still”. Is determined, and no signal is sent to the game apparatus 4. Also, as a result of the magnitude comparison, when it is determined that the value of DY is the smallest,
Since the current posture of the game player 1 is closest to the reference posture of “punch”, the microprocessor 82 determines that the game player 1 is in the “punch” posture, and activates the signal PC to the game device 4. To perform the punching operation. Similarly,
As a result of the magnitude comparison, when it is determined that the value of DZ is the smallest, the current attitude of the game player 9 is closest to the reference attitude of “kick”.
2 determines that the game player 9 is in the "kick" posture, activates a signal KK to the game device 4, and instructs the game device 4 to perform a kick operation.

As described above, the posture detecting game apparatus 1 of the present invention can recognize the posture of the game player 9 and configure a game according to the posture of the game player 9. At this time, since a time difference calculation is performed to detect a fast-moving part such as an arm or a foot, the possibility of erroneously recognizing a slow movement of a body or the like as a movement of an arm or a foot is reduced. Accurate recognition can be realized.

The game device 4 (for example, the game device 4 in FIG. 2) according to the above-described embodiment and the other embodiment of the present invention is configured as shown in FIG. 41A and 41B are posture recognition devices 3A and 3
Signals PC (A) and P corresponding to "punch" from B
This is an interface for supplying the microprocessor 44 with signals PC (A) and PC (B) corresponding to C (B) and "Kick". The microprocessor 44 includes:
A RAM 42, a CD-ROM drive 43, a video signal generator 45, and an audio signal generator 46 are connected.

A game CD storing a program and image data is mounted on the CD-ROM drive 43, and the game proceeds according to the program. Under the control of the microprocessor 44, the video signal generated by the video signal generator 45 is supplied to the display device, and the audio signal generated by the audio signal generator 46 is supplied to an audio reproducing device such as a speaker.

The above-described embodiment of the present invention is an example of a fighting game. As an example, three postures of "still", "punch", and "kick" are recognized. Other "forward", "backward", "jump", "back kick",
A posture such as “squat down” may be recognized.

[0057]

According to the posture detecting game apparatus of the present invention, the posture of the human body or each part of the human body of the game player is input as an image signal, the image signal is divided into a plurality of regions, and the signal strength in each region is determined. Since it is configured to detect and recognize the posture of the human body based on the detection signal, it is not necessary to perform a process of extracting a contour from image information obtained by photographing the human body. For this reason, high-speed operation becomes possible, and furthermore, it becomes possible to realize it with an inexpensive signal processing device.

Further, according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to extract a contour line, the recognition device can be realized by using a diffraction means such as a hologram, and furthermore, an inexpensive high-speed operation can be realized. This has the effect.

Further, the posture recognizing device according to the present invention calculates the distance between a plurality of reference values and the detection signal of each area, and performs recognition in accordance with the output of the distance calculating means. Therefore, even if the attitude of the game player is slightly different from the reference attitude, it is possible to reliably recognize the correct attitude.

Further, in the present invention, a part of a circuit for detecting the intensity of a plurality of regions is allocated for recognizing the movement of the arm and the leg, and the time difference between the detection signals from the allocated detecting device is calculated. The attitude is recognized using both the plurality of detection signals and the plurality of time difference signals. Therefore, even when the position where the game player stands is slightly deviated from the reference position and the image of the body enters the area for detecting the movement of the arm or foot, the movement of the body is the movement of the arm or foot. Is less likely to be detected incorrectly.
The posture can be accurately recognized.

According to the present invention, the device for detecting the intensity of each divided region of the image of the game player converts the image signal of the game player into a two-dimensional light intensity distribution,
The light intensity distribution is divided into a plurality of regions, and the light is diffracted in different angular directions for each region, and the intensity of the diffracted light is obtained. The recognition can be performed at high speed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a posture detection game device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another example of the attitude detection game device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of the posture recognition device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating three types of postures that can be recognized by the posture recognition device according to the embodiment of the present invention and corresponding intensity detection areas.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a posture recognition device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a diffraction effect of a hologram in the posture recognition device illustrated in FIG.

7 is a block diagram showing an example of a determination unit in the posture recognition device shown in FIG.

8 is a schematic diagram showing a memory inside a microprocessor in the determination unit shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a determination unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a difference calculation circuit provided in the determination unit illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a memory inside a microprocessor in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example of a game device that can be used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1A, 1B ... game player, 2, 2A, 2
B ... CCD camera, 3 ... Position recognition device, 4 ...
-Game device, 5-Display device, 6-Hologram, 8-Determination unit, 31-Laser oscillator, 32-Collimator lens, 33-Liquid crystal display, 35- Detector array, 81A
... 81K A / D converter, 82 ... Microprocessor, 83 ... Time difference operation circuit, 84 ... Delay element

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kimihiro Saito 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Yon Kyoo United States, Pasadena, California, Lake Avenue 600S, Within the 102 holoplex (72) Inventor Phi Mock United States, Pasadena, CA, Lake Avenue 600S, 102 Within the holoplex (72) Inventor Gan Zou United States, Pasadena, CA, Lake Avenue 600S, 102 holoplex

Claims (14)

[Claims] An image input means for inputting a posture of a human body or a posture of each part of a human body as an image signal; an image signal input by the image input means is divided into a plurality of regions; A plurality of detection means for respectively detecting the posture, a recognition means for recognizing the posture based on the outputs of the plurality of detection means, and an image creation means for creating image information different from the image of the human body in accordance with the output of the recognition means And an image output means for outputting the image information. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image input unit, the detecting unit, and the recognizing unit are separately provided in correspondence with the plurality of human bodies to recognize postures of two or more human bodies. A posture detecting game device, comprising: 3. The attitude detecting game device according to claim 1, further comprising: a voice generating unit that generates voice information; and a voice output unit that outputs the voice information. 4. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the recognizing unit stores a plurality of reference values, and a plurality of distances for calculating a difference between the plurality of reference values and an output of the plurality of detecting units. A posture detecting game device comprising a calculating means, wherein the recognition is performed in accordance with outputs of the plurality of distance calculating means. 5. The posture detecting game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reference value is a result of previously recognizing a posture of a person who actually enjoys the game. 6. The detecting means according to claim 1, wherein a part of the plurality of detecting means is assigned to recognize a movement of a part of a human body, and the detecting means is assigned to recognize a movement of the part. Is connected to a time difference calculating means for calculating a time difference, and the recognizing means recognizes the posture of the part by using detection signals from the plurality of detecting means and output signals of the plurality of time difference calculating means. A posture detecting game device characterized by the following. 7. The light intensity modulation device according to claim 1, wherein the detection device converts the image signal into a two-dimensional light intensity distribution, and converts the light intensity distribution of the light intensity modulation device into a plurality of regions. An attitude detection game device, comprising: a light diffraction unit that divides light and diffracts light in a different angle direction for each of the regions; and a plurality of light detection units that calculate the intensity of the diffracted light. 8. A step of inputting a posture of a human body or a posture of each part of the human body as an image signal, a step of dividing the input image signal into a plurality of regions, and detecting a signal intensity of each region, respectively. Recognizing the posture based on the signal strength of each of the regions, generating image information different from the image of the human body in accordance with the recognized result, and outputting the image information. Posture detection game method. 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: inputting an image signal corresponding to the plurality of human bodies, recognizing the posture, and recognizing the image information. Creating the posture detection game method separately for the plurality of human bodies. 10. The attitude detection game method according to claim 8, further comprising: creating voice information and outputting the voice information. 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of reference values are stored in advance in order to recognize the posture, and a difference between the plurality of reference values and the signal strength of each of the regions is calculated. A posture detection game method, comprising recognizing a posture from a game. 12. The posture detecting game method according to claim 11, wherein the reference value is a result of previously recognizing a posture of a person who actually enjoys the game. 13. The detection output of an area assigned to recognize a movement of a part of the human body according to claim 8 or 9, wherein a part of the plurality of areas is assigned to recognize a movement of a part of a human body. A posture detection game method, comprising: calculating a time difference; and recognizing a posture of the part from the detection output and the calculated time difference. 14. The method according to claim 8, wherein when detecting the signal intensity of each of the regions, the image signal is converted into a two-dimensional light intensity distribution, and the light intensity distribution is divided into a plurality of regions. And a method of diffracting light in different angular directions for each of the regions to obtain the intensity of the diffracted light.