KR101087058B1 - Omni-directional Camera and Driving Method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a omnidirectional camera device and a driving method thereof, the present invention comprises: a plurality of camera device unit having a camera module for imaging; Receiving unit is installed so that the camera module of each of the plurality of camera apparatus to face the outside by dividing 360 degrees in all directions; And an image processor for synthesizing the image signals photographed by the respective camera modules and outputting images in all directions.

Robot, camera, resolution, omni, resolution

Description

Omni-directional camera and driving method

The present invention relates to a camera device and a driving method thereof, and more particularly, an omnidirectional camera device and an omnidirectional camera device capable of capturing an omnidirectional image capable of increasing the resolution of an image photographed using a plurality of cameras and improving the processing speed thereof. It relates to a driving method.

Outside offices and parking lots of various offices and apartments, such as office buildings and banks, which have a large population of floating populations, are monitoring CCTVs by monitoring the progress of the area or for safety. Conventional surveillance cameras used in CCTV can only shoot a very limited area within a certain angle of view. Therefore, if you want to monitor a wider area as well as a limited area, more surveillance cameras have to be installed, which increases the cost of purchasing and installing the camera, and also increases the working time due to the installation.

Panoramic cameras have a much wider field of view than ordinary surveillance cameras, allowing them to capture wider areas. However, the panorama camera is not capable of shooting 360 degrees in all directions, so its function is limited. To solve the problem of the angle of view, an omni-directional camera capable of capturing 360 degrees in all directions is used.

The omni-directional camera can record all directions around the camera (360 degrees), so even if only one is installed, almost all directions can be taken except for the area covered by the concealment, which can be very useful as a surveillance camera. In addition, since a single camera can photograph the omni-directional direction, it has been used for a variety of robots and the like.

The omni-directional camera system, which is widely used in such surveillance and robotic fields, provides a wide viewing angle. However, the conventional 360-degree optical system or the omnidirectional camera using a single camera has a low resolution and does not have excellent optical characteristics, which is disadvantageous for object recognition. In addition, due to the slow processing speed, it is difficult to be applied to autonomous driving of robots.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention in view of the above-described conventional problems is to provide a omnidirectional camera and a driving method thereof, which can be mounted on a robot and realize a resolution and speed sufficient for object recognition or autonomous driving through a plurality of cameras. have.

In order to achieve the object as described above, the present invention provides a omni-directional camera device comprising a plurality of camera device portion, the support portion and the image processing portion. The plurality of camera device units includes a camera module for capturing an image. The support portion is installed so that the camera modules of each of the plurality of camera apparatuses face 360 degrees in all directions. The image processing unit synthesizes the image signal photographed by each camera module and outputs an omnidirectional image.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, the camera module comprises a camera sensor for photographing the opposite area to convert the optical image signal into an electrical image signal; A signal processing module for converting the image signal into an analog to digital signal; And an image processing module configured to output the converted image signal by adjusting the resolution according to a control signal of the image processing unit.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, the camera device portion is characterized in that it has a fan-shaped frame that houses the camera module.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the invention, the fan-shaped frame is the upper and lower surfaces of the sub-shape; An arc surface connecting the upper and lower surfaces to form an arc of a fan shape; And both side surfaces connecting the top and bottom surfaces to form a radii of the fan shape.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, the camera module is installed so as to protrude outwards through the hole surface hole is partially removed.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, The support portion installation portion for mediating the connection with other devices; A support part installed at an upper part of the installation part and to which the plurality of camera modules are coupled; And a protrusion installed at an upper surface of the support, radially installed at a central portion of the upper surface of the support, coupled to the plurality of camera apparatuses coupled to the support.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, the camera device portion is characterized in that the slot is formed by removing a portion to be coupled to the protrusion of the support portion on the lower surface and both sides.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, the camera device is provided with a pin protruding into the slot, the pin is characterized in that inserted into the through-hole formed in the protrusion of the base portion.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, when the camera device unit is installed in the support portion, the two slots of the camera device unit is fixed to each of the two adjacent protrusions are fixed, the half of the protrusion unit Inserted into each slot, the half is projected out of the side surface is formed with the slot, characterized in that the other camera device portion is installed in the projection portion protruding out the side surface of the camera device portion installed in the support portion.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, the plurality of camera device portion is provided in a direction symmetrical to each other the support portion.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, the camera module is characterized in that the 360-degree omnidirectional photographing according to the number of the camera unit installed in the support portion.

The driving method of the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention for achieving the object as described above, the process of sensing the position and the number of the camera device is mounted, and request the resolution required for each camera module according to the position and number And receiving image signals according to the resolution requested from each camera module, and synthesizing the received image signals to generate an image.

In the driving method of the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, the requesting process is characterized in that the request for a lower resolution as the number of the camera device unit increases.

In the omni-directional camera device according to the present invention, by placing a plurality of cameras on the supporting part as necessary, and adjusting and using the necessary resolution, a screen having a high resolution can be obtained, and the photographing is performed by dividing the omni-directional by the processing. Can improve speed.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that, in the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference symbols as possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may blur the gist of the present invention will be omitted.

1 is a three-dimensional view showing the appearance of the omni-directional camera apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a three-dimensional view of the camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the top surface of the camera module of the omni-directional camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The omnidirectional camera device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of camera device units 100, a support unit 200, and an image processor 300. Each of the plurality of camera device units 100 includes one camera module 110, and the camera module 100 performs image capturing. The support unit 200 is installed so that the camera device unit 100 is symmetrical with each other according to the required number, the camera module 110 of the plurality of camera device unit 100 is installed so as to face outwards by dividing 360 degrees all directions do. The image processor 300 collects image signals photographed by each camera module 110 of the plurality of camera apparatus units 100, synthesizes the collected image signals, and outputs an omnidirectional image.

The omnidirectional camera device according to the present embodiment will be described in detail as follows.

1 to 3, the camera device unit 100 has a structure in which the camera module 110 is built in a fan-shaped frame.

The fan-shaped frame faces the top surface 10 and the bottom surface 20 of the fan-shaped spaced apart at predetermined intervals, and the arc surface of the fan-shaped arc 30, which connects the top surface 10 to the bottom surface 20 in a fan-shaped arc. It is configured to include both side surfaces 40 connecting the upper surface 10 and the lower surface 20 in the line segment.

Here, the arc surface 30 is formed with an arc surface hole 50, a portion of which is removed so that the lens of the camera module 110 protrudes. At this time, the lens of the camera module 110 may be installed in the tangential direction on the center portion of the arc surface (30). For example, a lens of the camera module 110 may be installed at a point of the arc surface 30 that bisects an angle formed by both side surfaces 40.

A portion of the lower surface 20 and both side surfaces 40 are removed to be coupled to the protrusion 210 of the base 200 to form a slot 60. At this time, the slot 60 is formed in the form of a yaw (corrugated) corresponding to the shape of the protrusion 210 of the base 200. For example, since the protrusion 210 of the base 200 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, the slot 60 has a recess formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape inwardly from the side surface 40. However, according to the shape of the protrusion 210 of the base 200, the slot 60 may be formed of various recesses.

In addition, each of the camera device 100 includes one camera module 110. The camera module 110 is interposed so as to pass through the surface hole 50 of the surface 30 from the vertical surface 70 connecting both sides 40 in the fan-shaped frame.

In particular, the coupling portion 80 is formed on the inner wall of both sides of the fan-shaped frame 40, the coupling portion 80 is provided with a pin 81 protruding to the bottom formed with the slot (60). The pin is fitted into the through hole 211 formed in the protrusion 210 of the base 200 to couple and fix the camera device 100 to the base 200.

The supporting part 200 includes an installation part 230, a support part 220 installed on an upper part of the installation part 230, and a plurality of protrusions 210 installed on an upper surface of the support part 220.

The installation unit 230 may be manufactured in various forms according to the coupling form with any device for coupling to any device such as a robot to which the omnidirectional camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.

The support part 220 is formed in a plate shape, and is manufactured to photograph an image in a state where the camera module 110 of the camera device part 100 is horizontal. For example, the support unit 220 may be formed in a disc shape so that the camera device unit 100 may be installed in a 360 degree forward direction.

The plurality of protrusions 210 are installed to protrude from the upper surface of the supporter 220, and the slots 60 of the camera device unit 100 are coupled to the protrusions 210. At this time, in order to further secure the coupling, the protrusion 210 has a through hole 211 penetrating up and down, the pin of the coupling portion 80 protruding into the slot 60 in the through hole 211 81 is fitted. The plurality of protrusions 210 installed on the upper surface of the supporter 220 are radially disposed with respect to the center portion of the upper surface of the supporter 220 so that the camera device 100 can photograph the entire direction. In addition, the plurality of protrusions 210 and the plurality of protrusions 210 may be installed at the same position and distance from the angle formed by the central portion of the upper surface of the plurality of protrusions 210 and the support 220. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, although the eight protrusions 210 are provided on the upper surface of the support part 220, the present invention is not limited thereto.

In particular, when the camera device unit 100 is installed in the support unit 200, the slot 60 of the camera device unit 100 is fixed to the two adjacent protrusions 210, respectively. At this time, half of the protrusion 210 is inserted into each slot 60 of the camera device, and half of the protrusion 210 protrudes out of the side surface 40 on which the slot 60 is formed. That is, another camera device part 100 may be installed at a part of the protrusion part 210 protruding out of the side surface 40 of the camera device part 100 installed in the support part 200.

The image processing unit 300 detects the connection when the plurality of camera device units 100 are connected to the support unit 200. Then, the image processor 300 may receive image signals photographed by each camera module 110, synthesize the received image signals, and output the synthesized image signals to the connected display device.

4A to 4C are diagrams for describing the number of camera modules and a lens adjusting method according to an installation method of a camera device unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As the camera device 100 is manufactured in a fan shape, the photographing area that the camera lens of the camera module 110 of the camera device part faces may be divided in all directions (360 degrees) according to the angle of the fan shape.

In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the omnidirectional direction (360 degrees) may be equally divided into the plurality of camera modules 110. For example, in the present exemplary embodiment, eight camera device units 100 may be installed in the support unit 200 to equally divide the front direction (360 degrees).

As described above, when the photographing area is divided by the plurality of camera device units 100 in all directions, and the divided image signals are synthesized, the resolution of the synthesized image is an image captured by one camera module 110. The resolution may be increased by the number of camera modules 110 compared to the resolution of.

In addition, since the photographing area is divided by the plurality of camera device units 100 in all directions, each camera module 110 performs signal processing on the image signals corresponding to the divided areas, thereby improving the processing speed. have.

4A is a diagram illustrating an example in which eight camera apparatus units 100 are installed in the support unit 200, and FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example in which four camera apparatus units 100 are installed in the support unit 200. 4C is a diagram illustrating an example in which two camera apparatus units 100 are installed in the receiving unit 200. 4B and 4C, when installing the camera device unit 100 less than the maximum number of camera device units 100 that can be installed in the support unit 200, the plurality of camera device units 100 includes the support unit. In the center of the upper surface of the support portion 220 of the (200) can be installed at a point that is divided by the number of the camera device unit 100, that is, symmetrical to each other. For example, in the case of Figure 4b, the four camera device 100 in the center of the upper surface of the support 220 may be installed at a point 90 degrees to each other. In the case of FIG. 4C, the two camera device units 100 may be installed at 180 ° from each other at the center of the upper surface of the support unit 220. In this case, the camera module 110 of the camera device 100 is positioned at a point of 90 degrees in FIG. 4B, and the camera module 110 of the camera device 100 is located at a point of 180 degrees in FIG. 4C.

In addition, as described above, the number of the camera device 100 can be adjusted by various combinations, and according to the performance of the camera module 110, the number and position may be adjusted.

On the other hand, the omnidirectional camera device according to the present embodiment has been described an example that can be installed up to eight camera device unit 100 is not limited to this. As the camera device unit 100 becomes smaller, the omnidirectional camera device may be configured with more camera device units.

5 is a view for explaining a functional configuration of the omni-directional camera device through the camera module and the plurality of camera modules according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the plurality of camera modules 110 are provided to provide a camera function of capturing an image, and the image signals photographed by each are provided to the image processor 300.

The camera module 110 is to provide a camera function for capturing an image, and the camera module 110 may include a camera sensor 111, a signal processing module 113, and an image processing module 115. .

The camera sensor 111 is an optical sensor which photographs an area facing the camera sensor 111 and converts an optical image signal, which is the photographed area, into an electrical image signal. Here, the optical sensor may use a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor.

The signal processing module 113 converts the analog image signal output from the camera sensor 111 into a digital image signal. Here, the signal processing module 113 may be implemented by a digital signal processor (DSP).

The image processing module 115 adjusts and outputs the digital image signal from the signal processing module 113 at a predetermined resolution according to a preset standard or a control signal.

The image processor 300 recognizes the position and number of the protrusions 210 on which the camera apparatus 100 is mounted, and outputs a control signal for adjusting the resolution of each camera apparatus 100 to the image processing module 115. do.

Accordingly, the image processing module 115 of each camera module 110 provides a control signal to the image processing unit 300 of an image signal having a required resolution. Then, the image processing unit 300 receives image signals having the required resolution from the image processing module 115 of each camera module 110, combines them, and outputs the combined image signals.

6 is a view for explaining a driving method of the omnidirectional camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 7 is a view of the output screen of the image signal generated by the driving of the omnidirectional camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention An example screen is shown.

Referring to FIG. 6, the image processor 300 senses the position and the number of the protrusions 210 on which the camera device 100 is mounted in step S601.

Then, the image processing unit 300 transmits a control signal for requesting the resolution required for the camera module 110 of each camera apparatus unit 100 according to the sensed position and number in step S603. The image processor 300 may request an image signal having a lower resolution as the number of the camera apparatus 100 mounted thereon increases. That is, when the camera module 110 increases according to the number of the camera device 100, a greater number of camera modules 110 are photographed by dividing the omnidirectional direction, so that each camera module 110 has a low resolution. Even when an image signal is received, the image after summing the image signals can obtain an image having a desired resolution. Accordingly, when the low resolution is required, the image processing time of the camera module 110 may be reduced, thereby improving the processing speed.

Accordingly, the image processor 300 receives image signals photographed by each camera module 110 in operation S605. Subsequently, the image processor 300 generates an image by synthesizing the image signals received in operation S605.

Then, the image processor 300 outputs the image generated in step S605 to the connected display device. 7 illustrates an example of an image signal output by the image processing unit 300.

As described above, the omnidirectional camera device according to the embodiment of the present invention is flexible in configuring the omnidirectional camera by adjusting the number of cameras and the lens of the camera, and may have high resolution and high processing speed.

On the other hand, the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the specification and drawings are merely presented specific examples to easily explain the technical contents of the present invention and help the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention can be carried out in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

1 is a three-dimensional view showing the appearance of the omni-directional camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a three-dimensional view of a camera module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the top of the camera module of the omni-directional camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A to 4C are diagrams for describing the number of camera modules and a lens adjusting method according to a method of installing a camera device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view for explaining the functional configuration of the camera module and the omni-directional camera device through a plurality of camera modules according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view for explaining a driving method of the omni-directional camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a screen example of an output screen of an image signal generated by driving of the omni-directional camera device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (13)

In the omni-directional camera device, A plurality of camera device units including a camera module for capturing an image; Receiving unit is installed so that the camera module of each of the plurality of camera apparatus to face the outside by dividing 360 degrees in all directions; And Sensing the position and number of the camera device unit is mounted, requests the resolution required for each camera module according to the position and number, receives image signals according to the requested resolution from each camera module, synthesizes the received image signals An image processor which generates an image; Omni-directional camera device comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the camera module A camera sensor which photographs an opposite area and converts an optical image signal into an electrical image signal; A signal processing module for converting the image signal into an analog to digital signal; And An image processing module configured to output the converted image signal by adjusting a resolution according to a control signal of the image processor; Omni-directional camera device comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the camera device unit Omni-directional camera device characterized in that it has a fan-shaped frame in which the camera module is embedded. According to claim 3, wherein the fan-shaped frame is Top and bottom of the fan; An arc surface connecting the upper and lower surfaces to form an arc of a fan shape; And Connecting both the upper and lower surfaces and forming both sides of the fan-shaped radius; Omni-directional camera device comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein the camera module The omnidirectional camera device, characterized in that the arc surface is installed to protrude outward through the portion of the arc surface hole is removed. The method of claim 5, wherein the support portion An installation unit for interfacing with another device; A support part installed at an upper part of the installation part and to which the plurality of camera modules are coupled; A protruding portion installed on an upper surface of the support portion, radially installed with respect to a central portion of an upper surface of the support portion, to which the plurality of camera device portions coupled to the support portion are coupled; Omni-directional camera device comprising a. The method of claim 6, wherein the camera device unit The lower side and both sides of the omni-directional camera device, characterized in that the slot is formed by removing a portion to be coupled to the protrusion of the base portion. The method of claim 7, wherein the camera device unit And a pin protruding into the slot, wherein the pin is inserted into a through hole formed in the protrusion of the support. The method of claim 7, wherein When the camera device unit is installed in the support unit, slots of the camera unit unit are fixed to two adjacent protrusions, respectively, half of the protrusion unit is inserted into each slot of the camera unit unit, and half of the slot unit The camera unit protruding out of the formed side surface, wherein the projection portion protruding out of the side surface of the camera device installed in the base portion is provided with another camera device portion. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of camera device unit Omni-directional camera device, characterized in that installed in the direction symmetrical to the support portion. The method of claim 1, wherein the camera module The omni-directional camera device, characterized in that the 360-degree omnidirectional photographing according to the number of the camera unit installed in the support. In the driving method of the omni-directional camera device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, Sensing the number and location of the camera unit is mounted, Requesting resolution required for each camera module according to the position and number; Receiving image signals according to the resolution requested from each camera module; And synthesizing the received image signals to generate an image. The method of claim 12, wherein the requesting process is The driving method of the omni-directional camera device, characterized in that to request a lower resolution as the number of the camera unit increases.

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