KR20110020563A - Method for transmitting image and image pickup apparatus applying the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for transmitting image and an image pickup apparatus applying the same are provided to detect a specific face image and to transmit an image file containing a specific face to a specific target device. CONSTITUTION: If a user sets a photographed image sharing function, a photographing apparatus selects a specific face from photographed images by the manipulation of a user(S230). The photographing apparatus automatically designates a face range(S240). The photographing apparatus extracts feature data from a face recognition area(S245). If the face feature data of a person corresponding to the face feature data of the detected person exists in an address book, the photographing apparatus receives a confirm command from the user(S260,S270). The photographing apparatus transmits the photograph image file to the e-mail address of the detected person(S290).

Description

Method for transmitting image and image pickup apparatus applying the same

The present invention relates to an image transmission method and a photographing apparatus using the same, and more particularly, to an image transmission method for transmitting an image photographed by the photographing apparatus to an external device and a photographing apparatus applying the same.

Recently, digital cameras for storing pictures taken in the form of digital data are rapidly spreading. Digital cameras have been used by many users because of their convenience, as well as being able to check immediately after taking a picture, and store the picture data in the form of a computer file.

In addition, photos taken with digital cameras can be shared with various people by copying photo files to others or sending them via e-mail. However, in order to transfer the picture files taken by the digital camera to others, the user can connect the digital camera to the computer to copy the picture files taken by the computer, and send the copied picture files by e-mail using the computer or CD. You must use the method of recording and communicating the information. As such, there is an inconvenience of going through a very complicated procedure in order to transfer a picture taken by a digital camera to another person.

The user wants to be able to send the captured image to other people more easily. Therefore, a search for a method for easily transmitting a photographed image to another person using a photographing apparatus is required.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to recognize at least one face in the captured image, to select any one of the at least one face, the destination corresponding to the selected face An image transmission method for transmitting a captured image and a photographing apparatus to which the image is applied are provided.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an image transmitting method includes: recognizing at least one face in a captured image; Selecting any one of the at least one face; And transmitting the photographed image to a destination corresponding to the selected face.

The method may further include displaying the captured image on a screen, wherein the selecting step includes: when a touch manipulation is detected in an area in which any one of at least one face displayed on the screen is displayed, the touch detected region You can also choose your face.

The method may further include searching for person information corresponding to the selected face; And determining the destination based on the person information.

The searching of person information may include extracting facial feature data of the selected face; Searching for a portrait picture corresponding to the extracted facial feature data; And extracting person information corresponding to the retrieved person picture.

The person photo and the person information may be recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium.

The person photo and the person information may be recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium. In the person photo searching step, the person photo corresponding to the extracted facial feature data may be searched in the external storage medium.

In the extracting of the person information, the person information corresponding to the retrieved person picture may be extracted from the address book stored in the external storage medium.

The method may further include storing the photographed image, wherein the face recognition may include recognizing at least one face from the image stored by the photographing.

And displaying an image captured by the imaging device on the screen during the shooting standby state. The method may further include: detecting the at least one face from the image photographed by the imaging device during the photographing standby state.

In the transmitting of the picture, the picture may be transmitted to an e-mail address corresponding to the selected face.

On the other hand, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the photographing apparatus, the image pickup device for photographing the image; An image processor which recognizes at least one face from the captured image; A communication unit connected to communicate with an external device; And a controller configured to select any one of the at least one face and to control the communication unit to transmit the photographed image to a destination corresponding to the selected face.

And, the operation unit for detecting a user's touch operation; And a display unit configured to display the captured image on a screen, wherein the controller is configured to, when a touch manipulation is detected in an area in which any one of at least one face displayed on the screen is displayed, You can also choose a face.

The controller may search for person information corresponding to the selected face and determine the destination based on the person information.

The image processor may extract face feature data of the selected face, and the controller may search for a person picture corresponding to the extracted face feature data and extract person information corresponding to the retrieved person picture. have.

In addition, the person photo and the person information may be recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium.

The person photo and the person information are recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium, and the controller may search for the person photo corresponding to the extracted facial feature data on the external storage medium.

The controller may extract person information corresponding to the retrieved person picture from the address book stored in the external storage medium.

The apparatus may further include a storage configured to store the photographed image, wherein the image processor may recognize at least one face from the image stored by the photographing.

The display unit may display an image captured by the imaging device on a screen during a shooting standby state. The image processing unit may further include at least one face in the image photographed by the imaging device during the photographing standby state.

The controller may control to transmit a picture to an e-mail address corresponding to the selected face.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an image transmission method of recognizing at least one face from a captured image, selecting one of the at least one face, and transmitting the captured image to a destination corresponding to the selected face; Since it is possible to provide a photographing apparatus applying the same, a user can easily transmit a photographed image to another person using the photographing apparatus.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described the present invention in more detail.

1 is a block diagram showing in detail the configuration of the photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the photographing apparatus 100 includes a lens unit 110, an imaging device 120, an image processing unit 130, a control unit 140, an input unit 150, an image output unit 160, and a display ( 170, a codec 180, and a storage 190.

The lens unit 110 collects the light of the subject to form an optical image in the imaging area.

The imaging device 120 captures an image incident through the lens unit 110. Specifically, the imaging device 120 photoelectrically converts light incident through the lens into an electric signal, and performs predetermined signal processing on the electric signal. The imaging device 120 performing the above function includes a pixel and an AD converter. Each pixel outputs an analog video signal, and the AD converter converts the video signal into a digital video signal.

The image processor 130 performs signal processing on an image input from the image pickup device 120, and transmits the processed image signal to the image output unit 160 to display the captured image. In addition, the image processor 130 outputs an image signal processed by the codec 180 to store the captured image.

In detail, the image processor 130 may use digital zoom, AWB (Auto White Balance), AF (Auto Focus), AE (Auto Exposure) to adjust the format conversion and the image scale with respect to the image signal output from the imaging device 120. And so on.

In addition, the image processor 130 performs a function of recognizing a face in the captured image. In detail, the image processor 130 performs a process of detecting a face from the captured image and a process of recognizing feature data of the face. The process of detecting a face is a process of detecting an area including a face in the captured image. The process of recognizing the feature data of the face is a process of recognizing the feature of the face to distinguish it from other faces.

The face detection process is performed through color-based face region detection, edge-based eye region detection, face region normalization, and SVM (Support Vector Machine) based face region verification.

Color-based face region detection is a process of detecting a face in an input image using skin color information of the face. In detail, the color-based face region detection generates a flesh color filter using YCbCr information of the input image to extract the face region. That is, color-based face region detection is a process of extracting only the skin part from the input image.

Next, edge-based eye region detection is a process of detecting eye regions using contrast information. In general, the eye area can be easily separated, but there is a possibility that an error may occur due to various hairstyles of women or glasses.

Thereafter, the detected eyes are used to normalize the face area. Then, the normalized face region is verified by using a support vector machine (SVM). Using the SVM face area verifier reduces the likelihood of detecting false face areas to less than 1%.

Through this process, the image processor 130 detects a face from the captured image.

On the other hand, the process of recognizing facial feature data is largely a holistic approach and an analytic approach.

The overall approach is to recognize the face in consideration of the characteristics of the entire area of the face pattern. Such methods include an eigenface method, a template matching-based method, and the like.

The analytical approach is to extract facial features to recognize faces. The analytical approach has the advantage of requiring fast recognition speed and low memory, but it is difficult to select and extract facial features.

Recognition of facial feature data proceeds through the following steps. The image processor 130 receives an image including a face. The image processor 130 extracts components of the face (eg, eyes, nose, mouth, etc.). Next, the image processor 130 corrects the case in which the face is rotated and the illumination is illuminated. Through this process, the image processor 130 extracts the features of the face included in the captured image. Through this process, the image processor 130 may detect a face of a person in the captured image.

As a result, the image processor 130 may detect the overall pattern of the face in the captured image and recognize the facial feature data included in the captured image by using the detected face pattern.

The image output unit 160 outputs the image signal received from the image processor 130 to the internal display 170 or the external output terminal.

The display 170 displays the captured image on the screen.

The codec 180 encodes an image signal received by the image processor 130. The codec 130 transmits the encoded video signal to the storage 190. In addition, the codec 180 decodes the encoded video signal stored in the storage 190. The codec 180 transmits the decoded image signal to the image processor 130.

That is, the codec 180 encodes when storing the captured image, and decodes when outputting the stored image to the image processor 130.

The storage unit 190 stores the image photographed by the imaging device 120 in a compressed form. In addition, the storage unit 190 stores an address book. Here, the address book refers to a database that records contact information for people who the user desires. The address book is person information and includes at least one of a person's name, address, e-mail address, and phone number. In addition, the address book is stored with a picture corresponding to each person. The storage unit 190 may be implemented using a flash memory, a hard disk, a DVD, or the like.

The manipulation unit 150 receives a command through a user's manipulation. The manipulation unit 150 may be provided in the form of a button on the surface of the photographing apparatus 100, or may be provided in the form of a touch screen on the display 170.

The manipulation unit 150 receives a command from a user for selecting a desired face among a plurality of faces included in the captured image.

The communication unit 195 is connected to communicate with an external device through various networks such as the Internet. The communication unit 195 may be connected to an external device using a wired network such as a wired LAN, or may be connected to an external device using a wireless network such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth.

In addition, the communication unit 195 may transmit the captured image to the device of a specific user.

The controller 140 controls the overall operation of the photographing apparatus 100. In detail, the controller 140 controls the image processor 130 to signal-process the captured image. In addition, the controller 140 controls the codec 180 to encode or decode the video signal.

The controller 140 selects one of at least one face recognized by the image processor 130. In addition, the controller 140 controls the communication unit to transmit the captured image to the destination corresponding to the selected face. Here, the destination corresponding to the selected face may be an e-mail address or a phone number. If the destination is an e-mail address, the controller 140 transmits the captured image via e-mail. If the destination is a phone number, the control unit 140 transmits an image through a multimedia message service (MMS). In addition, of course, any means can be used as long as it is a means for transmitting the captured image.

In addition, when a touch manipulation is detected in an area in which any one of the at least one face displayed on the screen is displayed, the controller 140 selects the face of the region where the touch is detected.

The controller 140 searches for person information corresponding to the selected face, and determines a destination based on the person information. Herein, the person information refers to information related to the user listed in the address book. Specifically, the person information includes at least one of a person's name, address, email address, phone number, and person's picture.

The controller 140 searches for a portrait picture corresponding to the extracted face feature data and extracts person information corresponding to the found portrait picture.

Here, the portrait picture and the person information may be recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium. In addition, the person photo and the person information may be recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium. In this case, the controller 140 searches the external storage medium for the portrait picture corresponding to the extracted facial feature data. The controller 140 extracts person information corresponding to the retrieved person picture from an address book stored in an external storage medium. In this case, the controller 140 communicates with an external storage medium through the communication unit 195.

The controller 140 controls the picture to be transmitted to an e-mail address corresponding to the selected face.

As such, the photographing apparatus 100 may transmit the photographed picture to an e-mail of a person included in the photographed picture. Therefore, after taking a picture, the user can select a face of a person included in the taken picture and transmit the picture by e-mail.

2 is a flowchart provided to explain a method of sharing a picture of the photographing apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment.

First, the photographing apparatus 100 takes a picture according to the user's operation (S210). In operation S220, the photographing apparatus 100 determines whether the photographed picture is set to share the photographed picture. If it is set not to share the taken picture (S220-N), the photographing apparatus 100 stores the taken picture in the storage unit 190 (S225).

On the other hand, if it is set to share the picture (S220-Y), the photographing apparatus 100 selects the face in accordance with the user's selection operation in the captured picture (S230). Then, the photographing apparatus 100 automatically designates the face region based on the point selected by the user (S240). That is, the photographing apparatus 100 selects a face region including a point selected by a user from among faces included in the photographed picture to designate a face region. At this time, the photographing apparatus 100 detects the face of the person in the picture by using the above-described face recognition technology.

In operation S245, the image capturing apparatus 100 extracts feature data of the face recognition region. As described above, the photographing apparatus 100 detects the face of the person from the picture, extracts feature data of the detected face, and recognizes the face of the person included in the picture.

Thereafter, the photographing apparatus 100 compares the facial feature data of the person's picture stored in the address book of the storage unit 190 with the facial feature data of the person detected in the captured picture (S250).

When the facial feature data of the person corresponding to the facial feature data of the person detected in the captured picture does not exist in the address book (S260-N), the photographing apparatus 100 confirms whether or not to receive information about the person from the user. (S265). If the user chooses not to register the person (S265-Y), the process ends.

On the other hand, when the user selects to register a person (S265-Y), the photographing apparatus 100 stores information about the newly registered person, and the facial feature data of the person's picture stored in the updated address book or the like is photographed. The facial feature data of the person detected in the picture is compared again (S250).

When face feature data of the person corresponding to the face feature data of the person detected in the captured picture exists in the address book (S260 -Y), the photographing apparatus 100 displays a person correspondence confirmation message on the screen, and the user is displayed. Receive a confirmation command from (S270).

Thereafter, the photographing apparatus 100 updates the photograph of the person detected in the photographed photograph in the address book DB (S280). In this way, by updating the picture of the person detected in the photographed picture to the person of the corresponding address book, the photographing apparatus 100 can secure more facial feature data for the person.

In operation S290, the photographing apparatus 100 transmits the photographed picture to the e-mail address of the detected person by referring to the address book. In addition to the e-mail, the photographing apparatus 100 may transmit the picture to a device used by the detected person by using another picture transmitting means such as MMS.

Through this process, the photographing apparatus 100 may transmit the photographed picture to an e-mail of a person included in the photographed picture. Therefore, after taking a picture, the user can select a face of a person included in the taken picture and transmit the picture by e-mail.

Hereinafter, a process of selecting and confirming a person in a taken picture will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. 3A is a diagram illustrating a photograph taken by the photographing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The photograph taken in FIG. 3A includes a total of four people. In addition, the photographing apparatus 100 recognizes the first face 310, the second face 320, the third face 330, and the fourth face 340 to confirm that boxes are displayed around the faces. Can be. Among these, when the user selects the first face 310, a confirmation message screen as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed.

3B is a diagram illustrating a screen displaying a person correspondence confirmation message on the photographing apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3B, the person correspondence confirmation message may confirm that the picture of the selected first face 310 and the picture 350 extracted from the address book are displayed together. The photograph 350 extracted from the address book corresponds to a photograph determined by the photographing apparatus 100 to correspond to the person of the first face 310.

That is, the person correspondence confirmation message is a message displayed to display a picture of a person selected from a taken picture and a picture of an address book corresponding thereto, and to confirm whether two pictures represent the same person from a user.

When the user selects 'yes' while the person correspondence confirmation message is displayed, the photographing apparatus 100 transmits the photographed picture to the e-mail address of the person corresponding to the picture by referring to the address book.

Hereinafter, a process of transmitting a picture to the people included in the taken picture will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4H. 4A to 4H are diagrams illustrating a process of transmitting a photographed picture to persons included in the photographed picture according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A illustrates a screen on which a photographed picture is displayed. As shown in FIG. 4A, once the user takes a picture, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the taken picture on the screen.

4B, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the user menu 400 on the screen according to a user's manipulation. When the 'face recognition photo sharing' item is selected in the user menu, the photographing apparatus 100 operates the face selection mode. Here, the face selection mode refers to a mode implemented to allow a user to select a face in the taken picture. At this time, the photographing apparatus 100 determines which area the face is included in the photograph taken using the face recognition function. Therefore, when the user touches the face area included in the captured picture, the photographing apparatus 100 selects the touched face and displays a box around the selected face.

4C illustrates that the user selects the first face 410, the second face 420, and the third face 430 from the captured picture. As shown in FIG. 4C, when three faces are selected, the photographing apparatus 100 undergoes a verification process for the selected three faces.

4D is a diagram illustrating a screen displaying a person correspondence confirmation message for confirming the first face 410 on the photographing apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the person correspondence confirmation message may confirm that the picture of the selected first face 410 and the picture 450 extracted from the address book are displayed together. The photograph 450 extracted from the address book corresponds to a photograph determined by the photographing apparatus 100 to correspond to the person of the first face 410.

When the user selects 'yes' while the person correspondence confirmation message is displayed, the second face 420 is checked.

4E is a diagram illustrating a screen displaying a person correspondence confirmation message for confirming the second face 420 on the photographing apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 4E, the person correspondence confirmation message may confirm that the picture of the selected second face 420 and the picture 460 extracted from the address book are displayed together. The photograph 460 extracted from the address book corresponds to a photograph determined by the photographing apparatus 100 to correspond to the person of the second face 420.

When the user selects 'Yes' while the person correspondence confirmation message is displayed, the third face 430 is checked.

4F is a diagram illustrating a screen on which the person correspondence confirmation message for confirming the third face 430 is displayed on the photographing apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 4F, the person correspondence confirmation message may confirm that the picture of the selected third face 430 and the picture 470 extracted from the address book are displayed together. The photograph 470 extracted from the address book corresponds to a photograph determined by the photographing apparatus 100 to correspond to the person of the third face 430.

When the user selects 'Yes' while the person correspondence confirmation message is displayed, the picture is sent to the e-mail of the person corresponding to the first face 410, the second face 420, and the third face 430 as shown in FIG. 4G. A confirmation message is displayed asking if you want to send.

Here, when the user selects 'Yes', the photographing apparatus 100 extracts e-mail information of persons corresponding to the first face 410, the second face 420, and the third face 430 from the address book. do. The photographing apparatus 100 transmits the photographed image to the extracted email address. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4H, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a message informing that the picture has been transmitted to the e-mail address.

Through this process, the photographing apparatus 100 transmits the photographed photograph to an e-mail address corresponding to the faces of the persons included in the photographed photograph. Accordingly, the user can transmit the photographed picture to the corresponding people only by selecting a face included in the photographed picture.

Hereinafter, a process of registering a picture of a person in an address book will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5H. 5A through 5H illustrate a process of registering a picture of a person in an address book using a face recognition technology according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a main menu on a screen. In this state, when the user touches the address book icon 500, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a selection command of the address book icon 500 and executes the address book.

5B is a diagram illustrating a screen on which an address book is executed. As shown in FIG. 5B, when the user selects "Han Hyo Joo" from the address book, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a selection command for "Han Hyo Joo" from the address book.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5C, detailed information about “Han Hyo Joo” is displayed on the screen. Here, when the user selects the picture registration button 510, the photographing apparatus 100 performs a picture registration process. Here, the picture registration process means a process of registering a picture corresponding to the person selected from the address book.

Therefore, when the user selects the picture registration button 510, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a picture list on the screen as shown in FIG. 5D. As shown in FIG. 5D, when a user touches a desired picture in the picture list, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a selection command for the touched picture. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5E, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the selected picture in full screen.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5E, when the selected picture includes a face, the photographing apparatus 100 recognizes the faces included in the picture and displays an indicator around the face. 5E includes a first face 520 and a second face 530, and a box is displayed around the first face 520 and the second face 530.

As illustrated in FIG. 5E, when the user touches the first face 520, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a command for selecting the first face 520. Therefore, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a picture of the selected face part separately on the screen as illustrated in FIG. 5F. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5F, it can be seen that the save button 540 is displayed together with the picture of the first face 520. Here, the save button 540 receives a command for allowing the selected face picture to be stored in correspondence with the person selected in the current address book.

Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 5F, when the user touches the save button 540, the photographing apparatus 100 stores the first picture 520 to correspond to “Han Hyo Joo” of the address book. After that, as shown in Fig. 5G, a message confirming that the data has been stored is displayed on the screen. As shown in FIG. 5H, after the registration of the picture is completed, the address book is returned to the screen on which the address book is displayed.

Through this process, the photographing apparatus 100 may register a picture to correspond to the person in the address book by using the face recognition function.

6A to 6D are diagrams illustrating a process of directly photographing and registering a picture in an address book according to an embodiment of the present invention.

After the process of FIGS. 5A to 5C, when the user touches the photographing button 610 as shown in FIG. 6A, the photographing apparatus 100 executes the photographing mode. 6B, when a user photographs a face of a specific person, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the photographed picture on the screen.

As illustrated in FIG. 6C, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the photographed picture on the screen and displays a confirmation message on the screen indicating whether to store the picture in correspondence with the selected person in the address book. When the user touches the save button 620, the photographing apparatus 100 stores the photographed picture to correspond to the selected person in the address book. That is, in FIG. 6C, the photographing apparatus 100 stores the photographed picture corresponding to “Han Hyo Joo”. 6D, when the recording is completed, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a message indicating that the storage is completed on the screen.

In this manner, in addition to the method of selecting a photo from the photo list, the photographing apparatus 100 may directly photograph the photo and register it as a photo corresponding to a specific person in the address book.

Hereinafter, a process of selecting any one of the faces included in the picture displayed on the screen and registering them in the address book will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7I. 7A to 7E illustrate a process of registering any one of the face areas included in the picture displayed on the screen in correspondence with an existing person in the address book according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A illustrates a screen of the photographing apparatus 100 in which a photo including a plurality of faces is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the user touches the first face 700, the photographing apparatus 100 receives a command for selecting the first face 700. In addition, the photographing apparatus 100 extracts and selects an area of the first face 700 using face recognition technology.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7B, the face registration menu 710 of the selected first face 700 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 7B, the face registration menu 710 includes an existing address book item 713 and a new address book item 716. Herein, the existing address book item 713 is an item for receiving a command for registering a selected face picture to any one of the persons currently stored in the address book. The new address book item 716 is an item that receives a command for registering a selected face picture with a new person.

When the user selects the existing address book item 713, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a list of persons currently stored in the address book as illustrated in FIG. 7C. Here, as shown in FIG. 7D, when the user selects "Han Hyo Joo", the photographing apparatus 100 associates the photograph including the first face 700 with address information of "Han Hyo Joo." As shown in FIG. 7D, when the user touches the save button 720, the photographing apparatus 100 associates and stores the picture including the first face 700 in the address book information of “Han Hyo Joo”. . As shown in FIG. 7E, a storage confirmation message is displayed on the screen.

7F to 7H illustrate a process of registering any one of the face areas included in the picture displayed on the screen in correspondence with a new person in the address book, according to an exemplary embodiment.

When the user selects a new address book item 716 in FIG. 7B, as shown in FIG. 7F, the photographing apparatus 100 displays a screen for adding a person to the address book. In addition, the photographing apparatus 100 may confirm that the picture of the first face 700 is stored in correspondence with address book information of the person currently being added. That is, when the new address book item 716 is selected, the photographing apparatus 100 stores the selected face picture in correspondence with the information of the person to be newly registered.

As shown in FIG. 7G, when the user selects the save button 720 after inputting the name and phone number of the new person, the photographing apparatus 100 displays the name and the phone number of the new person. 700 corresponding to the picture is stored. As shown in FIG. 7H, a confirmation message indicating that the storage is completed is displayed on the screen.

Through this process, the photographing apparatus 100 may correspond to the person included in the picture displayed on the screen to a person newly registered in the address book.

Meanwhile, when the user touches the picture displayed on the screen of the photographing apparatus 100, other functions besides the face registration function may be performed. This will be described with reference to FIG. 7I. FIG. 7I is a diagram illustrating a screen on which a selected person related menu 750 is displayed when a face region of a picture is selected according to one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7A, when the user touches the first face 700, the photographing apparatus 100 may display a menu for selecting person, as shown in FIG. 7I. If the person corresponding to the face selected by the user is included in the address book, the selected person related menu 750 is a menu that displays functions that can be performed in relation to the person.

As shown in FIG. 7I, the person selection menu 750 may include a dialing item 753 and a message writing item 756. That is, the photographing apparatus 100 performs a call function and a message sending function to the person corresponding to the first face 700. As such, when a face included in the picture displayed by the user is selected, the photographing apparatus 100 may provide a menu for performing a function related to a person corresponding to the face selected by the user. Accordingly, the user may select a face displayed in the picture to use a function of calling or sending a message to the person corresponding to the selected face.

Meanwhile, in the present exemplary embodiment, the address book is described as being stored in the storage unit 190 included in the photographing apparatus 100. In addition, the photographing apparatus 100 may also use an address book stored in an external device. In this case, when the address book is needed, the photographing apparatus 100 temporarily downloads the address book by using wired or wireless communication with an external device. Also, the photographing apparatus 100 may be implemented to search whether the information of the person is included by accessing an external device only when the address book stored in the storage unit 190 does not include the desired person information. Of course.

Meanwhile, in the present exemplary embodiment, the photographing apparatus 100 transmits the photographed picture by e-mail. However, the photographing device 100 may also transmit the photographed picture to another specific device of the person who is to be photographed. In this case, another specific device of the person who is to receive the picture is a device having a history of connecting with the photographing apparatus 100. Since there is a record that has been connected to the photographing apparatus 100, the photographing apparatus 100 can easily communicate with another specific apparatus because there is a record of an IP address or a MAC address of another specific apparatus. Other specific devices include electronic picture frames, digital cameras, TVs, and the like. The photographing apparatus 100 recognizes that a user of another specific device is a person who is to receive a picture based on owner information and device information of another specific device. Therefore, the photographing apparatus 100 may transmit the photographed picture to another specific device of the person who is the object of receiving the photograph.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, it has been described that the photographing apparatus 100 recognizes a face with respect to the photographed picture, but it is a matter of course that the face can be recognized even in a shooting standby state before photographing. Here, the shooting standby state indicates a state in which an image of a subject to be photographed is displayed on the display screen of the photographing apparatus 100 before the photograph is taken. Therefore, in this case, the display unit 170 displays an image captured by the imaging device 120 on the screen during the shooting standby state. The display unit 170 displays a box-shaped indicator on the face included in the screen in which the image is to be photographed. In addition, the image processor 130 may recognize at least one face in the image photographed by the image capturing device 120 during the image capture standby state.

As described above, since the photographing apparatus 100 recognizes the face in the shooting standby state, the user can select the face displayed on the screen in the shooting standby state. When the user selects the displayed face in the shooting standby state, the photographing apparatus 100 performs a function related to a person corresponding to the selected face. For example, when a specific face is selected in a shooting standby state, the photographing apparatus 100 may display address book information of a person corresponding to the selected face on the screen. In addition, when a specific face is selected in the shooting standby state, the photographing apparatus 100 may perform a function of making a call or transmitting a text message to a person corresponding to the selected face.

As such, when the photographing apparatus 100 performs a function related to a person corresponding to the selected face in the photographing standby state, the user performs only an operation of illuminating the desired person into the photographing apparatus 100 in the photographing standby mode. You can call or send a text message.

Meanwhile, when the photographing apparatus 100 transmits a photo to a specific person, the photographing apparatus 100 may recommend another person to send the photo together. Here, the other person is a person who has a high degree of acquaintance with the specific person who is the object of the photo transmission. The photographing apparatus 100 sets intimacy with other persons for each person registered in the address book. Affinity increases as the frequency with which faces are included in a picture increases. For example, if you have a person named A, B, C, five pictures taken by A and B, six pictures taken by B and C, and eight pictures taken by C and A. A is set to have the highest affinity. Therefore, when the photographing apparatus 100 transmits the photographed picture to C, the photographing apparatus 100 displays A on the screen as a recommended person to send together. As such, when the photographing apparatus 100 transmits a picture to a specific person, the photographing apparatus 100 may recommend another person to be sent together with the picture and display it on the screen.

In addition, although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but the technical field to which the invention belongs without departing from the spirit of the invention claimed in the claims. Of course, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or the prospect of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing in detail the configuration of a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flowchart provided to explain a method of sharing a picture of a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3A is a view showing a picture taken by a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3B is a diagram illustrating a screen displaying a person correspondence confirmation message on a photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4A to 4H illustrate a process of transmitting a photographed picture to persons included in the photographed picture, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5A to 5H illustrate a process of registering a picture of a person in an address book using a face recognition technology according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6A to 6D illustrate a process of directly photographing and registering a photo in an address book according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7A to 7E illustrate a process of registering any one of the face areas included in the picture displayed on the screen in correspondence with an existing person in the address book according to one embodiment of the present invention;

7F to 7H illustrate a process of registering any one of the face areas included in the picture displayed on the screen in correspondence with a new person in the address book according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7I is a diagram illustrating a screen displaying a menu relating to a selected person when a face region of a picture is selected according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (20)

Recognizing at least one face in the captured image; Selecting any one of the at least one face; And And transmitting the captured image to a destination corresponding to the selected face. The method of claim 1, And displaying the captured image on a screen. The selection step, And when a touch manipulation is detected in an area in which any one of the at least one face displayed on the screen is displayed, selecting a face in the region where the touch is detected. The method of claim 1, Retrieving person information corresponding to the selected face; And determining the destination based on the person information. The method of claim 3, The person information search step, Extracting facial feature data of the selected face; Searching for a portrait picture corresponding to the extracted facial feature data; And Extracting person information corresponding to the retrieved person photograph. The method of claim 4, wherein The portrait photograph and the portrait information are recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium. The method of claim 4, wherein The portrait photo and the portrait information are recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium. The portrait search step, And retrieving a portrait picture corresponding to the extracted facial feature data from the external storage medium. The method of claim 6, The person information extraction step, And extracting person information corresponding to the retrieved person picture from the address book stored in the external storage medium. The method of claim 1, And storing the captured image. The face recognition step, And at least one face is recognized from the image stored by the photographing. The method of claim 1, Displaying an image captured by the image pickup device on the screen during a shooting standby state; More, The face recognition step, And at least one face is recognized from an image photographed by the imaging device during the photographing standby state. The method of claim 1, The photo transfer step, Transmitting a picture to an e-mail address corresponding to the selected face. An imaging device for capturing an image; An image processor which recognizes at least one face from the captured image; A communication unit connected to communicate with an external device; And And a controller configured to select any one of the at least one face and to control the communication unit to transmit the captured image to a destination corresponding to the selected face. The method of claim 11, An operation unit detecting a user's touch operation; And And a display unit for displaying the captured image on a screen. The control unit, And when a touch manipulation is detected in an area in which any one of the at least one face displayed on the screen is displayed, selecting a face in the region where the touch is detected. The method of claim 11, The control unit, And retrieving person information corresponding to the selected face, and determining the destination based on the person information. The method of claim 13, The image processor, Extract facial feature data of the selected face, The control unit, And a person picture corresponding to the extracted face feature data and a person information corresponding to the retrieved person picture. The method of claim 14, And the portrait photograph and the portrait information are recorded in an address book stored in an internal storage medium. The method of claim 14, The portrait photo and the portrait information are recorded in an address book stored in an external storage medium. The control unit, And a portrait picture corresponding to the extracted facial feature data is searched on the external storage medium. The method of claim 16, The control unit, Photographing device, characterized in that for extracting the person information corresponding to the searched person photo from the address book stored in the external storage medium The method of claim 11, Further comprising: a storage unit for storing the captured image, The image processor, And at least one face is recognized from the image stored by the photographing. The method of claim 11, A display unit configured to display an image captured by the imaging device on a screen during a shooting standby state; More, The image processor, And at least one face in the image captured by the imaging device during the shooting standby state. The method of claim 11, The control unit, And controlling the picture to be transmitted to an e-mail address corresponding to the selected face.

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