KR20150056115A - System for tracking object using both direction camera - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an object tracking system using a bi-directional camera. According to the present invention, the object tracking system using the bi-directional camera includes: a driving unit which is connected to a driving robot including a motor for movement in all four directions to control the movement of the driving robot in all four directions; a communications unit exchanging data with a user terminal; a recording unit which records an image by using the bi-directional camera and transmits the recorded image information to the user terminal through the communications unit; and a control unit which receives a control signal including one or more coordinate values of an object block generated by recognizing the object in the image information from the user terminal and controls the driving unit to match the coordinate values of the object block with the coordinate values of a center bock in the image stored in advance. Accordingly, the present invention controls the driving robot on an object-recognition basis to control the movement in all four directions without an operator. In addition, the present invention also generate random events to increase a user′s operation concentration.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an object tracking system using a two-way camera,

The present invention relates to an object tracking system using a two-way camera, and is intended to provide an object tracking system using a two-way camera capable of tracking an object recognized by a user terminal or moving according to a motion.

In recent years, intelligent robots are producing new technologies different from one another. Especially in the field of interaction with humans. In order for smooth interaction with human beings to be achieved, it is possible that the robot has to have basic functions to find and chase people.

Robot services such as recognizing a person and following a person, or recognizing an external intruder and tracking the chip particle are indispensable technologies for human-robot interaction.

While a variety of conventional human recognition techniques have been developed, the artificial intelligence of a robot has many limitations on what one can do alone, such as a human being. Therefore, many robots are now dependent on control.

The problem is that the robot is controlled using a user terminal such as a smart phone. However, since the robot is controlled by simply watching the image sent from the robot, there is a problem that smooth control can not be performed.

The technology that is the background of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-1212810 (Dec. 18, 2012).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide an object tracking system using a bi-directional camera capable of tracking an object recognized by a user terminal or moving according to a motion.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object tracking system using a two-way camera, which is connected to a driving robot including motors for moving left and right, front and rear, and up and down, ; A communication unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from a user terminal; An image capturing unit capturing an image using a bi-directional camera and providing image information photographed through the communication unit to the user terminal; And receiving a control signal including at least one coordinate value of an object block generated by recognizing an object included in the image information from the user terminal, wherein the coordinate value of the object block is a coordinate value And the control unit controls the driving unit so that the driving unit coincides with the driving unit.

As described above, according to the present invention, an object tracking system can be easily operated by using a user terminal capable of IP-based communication such as a notebook computer or a smart phone. Especially, by controlling the driving robot on the basis of object recognition, it is possible to expect the effect of automatically controlling the up and down, left and right, and back and forth movement even without human manipulation.

In addition, it is possible to expect an effect of increasing the concentration of the operation of the user by generating an event irregularly.

1 is a diagram illustrating an object tracking system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a detailed block diagram of an object tracking apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a detailed block diagram of a user terminal for controlling an object tracking system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating an object tracking method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5A is a view showing a central block stored by the object tracking apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
5B is a diagram illustrating an object block received from a user terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
6A to 6C are views for explaining the process of matching the size of the central block and the size of the object block according to the object tracking apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a detailed block diagram of an object tracking system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a detailed block diagram of a configuration of a user terminal for controlling an object tracking system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a data flow diagram illustrating an object tracking method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a view for explaining a touch input window provided by the user terminal according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements as well, without excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise.

Further, throughout the specification, the term "object" used means a movable object, and the present invention includes a person, an animal, and the like.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention.

First, a configuration of a user terminal for controlling an object tracking system and an object tracking system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an object tracking system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of an object tracking apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a detailed view illustrating a configuration of a user terminal for controlling an object tracking system according to the first embodiment. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the object tracking system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an object tracking device 110 and a driving robot 120.

The object tracking device 110 transmits and receives data to and from the user terminal 200 and transmits image information of the surroundings to the user terminal 200. Based on the control signal received from the user terminal 200, Back, and left and right movement.

The driving robot 120 includes a servomotor and a DC motor (direct current motor) for front / rear, left / right, and pan / tilt operations, Left and right, back and forth, and up and down movement based on the command. At this time, the up / down movement of the driving robot 120 is performed by performing the pan / tilt operation so that the object tracking device 110 can be directed upward or downward.

The user terminal 200 transmits and receives data to and from the object tracking device 110 and provides the user with image information received from the object tracking device 110. In addition, a control signal according to image information or a control signal according to a control command received from a user is generated to control the object tracking system 100.

Here, the user terminal 200 includes a program such as an application or an application for controlling the object tracking system 100 to provide the user with image information received from the object tracking system 100, Signal to control the object tracking system 100. < RTI ID = 0.0 >

Meanwhile, the user terminal 200 may be implemented as a single device capable of controlling the object tracking system 100 according to the control of the user or the motion of the object obtained by analyzing the image information. Also, it may be implemented as a single program and operated on a device having an operating system, such as a portable terminal, that is, a PC (Personal Computer), a notebook, a smart phone,

The object tracking apparatus 110 includes a communication unit 111, an imaging unit 112, a robot driving unit 113, and a control unit 114. [

The communication unit 111 includes communication means for transmitting and receiving data to and from the user terminal 200. The communication unit 111 receives a control signal from the user terminal 200 and provides the control signal to the control unit 114, Information to the user terminal 200 in real time.

At this time, the communication means is a module for DRC-WiFi (Duplex Radio Camera WiFi) communication, and transmits an image photographed by the imaging unit 112 to the user terminal 200 using WiFi communication, And receives the control signal from the control unit 200 and provides the control signal to the control unit 114.

Here, in the embodiment of the present invention, the communication unit 111 transmits / receives data to / from the user terminal 200 using an IP (Internet Protocol) based near field wireless communication (DRC-WiFi), but Bluetooth, Zigbee ) And the like through the short-range communication means.

The image capturing unit 112 includes image capturing means for capturing an image and receives image information from the image capturing means and provides the received image information to the user terminal 200 through the communication unit 111. [

In this case, the image pickup means includes means for taking a bidirectional image such as a bi-directional camera, and the image pickup unit 112 is configured to record an image photographed through the image pickup means in JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), VGA (Motion Picture Experts Groups), MOV, AVI (Audio Video Interleave), or the like, and provides the formatted image to the user terminal 200.

The robot driving unit 113 controls the left-right, front-back, and up-and-down movement of the robot based on the robot driving command received from the control unit 114.

The control unit 114 receives a control signal received from the user terminal 200, generates a robot driving command for controlling the movement of the robot based on the received control signal, and outputs the generated robot driving command to the robot driving unit 113 ).

Specifically, the controller 114 stores a center coordinate value corresponding to the center of the photographed image in advance, and stores the center coordinate value of the object included in the control signal received from the user terminal 200 as a reference coordinate value And controls the robot driving unit 113 to coincide with each other.

At this time, the controller 114 calculates the center coordinate value of the image using the pixel coordinate value of the image, and stores the calculated center coordinate value in advance.

Further, the control unit 114 controls the pan / filter operation of the imaging unit of the imaging unit 112 in accordance with the vertical movement of the object in the image.

The following will describe the user terminal 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG.

3, the user terminal 200 includes a communication unit 210, an image display unit 220, an object recognition unit 230, a storage unit 240, and a control unit 250.

The communication unit 210 transmits and receives data to and from the object tracking device 110. The communication unit 210 transmits the image information received from the object tracking device 110 to the image display unit 220, To the device (110).

The image display unit 220 provides the user with the image information received through the communication unit 210 in real time. At this time, the image display unit 220 may be implemented with a touch panel capable of input and output, and may receive input information input from a user while providing image information.

The object recognition unit 230 analyzes the received image information to recognize the object, generates a block corresponding to the shape of the recognized object, and provides the generated block to the control unit 250.

The object recognizing unit 230 may use an algorithm such as PCA (Principles Component Analysis), FDA (Fisher Discriminant Analysis) and ICA (Independent Component Analysis) The algorithm is a technique that can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The storage unit 240 temporarily stores image information received from the object tracking device 110, stores a plurality of images, and provides the stored images to the control unit 250. [

The control unit 250 controls the communication unit 210, the video display unit 220, the object recognition unit 230, the event generation unit 240, and the storage unit 240, and the units 210, 220, 230, 250).

The controller 250 obtains the coordinate values of the object block corresponding to the object received from the object recognizing unit 230 (four coordinate values when the object block is a rectangular shape) To the object tracking device 110.

The control unit 250 transmits the coordinate value of the object block recognized by the object recognition unit 230 to the object tracking device 110 through the communication unit 210. [

When the control unit 250 accesses the object tracking system 100, the control unit 250 requests authentication information on the user authentication, and transmits the received authentication information to the object tracking system 100 accordingly. Here, if the user password is identical to the pre-registered password, the control unit 250 approves the user authentication and permits the connection. If the user password is different from the pre-registered password, the control unit 250 notifies the user terminal 200 of the user authentication failure .

The user terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention can easily access the object tracking system through the near field wireless communication. The user terminal recognizes the object by analyzing the image received from the object tracking system, There is an advantage that the system can be controlled so as to be easily moved.

4 to 6C, an object tracking method of the object tracking system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an object tracking method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

4, when the user terminal 200 is connected to the object tracking system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the object tracking apparatus 100 performs authentication for the user (S400) If the authentication is successful, the imaging unit 112 is controlled to shoot an image through the imaging unit (S402). Then, the object tracking device 110 transmits the photographed image information to the user terminal 200 (S404).

The user terminal 200 provides the received image information to the user through the image display unit 220 (S406).

The object recognition unit 230 of the user terminal 200 analyzes the received image information, recognizes the object through the pre-stored object recognition algorithm (S408), and generates an object block for the recognized object (S410). At this time, the object recognition unit 230 recognizes an object including an algorithm that can grasp the shape of a face of a person and a shape of an object, and recognizes the shape of a rectangle having the smallest size Create an object block.

The user terminal 200 transmits the coordinate value of the object block to the object tracking device 110 (S412).

The object tracking apparatus 110 calculates the center coordinate value and the magnitude value of the object block using the coordinate values of the received object block (S414)

For example, when the coordinate values of an object block captured at a specific point in time are (2,5), (10,5), (10,13), (2,13), the center coordinate value of the object block is , 9), and the size of the object block is 8.

The object tracking device 110 generates a robot driving control signal for causing the center coordinate value of the calculated object block to coincide with the center coordinate value of the center block previously stored in the object tracking device 110 and transmits the generated robot driving control signal to the driving robot 120 (S416).

That is, the object tracking device 110 generates a robot driving control signal and controls the center coordinate value of the center block to coincide with the center coordinate value of the object block. Here, the robot driving control signal is generated so as to move the driving robot 120 to the left or to the right or to pan / tilt (move the object tracking device 110) by using the servo motor mounted on the driving robot 120 As shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the process of the object tracking apparatus 110 matching the center coordinate value of the center block with the center coordinate value of the object block will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.

5A is a view showing a central block stored by the object tracking device 110. FIG. 5A, the coordinate values of the center block are (5,5), (5,5), (-5,5), and (-5,5). In this case, The coordinate value is (0,0), and the size value of the object block is 10.

The object tracking device 110 receives the coordinate values of the object block from the FIG. 5B and the user terminal 200. 5B is a diagram illustrating an object block received from a user terminal.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example of the case where the coordinate values of the object block are (7, 4), (15, 4), (15, 12), (7, 12) 11,8), and the size of the object block is 8.

5A and 5B, the center coordinate value of the center block is (0, 0), whereas the center coordinate value of the object block is (11, 8) And controls the driving robot 120 so that the center coordinate value of the object block coincides with the center coordinate value of the object block. That is, the object tracking apparatus 110 includes a robot driving control unit 110 for controlling the panning / tilting operation of the driving robot 120 so that the driving robot 120 moves rightward and the object tracking apparatus 110 faces upward, Signal to the driving robot 120 so that the center coordinate value of the center block coincides with the center coordinate value of the object block.

When the center coordinate value of the center block and the center coordinate value of the object block coincide with each other, the object tracking apparatus 110 moves the driving robot 120 back and forth so that the sizes of the center block and the object block coincide with each other.

Next, the object tracking device 110 generates a robot driving control signal for causing the size of the object block to coincide with the size of the central block using the size of the object block, and transmits the generated signal to the driving robot 120 (S418) .

That is, the object tracking device 110 uses the effect of zooming in when the driving robot 120 approaches the object and zooming out when the driving robot 120 approaches the object. In order to make the size of the object block coincide with the size of the central block, And transmits the generated signal to the driving robot 120. The driving robot 120 generates a signal for controlling the back and forth movement of the driving robot 120.

Hereinafter, the process of the object tracking apparatus 110 matching the size of the center block with the size of the object block will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

6A to 6C are views for explaining the process of matching the size of the central block and the size of the object block according to the object tracking apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

6A to 6C, it is assumed that the driving robot 120 operates so that the center coordinate value of the object block coincides with the center coordinate value of the center block.

6A, if the size of the pre-stored central block and the size of the object block are the same, the object tracking device 110 does not transmit the robot driving control signal for the back and forth movement to the driving robot 120. [

Also, as shown in FIG. 6B, if the size of the object block is larger than the center block, the object tracking device 110 moves the driving robot 120 backward from the object. Here, the object tracking device 110 moves the driving brush 120 backward until the center block and the object block have the same size as shown in FIG. 6A.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 6C, if the size of the object block is smaller than the center block, the object tracking device 110 advances the driving robot 120 in the object direction. Similarly, the object tracking apparatus 110 advances the driving stroke 120 until the center block and the object block have the same size as shown in FIG. 6A.

When the control unit 114 of the object tracking device 110 receives a termination request signal by the user from the user terminal 200 in step S420, the control unit 114 stops the image capturing and terminates the connection with the user terminal 200 S422).

Such an object tracking system has a great advantage that it can be easily operated using a user terminal capable of IP-based communication such as a PC (personal computer), a notebook, and a smart phone. In particular, by controlling the driving robot on the basis of object recognition, there is an advantage that it is possible to automatically control up and down, left and right, and back and forth movement even without human manipulation.

Hereinafter, an object tracking method according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a detailed block diagram of an object tracking system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal for controlling an object tracking system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig.

7 and 8, the object tracking device 310 includes a communication unit 311, an imaging unit 312, a robot driving unit 313, and a control unit 314, and the user terminal 400 includes a communication unit 410, an image display unit 420, an object recognition unit 430, a storage unit 450, and a control unit 460. Since these are substantially the same as those in the previous embodiments using the same names, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The user terminal 400 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include an event generator 440. The event generator 440 may generate a specific image to be inserted into the image information, And receives the touch input of the inserted image from the user, and generates coordinate values for the received touch input information and transmits the coordinate values to the control unit 460. Here, the image includes icons, pictures, photographs, and the like.

The control unit 460 receives the touch input information matched with the event generated by the event generation unit 440. When the coordinate value of the input touch input information coincides with the coordinate value of the inserted image, And informs the object tracking device 310 that the object has succeeded.

The control unit 460 of the user terminal 400 displays the image information received from the object tracking system 300 through the image display unit 420 and a touch for direction control of the driving robot 120 When the touch information of the user is received through the touch input window during the provision of the image information, the received touch information is provided to the object tracking device 310 can do.

In addition, the object tracking device 110 may further include an output means (not shown) such as an LED and a speaker. When the control unit 114 receives an event signal from the user terminal 200, And the notification means can be provided to the user by operating the output means.

Next, an object tracking method of the object tracking system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 9 is a data flow chart illustrating an object tracking method according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 illustrates a touch input window provided by the user terminal according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

9, the object tracking apparatus 310 according to the second embodiment of the present invention performs authentication for a user when the user terminal 400 is connected (S900). If authentication is successful, (312) and captures an image through the image capturing means (S902). Then, the object tracking device 310 transmits the photographed image information to the user terminal 400 (S904).

The control unit 460 of the user terminal 400 provides the touch input window for receiving the input information of the user together with the image information through the image display unit 420 (906).

In operation S908, the touch information is input from the user through the touch input window, and the control signal including the input touch information is transmitted to the object tracking apparatus 310 in operation S910.

10, the control unit 460 includes a first touch input window 401 for moving the driving robot 120 to the left and right, a driving robot (not shown) for moving the driving robot 120 120 to the user, and receives the touch information from the user and transmits the touch information to the object tracking device 310. The object tracking device 310 receives the touch information from the user.

The object tracking device 310 receives the control signal through the communication unit 310 and controls the left and right and front and rear of the driving robot 120 on the basis of the touch information on the left and right and front and rear controls included in the control signal (S912) .

The control unit 460 of the user terminal 400 receives the image information photographed by the object tracking apparatus 310 in real time and provides the image information to the user, And generates an event providing an image 403 of one of the stored images (S914).

The event generating unit 440 may generate an event that periodically provides one of the images stored at any one point in the image.

The control unit 460 receives the touch input information of the user for the generated event (S916). If the coordinate value of the input touch input information coincides with the coordinate value of the inserted image 403, And transmits the generated event signal to the object tracking device 310 through the communication unit 410 (S918, S920). At this time, the event information includes an image type, a name, and the like.

The control unit 314 of the object tracking apparatus 300 receives the event signal from the user terminal 400 and controls the driving robot 120 based on the event information included in the event signal in operation S922.

At this time, the control unit 314 controls the driving robot 120 to perform a specific motion operation according to the type and name of the image included in the event information, or can notify the user of the event success using a speaker or an LED. For example, if the image type is fruit and the name is apple, the control unit 314 can display an apple shape using an LED, or express an "apple" by voice.

The object tracking system according to the present invention is advantageous in that it can be easily operated using a user terminal capable of IP-based communication such as a PC (personal computer), a notebook computer, and a smart phone. Particularly, there is an advantage that the driving robot can be automatically moved by recognizing the object, and the concentration of the operation of the user can be increased by generating an event irregularly.

While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

100: object tracking system 110: object tracking apparatus
111: communication unit 112:
113: robot driving unit 114:
120: driving robot 200: user terminal
210: communication unit 220:
230: Object recognition unit 240:
250: control unit 310: object tracking device
311: communication unit 312:
313: Robot driving unit 314:
400: user terminal 410: communication unit
420: image display unit 430: object recognition unit
440: Event generating unit 450:
460:

Claims (1)

A drive unit connected to a drive robot including a motor for moving left and right, front and rear, and up and down, and controlling movement of the drive robot in left and right, front and rear, and up and down;
A communication unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from a user terminal;
An image capturing unit capturing an image using a bi-directional camera and providing image information photographed through the communication unit to the user terminal; And
A control signal including at least one coordinate value of an object block generated by recognizing an object included in the image information is received from the user terminal and the coordinate value of the object block is set to a coordinate value of a center block of the previously stored image And a control unit for controlling the driving unit so that the driving unit coincides with the driving unit.

Images