TWI646855B - Control method and driver device of depth camera - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for controlling a depth camera, comprising: detecting, by a wireless signal transceiver module, whether an occupied signal exists in a wireless channel and generating a channel occupancy result, and the operation module selectively generates an occupation signal according to a channel occupancy result, in the operation mode When the group generates the occupation signal, the operation module enables the light source driving circuit and receives the image obtained by the depth camera. After the operation module acquires the image, the operation module selectively stops generating the occupation signal, disables the light source driving circuit, and stops. Receive images.

Description

Depth camera control method and driving device

The present invention relates to a method and a driving device for controlling a depth camera, and more particularly to a method and a driving device for a depth camera that captures a three-dimensional image using a time-of-flight technique.

Time of Flight (ToF) is one of the main technologies used in the field of 3D photography. The ToF calculates the distance from the target object based on the time difference or phase difference between the light emission and reflection by projecting infrared light to the target object multiple times, and stores the distance information in each pixel of the two-dimensional image.

However, considering the actual application scenario, there may be multiple depth cameras using ToF technology in a shooting area to shoot the same target object. When these depth cameras are simultaneously photographed, the respective infrared light emitted by the camera will interfere with each other. Affect the calculation of depth information. If you limit the shooting area or use the pre-wired to determine the shooting sequence, it will bring additional inconvenience to the shooting process.

In view of this, the present invention proposes a control method suitable for coordinated shooting of multiple depth cameras and a driving device for the depth camera.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling a depth camera includes: detecting, by a wireless signal transceiver module, whether an occupied signal exists in a wireless channel and generating a channel occupancy result; and the computing module selectively generates an occupation according to a channel occupancy result. When the computing module generates the occupancy signal, the computing module enables the light source driving circuit and receives the image obtained by the other component modules of the camera; and after the computing module acquires the image, the computing module selectively suspends the generation of the occupied signal The light source is disabled and the circuit is stopped and the image is stopped. The selectively generating the occupancy signal according to the channel occupancy result means that the operation module generates the occupation signal when the operation module receives the image capture signal in the wireless channel, and the operation module generates the occupation signal; There is no occupied signal in the channel, and when the computing module receives the image capturing signal in a pause state, the computing module stops generating the occupied signal, thereby releasing the wireless channel. After the operation module stops generating the occupation signal, the method further includes: after the suppression period set by the operation module, re-detecting whether there is an occupation signal in the wireless channel by the wireless signal transceiver module; wherein the operation module sets the suppression period It refers to a fixed time length as a suppression period or a random selection of a plurality of mutually different time lengths as a suppression period. The occupation signal is a wireless carrier signal having a specified frequency including the encoded information. The step of selectively generating the occupation signal by the operation module according to the channel occupancy result further includes: determining whether the coding information of the current occupied signal of the wireless channel is the same as the previous one. The coded information of the occupied signal is the same. If they are the same, the computing module maintains the current occupied signal.

A depth camera driving device according to an embodiment of the invention includes: a light source driving circuit, a wireless signal transceiver module, and a computing module. The light source driving circuit is configured to be electrically connected to the light source, and is configured to drive the light source when receiving the enable command. The wireless signal transceiver module is electrically connected to the antenna for detecting whether the wireless channel has an occupancy signal or for generating an occupancy signal for transmission to the wireless channel through the antenna. The computing module is electrically connected to the light source driving circuit and the wireless signal transceiver module, and the computing module is used for electrically connecting to another component module of the camera, and is used for selectively controlling the wireless signal when there is no occupied signal in the wireless channel. The transceiver module generates an occupancy signal and simultaneously generates an enable command and receives an image obtained by other components of the camera module. The foregoing operation module includes: a synchronization processing unit, a depth camera sensing unit, and a central processing unit. The synchronous processing unit is electrically connected to the light source driving circuit and the wireless signal transmitting and receiving module, and the synchronous processing unit is configured to control the wireless signal transmitting and receiving module when the receiving signal is not present in the wireless channel and the image capturing signal is received in a working state. Occupy the signal and generate an enable command. The depth camera sensing unit is electrically connected to the synchronization processing unit, and is used for electrically connecting the other component modules of the camera, the depth camera sensing unit selectively generates the image capturing signal, and is configured to receive the image obtained by the other component modules of the camera. . The central processing unit is electrically connected to the synchronization processing unit and the depth camera sensing unit, wherein the synchronization processing unit stops generating the occupation signal when there is no occupation signal in the wireless channel and receives the image capturing signal in a pause state, thereby releasing the wireless channel .

With the above architecture, the control method and the driving device of the depth camera disclosed in the present application can be applied to a plurality of application scenarios in which a plurality of depth cameras using the driving device coordinately capture. By using each driving device to actively detect whether the wireless channel is occupied by wireless, and starting the shooting of the light source assisted depth camera after determining that it is not occupied, it is inevitable to encounter other depth cameras while shooting in one of the depth cameras. Projecting infrared light causes mutual interference; in other words, the present invention can achieve the effect of multiple depth camera time-sharing, and does not require an additional wire or console for coordinating the shooting sequence, thus saving the cost of 3D image shooting.

The above description of the disclosure and the following description of the embodiments of the present invention are intended to illustrate and explain the spirit and principles of the invention, and to provide further explanation of the scope of the invention.

The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are set forth in the Detailed Description of the Detailed Description of the <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> </ RTI> </ RTI> <RTIgt; The objects and advantages associated with the present invention can be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The following examples are intended to describe the present invention in further detail, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The depth camera driving device of one embodiment of the present invention is suitable for a depth camera employing a time-of-flight technique. Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a depth camera driving device 1 and other components of a depth camera according to an embodiment of the present invention in a functional block diagram. The depth camera driving device 1 includes a light source driving circuit 10, a wireless signal transmitting and receiving module 30, and a computing module 50. The computing module 50 is electrically connected to the light source driving circuit 10 and the wireless signal transmitting and receiving module 30.

The light source driving circuit 10 is electrically connected to a light source 12 for supplying electric power to cause the light source 12 to emit light to the object to be photographed, wherein the emitted light is invisible light, such as infrared light. The light source driving circuit 10 determines whether to provide power to the light source 12 according to the consistent energy command. The sending source of the enabling command is the computing module 50, and the timing of the operating module 50 transmitting the enabling command will be described later.

The wireless signal transceiver module 30 is electrically connected to an antenna 32. In practice, the wireless signal transceiver module 30 is, for example, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) having a signal transmitter and a signal receiver. The signal receiver can detect whether a radio channel of a specified frequency band is occupied by the antenna 32 and generate a channel occupancy result, and the channel occupancy result is transmitted to the operation module 50. If it is detected that the wireless channel is occupied, it indicates that there is an occupation signal in the wireless channel. If it is detected that the wireless channel is not occupied, it indicates that there is no occupation signal in the wireless channel. The signal transmitter can transmit an occupied signal through the antenna 32, and the transmitting timing is determined by the computing module 50 according to the channel occupancy result. The occupied signal refers to the wireless carrier signal having the specified frequency band.

Please refer to Figure 1. The computing module 50 includes a synchronization processing unit 52, a depth camera sensing unit 54 and a central processing unit 56. The depth camera control unit 54 is electrically connected to the synchronization processing unit 52 and the camera other component module 58. The connection synchronization processing unit 52 and the depth camera sensing unit 54 are connected. The computing module 50 is electrically connected to the light source driving circuit 10 and the wireless signal transmitting and receiving module 30 through the synchronization processing unit 52.

In practice, the depth camera sensing unit 54, such as a sensor, is used to detect a triggering state, such as a shutter of a depth camera being activated. The camera other component module 58 electrically connected to the depth camera sensing unit 54 is a known camera component including a camera lens, a shutter, and a photosensitive element. The depth camera sensing unit 54 generates an image capturing signal according to the trigger state, and transmits the image capturing signal to the synchronization processing unit 52. The image capture signal can be a vertical sync signal V _SYNC or a horizontal sync signal H _SYNC , which are commonly used in the field of image processing technology, and the image capture signal has a working state and a rest state. In practice, the The operating state, for example, the vertical synchronizing signal V _{SYNC is} at a high potential, and the inactive state, for example, the vertical synchronizing signal V _{SYNC is} at a low potential. When the synchronization processing unit 52 receives the image capture signal in the working state and receives the channel occupancy result similar to the "unmeasured occupancy signal" from the wireless signal transceiver module 30, the synchronization processing unit 52 generates an enable command and sends it to the light source. The circuit 10 is driven to activate the light source 12. However, when the synchronization processing unit 52 receives the image capture signal in the inactive state and receives the channel occupancy result similar to the "undetected occupancy signal" from the wireless signal transceiver module 30, the synchronization processing unit 52 does not generate the enable command. . The activation timing of the foregoing light source 12 is equivalent to the actual application scenario: the shutter of the depth camera is actuated, and no other depth camera is simultaneously photographed at the same time (these depth cameras all adopt the depth camera driving device described in one embodiment of the present invention). 1), that is, there is no light source interference from other cameras. Therefore, the user's depth camera driving device 1 automatically turns on the light source 12 for depth photography.

The central processing unit 56 is configured to receive the image information acquired from the camera other component module 58 through the depth camera sensing unit 54, and the synchronization processing unit 52 determines the timing of receiving the image information. As in the foregoing application scenario, when the synchronization processing unit 52 receives the image signal and receives the channel occupancy result similar to the "undetected occupancy signal" from the wireless signal transceiver module 30, the synchronization processing unit 52 forwards the image capturing signal to the central processing. The image capturing device 56 receives the image capturing signal to represent the image information generated by the depth camera sensing unit 54 as valid image information. Therefore, the central processing unit 56 receives the image information and calculates the image depth information.

It should be understood that each of the foregoing modules or units is divided by functions, which may be combined with each other into one or more of the whole in actual implementation. In the foregoing embodiment, when the TOF depth camera having the depth camera driving device of the embodiment is to be photographed, the wireless signal transceiver module 30 detects whether the radio channel is occupied. If there is any occupation, the detected occupancy signal may be sent to the synchronization processing unit 52 for determining whether the occupancy signal is an occupation signal generated by the synchronization processing unit 52, thereby determining whether to continue to receive images and other programs; Waiting for a suppression period, waiting for the next image capture signal after waiting for the suppression period; or waiting for the next image capture signal after detecting the occupancy signal. If the radio channel is not occupied, the synchronization processing unit 52 is notified to generate an occupancy signal by the synchronization processing unit 52 to occupy the radio channel, while enabling the light source driving circuit 10 and receiving the image acquired by the camera other component module 58. It can be understood that, at this time, if other TOF depth cameras having the depth camera driving device of the embodiment are also to be photographed, since the possession of the radio channel, it is necessary to wait for the radio channel to be released, so that the shooting can be performed. Cameras can project signals at different times to avoid interference, and because of the wireless way, the camera is easy to deploy.

Please refer to FIG. 2 , which illustrates a depth camera control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control method is applied to a depth camera having the aforementioned depth camera driving device 1 . Referring to step S1, when the depth camera driving device 1 has not confirmed that the current state is the recordable state, the synchronization processing unit 52 suspends the forwarding of the image signal and suspends the transmission enable command. In other words, the depth camera driving device 1 is returned to the initial state to be operated, that is, the central processing unit 56 does not receive image information and the light source driving circuit 10 does not activate the light source 12.

Please refer to steps S2 and S3 of FIG. 2 . In step S2, when the synchronization processing unit 52 receives the image capturing signal, the representative depth camera sensing unit 54 is ready to perform the shooting of the depth image, otherwise returning to step S1, the synchronization processing unit 52 waits to receive the image capturing signal. In step S3, the synchronization processing unit 52 makes a determination according to the channel occupancy result of the wireless signal transceiver module 30. If the channel occupancy result is that there is an occupancy signal in the wireless channel, indicating that another depth camera is currently shooting or is about to take a shot, then moving to step S7, the synchronization processing unit 52 waits for a suppression period, or in another embodiment, Then, the process goes to step S1, and the image signal is again received. In practice, the length of the suppression period may be set to a fixed value or a random value. The synchronization processing unit 52 further includes a timer for accumulating the waiting time. When the waiting time reaches the suppression period, the process returns to step S1. , wait for the image signal again.

It must be added that the actual execution sequence of steps S2 and S3 is not limited in practice. For example, the occupied signal and the image capturing signal can be detected at the same time, and the "not measured signal" and "received image signal" are detected. When the conditions are simultaneously satisfied, the step S4 of Fig. 2 is continued.

Please refer to step S4 of FIG. 2. After confirming that the received image signal and the wireless channel do not have the occupancy signal, respectively, in step S2 and step S3, as shown in step S4, the synchronization processing unit 52 instructs the wireless signal transceiver module 30 to transmit the occupancy signal, thereby notifying other depth cameras. This depth camera is about to emit light and shoot. The synchronization processing unit 52 simultaneously transmits an enable command to enable the light source drive circuit 10, and forwards the image capture signal to the central processor 56 to enable it to begin receiving image information. Referring to step S5, after the central processing unit 56 completes the image receiving, the synchronization processing unit 52 suspends the enabling instruction, thereby disabling the light source driving circuit 10 to turn off the light source 12. Meanwhile, the synchronization processing unit 52 also suspends the transmission of the occupied signal. Thereby, the wireless channel is released to allow other depth cameras to issue the occupancy signal to obtain the shooting right, as shown in step S6.

Please continue to refer to step S7 of FIG. 2, in order to prevent the same depth camera from occupying the wireless channel for shooting for a long time, after the transmission of the occupation signal is suspended in step S6, the synchronization processing unit must wait for a period of time (ie, the aforementioned suppression period) before repeating the foregoing. Step S1 is to wait for the image capturing signal again, as shown in step S7. The length of time of the suppression period may be a fixed value or a random value as described above, wherein the random value may be randomly selected from a plurality of preset values different from each other. If a random value is used, the collision of two consecutive cameras that simultaneously emit the occupied signals can be greatly reduced, thereby achieving the effect of time-sharing of multiple devices.

In an embodiment of the invention, the occupancy signal is a wireless carrier signal having a specified frequency. In another embodiment of the present invention, the wireless carrier signal may further include an encoding information, and the synchronization processing unit 52 not only processes the determination result of the wireless signal transceiver module 30 (ie, whether there is an occupation signal), but also includes determining whether When there is an occupied signal, whether the occupied signal has the aforementioned encoded information, and when the encoded information is met, the light source 12 can continue to be activated for shooting. In this way, a depth camera that does not have the same coding information can be excluded from being captured in a depth camera group having this coded information to avoid unnecessary interference conditions.

In summary, the depth camera driving device and the control method according to an embodiment of the present invention can avoid the presence of more than one ToF depth camera at the same time by transmitting a wireless carrier signal occupying a radio channel and matching the suppression period. The light sources used for ranging are mutually interfered, which affects the accuracy of distance measurement. In addition, for the newly added depth camera, only the adjustment of the emission frequency of the occupied signal and the occupied signal frequency used by other depth cameras can be directly added to the original shooting group without additional restrictions. In an embodiment of the present invention, the detection and transmission of the wireless carrier signal is used as a coordination mechanism, which can reduce the inconvenience caused by additionally arranging the wires, and the coordinated shooting of the multiple depth cameras is smoother.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention. It is within the scope of the invention to be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Please refer to the attached patent application for the scope of protection defined by the present invention.

1‧‧‧Deep camera drive

10‧‧‧Light source drive circuit

12‧‧‧Light source

30‧‧‧Wireless Signal Transceiver Module

32‧‧‧Antenna

50‧‧‧ Computing Module

52‧‧‧Synchronous processing unit

54‧‧‧Deep camera sensing unit

56‧‧‧Central Processing Unit

58‧‧‧Other components of the camera module

S1-S7‧‧‧ steps

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a camera with a depth camera driving device according to an embodiment of the invention. 2 is a flow chart of a depth camera control method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Claims (9)

A method for controlling a depth camera includes: detecting, by a wireless signal transceiver module, whether an occupied signal exists in a wireless channel and generating a channel occupancy result; and selectively generating the result according to the channel occupancy result by an operation module The operation signal generates the occupation signal when the operation module does not have the occupation signal and the operation module receives the image capture signal in a working state; the operation module generates the occupation signal In the signal, the operation module enables a light source driving circuit and receives an image obtained by another camera module of the camera; and after the computing module acquires the image, the operation module selectively suspends the generation of the image The signal is occupied, the light source driving circuit is disabled and the image is stopped. The control method of the depth camera according to claim 1, wherein the operating module selectively generates the occupied signal according to the channel occupancy result further includes: the occupied signal does not exist in the wireless channel, and the computing module receives When the image capture signal is in one of the rest states, the operation module stops generating the occupation signal, thereby releasing the wireless channel. The control method of the depth camera according to claim 1, after the operation module stops generating the occupation signal, the method further includes: after the suppression period, re-detecting whether the wireless channel is detected by the wireless signal transceiver module The occupancy signal exists. The method of controlling a depth camera according to claim 3, wherein the suppression period is a fixed time length or a random one of a plurality of mutually different time lengths. The method of controlling a depth camera according to claim 1, wherein the occupancy signal is a wireless carrier signal having a specified frequency including a coded information; The step of selectively generating the occupied signal according to the channel occupancy result further includes: determining whether the coded information of the current occupied signal of the wireless channel is the same as the coded information of the previous occupied signal, and if the same, the operation module maintains the current occupation Signal. A depth camera driving device includes: a light source driving circuit for electrically connecting to a light source, and for driving the light source when receiving a uniform energy command; a wireless signal transceiver module for electrically connecting to an antenna For detecting whether a wireless channel has an occupied signal, or for generating the occupied signal for transmitting to the wireless channel through the antenna; and an operation module electrically connecting the light source driving circuit and the wireless signal transceiver module The computing module is configured to electrically connect to another component module of the camera, and is configured to selectively control the wireless signal transceiver module to generate the occupied signal when the occupied signal is not present in the wireless channel, and simultaneously generate the The enable command and receive an image obtained by the other component modules of the camera. The depth camera driving device of claim 6, wherein the computing module comprises: a synchronization processing unit electrically connected to the light source driving circuit and the wireless signal transceiver module, wherein the synchronization processing unit is used in the wireless channel Controlling the wireless signal transceiver module to generate the occupancy signal and generating the enable command when the occupation signal is not present and receiving an image capture signal in a working state; a depth camera sensing unit electrically connecting the synchronization a processing unit, and configured to electrically connect the other component modules of the camera, the depth camera sensing unit selectively generating the image capturing signal, and receiving the image obtained by the other component modules of the camera; A central processing unit is electrically connected to the synchronization processing unit and the depth camera sensing unit for receiving and processing images acquired by the depth camera sensing unit, wherein the synchronization processing unit determines an opportunity for image reception. The depth camera driving device of claim 7, wherein the synchronization processing unit is configured to suspend the generation of the occupation signal when the occupation signal is not present in the wireless channel and the image capture signal is received in a pause state. Thereby releasing the wireless channel. The depth camera driving device of claim 7, wherein the occupancy signal is a wireless carrier signal having a specified frequency including a coded information; the synchronization processing unit is configured to determine whether the coded information of the current occupied signal of the wireless channel is Same as the coded information of the previous occupied signal. If they are the same, the current occupied signal is maintained.