WO2007105641A1

WO2007105641A1 - Video image processing device and video image processing method

Info

Publication number: WO2007105641A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/054691
Authority: WO
Inventors: Idaku Ishii; Kenkichi Yamamoto; Sho Masuda
Original assignee: National University Of Corporation Hiroshima University
Priority date: 2006-03-10
Filing date: 2007-03-09
Publication date: 2007-09-20
Also published as: JP2007243832A; JP4759740B2

Abstract

A video image processing device (1) is comprised of an acquiring unit (21) for acquiring a video image frame picked up by a video image pickup device (10), a dividing unit (22) for dividing the video image frame acquired by the acquiring unit (21) into a plurality of regions with prescribed sizes, a determining unit (23) for determining the number of pixels to be renewed per region divided by the dividing unit (22), and a renewing unit (24) for renewing only ones of the pixels, the number of which is determined by the determining unit (23). The determining unit (23) determines the number of the pixels when a difference between video image data of a region previously renewed and those of a region to be renewed this time is over a first threshold value. Further, when a data volume to be renewed is over a second threshold value, the determining unit (23) reduces the number of pixels to make the video image data volume equal to the second threshold value or less.

Description

Specification

Image processing apparatus and image processing method

Technical field

The present invention relates to an image processing device and an image processing method.

Background art

[0002] Video cameras that can capture images with high resolution and high speed are known (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). When such a video camera is used, high-speed continuous video imaging such as 500 FPS (Frame per Second) can be performed while maintaining a high resolution of, for example, 512 X 512 pixels. As a result, it is expected that image data with rich expressive power will be provided for the imaging object.

Non-patent document 1: A. Krymsk iDVBlerkon, A. Anderson, et.al., “A high-speed 500 frame / s 512 X 512 ivlOS image sensor Dig. Tech. Papers Symp. On VLSI Circuits, No. 14 3, June 1999.

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0003] However, if the above-described video camera is used to obtain high-resolution imaging and high-speed imaging to a certain extent, the amount of captured image data exceeds the storable capacity of the storage means. In some cases, the excess image data cannot be stored.

[0004] As a measure for solving this problem, even if a storage unit having a huge capacity corresponding to a large amount of captured image data is provided, the amount of the captured data per unit time can be reduced. When the transmission rate in the data transmission path between the storage means and the storage means is exceeded, the image data for the excess transmission rate cannot be sent to the storage means. Cannot be used effectively.

[0005] In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of preventing an enormous amount of image data to be stored after imaging at high resolution and high speed. And Means for solving the problem

[0006] That is, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires an image frame captured by an imaging unit, and a dividing unit that divides the image frame acquired by the acquisition unit into a plurality of regions having a predetermined size. The determining means includes a determining means for determining the number of pixels to be updated for each divided area, and an updating means for selecting and updating the number of pixels determined by the determining means in the area. Depending on the difference between the image data of one area in the image frame acquired by the acquisition means and the image data of one area in the image frame acquired in the past by the acquisition means, The number of pixels to be updated in the area is determined, and when the amount of image data to be updated by the updating unit exceeds a predetermined threshold, the amount of the image data falls below the threshold. A feature determining to reduce the number to so that, Ru.

[0007] Further, in the image processing method according to the present invention, the acquisition unit acquires the image frame captured by the imaging unit, and the dividing unit acquires the image frame acquired in the acquisition step. A division step for dividing the image into a plurality of regions of a predetermined size, a determination unit for determining the number of pixels to be updated in units of regions divided in the division step, and an update unit for the determination step An update step for selecting and updating the number of pixels determined in step 1 in the region, and the determination means in the determination step includes the image data of one region in the image frame acquired by the acquisition unit this time and the acquisition unit in the past The acquisition means determines the number of pixels to be updated in one area in the image frame acquired this time according to the difference from the image data in one area in the acquired image frame. When the amount of image data to be updated in the update step exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the number of image data is determined to be reduced so that the amount is less than the threshold value. RU

[0008] According to such an image processing apparatus and image processing method of the present invention, the dividing unit divides the image data acquired by the acquiring unit in units of frames into a plurality of regions having a predetermined size. Then, the determining means determines the amount of image data (number of pixels) to be updated for each area, and the updating means updates the image data by the determined amount.

As described above, the update of the image data with respect to the number of pixels determined by the determining unit is performed by the acquiring unit. Is performed in units of regions divided by the dividing means for each acquired image frame. That is, for example, when only a part of an area in an image frame is an update target, it is only necessary to update the update target area instead of updating the entire image frame. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the amount of data to be updated and saved afterward by the amount of data in the region other than the update target region.

[0010] Further, in the present invention, the number of pixels to be updated is determined according to the difference between the image data acquired by the acquisition unit this time and the image data acquired by the acquisition unit in the past. . Thus, when the difference is large, the amount of update data is determined to be large, and when the difference is small, the amount of update data is determined to be small. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the storage capacity of the update data while maintaining the reproducibility of the image data that is updated and stored.

[0011] Further, the determining means in the present invention provides a pixel so that when the amount of image data to be updated by the updating means exceeds a predetermined threshold, the amount of the image data is equal to or less than the threshold. Decrease the number. This makes it possible to prevent the amount of image data to be updated by the updating means from exceeding the threshold value and becoming enormous.

[0012] In the image processing apparatus, the! /, Teki! /, Value is set in accordance with a transmission speed that becomes a limit when the image data updated by the updating means is transmitted to an arbitrary external device. It is characterized by that.

[0013] Also, in the image processing method !, Teshiki! /, The value is set according to the transmission speed that becomes the limit when the image data updated in the update step is transmitted to any external device. It is characterized by that.

In this case, the determining means determines the amount of image data to be updated by the updating means within a range within the data transmission speed between the image processing apparatus and an arbitrary external apparatus. For this reason, all of the image data updated by the updating means can be transmitted to the external device and stored.

The invention's effect

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an enormous amount of image data to be stored after imaging at high resolution and high speed.

Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an imaging system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram showing an image of a frame acquired from the imaging device 10. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an image obtained by dividing a frame.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the imaging system 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the result of the operation of the imaging system 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the result of the operation of the imaging system 1.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the result of the operation of the imaging system 1.

Explanation of symbols

[0017] 1 ... an imaging system, 10 ... an imaging device, 20 ... an image processing device, 21 ... an acquisition unit, 22 "" division unit, 23 ... determination unit, 24 ... update unit, 30 ... storage device.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0018] The findings of the present invention can be easily understood by considering the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings shown for illustration only. Subsequently, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Where possible, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

An imaging system 1 including the image processing device 20 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the imaging system 1. In the imaging system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the image processing device 20 performs processing to reduce the data amount on the image data captured by the imaging device 10 (imaging means), and the storage device 30 (arbitrary external device). Accumulates the image data with reduced data volume. Hereinafter, each element constituting the imaging system 1 will be described in detail.

[0020] The imaging device 10 captures an imaging object by converting an incident optical signal into an electrical signal. In the present embodiment, the imaging device 10 is generally capable of continuously capturing moving images at high speed and high resolution. Is a video camera. The imaging device 10 has a pixel area of 2 ^N X 2 ^N pixels and performs video imaging with γ FPS. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, for example, Ν = 9 is set and Ί = 1000 is set. The imaging device 10 outputs the captured image data to the image processing device 20 in units of frames.

The image processing device 20 determines the amount of image data input from the imaging device 10 as will be described later. It is appropriately reduced according to the algorithm and transmitted to the storage device 30. The image processing apparatus 20 is physically incorporated, for example, on a normal FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) board. The FPGA board is installed in a normal computer system equipped with a CPU, memory, communication interface, display interface, and so on.

The storage device 30 stores the image data input from the image processing device 20. The storage device 30 is physically a storage means including, for example, a hard disk provided in the computer system.

[0023] Between the image processing device 20 and the storage device 30, as a data transmission path for transmitting image data from the image processing device 20 to the storage device 30, for example, a PCI bus (Peripheral Components Interconnect Bus, not shown) Connected through. The PCI bus in the present embodiment is a normal one having a theoretical transmission rate of 1064 Mbps (133 MBZs) (a limiting transmission rate).

As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing device 20 includes an acquisition unit 21 (acquisition unit), a division unit 22 (division unit), a determination unit 23 (determination unit), and an update unit 24 ( Update means). Hereinafter, each element constituting the image processing apparatus 20 will be described in detail.

The acquisition unit 21 acquires image data captured by the imaging device 10 in units of frames. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an image of an image frame acquired by the acquisition unit 21 from the imaging device 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the acquisition unit 21, 512 the image data of X 512 pixels (2 ^N X 2 ^N pixels) every 1Z1000 seconds (i.e., the image frame of each 1Z Y seconds) to retrieve. In FIG. 2, the image frame acquired by the acquisition unit 21 this time is denoted as frame k, and the image frame acquired last time (1Z1000 seconds before this time) is denoted as frame (k-1). Compared to 2Z1000 seconds ago), the acquired image frame is represented as frame (k-2). The acquisition unit 21 outputs the acquired image frame to the division unit 22.

The dividing unit 22 divides the image frame input from the acquiring unit 21 into regions having a predetermined size. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an image obtained by dividing the frame k by the dividing unit 22. As shown in 03 (a), the frame k of 512 × 512 pixels is divided into 4096 (64 × 64) square regions until the damage ij 咅 22ί. One square area divided by the dividing unit 22, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), an image data of a 2 ^M X 2 ^M pixels. Hereinafter, in this embodiment , M = 3.

In FIG. 3, in order to distinguish each of 4096 (64 × 64) square areas divided from the frame k, each square area is represented by R (i, j). Where i is a natural number from 1 to 64 and represents the horizontal axis in the image frame, and j is a natural number from 1 to 64 and represents the vertical axis in the image frame. . That is, in frame k in Fig. 3 (a), the upper leftmost square area is represented as R (l, 1), the upper right square area is represented as R (64, 1), and the lower left square area. Is represented as R (l, 64), and the rightmost square region is represented as R (64, 64).

In FIG. 3, each pixel is represented by a combination of X and y in order to distinguish each pixel of 8 × 8 pixels in one square area. Where X is a natural number from 1 to 8 and represents the horizontal axis in the square region, and y is a natural number from 1 to 8 and represents the vertical axis in the square region. That is, in the region R (i, j) shown in Fig. 3 (b), the upper left pixel is represented as (X, y) = (l, 1), and the upper right pixel is (X, y). = (8, 1), the lower left pixel is (X, y) = (1, 8), and the lower right pixel is (X, y) = (8, 8). The dividing unit 22 outputs the image frame thus divided into 64 × 64 square areas to the determining unit 23 and the updating unit 24.

[0029] The determining unit 23 selects all pixels (8 in the square area of the image frame input from the dividing unit 22).

X 8 pixels), the update means determines the number of pixels (number of pixels) that should be updated and stored later. That is, pixels other than the number of pixels to be updated and stored are not stored later. The decision unit 23 compares the image data of the area updated last time with the image data of the area to be updated this time, and when the difference exceeds the predetermined first threshold AS, it should be updated this time. The number of pixels is determined in proportion to the difference.

[0030] In the following, for example, the function of the determining unit 23 is specifically described by setting the image frame currently input from the dividing unit 22 as the frame k and the square region R (i, j) of the frame k as the one square region. Explained. In the following, a frame that was captured last time but whose square area R (i, j) has not been updated is referred to as a frame (k−l). Also, a frame that was imaged two times before and was updated last time for the square region R (i, j) is defined as a frame (k−2). In this way, imaging and updating do not necessarily match. [0031] First, the determination unit 23 compares the image data of R (i, j) in the frame k with the image data of the square region R (i, j) in the frame (k-2). Note that the image data of the square area R (i, j) in the frame (k 1) has not been updated last time and therefore is not compared. The algorithm used for this comparison is shown in the following formulas (1) and (2).

[Equation 1] ·····)

Ψ (χ, nu) = ν, n) —zo (JC,, n— 2) 1… (2)

However,

S (i) --- Image error evaluation function in the square region of image frame ')

Ψ (χ, nu)… Image data of square area /? (, In image frame 1,

Square error between square image (/, image data of image frame (-2)

I (x, y, k) --- in the square area of the image frame

Pixel brightness value at pixel position (X, V)

I (x,,-2) ... square area of image frame (-2)?

Pixel brightness value at pixel position (, n)

Next, the determination unit 23 compares the evaluation function S (i, j) obtained by the above equation (1) with the first threshold value AS. Then, when the evaluation function S (i, j) exceeds the first threshold value AS, the update unit 24 updates later in all the pixels (8 × 8 pixels) in the square region R (i, j). The number of pixels to be stored p (i, j) is determined in proportion to the evaluation function S (i, j). On the other hand, if the evaluation function S (i, j) does not exceed the first threshold AS, the number of pixels p (i, j) to be updated and stored later by the updating unit 24 is set to 0. . The algorithm used to determine the number of pixels p (i, j) is shown in Equations (3) and (4) below.

[Equation 2]

If S (i, j) <AS, p (i, z ·) = 0… (3)

AC

If S (/, zo ')〉 Δ, (/, zo') = 2 ^2Μ (1 ---)) (4)

[0033] Based on the number of pixels p (i, j) determined by the above equations (3) and (4), the update unit 24 updates the data per unit time and transmits it to the storage device 30. D is expressed as the following equation (5). [Equation 3]

However,

Data volume per pixel []

The number of pixels selected per frame

The determination unit 23 compares the data amount D updated per unit time shown in Expression (5) with the second threshold value D (threshold value). Then, the decision unit 23 calculates the expression (max

It is determined whether or not it is possible to maintain the number of pixels p (i, j) determined by 4). Here, the second threshold value D depends on the PCI bus transmission rate (that is, the PCI bus logic).

max

The transmission rate is set to be equal to or lower than the theoretical transmission rate). In other words, the decision unit 23 determines that the amount of data D to be transmitted to the storage device 30 per unit time later by the update unit 24 based on the number of pixels p (i, j) determined by itself according to equation (4) Check if the power exceeds the transmission rate.

[0035] When the data amount D per unit time exceeds the second threshold value D, the determination unit 23

max

The pixel number iT (i, j) is determined again without maintaining the determined pixel number P (i, j). The algorithm used for this re-determination is shown in Equation (6) below.

Picture

PV, Zo) = P i, J)-^!, ^J )., ΔΖ> (6)

In the above equation (6), A D represents the amount of data amount D per unit time shown in the above equation (5) exceeding the second threshold value D per frame. That is, the excess A D max

Is expressed as the following equation (7).

[Equation 5] ≠

[0037] The determining unit 23 sets the AD shown in Equation (7) to 0, that is, data per unit time. The number of pixels so that the quantity D is the second threshold and does not exceed the value D

Redetermine max iT (i, j). That is, by substituting Equation (8) below into Equation (6) above, the number of pixels iT (i, j) can be expressed as Equation (9).

[Equation 6]

△ D = 0 → ∑∑p () = ^ .. (8) pi, f) = ^^^^ ^J l No.-(9)

The determination unit 23 outputs the pixel number p ′ (i, j) re-determined in this way to the update unit 24. On the other hand, when the amount of data D per unit time does not exceed the second threshold D, the decision unit 23

max

Maintains the number of pixels p (i, j) determined by the above equations (3) and (4) as it is, and outputs it to the updating unit 24.

[0039] The updating unit 24 randomly selects pixels having the number of pixels p (i, j) or the number of pixels ιΓ (i, j) input from the determination unit 23 in the square region R (i, j). And update it. The update unit 24 uses, for example, a well-known Bayer-type Dither matrix to randomly select pixels within the range of the number of pixels p (i, j) or the number of pixels j). . The update unit 24 transmits the updated image data to the storage device 30 through the PCI bus. Then, the storage device 30 stores the image data transmitted from the update unit 24.

[0040] Next, the operation (image processing method) of the imaging system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the imaging system 1. The operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is repeated for each image frame.

[0041] First, the imaging device 10 captures a pixel area of 2 ⁹ X 2 ⁹ pixels 1000 fps. The imaging device 10 outputs the captured frame to the acquisition unit 21 (step Sl).

Next, the acquisition unit 21 acquires a frame input from the imaging device 10. The acquisition unit 21 outputs the acquired image frame to the division unit 22 (step S2).

[0043] Next, the dividing unit 22 divides the image frame input from the acquisition unit 21 in the positive side area of 2 ³ X 2 ³ pixels. That is, the dividing unit 22 divides one image frame into ²⁶ ^{6 26} square regions. The dividing unit 22 determines the image frame divided into square areas. Output (step S3).

[0044] Next, the determination unit 23 receives a frame divided into square areas from the division unit 22.

The determining unit 23 determines, for each square region, the number of pixels p (i, j) of the pixels to be updated and stored later among all the pixels in each square region divided by the dividing unit 22. First, the determination unit 23 compares the image data of the square area updated last time with the image data of the square area to be updated this time. Then, when the difference exceeds a predetermined first threshold value AS, the determination unit 23 determines the number of pixels p (i, j) in proportion to the difference. On the other hand, the determination unit 23 sets the number of pixels p (i, j) to 0 when the difference does not exceed the first threshold value ΔS. The determination of the number of pixels P (i, j) by the determination unit 23 is performed by, for example, the square region R (1, 1) to the square region R (64, 64) according to the algorithm shown in Equations (1) to (4). ) 2 ⁶ X 2 ⁶ times (step S4).

Next, the determination unit 23 determines the amount of data D that the update unit 24 updates per unit time and transmits to the storage device 30 based on the number of pixels p (i, j), and the PCI bus. The second threshold value D set according to the transmission rate is compared. Based on the result of this comparison, the decision unit 23

max

In step S5, it is determined whether or not to maintain the number of pixels p (i, j) determined in step S4 as it is (step S5).

[0046] When the data amount D per unit time exceeds the second threshold value D in step S5

max

The determination unit 23 does not maintain the pixel number p (i, j) determined in step S4, but re-determines the pixel number ιΓ (i, j). The determination unit 23 re-determines the number of pixels! / (I, j) according to, for example, an algorithm shown in Expression (6) to Expression (9). Then, the determination unit 23 outputs the re-determined number of pixels iT (i, j) to the update unit 24 (step S6).

[0047] When the data amount D per unit time does not exceed the second threshold value D in step S5

max

In addition, the determination unit 23 maintains the number of pixels p (i, j) determined in step S4 as it is and outputs it to the update unit 24.

[0048] Next, the update unit 24 randomly selects and updates pixels having the number of pixels p (i, j) or the number of pixels ιΓ (i, j) input from the determination unit 23 in each square area. To do. The update unit 24 transmits the updated image data to the storage device 30 through the PCI bus (step S7).

Next, the storage device 30 stores and stores the image data transmitted from the update unit 24 (step S8). Then, the flow of processing is step S1 for the next image frame. Return to.

[0050] Next, the results of the operation of the imaging system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 5 to Fig. 7 explain the results of the operations performed by the imaging system 1 when the imaging device 10 captures the image of the person running toward you, for 0.75 seconds (ie, 750 frames). It is a figure for doing. In FIGS. 5 to 7, for the sake of brevity, among the 750 frames, the frame at time 0.0a (a), the frame at time 0.25 (b), and the time are shown. Only the 50 second frame (c) and the 0.75 second frame (d) are shown.

FIG. 5 shows a case where the processing from step S 2 to step S 6 is not performed, that is, a case where the image data captured by the imaging device 10 is stored as it is. As shown in Fig. 5, keep the high resolution of each saved image data! However, the storage capacity required in this case is about 187.5 MB.

[0052] Figure 6 shows that the first threshold A S = 1.0 and the second threshold D = 1000 Mbps.

max

In other words, the second threshold value is set to be almost the same as the theoretical transmission rate of the PCI bus. As shown in Fig. 6, each stored image data maintains high resolution, but the storage capacity required in this case is 38.96MB.

[0053] Figure 7 shows that the first threshold A S = 1.0 and the second threshold D = 300 Mbps.

max

In other words, the second threshold value is set lower than the theoretical transmission rate of the PCI bus. As shown in Figure 7, each saved image data maintains a high resolution, but the storage capacity required in this case is only 26.71 MB.

[0054] Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described. According to the image processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the dividing unit 22 divides the image data acquired by the acquiring unit 21 in units of frames into a plurality of regions having a predetermined size. Then, the determination unit 23 determines the amount of image data (number of pixels) to be updated in units of the regions, and the update unit 24 updates the determined amount of image data for each region.

As described above, the update of the image data with respect to the number of pixels determined by the determination unit 23 is performed in units of areas divided by the division unit 22 in units of frames acquired by the acquisition unit 21. Snow In other words, for example, when only a part of the area in the frame is to be updated, it is only necessary to update the update target area because the entire frame is updated. Therefore, the amount of data to be updated can be reduced by the amount of data in the area other than the update target area.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the number of pixels to be updated is determined according to the difference between the image data acquired by the acquisition unit 21 this time and the image data updated by the update unit 24 last time. The Thus, when the difference is large, the amount of image data to be updated is determined to be large, and when the difference is small, the amount of image data to be updated is determined to be small. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the storage capacity of the image data while maintaining the reproducibility of the image data that is updated and stored.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, image data is updated only when the difference exceeds the first threshold value AS. That is, when the difference is equal to or smaller than the first threshold value, the image data is not updated. For example, the image data that has been updated and stored last time is used in the subsequent processing as the image data acquired this time. be able to. For this reason, the amount of data to be updated and saved can be reduced by the amount of data when the difference is equal to or less than the first threshold value AS. Furthermore, since the processing in steps S4 to S7 is not performed for data when the difference is equal to or less than the first threshold value AS, the calculation time can be shortened.

[0058] Furthermore, when the amount of image data to be updated by the update unit 24 exceeds the second threshold value, the determination unit 23 sets the pixel data so that the amount of image data is equal to or less than the second threshold value. Decrease the number again. As a result, the amount of image data to be updated by the updating unit 24 and transmitted to the storage device 30 can be prevented from exceeding the second threshold and becoming enormous.

In addition, the determination unit 23 determines the amount of image data to be updated and transmitted by the update unit 24 within a range within the transmission rate with the storage device 30. For this reason, all of the image data updated by the updating unit 24 can be transmitted to the storage device 30 and stored without any loss.

[0060] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0061] For example, instead of the square error between the image data shown in equation (2), the following equation (10) You can use absolute error between image data.

[Equation 7]

Ψ (, y) = nu, n) -I (x, y, k- 2) ||… (10)

However,

Ψ (χ,) ... Image data of square area W (/,

The absolute error between the image data in the square area / ?, of the image frame (-2) .When the update unit 24 transmits the updated image data to the storage device 30, for example, a variable length such as MP EG (Motion Picture Experts Group) It may be transmitted after being compressed using an encoding compression method.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] An acquisition unit that acquires an image frame captured by the imaging unit;

Dividing means for dividing the image frame obtained by the obtaining means into a plurality of areas of a predetermined size;

Determining means for determining the number of pixels to be updated in the area unit divided by the dividing means;

Updating means for selecting and updating the number of pixels determined by the determining means in the region; and

With

The determining means includes

The image acquired by the acquisition unit this time according to the difference between the image data of the one region in the image frame acquired by the acquisition unit and the image data of the one region in the image frame acquired by the acquisition unit in the past. Determining the number of pixels to be updated within the region of the frame;

When the amount of image data to be updated by the updating means exceeds a predetermined threshold! /, A value is determined by reducing the number so that the amount of the image data is equal to or less than the threshold value. A featured image processing apparatus.

[2] The threshold value is set according to a transmission speed that becomes a limit when the image data updated by the updating unit is transmitted to an arbitrary external device. Image processing apparatus.

[3] An acquisition step in which the acquisition unit acquires an image frame captured by the imaging unit;

A dividing step of dividing the image frame acquired in the acquiring step into a plurality of regions of a predetermined size;

A determining step, wherein the determining means determines the number of pixels to be updated for each region divided in the dividing step;

An update step in which an update means selects and updates the number of pixels determined in the determination step within the area;

With The determining means in the determining step includes:

When the amount of image data to be updated in the updating step exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the number is reduced and determined so that the amount of the image data is equal to or less than the threshold value. An image processing method.

4. The image processing according to claim 3, wherein the threshold value is set according to a transmission speed that becomes a limit when the image data updated in the updating step is transmitted to an arbitrary external device. Method.