WO2018061928A1

WO2018061928A1 - Information processing device, counter system, counting method, and program storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2018061928A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/033885
Authority: WO
Inventors: 丈晴北川; 哲明鈴木
Original assignee: 日本電気株式会社; Ｎｅｃソリューションイノベータ株式会社
Priority date: 2016-09-30
Filing date: 2017-09-20
Publication date: 2018-04-05
Also published as: JPWO2018061928A1; JP7007280B2

Abstract

In order to provide a feature with which it is possible to increase the accuracy of an object count when measuring the number of objects utilizing a captured image by a photograph device, an information processing device 1 is provided with a detection unit 2 and a counter unit 3. The detection unit 2 detects a feature part of an object to be measured that has a predetermined feature from a captured image in which the object to be measured is captured. The counter unit 3 measures the number of feature parts detected in the captured image by the detection unit 2 as the number of objects to be measured.

Description

Information processing apparatus, counting system, counting method, and program storage medium

The present invention relates to a technique for measuring the number of objects using a photographing apparatus.

In order to improve fish culture techniques, the growth of fish being cultured is being observed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to fish observation. In the technique in this Patent Document 1, based on a photographed image of the back side (or belly side) of a fish photographed from the upper side (or bottom side) and the lateral side of the aquarium, and a photographed image of the front side of the head, The shape and size of parts such as the head, trunk, and tail fin are estimated for each part. The estimation of the shape and size of each part of the fish is performed using a plurality of template images provided for each part. That is, the captured image for each part is collated with the template image for each part, and based on known information such as the size of the fish part in the template image that matches the captured image, the size for each part of the fish, etc. Is estimated.

Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for capturing fish underwater using a video camera and a still image camera, and detecting a fish shadow based on the captured video and still image. Further, Patent Document 2 shows a configuration in which the number of appearances that appear in a photographed moving image is counted for each fish type, such that the number of appearances is one for each trajectory of fish shadow obtained from the moving image. Has been.

JP 2003-250382 A JP 2013-201714 A

Patent Document 2 shows a configuration for counting fish shadow trajectories. In this configuration, for example, in the movie, the fish shadow trajectory is temporarily interrupted due to the reason that the fish is in the shadow of another fish. Therefore, the number of appearances is two. In other words, the number of fish shadows counted by the configuration shown in Patent Document 2 is its trajectory and may be different from the number of fish. With the configuration of Patent Document 2, it is difficult to improve the accuracy of counting the number of fish. .

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems. That is, a main object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of increasing the accuracy of counting objects when the number of objects is measured using images captured by a photographing device.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus of the present invention provides:
A detection unit for detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured;
A counting unit that measures the number of detected characteristic parts in the captured image as the number of objects to be measured.

The counting system of the present invention comprises:
A photographing device for photographing a photographing space in which an object to be measured exists;
An information processing device that measures the number of objects to be measured in the imaging space based on images captured by the imaging device;
The information processing apparatus includes:
A detection unit that detects a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured;
A counting unit that measures the number of detected characteristic parts in the captured image as the number of objects to be measured.

The counting method of the present invention is:
Detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured;
The number of detected characteristic parts in the captured image is measured as the number of objects to be measured.

The program storage medium of the present invention includes:
A process of detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured;
A computer program for causing a computer to execute a process of measuring the number of detected characteristic parts in the captured image as the number of objects to be measured is stored.

The main object of the present invention is also achieved by the counting method of the present invention corresponding to the information processing apparatus of the present invention. The main object of the present invention is also achieved by an information processing apparatus of the present invention, a computer program corresponding to the counting method of the present invention, and a program storage medium for storing the computer program.

According to the present invention, when the number of objects is measured using the images captured by the imaging device, the accuracy of object counting can be increased.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a simplified configuration of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which simplifies and represents the structure of the counting system provided with the information processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which simplifies and represents the structure of the counting system of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the arrangement | positioning form of the camera which is an imaging device in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of the state which put the camera in 2nd Embodiment into the ginger. It is a figure showing an example of the imaging range of the camera in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the picked-up image by the camera in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the reference data which the detection part in 2nd Embodiment uses by a detection process. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of reference data used in the detection process by the detection unit according to the second embodiment, following FIG. 8. It is a figure explaining the detection process of the detection part in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the operation example which concerns on the count of the control apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the arrangement | positioning form of the camera in 3rd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure showing an example of the imaging | photography range of the camera in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the reference data which the detection part in 3rd Embodiment uses by a detection process. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of reference data used in the detection process by the detection unit according to the third embodiment, following FIG. 14. It is a figure showing an example of another reference data. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of another reference data following FIG. 16. It is a figure explaining the arrangement | positioning form of the camera in 4th Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure showing an example of the imaging range of the camera in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the functional structure of the control apparatus in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure showing other embodiment of the arrangement | positioning form of a camera. It is a figure showing an example of the imaging | photography range of the camera arrange | positioned like FIG. It is a figure showing another embodiment of the arrangement | positioning form of a camera. It is a figure explaining an example of the state which put the camera arrange | positioned like FIG. 23 into the ginger. It is a figure showing an example of the imaging | photography range of the camera arrange | positioned like FIG. It is a figure showing another example of reference data. FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating still another example of reference data following FIG. 26.

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a simplified configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment constitutes a counting system 5 together with the photographing apparatus 6. The photographing device 6 is arranged in a state of photographing a photographing space where an object to be measured exists.

The information processing apparatus 1 includes a detection unit 2 and a counting unit 3 as functional units. The detection unit 2 has a function of detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured. The counting unit 3 has a function of measuring the number of feature parts detected by the detection unit 2 in the captured image as the number of objects to be measured.

Since the information processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment detects a characteristic part of a measurement target object in a captured image and measures the number of detected characteristic parts as the number of measurement target objects, with a simple configuration, The accuracy of counting objects can be increased.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment according to the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a simplified configuration of the counting system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The counting system 10 in the second embodiment is a system that measures the number of fish in a ginger that is an object to be measured. The counting system 10 includes a camera 11 that is a photographing device and an information processing device 12.

The camera 11 has a waterproof function and is arranged in a ginger 25 where fish 26 are cultivated as shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, the camera 11 is disposed at a position close to the water bottom. Further, the position of the camera 11 in the cross section parallel to the water surface of the ginger 25 is substantially in the center. The direction of the lens of the camera 11 arranged at such a position is the direction facing the water surface (upward). The camera 11 has a shooting range (field of view) as shown in FIG. That is, the shooting range of the camera 11 is a range in which the side of the ginger 25 can be shot in consideration of the size of the ginger 25.

The method for arranging the camera 11 in water is not particularly limited, but an example thereof will be described below. That is, each camera 11 is supported and fixed on the metal plate 20 that is a support member as shown in FIG. 4 so that the direction of the lens is upward (the direction toward the upper side of the substrate surface of the metal plate 20). Is done. The metal plate 20 on which the camera 11 is supported and fixed is connected to a buoy 22 that is a floating body by a plurality of (four) ropes 21 that are linear members. Further, the end of the rope 21 opposite to the buoy 22 is connected to the weight 23.

When the arrangement structure of the camera 11 having such a configuration is thrown into the water (ginger 25), the buoy 22 floats on the water surface and the weight 23 sinks to the bottom of the water. 21 is suspended in water. Moreover, the weight 23 prevents the arrangement position of the metal plate 20 (in other words, the camera 11) from changing greatly. Thus, the method of disposing the camera 11 in the water by the metal plate 20, the rope 21, the buoy 22 and the weight 23 has a simple structure, and can be easily reduced in size and weight. This makes it easy to move the camera 11 to another ginger 25.

The camera 11 disposed in the water in this way photographs the fish 26 in the ginger 25 from the ventral side. For example, the fish 26 in the image captured by the camera 11 becomes an image as shown in the image diagram of FIG.

The camera 11 is a photographing device having a function of photographing a moving image. However, the camera 11 adopts a photographing device that does not have a moving image photographing function, for example, intermittently photographs still images at set time intervals. May be. The calibration of the camera 11 is performed by an appropriate calibration method in consideration of the environment of the ginger 25, the type of fish to be measured, and the like. Here, the description of the calibration method is omitted.

Furthermore, as the method for starting the shooting by the camera 11 and the method for stopping the shooting, an appropriate method considering the performance of the camera 11 and the environment of the sacrifice 25 is employed. For example, the fish observer manually starts shooting before the camera 11 enters the ginger 25, and manually stops shooting after the camera 11 leaves the ginger 25. When the camera 11 has a wireless communication function or a wired communication function, the camera 11 is connected to an operation device that can transmit information for controlling the start and stop of shooting. Then, the start and stop of photographing of the underwater camera 11 may be controlled by the operation of the operation device by the observer.

A photographed image photographed by the camera 11 as described above may be taken into the information processing apparatus 12 by wired communication or wireless communication, or after being stored in the portable storage medium, the information processing apparatus from the portable storage medium. 12 may be incorporated.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the information processing apparatus 12 includes a control device 13 and a storage device 14. The information processing apparatus 12 is connected to, for example, an input device (for example, a keyboard or a mouse) 16 that inputs information to the information processing apparatus 12 by an operation of an observer (measurer) and a display device 17 that displays information. Yes. Further, the information processing apparatus 12 may be connected to an external storage device 15 that is separate from the information processing apparatus 12.

The storage device 14 has a function of storing various data and computer programs (hereinafter also referred to as programs), and is realized by a storage medium such as a hard disk device or a semiconductor memory. The storage device 14 provided in the information processing device 12 is not limited to one, and a plurality of types of storage devices may be provided in the information processing device 12. In this case, the plurality of storage devices are collectively referred to. This will be referred to as storage device 14. Similarly to the storage device 14, the storage device 15 has a function of storing various data and computer programs, and is realized by a storage medium such as a hard disk device or a semiconductor memory. When the information processing device 12 is connected to the storage device 15, appropriate information is stored in the storage device 15. In this case, the information processing apparatus 12 appropriately executes a process of writing information to and a process of reading information from the storage device 15, but the description regarding the storage device 15 is omitted in the following description.

In the second embodiment, the image captured by the camera 11 is stored in the storage device 14 in a state associated with information related to the shooting state, such as information representing the camera that was shot and information about the shooting time.

The control device 13 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control device 13 can have the following functions when the CPU executes a computer program stored in the storage device 14, for example. That is, the control device 13 includes a detection unit 30, a counting unit 31, and a display control unit 32 as functional units.

The display control unit 32 has a function of controlling the display operation of the display device 17. For example, when the display control unit 32 receives a request for reproducing the captured image of the camera 11 from the input device 16, the display control unit 32 reads the captured image of the camera 11 according to the request from the storage device 14 and displays the captured image on the display device 17. To display.

For example, when the detection unit 30 detects that a request for measuring the number of fishes is input by operating the input device 16 of the observer during reproduction of a captured image of the camera 11, the detection unit 30 executes the following process. It has. That is, the detection unit 30 has a function of detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in a fish that is an object to be measured in a photographed image by the camera 11. In the second embodiment, the head of the fish is set as the characteristic part. There are various methods for detecting the head of a fish, which is a characteristic part, from a photographed image of the camera 11. Here, an appropriate method is used in consideration of the processing capability of the information processing apparatus 12. For example, there are the following methods.

For example, a plurality of reference data (reference part images) having different fish orientations, distances from the camera 11 and the like as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are stored in the storage device 14 for the head of the type of fish to be measured. Has been. The reference data in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 is an image of the head of the fish viewed from the stomach side of the fish. These reference data are obtained by extracting, as teacher data (teacher image), an image of a region in which a characteristic part of the head is photographed from a large number of photographed images in which the type of fish to be measured is photographed. Created by machine learning.

The detection unit 30 uses the reference data of the characteristic part (fish head) read from the storage device 14 to detect the characteristic part in the captured image as follows. For example, the detection unit 30 moves the survey image range having a predetermined shape and size from the upper left end of the photographed image 46 as shown in FIG. 10 toward the upper right end at every set interval. The image of the portion where the survey image range is located is compared with the reference data. Then, the detection unit 30 determines the degree of matching (similarity) between the image within the survey image range and the reference data by, for example, a method used in the template matching method. The detection unit 30 detects that the image represents a characteristic part when the matching degree is equal to or higher than a threshold value (for example, 90%).

When the detection unit 30 moves the survey image range to the upper right end, the degree of match is set for each set interval as described above while moving the survey image range to the right from the position lower than the upper left end in the captured image 46. Will be judged.

In this way, the detection unit 30 determines the degree of matching between the reference data and the image within the survey image range while scanning the scan image range in the captured image, thereby measuring the object to be measured in the captured image by the camera 11. Detect the characteristic part (head) of (fish). In the example of FIG. 10, the characteristic part detected in the captured image 46 is represented by a frame 48. For example, the detection result by such a detection unit 30 is displayed on the display device 17 by the display control unit 32.

The counting unit 31 has a function of measuring the number of feature parts detected by the detection unit 30 in the image taken by the camera 11 as the number of objects (fishes) to be measured. Further, the counting unit 31 has a function of storing the information on the number of objects to be measured as described above in the storage device 14 in a state in which the information is associated with the information of the measured captured image (for example, identification information of the captured image). ing.

Note that the counting unit 31 may have a function of correcting the count value after counting the number of characteristic parts. For example, it is assumed that there is a fish that is not counted by the counting unit 31 due to reasons such as being hidden in the shadow of another fish and not appearing in the captured image. The relationship between the number of fish that are not counted and the number of fish counted by the counting unit 31 is obtained by observation or simulation, for example, and the relationship data is stored in the storage device 14 as correction data. After counting the number of feature parts, the counting unit 31 may correct the count value with the correction data and calculate the corrected value as the number of objects to be measured.

The counting system 10 of the second embodiment is configured as described above. Next, an example of the counting process of the information processing apparatus 12 in the second embodiment will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

For example, when the detection unit 30 of the information processing device 12 detects that a request for counting objects to be measured is input by an operation of the input device 16 by an observer (step S101), the image captured by the camera 11 is stored. Obtained from the device 14. And the detection part 30 detects the characteristic site | part in the object of a measurement object using the reference data stored in the memory | storage device 14 in the acquired image by the camera 11 (step S102). Thereafter, the counting unit 31 measures the number of characteristic parts in the captured image detected by the detection unit 30 (step S103). For example, the counting unit 31 causes the display control unit 32 to display the measured number of objects on the display device 17. The information processing apparatus 12 can measure and output the number of objects to be measured from the captured image by such processing.

In the counting system 10 of the second embodiment, the detection unit 30 and the counting unit 31 of the information processing device 12 detect the characteristic parts of the object to be measured in the captured image, and the number of characteristic parts is set as the number of objects to be measured. It has a function to measure. Thereby, the information processing apparatus 12 can improve the accuracy of counting objects with a simple configuration.

<Third Embodiment>
The third embodiment according to the present invention will be described below. In the description of the third embodiment, the same components as those constituting the counting system in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description of the common portions is omitted.

The counting system 10 in the third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in the arrangement of the camera 11 that is a photographing apparatus, and has the same configuration as the counting system 10 in the second embodiment except for the above.

That is, FIG. 12 is a perspective view schematically showing an arrangement form of the camera 11 in the third embodiment. That is, the camera 11 is fixed to the metal plate 20 in a lateral direction such that the direction of the lens is parallel to the substrate surface of the metal plate 20 that is a support member. In other words, the camera 11 is disposed so as to be in a horizontal direction so as to be parallel to the water surface in a state where the camera 11 is thrown into the water (ginger 25). In addition, the depth position (height position) of the camera 11 in water is a position that is an intermediate portion between the water bottom and the water surface. Furthermore, the camera 11 is disposed on the peripheral edge of the ginger 25. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the shooting range of the camera 11 and the ginger 25 when the ginger 25 is viewed from above.

When the camera 11 is arranged as described above, the fish in the ginger 25 is photographed from the side. Therefore, the reference data used in the detection process by the detection unit 30 in the information processing apparatus 12 is a sample image of a fish head viewed from the side as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.

Also in the counting system 10 of the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the feature parts of the object to be measured are detected from the captured image, and the number of the feature parts is calculated as the number of objects to be measured. The same effect as in the second embodiment can be obtained.

In the third embodiment, the head of a fish is taken as an example as a characteristic part of an object to be measured. Instead, for example, the characteristic part of the object to be measured may be a fish tail. In this case, the reference data used by the detection unit 30 in the detection process is, for example, a fish tail sample image viewed from the side as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17.

<Fourth embodiment>
The fourth embodiment according to the present invention will be described below. In the description of the fourth embodiment, the same components as those constituting the counting system in the second and third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the duplicate description of the common portions is omitted.

The counting system 10 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the second and third embodiments in the arrangement of a camera as a photographing device, and is otherwise substantially the same as the counting system 10 according to the second or third embodiment. It has a simple configuration.

That is, FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically showing the arrangement of cameras in the fourth embodiment. The counting system 10 of the fourth embodiment includes

cameras

11 and 40 that are a plurality of (two in the example of FIG. 18) imaging devices. The

cameras

11 and 40 are disposed in the depth direction (height direction) with an interval in a state where they are put into the ginger 25 where the fish 26 is cultured. In the fourth embodiment, with respect to the position of the

cameras

11 and 40 in the depth direction, the camera 11 is disposed at a position close to the water bottom, and the camera 40 is disposed at a substantially intermediate portion between the water bottom and the water surface. . Further, the positions of the

cameras

11 and 40 in the cross section parallel to the water surface of the ginger 25 are substantially in the center. The direction of the lenses of the

cameras

11 and 40 arranged at such positions is the direction (upward) facing the water surface. The shooting range (field of view) of the

cameras

11 and 40 is a range in which the side of the ginger 25 can be shot in consideration of the size of the ginger 25. The captured images of the

cameras

11 and 40 arranged in this way are taken from the ventral side of the fish 26 in the ginger 25 as in the second embodiment.

The same method as the method described in the second embodiment can be adopted as a method for arranging the

cameras

11 and 40 in water. That is, the

cameras

11 and 40 are disposed in water in an arrangement form using the metal plate 20, the rope 21, the buoy 22, and the weight 23. Note that the method of disposing the

cameras

11 and 40 in water is not limited to the method of using the rope 21, and may be a method of using a rod-shaped member instead of the rope 21, for example.

In the fourth embodiment, a plurality of

cameras

11 and 40 are provided, so that images taken by the

cameras

11 and 40 can be obtained. As a result, the detection unit 30 and the counting unit 31 in the information processing apparatus 12 execute processing for each of the obtained plurality of captured images. Then, the counting unit 31 sums up the number of objects measured from the images taken by the

cameras

11 and 40, and calculates the total value as the number of objects to be measured.

Note that the information processing apparatus 12 uses a photographed image of the camera 11 and a photographed image of the camera 40 that are photographed simultaneously. Considering this, in order to make it easy to obtain a photographed image by the camera 11 and a photographed image by the camera 40 at the same time, the

camera

11, 40 also changes a mark used for time adjustment (synchronization) during photographing. It is preferable to let them shoot in common. For example, as a mark used for synchronization, light that emits light for a short time may be used by automatic control or manually by an observer, and the

cameras

11 and 40 may capture the light. Or you may make it the

cameras

11 and 40 capture the sound as a mark used for a synchronization with an image. Alternatively, the time of the clocks built in the

cameras

11 and 40 may be adjusted, and the

cameras

11 and 40 may associate the time information of the built-in clocks with the captured images. As described above, information used for synchronization is included in or associated with the captured images of the

cameras

11 and 40, so that the captured images of the

cameras

11 and 40 can be easily synchronized.

By the way, in 4th Embodiment, the

cameras

11 and 40 are arrange | positioned through the space | interval in the depth direction, and the direction of these lenses has faced the same direction (it is upward). For this reason, the shooting range of the camera 11 has an area that overlaps the shooting range of the camera 40, such as the hatched area W in FIG. Therefore, the number of measurement target objects (fish) counted by the counting unit 31 from the captured image by the camera 11 includes the number of measurement target objects (fish) counted by the counting unit 31 in the captured image by the camera 40. It is assumed that Considering this, the fourth embodiment has a function of correcting the number of objects to be measured counted by the counting unit 31. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 20, the control device 13 includes a correction unit 34 in addition to the configurations of the second and third embodiments. In FIG. 20, the detection unit 30 and the display control unit 32 are not shown in the control device 13.

The correction unit 34 is counted by the counting unit 31 based on the number of objects to be measured that are assumed to be counted repeatedly by the counting unit 31 in the overlapping shooting range regions of the

cameras

11 and 40. A function for correcting the number of objects to be measured is provided.

For example, out of the number of objects to be measured counted by the counting unit 31 from the image captured by the camera 11, what is the ratio of the number of objects to be measured that the counting unit 31 is supposed to count also in the image captured by the camera 40? An observer etc. asks whether it becomes. The obtained ratio of data is stored in the storage device 14 as a thinning rate (for example, 0.5 (50%)). There are various methods for obtaining the thinning rate. For example, the observer determines the thinning rate based on the experience of the observer based on the experiment. Alternatively, the thinning rate may be calculated based on a sample image (for example, a moving image of fish movement) obtained by machine learning using pre-captured images taken by the

cameras

11 and 40 as teacher data. Alternatively, the thinning rate according to the shooting environment may be calculated. As described above, there are various methods for obtaining the thinning rate, and the thinning rate is obtained by an appropriate method.

The correction unit 34 calculates the correction number by multiplying the number of objects to be measured counted by the counting unit 31 in the photographed image by the camera 11 by the thinning rate stored in the storage device 14. Then, the correction unit 34 corrects the number of objects to be measured counted by the counting unit 31 by subtracting the calculated correction number from the number counted as the number of objects to be measured by the counting unit 31. The correction unit 34 has a function of storing the corrected information on the number of objects to be measured in the storage device 14 after correction. The correction unit 34 further has a function of causing the display control unit 32 to display the corrected number of objects to be measured on the display device 17.

In the counting system 10 of the fourth embodiment, a plurality of

cameras

11 and 40 are arranged in the depth direction. For this reason, the following effects can be acquired. For example, it is assumed that there is an object that is unclear in the image captured by the camera 11 because it is away from the camera 11. In this case, since the object is photographed by the camera 40 at a position closer to the camera 11, the image of the object can be clarified in the photographed image by the camera 40 than the photographed image by the camera 11. . Since the image on the object to be measured can be clarified in this way, the information processing apparatus 12 can increase the measurement accuracy of the object to be measured by the counting function using the captured image.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, there is an object that is redundantly measured due to the use of the captured images of the plurality of

cameras

11 and 40, but the information processing apparatus 12 is corrected by the correction unit 34. The number of such overlapping objects can be corrected. For this reason, the information processing apparatus 12 can prevent the occurrence of problems caused by using the captured images of the plurality of

cameras

11 and 40.

<Fifth Embodiment>
The fifth embodiment according to the present invention will be described below. In the description of the fifth embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as the components constituting the counting system in the second to fourth embodiments, and the duplicate description of the common portions will be omitted.

The counting system 10 according to the fifth embodiment is different from the fourth embodiment in the arrangement of a camera that is a photographing device, and has substantially the same configuration as that of the counting system 10 according to the fourth embodiment.

That is, FIG. 21 is a perspective view schematically showing an arrangement form of the camera 50 in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 22 is a model diagram showing the arrangement of the camera 50 as viewed from above in FIG. In the fifth embodiment, the position where the camera 50 is disposed in water (ginger 25) is a depth position Dt close to the bottom of the water, a position Db close to the water surface, and an interval between the positions Db and Dt is substantially equal. And positions Dm1 and Dm2. Further, at each depth position (height position) where the camera 50 is disposed, four cameras 50 are disposed. As shown in FIG. 22, the four cameras 50 for each depth position are arranged in four different directions along the water surface. A plurality of cameras 50 as shown in FIG. 21 are arranged at the center of the ginger 25 as in the fourth embodiment.

In the information processing apparatus 12 according to the fifth embodiment, the detection unit 30 detects the characteristic part (head) of the measurement target object (fish) in the captured image of each camera 50. In the fifth embodiment, since the camera 50 captures the fish that is the object to be measured from the side, the reference data that the detection unit 30 uses in the feature part detection process is shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, for example. It is the sample image of the head of the fish seen from the side as it is.

The counting unit 31 measures the number of characteristic parts detected in the captured image of each camera 50, sums the measured number in each captured image, and calculates the total value as the number of objects to be measured. In the fifth embodiment, an overlapping shooting range in the cameras 50 adjacent in the horizontal direction is, for example, a region W in FIG. In addition, there are overlapped shooting range areas for the shooting ranges of the cameras 50 adjacent in the height direction. The correction unit 34 corrects the number of objects to be measured calculated by the counting unit 31 in consideration of the number of objects to be measured that are redundantly measured in such overlapping imaging range regions.

The counting system 10 of the fifth embodiment can further increase the counting accuracy of the object to be measured by increasing the number of cameras 50 arranged as compared to the fourth embodiment.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the first to fifth embodiments, and various embodiments can be adopted. For example, in the fourth and fifth embodiments, a plurality of cameras 50 are arranged at the center of the ginger 25. Instead of this, for example, as shown in FIG. 24, the plurality of cameras 50 may be arranged at the peripheral edge portion (corner portion in the example of FIG. 24) of the ginger 25. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 23, one camera 50 is disposed at each different depth position. FIG. 25 is a model diagram of the relationship between the camera 50 and the ginger 25 in FIG. 24 viewed from the water surface side. As shown in FIG. 25, the direction of the lens of the camera 50 at each depth position is the same in the horizontal direction toward the center of the ginger 25. In addition, when the camera 50 is arrange | positioned at the peripheral part of the ginger 25 as represented to FIG.24,25, depending on the visual field of the camera 50, the camera 50 may be arrange | positioned by multiple each depth position. .

When the camera 50 is arranged in this way, the image taken by the camera 50 is taken from the side of the fish 26 in the ginger 25 as in the fifth embodiment.

In the fourth embodiment, the

cameras

11 and 40 are arranged in two stages as shown in FIG. 18, and in the fifth embodiment, the camera 50 is arranged in four stages as shown in FIG. It is installed. Instead of this, the number of stages when the cameras are arranged in a plurality of stages may be three or five or more depending on the depth range for counting the number of fish.

Further, in addition to the configurations of the second to fifth embodiments, image processing for reducing the turbidity of water in the photographed image at an appropriate timing such as before the detection unit 30 of the information processing device 12 starts the detection processing. Further, image processing for correcting the distortion of the fish body due to the fluctuation of water may be performed. In addition, image processing may be performed in which a captured image is corrected in consideration of imaging conditions such as the water depth and brightness of the object. As described above, the information processing apparatus 12 performs image processing (image correction) on the captured image in consideration of the imaging environment, so that the counting accuracy of the object to be measured can be further increased. In addition, the information processing apparatus 12 can obtain an effect that the number of reference data can be reduced by using the captured image that has been subjected to such image correction.

Furthermore, in the second and third embodiments, the detection unit 30 in the information processing apparatus 12 detects a fish head as a characteristic part of an object to be measured. Instead of this, for example, the detection unit 30 may detect a side surface portion of a fish. In this case, the reference data used by the detection unit 30 in the detection process is, for example, a sample image of the side surface portion of the fish as shown in FIGS.

Furthermore, the reference data shown in FIGS. 14 to 17 used by the detection unit 30 is an example, and the reference data used by the detection unit 30 may include more reference data. For example, the reference data for the head or tail of the fish includes data that is not subject to detection, such as data for closing out in FIG. 27 (that is, image data in which a part of the detected part is out of the shooting range). It may be. In addition, data representing the fish tail bend in consideration of the fish bend as shown in FIG. 27 may be included as reference data.

Furthermore, in the second to fifth embodiments, a fish is described as an example of an object to be measured. However, the counting system 10 having the configuration described in the second to fifth embodiments is not limited to other objects. It is also applicable to the counting.

The present invention has been described above using the above-described embodiment as an exemplary example. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. That is, the present invention can apply various modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-194271 filed on September 30, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein.

DESCRIPTION OF

SYMBOLS

1,12

Information processing apparatus

2,30 Detection part 3,31 Counting

part

5,10 Counting system 6

Imaging device

11, 40, 50 Camera

Claims

Detecting means for detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured;
An information processing apparatus comprising: counting means for measuring the number of detected characteristic parts in the captured image as the number of objects to be measured.
The counting unit further includes a function of measuring the total value of the number of the characteristic parts measured from a plurality of the captured images in which a part of the imaging range overlaps each other as the number of objects to be measured,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a correcting unit that corrects the number of objects to be measured counted from the plurality of captured images based on the overlapping imaging ranges.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects the feature part from the photographed image using a plurality of images of the feature part having different photographing conditions in the object to be measured. .
A photographing device for photographing a photographing space in which an object to be measured exists;
An information processing device that measures the number of objects to be measured in the imaging space based on images captured by the imaging device;
The information processing apparatus includes:
Detecting means for detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured;
A counting system comprising: counting means for measuring the number of detected characteristic parts in the captured image as the number of objects to be measured.
5. The counting system according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of imaging devices are provided, and these imaging devices are arranged at intervals in the height direction within a predetermined imaging space.
The counting system according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of the photographing devices are arranged at the same height position in the photographing space.
Each of the plurality of photographing devices is disposed so that a photographing range overlaps a photographing range of another photographing device,
The said information processing apparatus is further provided with the correction | amendment means which correct | amends the number of the objects of the measurement object counted from the picked-up image of the said imaging device based on the said imaging | photography range area | region which overlaps. Counting system.
Detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured;
A counting method of measuring the number of detected characteristic parts in the captured image as the number of objects to be measured.
A process of detecting a characteristic part having a predetermined characteristic in the measurement target object from a captured image in which the measurement target object is captured;
A program storage medium for storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute a process of measuring the number of detected characteristic parts in the captured image as the number of objects to be measured.