Patent Application
20200329202
The present disclosure relates to an image capturing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a recording medium.
When a still image or a moving image is shot using an image capturing apparatus such as a camera, a user usually shoots an image after determining a shooting target through a finder or the like, and confirming the shooting situation by him/herself and adjusting the framing of an image to be. Such an image capturing apparatus is provided with a function of notifying, upon detection of an error, the user of an operational error made by the user, or detecting the external environment and notifying the user of being in an environment not suitable for shooting. Also, there is a known mechanism in which a camera is controlled to enter a state suitable for shooting.
In contrast to such an image capturing apparatus that executes shooting in accordance with a user operation, a life log camera in the publication of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2016-536868 is present that performs shooting intermittently and successively without a user giving shooting instructions.
However, because a known life log camera of a type that is attached to the body of a user performs automatic shooting regularly, there are cases where the images obtained by capturing are not those intended by the user.
The present disclosure has been made in view of the foregoing problem, and aims to provide a technique that enables shooting of an image at a timing intended by a user with a composition intended by the user, without the user performing a special operation.
An image capturing apparatus comprising: an image capturing unit; a driving unit for moving an image capturing direction of the image capturing unit; a first detection unit for detecting a direction of a user to whom the image capturing apparatus is attached; a second detection unit for detecting a movement of the image capturing apparatus; a sound input unit including a plurality of microphones; a third detection unit for detecting a direction of a sound source of a voice collected by the sound input unit; and a control unit, wherein the control unit determines two or more microphones of the sound input unit, based on the direction of the user detected by the first detection unit and on the movement of the image capturing apparatus detected by the second detection unit, wherein the third detection unit detects a direction of a sound source of the voice collected by two or more microphones of the sound input unit determined by the control unit, and wherein, in a case where the third detection unit has detected the direction of the sound source of the voice by the determined two or more microphones of the sound input unit, the control unit controls the driving unit to move the image capturing direction of the image capturing unit to direct toward the direction of the sound source detected by the third detection unit.
Further features of various embodiments will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
The attached drawings are included in the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure, and are used to describe the principle of the present disclosure together with the description of the specification.
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail according to the attached drawings.
Note that the support unit 200 is provided with a plurality of driving units 11 to 13 including piezoelectric elements in contact with a face of the movable image capturing unit 100. The movable image capturing unit 100 performs panning and tilting operations by controlling the vibrations of these driving units 11 to 13. Note that the configuration may be such that the panning and tilting operations are realized using servomotors or the like.
The movable image capturing unit 100 includes a lens unit 101, an image capturing unit 102, a lens actuator control unit 103, and a sound input unit 104.
The lens unit 101 is constituted by a shooting optical system including a zoom lens, a diaphragm/shutter, a focus lens, and the like. The image capturing unit 102 includes an image sensor such as a CMOS sensor or a CCD sensor, photoelectrically converts an optical image formed by the lens unit 101 to an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal. The lens actuator control unit 103 includes a motor driver IC, and drives various actuators for the zoom lens, the diaphragm/shutter, the focus lens, and the like of the lens unit 101. The various actuators are driven based on actuator drive instruction data received from a central control unit 201 in the support unit 200, which will be described later. The sound input unit 104 is a sound input unit including a microphone (hereinafter, mic), and is constituted by a plurality of mics (four mics, in the present embodiment), and converts a sound signal to an electric signal, converts the electric signal to a digital signal (sound data), and outputs the digital signal.
Meanwhile, the support unit 200 includes the central control unit 201 for controlling the entirety of the image capturing apparatus 1. The central control unit 201 is constituted by a CPU, a ROM in which programs to be executed by the CPU are stored, and a RAM that is used as a work area of the CPU. Also, the support unit 200 includes an image capturing signal processing unit 202, a video signal processing unit 203, a sound signal processing unit 204, an operation unit 205, a storage unit 206, and a display unit 207. The support unit 200 further includes an external input/output terminal unit 208, a sound reproduction unit 209, a power supply unit 210, a power supply control unit 211, a position detection unit 212, a pivoting control unit 213, a wireless communication unit 214, and the driving units 11 to 13 described above.
The image capturing signal processing unit 202 converts an electric signal output from the image capturing unit 102 of the movable image capturing unit 100 to a video signal. The video signal processing unit 203 processes the video signal output from the image capturing signal processing unit 202 in accordance with the application. The processing of the video signal includes cutting-out of an image, an electronic image stabilization operation realized by rotation processing, and subject detection processing for detecting a subject (face).
The sound signal processing unit 204 performs sound processing on a digital signal from the sound input unit 104. When the sound input unit 104 has an electric analog output, the sound signal processing unit 204 may include a constituent element that converts an electric analog signal to a digital signal. Note that the details of the sound signal processing unit 204 including the sound input unit 104 will be described later using
The operation unit 205 functions as a user interface between the image capturing apparatus 1 and a user, and is constituted by various switches, buttons, and the like. The storage unit 206 stores various types of data such as video information obtained by shooting. The display unit 207 includes a display such as an LCD, and displays an image as necessary based on a signal output from the video signal processing unit 203. Also, the display unit 207 functions as a portion of the user interface by displaying various menus and the like. The external input/output terminal unit 208 receives/outputs a communication signal and a video signal from/to an external apparatus. The sound reproduction unit 209 includes a speaker, converts sound data to an electric signal, and reproduces sound. The power supply unit 210 is a power supply source necessary for driving the entirety (constituent elements) of the image capturing apparatus, and is assumed to be a rechargeable battery in the present embodiment.
The power supply control unit 211 controls supply/cutoff of power from the power supply unit 210 to each of the constituent elements described above in accordance with the state of the image capturing apparatus 1. A constituent element that is not used is present depending on the state of the image capturing apparatus 1. The power supply control unit 211 executes a function of suppressing power consumption by cutting off power to constituent elements that are not used in accordance with the state of the image capturing apparatus 1 under the control of the central control unit 201. Note that the power supply/cutoff will be made clear by a description given later.
The position detection unit 212 detects a movement of the image capturing apparatus 1 using a gyroscope, an acceleration sensor, GPS, and the like. The position detection unit 212 is also for dealing with a case where the user attaches the image capturing apparatus 1 to his/her body. The pivoting control unit 213 generates signals for driving the driving units 11 to 13 in accordance with an instruction of the optical axis direction from the central control unit 201, and outputs the signals. The piezoelectric elements of driving units 11 to 13 vibrate in accordance with driving signals applied from the pivoting control unit 213, and move the optical axis direction of movable image capturing unit 100. As a result, the movable image capturing unit 100 performs panning and tilting operations in a direction instructed by the central control unit 201.
A wireless unit 214 performs data transmission of image data or the like in conformity to a wireless standard such as Wifi or BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy).
Next, the configurations of the sound input unit 104 and the sound signal processing unit 204 in the present embodiment, and sound direction detection processing will be described with reference to
The sound input unit 104 is constituted by four nondirectional mics (mics 104a, 104b, and 104c, and mic 104d). Each mic includes an A/D converter, samples sound at a preset sampling rate (command detection and direction detection processing: 16 kHz, moving image recording: 48 kHz), converts the sound signal obtained by sampling to digital sound data using the internal A/D converter, and outputs the digital sound data. Note that, in the present embodiment, the sound input unit 104 is constituted by four digital mics, but may also be constituted by mics having an analog output. In the case of an analog mic, a corresponding A/D converter need only be provided in the sound signal processing unit 204. Also, the number of microphones in the present embodiment is four, but the number need only be three or more.
The mic 104a is unconditionally supplied with power when the image capturing apparatus 1 is powered on, and enters a sound collectable state. On the other hand, the other mics 104b, 104c, and 104d are targets of power supply/cutoff by the power supply control unit 211 under the control of the central control unit 201, and the power thereto is cut off in an initial state after the image capturing apparatus 1 has been powered on.
The sound signal processing unit 204 is constituted by a sound pressure level detection unit 2041, a voice memory 2042, a voice command recognition unit 2043, a sound direction detection unit 2044, a moving image sound processing unit 2045, and a command memory 2046.
When the output level indicated by sound data from the mic 104a exceeds a preset threshold value, the sound pressure level detection unit 2041 supplies a signal indicating that sound has been detected to the power supply control unit 211 and the voice memory 2042.
The power supply control unit 211, upon receiving the signal indicating that sound has been detected from the sound pressure level detection unit 2041, supplies power to the voice command recognition unit 2043.
The voice memory 2042 is one of the targets of power supply/cutoff by the power supply control unit 211 under the control of the central control unit 201. Also, the voice memory 2042 is a buffer memory that temporarily stores sound data from the mic 104a. The voice memory 2042 has such a capacity that all sampling data obtained when the longest voice command is spoken relatively slowly can be stored. When the sampling rate of the mic 104a is 16 kHz, sound data of two bytes (16 bit) per sampling is output, and the longest voice command is assumed to be five seconds, the voice memory 2042 needs to have a capacity of about 160 Kbytes (≅5×16×1000×2). Also, when the capacity of the voice memory 2042 is filled with sound data from the mic 104a, old sound data is over-written by new sound data. As a result, the voice memory 2042 holds sound data of the most recent predetermined period (five seconds, in the above example). Also, the voice memory 2042 starts storing sound data from the mic 104a in a sampling data region triggered by the reception of the signal indicating that sound has been detected from the sound pressure level detection unit 2041.
The command memory 2046 is constituted by a nonvolatile memory, and information regarding voice commands recognized by the image capturing apparatus is pre-stored (registered) therein. Although the details will be described later, the types of voice commands to be stored in the command memory 2046 are as shown in
The voice command recognition unit 2043 is one of the targets of power supply/cutoff by the power supply control unit 211 under the control of the central control unit 201. Note that the speech recognition itself is a known technique, and therefore the description thereof is omitted here. The voice command recognition unit 2043 performs processing for recognizing sound data stored in the voice memory 2042 by referring to the command memory 2046. Also, the voice command recognition unit 2043 determines whether or not the sound data obtained by sound collection performed by the mic 104a is a voice command, and also determines which of the registered voice commands matches the sound data. Also, the voice command recognition unit 2043, upon detecting sound data that matches one of the voice commands stored in the command memory 2046, supplies information indicating which of the commands has been determined and the start and end addresses (timings) of the sound data, of the sound data stored in the voice memory 2042, that is used to determine the voice command to the central control unit 201.
The sound direction detection unit 2044 is one of the targets of power supply/cutoff by the power supply control unit 211 under the control of the central control unit 201. Also, the sound direction detection unit 2044 periodically performs processing for detecting the direction in which a sound source is present based on sound data from the four mics 104a to 104d. The sound direction detection unit 2044 includes an internal buffer memory 2044a, and stores information indicating the detected sound source direction in the buffer memory 2044a. Note that the cycle (e.g., 16 kHz) at which the sound direction detection unit 2044 performs the sound direction detection processing may be sufficiently longer than the sampling cycle of the mic 104a. Note that the buffer memory 2044a is assumed to have a capacity sufficient for storing sound direction information for a duration that is the same as the duration of sound data that can be stored in the voice memory 2042.
The moving image sound processing unit 2045 is one of the targets of power supply/cutoff by the power supply control unit 211 under the control of the central control unit 201. The moving image sound processing unit 2045 receives two pieces of sound data from the mics 103a and 104b, of the four mics, as stereo sound data, and performs thereon sound processing for moving image sound such as various types of filtering processing, wind cut, stereo sense enhancement, driving sound removal, ALC (Auto Level Control), and compression processing. Although the details will be made clear from a description given later, in the present embodiment, the mic 104a functions as an L channel mic, of a stereo mic, and the mic 104b functions as an R channel mic.
Note that, in
The external view and examples of use of the image capturing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to
The mics 104a and 104b are arranged at positions on a front side so as to sandwich the cut-out window of the first casing 150. Also, the mics 104c and 104d are provided on a rear side of the first casing 150. As is understood from the illustration, even if the panning operation of the first casing 150 is performed in any direction along the arrow A in a state in which the second casing 152 is fixed, the relative positions of the mics 104a and 104b relative to the lens unit 101 and the image capturing unit 102 will not change. That is, the mic 104a is always positioned on a left side relative to an image capturing direction of the image capturing unit 102, and the mic 104b is always positioned on a right side. Therefore, a fixed relationship can be kept between the space represented by an image obtained by capturing performed by the image capturing unit 102 and the field of sound acquired by the mics 104a and 104b.
Note that the four mics 104a, 104b, 104c, and 104d in the present embodiment are arranged at positions of the vertices of a rectangle in a top view of the image capturing apparatus 1, as shown in
The distance between the mic 104a and the mic 104b is larger than the distance between the mics 104a and 104c. Note that the distances between adjacent mics are desirably in a range from about 10 mm to 30 mm. Also, in the present embodiment, the number of microphones is four, but the number of microphones may be three or more as long as the condition that the mics are not arranged on a straight line is satisfied. Also, the arrangement positions of the mics 104a to 104d shown in
The panning and tilting operations of the image capturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described in further detail with reference to FIG. 4. Here, the description will be made assuming an exemplary use case where the image capturing apparatus 1 is placed to stand as shown in
4
a in
Next, the procedure of processing performed by the central control unit 201 of the image capturing apparatus 1 will be described following the flowcharts shown in
The central control unit 201 performs initialization processing of the image capturing apparatus 1 in step S101. In this initialization processing, the central control unit 201 determines the current directional component in a horizontal plane of the image capturing direction of the image capturing unit 102 in the movable image capturing unit 100 as a reference angle (0 degrees) of the panning operation.
Hereinafter, the component in the horizontal plane of the image capturing direction after a panning operation of the movable image capturing unit 100 is performed is represented by a relative angle from this reference angle. Also, the component in the horizontal plane of the sound source direction detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044 is also represented by a relative angle with respect to the reference angle. Also, although the details will be described later, the sound direction detection unit 2044 also performs determination as to whether or not a sound source is present in a direction of right above the image capturing apparatus 1 (axial direction of the rotation axis of a panning operation).
Note that, at this stage, power to the voice memory 2042, the sound direction detection unit 2044, the moving image sound processing unit 2045, and the mics 104b to 104d is cut off.
Upon the initialization processing being ended, the central control unit 201 starts supplying power to the sound pressure level detection unit 2041 and the mic 104a by controlling the power supply control unit 211, in step S102. As a result, the sound pressure level detection unit 2041 executes sound pressure detection processing based on the sound data obtained by sampling performed by the mic 104a, and upon detecting sound data indicating a sound pressure level exceeding a preset threshold value, notifies the central control unit of this fact. Note that the threshold value is set to 60 dB SPL (Sound Pressure Level), for example, but the threshold value may be changed by the image capturing apparatus 1 in accordance with the environment or the like, or sound components in a necessary frequency band may be focused on.
The central control unit 201 waits for, in step S103, the sound pressure level detection unit 2041 to detect sound data indicating a sound pressure exceeding the threshold value. When sound data indicating a sound pressure exceeding the threshold value is detected, in step S104, the sound memory 2042 starts processing for receiving and storing the sound data from the mic 104a.
Also, in step S105, the central control unit 201 starts supplying power to the voice command recognition unit 2043 by controlling the power supply control unit 211. As a result, the voice command recognition unit 2043 starts processing for recognizing the sound data that is stored in the voice memory 2042 with reference to the command memory 2046. Also, the voice command recognition unit 2043 performs processing for recognizing the sound data stored in the voice memory 2042, and upon recognizing a voice command that matches one of the voice commands in the command memory 2046, notifies the central control unit 201 of information including information for specifying the recognized voice command and information regarding the start and end addresses (or timings) of the sound data, in the voice memory 2042, that is used to determine the recognized voice command.
In step S106, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not information indicating that a voice command has been recognized has been received from the voice command recognition unit 2043. If not, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S108, and determines whether or not the time elapsed from activation of the voice command recognition unit 2043 has exceeded a preset threshold value. Also, the central control unit 201 waits for the voice command recognition unit 2043 to recognize a voice command as long as the time elapsed is a threshold value or less. Then, if the voice command recognition unit 2043 has not recognized a voice command when the time indicated by the threshold value has elapsed, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S109. In step S109, the central control unit 201 cuts off power to the voice command recognition unit 2043 by controlling the power supply control unit 211. Then, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S103.
On the other hand, the central control unit 201, upon receiving information indicating that a voice command has been recognized from the voice command recognition unit 2043, advances the processing to step S107. In step S107, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the recognized voice command corresponds to an activation command shown in
In step S110, the central control unit 201 starts supplying power to the sound direction detection unit 2044 and the mics 104b to 104d by controlling the power supply control unit 211. As a result, the sound direction detection unit 2044 starts processing for detecting the sound source direction based on the sound data from the four mics 104a to 104d at the same point in time. The processing for detecting the sound source direction is performed at a predetermined cycle. Also, the sound direction detection unit 2044 stores sound direction information indicating the detected sound direction in the internal buffer memory 2044a. Here, the sound direction detection unit 2044 stores the sound direction information in the buffer memory 2044a such that the timing of the sound data used for determination can be associated with a timing of the sound data stored in the sound memory 2042. Typically, the sound direction and the addresses of sound data in the sound memory 2042 may be stored in the buffer memory 2044a. Note that the sound direction information is information indicating an angle, in the horizontal plane, representing the difference of the sound source direction from the reference angle described above. Also, although the details will be described later, when the sound source is positioned right above the image capturing apparatus 1, information indicating that the sound source is in the direction of right above is set to the sound direction information.
In step S111, the central control unit 201 starts supplying power to the image capturing unit 102 and the lens actuator control unit 103 by controlling the power supply control unit 211. As a result, the movable image capturing unit 100 starts functioning as an image capturing apparatus.
Next, in step S151, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not information indicating that a new voice command has been recognized is received from the voice command recognition unit 2043. If not, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S152, and determines whether or not a job in accordance with the instruction from the user is currently being executed. Although the details will be made clear by the description of the flowchart in
In step S153, it is determined whether or not the time elapsed from when the previous voice command was recognized exceeds a preset threshold value. If not, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S151 and waits for a voice command to be recognized. Then, if a job is not being executed, and a new voice command has not been recognized even though the time elapsed from when the previous voice command was recognized exceeds the threshold value, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S154. In step S154, the central control unit 201 cuts off power supply to the image capturing unit 102 and the lens actuator control unit 103 by controlling the power supply control unit 211. Also, in step S155, the central control unit 201 also cuts off power supply to the sound direction detection unit 2044 by controlling the power supply control unit 211, and returns the processing to step S106.
It is assumed that the central control unit 201 has received information indicating that a new voice command has been received from the voice command recognition unit 2043. In this case, the voice command recognition unit 2043 advances the processing from step S151 to step S156.
The central control unit 201 in the present embodiment performs, before executing a job in accordance with a recognized voice command, processing for bringing a person who spoke the voice command into an angle of view of the image capturing unit 102 of the movable image capturing unit 100. Then, the central control unit 201 executes the job based on the recognized voice command in a state in which the person is in the angle of view of the image capturing unit 102.
In order to realize the technique described above, in step S156, the central control unit 201 acquires sound direction information synchronized with the voice command recognized by the voice command recognition unit 2043 from the buffer memory 2044a of the sound direction detection unit 2044. The voice command recognition unit 2043, upon recognizing a voice command, notifies the central control unit 201 of the two addresses of the start and end of the voice command in the voice memory 2042, as described above. Then, the central control unit 201 acquires sound direction information detected in the period indicated by the two addresses from the buffer memory 2044a. There may be a case where a plurality of pieces of sound direction information are present in the period indicated by the two addresses. In this case, the central control unit 201 acquires the temporally most recent sound direction information from the buffer memory 2044a. This is because the probability that the temporally most recent sound direction information represents the current position of the person who spoke the voice command is high.
In step S157, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the sound source direction indicated by the acquired sound information is the direction of right above the image capturing apparatus. Note that the details of the determination as to whether or not the sound direction is the direction of right above the image capturing apparatus will be described later.
If the sound source is present in the direction of right above the image capturing apparatus 1, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S158. In step S158, the central control unit 201 causes, by controlling the pivoting control unit 213, the second casing 151 of the movable image capturing unit 100 to pivot such that the image capturing direction of the lens unit 101 and the image capturing unit 102 is the right-above direction, as denoted by 4c in
In step S157, the central control unit 201, upon determining that the direction indicated by the sound information is a direction other than the right-above direction, advances the processing to step S160. In step S160, the central control unit 201 performs a panning operation of the movable image capturing unit 100, by controlling the pivoting control unit 213, such that the current angle in the horizontal plane of the image capturing unit 102 matches the angle in the horizontal plane indicated by the sound information. Then, in step S161, the central control unit 201 receives a captured image from the video signal processing unit 203, and determines whether or not an object (face), which can be a sound source, is present in the captured image. If not, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S162, and performs a tilting operation of the movable image capturing unit 100 by a preset angle toward a target tilt angle by controlling the pivoting control unit 213. Then, in step S163, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the tilt angle of the image capturing direction of the image capturing unit 102 has reached an upper limit of the tilting operation (90 degrees from the horizontal direction, in the present embodiment). If not, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S161. In this way, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not an object (face), which can be a sound source, is present in the captured image from the video signal processing unit 203 while performing the tilting operation. Then, if an object has not been detected even if the tilt angle of the image capturing direction of the image capturing unit 102 has reached the tilting upper limit, the central control unit 201 returns the processing from step S163 to step S151. On the other hand, if an object is present in the captured image, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S164, and executes a job corresponding to the already recognized voice command.
Next, the details of processing in step S164 will be described based on the flowchart in
First, in step S201, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the voice command is an activation command.
The activation command is a voice command for causing the image capturing apparatus 1 to transition to a state in which image capturing is possible. The activation command is a command that is determined in step S107 in FIG. 5A, and is not a job relating to image capturing. Therefore, if the recognized voice command is the activation command, the central control unit 201 ignores the command and returns the processing to step S151.
In step S202, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the voice command is a stop command. The stop command is a command for causing the state to transition from a state in which a series of image capturing is possible to a state of waiting for input of the activation command. Therefore, if the recognized voice command is the stop command, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S211. In step S211, the central control unit 201 cuts off power to the image capturing unit 102, the sound direction detection unit 2044, the voice command recognition unit 2043, the moving image sound processing unit 2045, the mics 104b to 104d, and the like that are already activated, by controlling the power supply control unit 211, and stops these units. Then, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S103 at the time of activation.
In step S203, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the voice command is a still image shooting command. The still image shooting command is a command for requesting the image capturing apparatus 1 to execute a shooting/recording job of one still image. Therefore, the central control unit 201, upon determining that the voice command is the still image shooting command, advances the processing to step S212. In step S212, the central control unit 201 stores the one piece of still image data obtained by capturing performed by the image capturing unit 102 in the storage unit 206 as a JPEG file, for example. Note that the job of the still image shooting command is completed by performing shooting and recording of one still image, and therefore this job is not a determination target job in step S152 in
In step S204, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the voice command is a moving image shooting command. The moving image shooting command is a command for requesting the image capturing apparatus 1 to capture and record a moving image. The central control unit 201, upon determining that the voice command is the moving image shooting command, advances the processing to step S213. In step S213, the central control unit 201 starts shooting and recording of a moving image by the image capturing unit 102, and returns the processing to step S151. In the present embodiment, the captured moving image is stored in the storage unit 206, but the captured moving image may be transmitted to a file server on a network via the external input/output terminal unit 208. The moving image shooting command is a command for causing capturing and recording of an moving image to continue, and therefore this job is a determination target job in step S152 in
In step S205, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the voice command is a moving image shooting end command. If the voice command is the moving image shooting end command, and capturing/recording of a moving image is actually being performed, the central control unit 201 ends the recording (job). Then, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S151.
In step S206, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the voice command is a tracking command. The tracking command is a command for requesting the image capturing apparatus 1 to cause the user to be continuously positioned in the image capturing direction of the image capturing unit 102. The central control unit 201, upon determining that the voice command is the tracking command, advances the processing to step S214. Then, in step S214, the central control unit 201 starts controlling the pivoting control unit 213 such that the object is continuously positioned at a central position of the video obtained by the video signal processing unit 203. Also, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S151. As a result, the movable image capturing unit 100 tracks the moving user by performing a panning operation or a tilting operation. Note that, although tracking of the user is performed, recording of the captured image is not performed. Also, while tracking is performed, the job is a determination target job in step S152 in
In step S207, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the voice command is the tracking end command. If the voice command is the tracking end command, and tracking is actually being performed, the central control unit 201 ends the tracking (job). Then, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S151.
In step S208, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the voice command is an automatic moving image shooting command. The central control unit 201, upon determining that the voice command is the automatic moving image shooting command, advances the processing to step S217. In step S217, the central control unit 201 starts shooting and recording of a moving image by the image capturing unit 102, and returns the processing to step S151. The automatic moving image shooting command differs from the moving image shooting command described above in that, if the job of the automatic moving image shooting command is started, from this point in time, every time the user speaks, shooting/recording of a moving image is performed while the image capturing direction of the lens unit 101 is directed in the sound source direction of the voice. For example, in an environment of a meeting in which a plurality of speakers are present, a moving image is recorded while performing panning and tilting operations in order to, every time a speech is made, bring the speaker into the angle of view of the lens unit 101. Note that, in this case, free speech is permitted, and therefore there is no voice command for causing the job of the automatic moving image shooting command to end. It is assumed that this job is ended by operating a predetermined switch provided in the operation unit 205. Also, the central control unit 201 stops the voice command recognition unit 2043 while this job is being executed. Also, the central control unit 201 performs panning and tilting operations of the movable image capturing unit 104 with reference to sound direction information detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044 at the timing at which the sound pressure level detection unit 2041 has detected a sound pressure level exceeding the threshold value.
Note that, although not illustrated in
The description has been made above. Voice commands other than the voice commands described above are to be executed in steps after step S207, but the description thereof will be omitted here.
Here, an example of the sequence from when the main power supply is turned on in the image capturing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment will be described following the timing chart shown in
When the main power supply of the image capturing apparatus 1 is turned on, the sound pressure level detection unit 2041 starts processing for detecting the sound pressure level of sound data from the mic 104a. It is assumed that a user starts speaking the activation command “Hi, Camera”, at timing T601. As a result, the sound pressure level detection unit 2041 detects a sound pressure exceeding the threshold value. Triggered by this detection, at timing T602, the voice memory 2042 starts storing sound data from the mic 104a, and the voice command recognition unit 2043 starts recognizing the voice command. When the user ends speaking of the activation command “Hi, Camera”, at timing T603, the voice command recognition unit 2043 recognizes the voice command, and specifies that the recognized voice command is the activation command.
At timing T603, the central control unit 201 starts power supply to the sound direction detection unit 2044 triggered by the recognition of the activation command. Also, the central control unit 201 also starts power supply to the image capturing unit 102 at timing T604.
It is assumed that the user starts saying “Movie start”, for example, at timing T606. In this case, the sound data at the timing of the start of the saying is stored in the voice memory 2042 in order from timing T607. Also, at timing T608, the voice command recognition unit 2043 recognizes the sound data as a voice command representing “Movie start”. The voice command recognition unit 2043 notifies the central control unit 201 of the start and end addresses of sound data representing “Movie start” in the voice memory 2042 and the recognition result. The central control unit 201 determines the range indicated by the received start and end addresses as a valid range. Also, the central control unit 201 extracts the latest sound direction information from the valid range in the buffer memory 2044a of the sound direction detection unit 2044, and at timing T609, starts panning and tilting operations of the movable image capturing unit 100 by controlling the pivoting control unit 213 based on the extracted information.
It is assumed that, at timing T612, a subject (object: face) is detected in an image captured by the image capturing unit 102 while the movable image capturing unit 100 is performing panning and tilting operations. The central control unit 201 stops the panning and tilting operations (timing T613). Also, at timing T614, the central control unit 201 supplies power to the moving image sound processing unit 2045 so as to enter a state in which stereo sound is collected by the mics 104a and 104b. Also, the central control unit 201 starts capturing and recording a moving image with sound, at timing T615.
Next, the processing for detecting the sound source direction performed by the sound direction detection unit 2044 in the present embodiment will be described. This processing is performed periodically and continuously after step S110 in
First, a simple sound direction detection using two mics, namely the mics 104a and 104b, will be described using
The distance I[a−b] can be specified by multiplying the arrival delay time by the speed of sound (340 m/s in air). As a result, the sound source direction angle θ[a−b] can be specified using the following equation.
θ[a−b]=acos(I[a−b]/d[a−b])
However, the sound direction obtained by using two mics cannot be distinguished between the obtained sound source direction and θ[a−b]′. That is, which of the two directions cannot be specified.
Thus, the detection method of the sound source direction in the present embodiment will be described using
As described with reference to
A method of determining the sound source direction using four mics will be described using
Since the distance d[a−d] between the mics 104a and 104d is known, the distance I[a−d] can be specified from sound data, and θ[a−d] can also be specified.
Moreover, since the distance d[b−c] between the mics 104b and 104c is known, the distance I[b−c] can be specified from sound data, and θ[b−c] can also be specified.
Therefore, once θ[a−d] and θ[b−c] are known, sound generation direction can be accurately detected on a two-dimensional plane that is the same as the plane on which the mics are arranged.
Moreover, the detection accuracy of the angle of direction can also be improved by increasing the number of detection angles such as θ[a−b] and θ[c−d].
In order to perform the processing described above, the mics 104a and 104b and the mics 104c and 104d are arranged at four vertices of a rectangle, as shown in
The demerit of the method described above is that only a sound direction on the same two-dimensional plane can be detected. Therefore, when the sound source is positioned right above the image capturing apparatus 1, the direction cannot be detected, and the direction is uncertain. Therefore, next, the principle of determination, in the sound direction detection unit 2044, as to whether or not the direction in which a sound source is present is the right-above direction will be described with reference to
A case where sound enters along a straight line that vertically intersects the plane on which the sound input unit 104 is arranged, that is, from above, will be described.
Here, when a sound source is positioned right above the image capturing apparatus 1, it can be regarded that the mics 104a and 104b are at an equal distance from the sound source. That is, there is no difference in arrival time of sound from the sound source between the two mics 104a and 104b. Therefore, it can be recognized that the sound source is present in a direction that vertically intersects the straight line connecting the mics 104a and 104b.
Moreover, it can be similarly regarded that the mics 104a and 104c are at an equal distance from the sound source, and therefore there is also no difference in arrival time of sound from the sound source between the two mics 104a and 104c. Therefore, it can be recognized that the sound source is present in a direction that vertically intersects the straight line connecting the mics 104a and 104c.
That is, when the absolute value of difference in time of sound detected by the mics 104a and 104b is denoted by ΔT1, the absolute value of difference in time of sound detected by the mics 104a and 104c is denoted by ΔT2, and a relationship with a preset sufficiently small threshold value c satisfies the following condition, it can be determined that the sound source is positioned right above the image capturing apparatus 1.
condition: ΔT1<ε and ΔT2<ε
The detection method of a sound source positioned right above the image capturing apparatus 1 using the four mics 104a, 104b, 104c, and 104d will be described with reference to
When a sound source is present right above the image capturing apparatus 1, the mics 104a and 104d are at the equal distance from the sound source, the absolute value ΔT3 of the difference in time of sound detected by these mics 104a and 104d is zero or an extremely small value. That is, it is recognized that the sound source is present in a direction that vertically intersects the straight line connecting the mics 104a and 104d.
Moreover, because the mics 104b and 104c are also at an equal distance from the sound source, the absolute value ΔT4 of the difference in time of sound detected by these mics 104b and 104c is also zero or an extremely small value. That is, it is recognized that the sound source is present in a direction that vertically intersects the straight line connecting the mics 104b and 104c. Therefore, if the following condition is satisfied, it can be determined that the sound source is positioned right above the image capturing apparatus 1.
condition: ΔT3<ε and ΔT4<ε
As described above, the absolute values of differences in time-of-arrival of sound are obtained with respect to two pairs of mics out of three or more mics, and when the two absolute values are both less than or equal to the sufficiently small threshold value, it can be determined that the direction in which the sound source is present is the right-above direction. Note that, when two pairs are determined, any combination is allowed as long as the directions of the two pairs are not parallel to each other.
The first embodiment has been described above. According to the embodiment described above, it is determined that a subject that spoke a voice command is present in a direction indicated by the sound direction information, of pieces of sound direction information that are sequentially detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044, in a period indicated by the start and end of the sound data with respect to which the voice command recognition unit 2043 has recognized the voice command. As a result, an object other than the person (face thereof) who spoke a voice command is kept from being erroneously recognized as the subject. Also, the job intended by a person who spoke a voice command can be executed.
Moreover, as described in the above embodiment, power to each of the mics 104a to 104d and the elements that constitute the sound signal processing unit 204 is supplied after entering a stage at which the element is actually used, under the control of the central control unit 201, and therefore power consumption can be suppressed compared with a case where all of the constituent elements are in operable states.
Next, a specific use mode will be described based on the description of the above embodiment. As shown in
Here, a case where the image capturing apparatus 1 is hung from the neck of a user, as shown in
Next, a case where the image capturing apparatus 1 is attached to the shoulder of a user, as shown in
Also, in the case of use modes illustrated in
Here, which of the use modes illustrated in
The fact that the position detection unit 212 in the present embodiment includes constituent elements for detecting the movement of the image capturing apparatus 1 such as a gyroscope sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a GPS sensor has already been described. Therefore, after the main power supply of the image capturing apparatus 1 is turned on and the initialization processing in step S101 in
On the other hand, after the initialization processing in step S101 in
The flowchart shown in
First, in step S1101, the central control unit 201 saves data that the sensors included in the position detection unit 212 output during a preset period (saving period) in the storage unit 206. The saving period is desirably a period that is sufficient for the user to complete the operation regarding the use mode (e.g., one minute).
Upon the saving period having elapsed, the central control unit 201 performs determination of the installation position of the image capturing apparatus 1 based on the saved data, and determines the sound direction detection method to be used by the sound direction detection unit 2044, as describe below. Note that, in the following description, it is assumed that the plane indicated by the x and y axes represents a plane vertical to the rotation axis of the panning operation of the image capturing apparatus 1, and the z axis represents the axial direction of the rotation axis of the panning operation of the image capturing apparatus 1.
In the case where the user attaches the image capturing apparatus 1 to his/her shoulder (case illustrated in
In step S1102, if none of the accelerations along the x, y, and z axes exceed the threshold value, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1104.
There is a tendency that the movement amounts in the x, y, and z directions when the image capturing apparatus 1 is hung from the neck is smaller than those when the image capturing apparatus 1 is attached to the shoulder. Also, in order to hang the image capturing apparatus 1 from the neck, an operation of turning the image capturing apparatus 1 upside down is needed, as illustrated in
Therefore, in step S1104, the central control unit 201 detects angular velocities along the x, y, and z axes, and compares them with threshold values. Specifically, the central control unit 201 determines whether the angular velocity (yaw) with respect to z axis is less than or equal to a preset threshold value, and the angular velocity (roll, pitch) with respect to the x or y axis is larger than a preset threshold value (since this threshold is different from the former threshold, the article “the” is not used).
If this condition is satisfied, the central control unit 201 estimates that the image capturing apparatus 1 is hung from the user's neck. Also, the central control unit 201 configures a setting such that the sound direction detection unit 2044 performs sound source direction detection using only the two mics of mics 104a and 104b out of the four mics following a sound direction detection method in which the direction opposite to the side of the mics 104c and 104d is regarded as the direction in which a sound source is present, and ends this processing (where the term “using only the two mics” should be directed to “sound source direction detection”).
On the other hand, if it is determined that, in step S1104, the angular velocity in the yaw direction is larger than a threshold value, and the angular velocity of roll or pitch is less than or equal to a threshold value, the central control unit 201 regards, in step 1106, that the image capturing apparatus 1 has been fixed at an appropriate position by user's hand. Therefore, the central control unit 201 configures the setting, in step S1106, such that sound direction detection unit 2044 performs sound source direction detection following a sound direction detection method in which four mics are used, and ends this processing.
As described above, the position at which the image capturing apparatus is attached is detected, and the detection method of sound direction is selected in accordance with the detected information, and as a result, the directivity of mics suitable for the attachment position can be secured when sound direction is detected, and the detection accuracy can be improved.
A second embodiment will be described. The configuration of the apparatus is assumed to be the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and the description thereof will be omitted, and the differences therefrom will be described.
A case is considered where the image capturing apparatus 1 is fixed in a corner of a room, in order to shoot people in the room. However, when the sound direction detection unit 2044 has erroneously detected that a sound source is present in a direction of a wall close to the installation position due to some reason, the lens unit 101, according to the embodiment described above, once performs a meaningless panning operation so as to direct the image capturing direction (optical axis direction) in the direction of the wall.
Therefore, in the second embodiment, the central control unit 201 sets a valid range (or an invalid range) of the sound direction to the sound direction detection unit 2044. A case will be described where, only if the sound direction detected in the sound direction detection processing is in the valid range, the sound direction detection unit 2044 stores sound information indicating the detected direction in the internal buffer 2044a. In other words, an example will be described in which, if the sound direction detected in the sound direction detection processing is in the invalid range, the sound direction detection unit 2044 does not store information indicating the detected sound direction in the internal buffer 2044a, and ignores (masks) the detection result.
Next, the processing performed by the central control unit 201 in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in
When the mode is shifted to the automatic moving image shooting mode, in step S1502, the central control unit 201 confirms whether the current angle of view range covers a region that needs to be shot from the outputs of the image capturing unit 102 and the image capturing signal processing unit 202. The determination method includes a method of determining whether the obtained image has luminance of a predetermined value or more, whether a subject is present at a position that can be brought into focus by the lens actuator control unit 103, or whether the subject is too close. The determination may be made by obtaining the distance to a subject using a range sensor, a distance map, or the like.
If it is determined that a portion of or the entirety of the current angle of view need not be shot, in step S1503, the central control unit 201 saves the angle to the storage unit 206 as a sound direction detection masked region.
In step S1504, the central control unit 201 causes the movable image capturing unit 100 to perform a panning operation by a preset unit angle by controlling the pivoting control unit 213. Also, in step S1505, the central control unit 201 repeats the processing in step S1502 onward until it is determined that the panning operation has reached 360 degrees (one rotation). As a result, because a plurality of angles to be masked are stored in the storage unit 206, the central control unit 201 determines the range including the plurality of angles that is sandwiched by the angles at both ends of the plurality of angles as the masked region. Here, the operation for determining the initial sound direction detection masked region is completed.
Thereafter, it is assumed that, in step S1506, the sound direction detection unit 2044 has detected a sound source direction. In this case, in step S1507, the sound direction detection unit 2044 determines whether or not the sound source direction is inside the previously determined masked region. If the detected sound source direction is inside the masked region, the sound direction detection unit 2044 ignores the sound source direction. That is, the sound direction detection unit does not store the sound direction information to the internal buffer memory 2044a, and returns the processing to step S1506.
On the other hand, if the detected sound direction is outside the masked region, the sound direction detection unit 2044 stores the detected direction in the internal buffer 2044a. As a result, the central control unit 201 understands that the sound direction detection unit 2044 has detected a sound direction, and therefore, in step S1508, causes the movable image capturing unit 100 to perform a panning operation so as to direct the movable image capturing unit 100 toward the sound source direction by controlling the pivoting control unit 213.
Also, in step S1509, if the central control unit 201 cannot detect a subject in the image acquired via the video signal processing unit 203, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S1506 and continues the state of waiting for sound direction detection.
On the other hand, if a subject is included in the captured image, in step S1510, the central control unit 201 executes a job such as facial recognition, tracking, still image shooting, or moving image shooting. Here, in step S1511, the movement of the image capturing apparatus 1 is detected using the gyroscope and the acceleration sensor of the position detection unit 212. If the movement of the image capturing apparatus 1 is detected by the position detection unit 212, the central control unit 201 determines that the image capturing apparatus 1 is being carried. Then, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S1502, and again performs processing for setting the sound direction detection masked region.
In step S1522, the central control unit 201 waits for the detection of a sound direction by the sound direction detection unit 2044. When a sound direction is detected, in step S1523, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the detected sound source direction is in the sound detection masked region, and if the sound source direction is in the masked region, ignores the sound direction, and returns the processing to step S1522. Note that, in the initial state, the masked region of sound direction detection is not set. Therefore, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1524, and causes the movable image capturing unit 100 to start a panning operation so as to direct the movable image capturing unit 100 toward the sound source direction by controlling the pivoting control unit 213.
After the panning operation has been performed for a predetermined period, in step S1525, the central control unit 201 confirms whether or not the angle of view range covers a region needed to be shot from the output of the video signal processing unit 203. The determination method includes a method of determining whether the obtained image has luminance of a predetermined value or more, whether a subject is present at a position that can be brought into focus by the lens actuator control unit 103, or whether the subject is too close to be brought into focus. The determination may be made by obtaining the distance to a subject using a range sensor, a distance map, or the like.
If it is determined that a portion of or the entirety of the current angle of view need be shot, in step S1526, the central control unit 201 saves the direction (angle) by canceling the setting of the sound direction detection masked region. Conversely, if it is determined that a portion of or the entirety of the current angle of view need not be shot, in step S1527, the central control unit 201 saves the direction (angle) as the sound direction detection masked region.
Also, in step S1528, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the sound source direction detected in the former step S1522 has been reached. If not, in step S1529, the central control unit 201 performs a panning operation for a predetermined period. Then, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S1525.
In step S1528, the central control unit 201, upon determining that the panning operation toward the direction of the sound source has been performed, advances the processing to step S1530. In step S1530, the central control unit 201 detects a subject (face) in an image obtained via the video signal processing unit 203. If a subject cannot be detected, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S1522, and returns the processing to the state of waiting for sound direction detection. On the other hand, if a subject can be detected in the image obtained by the video signal processing unit 203, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1531, and performs a predetermined operation such as tracking, still image shooting, or moving image shooting in accordance with the recognized voice command.
As described above, as a result of enlarging or reducing the sound direction detection masked region, detection results of the sound direction detection unit 2044 only in optimum directions can be obtained.
As described above, as a result of performing updating processing for enlarging or reducing the sound direction detection masked region, detection results of the sound direction detection unit 2044 only in optimum directions can be obtained.
An example in which this third embodiment is applied to the automatic moving image recording job in step S217 in
In
However, when the shooting of the subject 1603 and the subject 1604 is alternatingly repeated, the subject needs to be searched for by performing the tilting operation of the angle of view every time a panning operation is performed, and therefore it takes a longer time until the subject is detected. Also, when a moving image is recorded, there is a problem that a moving image in which the angle of view moves, which causes a user to feel a sense of incongruity, may be recorded.
Therefore, in the third embodiment, once the subject has been recognized, the pan and tilt angles representing the image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 at this time are learned (stored). Also, if the sound direction detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044 is in an allowable range less than or equal to a preset threshold value relative to the learned direction (if the two directions substantially match), the time needed to perform the panning and tilting operations is reduced by executing the panning and tilting operations at the same time toward the learned direction such that the image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 matches the learned direction. Note that when the pan and tilt angles are learned, the direction (pan of 0 degrees) in the horizontal plane of the lens unit 101 when the image capturing apparatus 1 is activated and the horizontal direction (tilt of 0 degrees) of the tilt range are set as the reference angles, as described in the first embodiment, and the differences therefrom are recorded in the storage unit 206.
First, in step S1701, the central control unit 201 waits until a sound source direction is detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044. When the sound source direction is detected, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1702, and determines the direction and angle of the panning operation from the current image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 and the detected sound source direction. Also, in step S1703, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not the subject information that matches the sound source direction detected this time is already registered in the storage unit 206. In the image capturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, past subject information can be saved in the storage unit 206. As a result of accumulating information regarding the time at which subject detection has been performed, the angle (pan angle) in the horizontal direction, and the angle (tilt angle) in the vertical direction as the past subject information, effective clues can be obtained for subject detection when shooting is newly performed.
In step S1703, the central control unit 201, upon determining that past subject information that matches the sound source direction detected this time is present, shifts the processing to step S1704. Also, in step S1703, the central control unit 201, upon determining that subject information that matches the sound source direction detected this time is not present, advances the processing to step S1706.
In step S1704, the central control unit 201 determines the direction and angle of the tilting operation from the tilt angle indicated by the subject information that is determined to match the sound source direction detected this time and the current tilt angle. Also, in step S1705, the central control unit 201 executes the panning and tilting operations in parallel such that the image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 is directed toward the target direction over the shortest distance based on the information regarding the direction and angle of the panning operation determined in the former step S1702 and the direction and angle of the tilting operation determined in step S1704. In this way, when the positional relationship between the image capturing apparatus 1 and the subject has not changed from a point in time at which past subject information was detected, the subject can be detected with one angle of view movement, and the time needed to detect the subject can be minimized. Therefore, even when a moving image is recorded using the image capturing apparatus 1, a moving image in which the angle of view is moved without causing the user to feel a sense of incongruity can be recorded.
In step S1706, the central control unit 201 directs the image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 to the detected sound source by performing the panning operation. Also, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1707.
In step S1707, the central control unit 201 detects a subject from a current captured image obtained from the video signal processing unit 203. When a subject is detected, the processing is shifted to step S1708, and shooting of the subject is performed. Here, if subject information having a difference in an allowable range from the current pan angle is present in the storage unit 206, the central control unit 201 updates the pan and tilt angles in the subject information in accordance with the current line of sight of the lens unit 101. Also, if subject information having a difference in an allowable range from the current pan angle is not present in the storage unit 206, the central control unit 201 registers the pan and tilt angles indicating the current image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 to the storage unit 206 as new subject information.
On the other hand, in step S1707, if a subject has not been detected after the angle of view has been moved, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1709. In step S1709, the central control unit 201 moves (performs tilting operation) the image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 to the vertical direction, and searches a subject. Also, in step S1710, the central control unit 201 determines whether or not a subject has been detected. If a subject has been detected, the processing is advanced to step S1708. When the processing is advanced to step S1708, new subject information is registered in the storage unit 206.
Also, in step S1710, if a subject has not been detected, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1711, and performs error processing. This error processing may be processing for continuing shooting and recording while remaining at the current position, for example, but may be processing for returning the image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 to that at a point in time at which it was determined that a sound source direction has been detected, in step S1701. Also, it is possible that the subject has moved, and therefore the processing may be processing for deleting subject information in which the pan angle is in an allowable range from the pan angle in the current horizontal plane of the lens unit 101 from the storage unit 206.
Next, a modification of the third embodiment will be described. In the following as well, an example in which the technique is applied to a job of automatic moving image recording in step S217 in
The processing differs from the processing shown in
First, in step S1701, the central control unit 201 waits until a sound source direction is detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044. If the sound source direction has been detected, in step S1702, the central control unit 201 determines the direction and angle of the panning operation based on the current image capturing direction (optical axis direction) of the lens unit 101 and the detected sound source direction.
Next, in step S1901, the central control unit 201 performs determination as to whether or not a plurality of pieces of information regarding subjects in a preset range centered about a target direction are present in the storage unit 206. If it is determined that a plurality of pieces of information regarding subjects in the sound source direction detected this time are present, the central control unit 201 shifts the processing to step S1902. Also, if only one piece of information regarding a subject is present or the information regarding a subject is not present, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1703.
In step S1902, the central control unit 201 determines a target tilt angle such that a plurality of subjects are brought into the angle of view of the lens unit 101. Also, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S1705.
The processing in step S1703 and onward is the same as that shown in
As a result of the processing described above, if a plurality of subjects are positioned at almost the same place, and one of them speaks, shooting can be performed such that the plurality of subjects including the subject that has actually spoken are in the angle of view, and therefore a moving image that will not cause a user to feel a sense of incongruity can be recorded.
For example, as shown in
As described above, according to the third embodiment and its modification, once the subject that spoke is brought into the angle of view of the lens unit 101 and recognized, the pan and tilt angles toward the subject direction relative to the reference direction is stored (learned) as subject information. Then, in the second time and later, if the pan angle of the sound direction detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044 substantially matches the pan angle of the stored subject information, the movable image capturing unit 100 is moved by executing the panning and tilting operations at the same time so as to be the pan and tilt angles indicated by the stored subject information. As a result, natural switching of subjects is performed, and recording of a moving image, which will feel only slightly incongruent to the user, can be performed.
A fourth embodiment will be described. An example in which the detection accuracy of sound direction detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044 can be changed will be described in the fourth embodiment. The detection principle of sound direction to be performed by the sound direction detection unit 2044 has already been described. One method of improving the detection accuracy of sound direction detection is to increase the number of detections per unit time and obtain the average value thereof. However, increasing the number of detections per unit time incurs an increase in the load of the sound direction detection unit 2044, that is, an increase in the operating rate, and as a result, the power consumption of the image capturing apparatus 1 increases.
Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, an example in which the detection accuracy of sound direction detected by the sound direction detection unit 2044 can be changed, and the accuracy is increased or decreased as needed will be described.
As described using
From the above description, it is desirable that the sound direction detection resolution φ is increased as much as possible while satisfying the condition that shooting angle of view θ>sound direction detection resolution φ, with respect to the relationship between the shooting angle of view θ and the sound direction detection resolution φ.
In step S2501, the central control unit 201 determines which of the enlargement and reduction commands the recognized voice command is. If it is determined that the command is the enlargement command, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S2502. In step S2502, the central control unit 201 acquires the current zoom lens position from the lens actuator control unit 103, and determines whether or not the acquired position is at the telephoto end. If the current zoom lens position is a position at the telephoto end, further enlargement is not possible. Therefore, the central control unit 201 ignores the recognized enlargement command, and returns the processing to step S151 in
Also, if it is determined that the current zoom lens position has not reached the telephoto end, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S2503. In step S2503, the central control unit 201 increases the zoom ratio by a predetermined ratio by controlling the lens actuator control unit 103. Also, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S151 in
On the other hand, in step S2501, if it is determined that the command is the reduction command, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S2504. In step S2504, the central control unit 201 acquires the current zoom lens position from the lens actuator control unit 103, and determines whether or not the acquired position is at the wide angle end. If the current zoom lens position is a position at the wide angle end, further reduction is not possible. Therefore, the central control unit 201 ignores the recognized reduction command, and returns the processing to step S151 in
Also, if it is determined that the current zoom lens position has not reached the wide angle end, the central control unit 201 advances the processing to step S2505. In step S2505, the central control unit 201 reduces the zoom ratio by a predetermined ratio by controlling the lens actuator control unit 103. Also, the central control unit 201 returns the processing to step S151 in
As a result of the above, for example, it is assumed that, currently, the shooting angle of view is 110 degrees, and the lens unit 101 is directed to a direction that is 90 degrees from the reference direction, and the sound direction detection resolution φ is 90 degrees, as shown in
As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, even in a case where the shooting angle of view is changed due to zoom driving, the sound detection resolution φ is changed. As a result, a subject that is present outside the angle of view can be effectively brought into the angle of view while suppressing processing time and power consumption by performing the sound direction detection with the changed sound detection resolution φ. Also, when a person to be the subject says the enlargement command, and thereafter says the moving image shooting command, for example, moving image shooting and recording is performed in a state in which the person is enlarged.
In the example described above, the resolution of sound direction is changed in accordance with the voice command relating to zooming made by the user. However, when the panning operation is performed in accordance with a voice command, if a plurality of subjects are present in the captured image, the sound direction resolution may be increased in order to specify the speaker regardless of the zoom ratio.
According to the present disclosure, first, a technique for capturing an image at a timing intended by a user with a composition intended by the user, without the user performing a special operation is provided.
Also, according to another disclosure, in addition to the first effect mentioned above, as a result of changing the number of microphones to be used for direction detection in accordance with the use mode, the sound direction can be prevented from being erroneously detected due to a sound generated by rubbing against clothes when attached to the body of a user or the like, while realizing power saving.
Also, according to another disclosure, in addition to the first effect mentioned above, the image capturing direction is not changed to a meaningless direction.
Also, according to another disclosure, in addition to the first effect mentioned above, the efficiency of movement of the image capturing direction of the image capturing unit toward a subject is improved, as time elapses from the start of usage.
Also, according to another disclosure, in addition to the first effect mentioned above, the accuracy of the direction of the sound source depends on the magnification ratio of the image capturing unit, and therefore the accuracy of detecting a sound source direction need not be kept high, and power consumption can be reduced.
Some Eembodiment(s) of the present disclosure can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer—executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer -executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s).
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-250108 | Dec 2017 | JP | national |
| 2018-207634 | Nov 2018 | JP | national |
This application is a Continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2018/042695, filed Nov. 19, 2018, which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-250108, filed Dec. 26, 2017 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-207634, filed Nov. 2, 2018 both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2018/042695 | Nov 2018 | US |
| Child | 16910622 | US |
