JP2003334219A - Remote area strolling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote area strolling apparatus enabling a user to obtain experience freely strolling through a remote area by displaying the live image of the camera of the remote area by utilizing a communication circuit and controlling the movement of the camera of the remote area by the movement of the foot of the user. <P>SOLUTION: The remote area strolling apparatus is equipped with a moving device 30 for moving a camera device 10 on the basis of the control signal transmitted through the communication circuit 100 from a foot movement detector 80, a camera device 10 controlled in the pan-and-tilt operation of a camera on the basis of the control signal transmitted from a pan-and-tilt operation device 90 of the camera receiving a myoelectric signal and a glance position data as an input signal through the communication circuit 100 and an image sound output device 40 receiving the transmission of the image signal and the sound signal from the camera device and a microphone through the communication circuit 100 to reproduce an image and a sound. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote area walking device for controlling the movement of a camera in a remote area according to the movement of a user's foot to obtain an experience of walking in a remote area. , A remote walking device that contributes to the improvement of mental health, healing, and amenities.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is one that outputs a live image from a camera to an image output device at a remote place through the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line and is used for remote monitoring.

There is also a device for motivating exercise or for amusement by combining a virtual image output device with an exercise equipment such as bicycle exercise or walking exercise and linking the exercise action with the virtual image. .

By applying this, in order to improve the mental health, healing, and amenity of a bed patient, an input device using a foot-operated pedal is used to allow the user to step on the pedal in a sleeping position. There is a device that displays a virtual image in synchronization with the movement of the pedal.

[0005]

However, since the same image is always displayed in such a virtual image,
There was a case where he got tired immediately and could not be used. In addition, such a virtual image has a problem that it lacks realism and realism. Also, when humans take a walk through parks and nature, they can feel the comfort and healing by listening to the changes in the scenery depending on the season and time, and the sounds of birds. It is very difficult to replace this with a virtual image synthesized by a computer. In addition, there is a problem in that it is costly to create the contents of a precise and sophisticated virtual image. Furthermore, even if we realize virtual image content that is close to reality, if we realize that it is an image created by a computer rather than reality, we lose the sense of presence and lose the will to walk. It may happen.

Further, in the operation system, when the pedal operation is performed in the hospital bed, there is a limitation that the pedal operation cannot be performed well depending on the sleeping posture. For example, even if the position of the pedal is adjusted so that the pedal can be operated on the back, the pedal may not be operated well when lying down sideways, and the posture during operation may be limited.

When the patient is a patient with a limited physical function, it may be difficult to operate a mouse or joystick, which is widely used for adjusting the angle of pan / tilt of the camera.

Further, in the case of a patient having a sick bed, the physical condition may be deteriorated during the operation. Therefore, it is necessary for the operator himself to grasp the physical condition during the operation and control the operation time and the amount of exercise. There may be. Furthermore, in the case of sudden changes in physical condition, etc., it is necessary to provide an environment in which a third party can be notified to call for help.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. A live image of a camera at a remote place is displayed using a communication line, and movement of the camera at a remote place is controlled by the movement of a user's foot. It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote walking device that allows the user to experience exploring a remote area freely. In particular, the movement of the foot is detected by myoelectricity, and the pan / tilt operation of the camera is performed remotely using the line-of-sight position information and the myoelectric signal from the line-of-sight detection device as input signals so that the patient can easily and naturally perform the operation. Provide a remote walker that can be used.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a remote walking device according to the present invention comprises means for displaying a live image by a camera on an output device at a remote place through a communication line, and remote operation from the remote place. And means for moving the camera, and means for controlling the movement of the camera by inputting the movement of the foot from a remote location.

That is, by displaying a live image of a remote place through a communication line, it is possible to experience a real feeling and a sense of presence, and to feel the scenery, the change of nature and the squeaking of birds depending on the season and time. Healing can be given.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the remote walking device is provided with means for detecting a movement of a foot by an myoelectric signal and controlling the movement of the camera using the myoelectric signal as an input signal. Is.

That is, by detecting the walking motion of the foot by the myoelectric signal and controlling the movement of the camera at the remote place by using this as an input signal, the user can perform a natural operation in any posture. . In particular, the patient can be operated in any posture while lying on the floor.

The present invention further comprises means for remotely performing pan / tilt operation of the camera in the remote area walking device using the myoelectric signal from the myoelectric signal detection device and the line-of-sight information from the line-of-sight detection device as input signals. It is characterized by that.

That is, the pan / tilt control of a camera at a remote place is remotely controlled by using a known line-of-sight detection device and a myoelectric signal as an input signal, which allows a bed patient with a limited motor function to operate naturally. You can pan and tilt the camera by operation.

The present invention also provides, in the remote walking device, a biological information detecting device for observing biological information of the user, and means for notifying the user of the biological information from the biological information detecting device, or It is characterized by comprising means for notifying a third party of biometric information from the biometric information detection apparatus or means for recording biometric information from the biometric information detection apparatus.

That is, by observing the biometric information of the user in use and notifying the user himself or a third party and recording the information, the user himself / herself can grasp the physical condition during use. It becomes possible to control the operation time and the amount of exercise. Also, when a physical condition changes suddenly, it is possible to call for assistance by notifying a third party. Further, it becomes possible to analyze the health condition of the user from the recorded biometric information.

Further, the remote walking apparatus of the present invention includes a foot movement detecting device for extracting a control signal for controlling the movement of the camera device according to the movement of the foot of the user, and the foot movement detecting device via a communication line. The pan / tilt operation of the camera is controlled by using the mobile device that moves the camera device based on the control signal transmitted by the camera and the myoelectric signal from the myoelectric signal detection device and the line-of-sight position information from the line-of-sight detection device as input signals. And a camera pan / tilt operating device for extracting a control signal for controlling the pan / tilt operation of the camera based on a control signal transmitted from the pan / tilt operating device of the camera via a communication line. And a video / audio output device for reproducing video and audio by transmitting video and audio signals from the camera device and the microphone through a communication line. It is an.

The present invention also provides a biometric information detecting device for detecting biometric information of a user in real time and reproducing the biometric information on the video / audio output device in the remote walking device, and the biometric information detecting device. And a storage device for storing the biometric information.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of a remote walking device of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a controllable camera device, 11 is a microphone, 20 is a camera control device, 30 is a moving device, and 40 is a mobile device. Video / audio output device, 50 is a processing device, 6
Reference numeral 0 is a storage device, 70 is a biological information detection device, 80 is a foot movement detection device, 90 is a camera pan / tilt operation device, 1
00 is a communication line.

The controllable camera device 10 is a well-known camera device capable of controlling the pan / tilt operation of the camera by an external control signal. The microphone 11 converts known sound into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal.

The camera control device 20 comprises a well-known CPU, memory, program, etc., means 21 for controlling the controllable camera device, and means 22 for transmitting video / audio.
Means 23 for controlling movement and means 2 for receiving control signals
4 is included.

The means 22 for transmitting video / audio inputs the video signal and the audio signal from the controllable camera device 10 and the microphone 11, performs an encoding process such as MPEG-2, and further by an IP network or the like. Frame processing for transmission is performed, and the frame is transmitted to the processing device 50 via the communication line 100.

The means 24 for receiving the control signal receives the control signal for the pan / tilt operation and the movement operation of the camera from the processing device 50 through the communication line 100.

Means 21 for controlling the controllable camera device
Controls the pan / tilt operation of the controllable camera device 10 based on the control signal of the pan / tilt operation of the camera received by the means 24 for receiving the control signal.

The means 23 for controlling the movement is based on the movement control signal received by the means 24 for receiving the control signal.
The movement of the moving device 30 is controlled.

The moving device 30 has means 23 for controlling movement.
Power from a motor or the like is transmitted to wheels, a caterpillar, a rail track, or the like by a control signal from the controllable camera device 10 and the camera control device 20.

The video / audio output device 40 is a well-known CR.
It consists of T, a speaker, etc., and reproduces video and audio.

The processing unit 50 includes a well-known CPU, memory,
A means 51 for receiving video / audio, which includes a program or the like
A means 52 for outputting a video / audio signal, a means 53 for transmitting a control signal, a means 54 for transmitting biological information,
It comprises means 55 for inputting biometric information and means 56 for outputting biometric information to a video output device.

The storage device 60 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk device, and stores biometric information 61.

The means 51 for receiving the video / audio receives the video / audio signal transmitted from the camera control device 20 through the communication line 100. The means 52 for outputting the video / audio signal outputs the video / audio signal received by the means 51 for receiving the video / audio to the video / audio output device 40.

The means 53 for transmitting a control signal transmits a control signal from the foot movement detecting device 80 and the pan / tilt operating device 90 of the camera to the camera control device 20 through the communication line 100.

The means 55 for inputting biometric information inputs biometric information such as the heart rate, respiration rate, and the number of times of stepping from the biometric information detecting device 70, and outputs the time-series biometric information 61 as shown in FIG. It is stored in the storage device 60. Further, the means 54 for transmitting the biometric information has the biometric information input by the means 55 for inputting the biometric information in a format as shown in FIG. Send that to a third party. The means 56 for outputting the biometric information to the video output device is the means 5 for inputting the biometric information.
The biometric information input by 5 is converted into the video / audio output device 4
Notify the user himself by outputting to 0 and reproducing.

The foot movement detecting device 80 detects the movement of the user's foot in order to control the movement of the camera device 10 according to the movement of the foot of the user, particularly the stepping movement, and the processing device 5
Send control signal to 0. As an example of its implementation, there are a pedal type device that detects the movement of the user's foot using a pedal, and a myoelectric type device that detects the movement of the foot by detecting the myoelectric signal of the foot. is there. In the case of a pedal type device, for example, you can turn on the switch by depressing the pedal.
The movement of the foot can be detected by operating OFF. In the case of an electromyographic device, as is well known, for example, an electrode is attached to the gastrocnemius muscle of the calf and the detected myoelectricity is smoothed, and when it exceeds the threshold voltage, it is turned on, and when it is not exceeded, it is turned off. By doing so, the bending motion of the ankle can be detected.
Alternatively, a neural network can be used for more accurate motion recognition. The pedal type device has a feature that the structure is simple and the cost is low, but when a bed patient uses the bed in a sleeping position, the degree of freedom of the user's position is small. In the case of a myoelectric device, there is a large degree of freedom with respect to the posture of the user, and by selecting the myoelectric detection position, even a user with a functional disorder can use the myoelectric part of the operable part. Can be used in.

As an example of the control by the movement of the foot, the movement of the camera can be controlled by the operation as shown in FIG.

The pan / tilt operation device 90 of the camera controls the pan / tilt operation of the camera by using the myoelectric signal from the well-known myoelectric signal detecting device and the line-of-sight position information from the well-known line-of-sight detecting device as input signals. Extract the signal. The myoelectric signal detection device detects, for example, a myoelectric signal generated when the wrist or finger is bent, and the ON signal is output when the potential of the smoothed signal of the detected signal exceeds a predetermined threshold value. This is a commercially available myoelectric switch device. The line-of-sight detection device is a well-known device that detects the line of sight of a user by using an infrared ray and an eye camera. The user operates the myoelectric signal detection device in a camera operation mode as shown in FIG. 4 while the user bends his / her thumb, for example, and the eye gaze detected by the eye gaze detection device during the camera operation mode is set. When the position is on one of the nine divided areas shown in FIG. 5 on the screen of the video / audio output device 40, the camera is moved in the direction shown in FIG. Further, for example, when the thumb is rapidly bent twice in a row, the camera direction is instantly returned to the traveling direction.

The biological information detecting device 70 is a known device for detecting biological information of the user in real time, such as a heartbeat measuring device and a respiratory rate measuring device. Biological information detection device 70
The biological information detected by the means 5 is for inputting biological information.
Input to 5.

The communication line 100 is, for example, a broadband communication line using a commercial optical fiber, a wireless line, or a communication line combining both of them. Up to 100 Mbps using this type of optical fiber already commercialized
It is possible to transfer high-quality video from a remote location at low cost by using the best-effort communication line.

For example, a rail track is installed in a place where a natural scenery such as Oze can be enjoyed, the remote walking device of the present embodiment is installed, and a commercial communication line using an optical fiber and a camera control are used as communication lines. Wireless LA to access the device
By combining N devices and communicating a video signal and a control signal, it is possible to realize transmission of high-definition live video, control of camera movement, and pan / tilt operation. As a result, it is possible for the patient in the bed to use the myoelectricity detection device and the line-of-sight detection device to easily and naturally take a stroll in a remote place to enjoy the scenery and the occasional nature.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to control the movement of the camera at the remote location by the movement of the user's foot, and obtain the experience of walking in the remote location. In addition, bed patients who have limited movement functions, such as detection of foot movements and pan / tilt operation of the camera by using myoelectricity detection devices and line-of-sight detection devices, fell asleep on the floor. As a result, we have realized an operating environment that allows you to operate naturally with a comfortable posture. In addition, by detecting the biometric information of the user who is using it and notifying it to the user himself or a third party and recording the information, the user himself / herself can grasp the physical condition during use and operate the operation time. And the amount of exercise can be controlled. In addition, it is possible to call for rescue by notifying the third person when the physical condition changes suddenly. Further, it becomes possible to analyze the health condition of the user from the recorded biometric information. As a result, it can contribute to the improvement of mental health, healing, and amenity of the user, especially the bed patient who has difficulty walking.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view showing an example of an embodiment of a remote location walking device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of biometric information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a moving operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a myoelectric operation during a pan / tilt operation of the camera of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a pan / tilt operation by line-of-sight detection in a camera operation state according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Controllable camera device 11 microphone 20 Camera control device 21 Means for controlling a controllable camera device 22 Means for transmitting video and audio 23 Means for controlling movement 24 Means for receiving control signals 30 mobile devices 40 video / audio output device 50 processing equipment 51 Means for receiving video and audio 52 Means for outputting video / audio signals 53 means for transmitting control signals 54 Means for transmitting biological information 55 Means for inputting biological information 56 Means for outputting biometric information to a video output device 60 storage 61 Biometric information 70 Biological information detection device 80 foot motion detector 90 Pan / tilt operation device for camera 100 communication lines

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A means for displaying a live image from a camera on an output device at a remote location through a communication line, a means for moving the camera by remote control from a remote location, and the camera using foot movements as an input from the remote location. And a means for controlling the movement of the remote walking device. 2. The remote location walking apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting the movement of the foot based on the myoelectric signal and controlling the movement of the camera using the myoelectric signal as an input signal. Remote walking device. 3. The remote walking device according to claim 1, wherein the pan / tilt operation of the camera is performed remotely by using the myoelectric signal from the myoelectric signal detection device and the line-of-sight information from the line-of-sight detection device as input signals. A remote walking device, which is equipped with means for performing the operations. 4. The remote walking device according to claim 1, further comprising a biometric information detection device for observing biometric information of the user, and providing the biometric information from the biometric information detection device to the user himself / herself. A remote walking device, comprising means for notifying, or means for notifying a third party of biometric information from the biometric information detection apparatus, or means for recording biometric information from the biometric information detection apparatus. 5. A foot movement detection device for extracting a control signal for controlling the movement of the camera device according to the movement of the user's foot, and a control signal transmitted from the foot movement detection device via a communication line. In addition, the movement device that moves the camera device and the camera that extracts the control signal that controls the pan / tilt operation of the camera using the myoelectric signal from the myoelectric signal detection device and the line-of-sight position information from the line-of-sight detection device as input signals. Bread·
A tilt operation device, a camera device whose pan / tilt operation is controlled based on a control signal transmitted from the camera pan / tilt operation device via a communication line, and an image from the camera device and a microphone. A remote walking device, comprising: a video / audio output device that reproduces video and audio by transmitting signals and audio signals through a communication line. 6. The remote location walking device according to claim 5, wherein the biometric information detection device detects the biometric information of the user in real time and reproduces it on the video / audio output device, and the biometric information detection device. A remote walking device, comprising: a storage device that stores detected biometric information.