JP2010041167A - Voice output controller, sound output device, voice output control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attract a person's attention to an advertisement effectively. <P>SOLUTION: A controller 10 connected with a super-directivity speaker 40 which outputs sound in a specific direction, and a speaker mounting seat 41 which adjusts the output direction of sound from the super-directivity speaker 40 controls a camera 50 to take a photograph in front of the indication side of an advertisement, controls a detection means to detect persons who appears in the photographed image and to detect a figure who is turning to a predetermined direction as an objective person, and controls the speaker mounting seat 41 to adjust the output direction of sound from the super-directivity speaker 40 toward the objective figure, and to output sound from the super-directivity speaker 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an audio output control device, an audio output device, an audio output control method, and a program that control audio output from a superdirective speaker.

Conventionally, as a method of displaying an advertisement, there are a method of posting a poster and a method of displaying an advertisement by installing a display device on a wall surface. In order to enhance the advertising effect, a method has been proposed in which a horizontally long display device is rotated 90 degrees and installed vertically, and an advertisement is displayed on the screen of the vertically long display device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-226494 A

By the way, it is effective to attract attention to the advertisement in order to increase the advertising effect, but there is a limit to attracting attention by the visual effect, and attention is paid to the person who is not aware of the advertisement itself. It was very difficult to do.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to effectively attract attention to advertisements.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is connected to a super-directional speaker that outputs sound in a specific direction and a sound direction adjusting mechanism that adjusts a sound output direction of the super-directional speaker, and displays an advertisement. An image capturing unit that captures a range in which a surface can be visually recognized, and an object person detecting unit that detects, as an object person, a person whose face is facing a predetermined direction among persons captured in the captured image captured by the image capturing unit. And by the sound direction adjustment mechanism, the sound output control for causing the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker to be directed toward the subject detected by the subject detection means and for outputting sound from the superdirective speaker. And an audio output control device.
According to this configuration, since the person who faces the predetermined direction among the persons in the range where the display surface of the advertisement can be viewed is targeted, the sound is output from the superdirective speaker to the target person. A target person can be selected according to the state of attention of the user, and voice can be output so that only the target person can hear. As a result, it is possible to effectively attract attention to the advertisement by performing voice guidance or the like for a person who is in a specific state of attention to the advertisement among those who can view the advertisement. it can.

In the above configuration, the photographing unit photographs a range in which a display screen of a display device that displays an advertisement image is visible as the display surface of the advertisement, and the sound output control unit includes the superdirective speaker. The sound related to the advertisement image being displayed by the display device may be output.
In this case, the sound related to the advertisement image is output to a person who is in a specific state of attention to the advertisement among those who can view the display screen on which the advertisement image is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to attract attention to advertisements displayed on the display screen more effectively. It is also possible to provide more information regarding the content of the advertisement, and it can be expected that the advertising effect will be further enhanced.

Further, in the above configuration, the apparatus further includes attribute determining means for determining the attribute of the subject based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing means, and the sound output control means determines the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker. The target person may be directed to a person who has been determined to have a specific attribute by the attribute determination unit.
In this case, among the people who are in a specific state of interest in the advertisement, the sound is output by the superdirective speaker for the target person who has the specific attribute determined from the captured image. Therefore, it is possible to select a person with a specific attribute to pay attention to the advertisement or to provide further information about the advertisement. Thereby, it is possible to effectively attract the attention of a person with a specific attribute to the advertisement, and it can be expected to further enhance the advertisement effect.

Further, in the above configuration, the apparatus further includes attribute determining means for determining an attribute of the subject based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing means, and the sound output control means is configured to identify the attribute by the superdirective speaker. A sound corresponding to the attribute of the subject determined by the means may be output.
In this case, the target person is the person who is in a specific state of interest in the advertisement, and the sound corresponding to the attribute of the target person determined from the captured image is output, so the sound suitable for the attribute of the target person is output. By doing so, it is possible to strongly and effectively work on the target person, and it is possible to effectively attract attention to the advertisement and enhance the advertising effect.

The present invention also captures a super-directional speaker that outputs sound in a specific direction, a sound direction adjusting mechanism that adjusts a sound output direction of the super-directional speaker, and a range in which an advertisement display surface can be visually recognized. Based on the photographing means and a photographed image photographed by the photographing means, a person who is detected in the photographed image is detected, and a person whose face is facing a predetermined direction is detected as a subject. And a sound output control means for adjusting the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker to be directed toward the subject detected by the subject detection means by the sound direction adjusting mechanism and outputting the sound from the superdirective speaker. And providing an audio output device.
According to this configuration, since the sound is output from the superdirective speaker with the person facing the predetermined direction among the persons in the range where the display surface of the advertisement is visible, the advertisement can be visually recognized. Of those who are in a particular state of interest in the advertisement, guidance by voice or the like can be given to those who are in a specific state, thereby effectively collecting attention on the advertisement.

In addition, the present invention provides an advertisement output by a sound output control device connected to a superdirectional speaker that outputs sound in a specific direction and a sound direction adjustment mechanism that adjusts a sound output direction of the superdirective speaker. The front of the display surface is photographed, and based on the photographed image, a person appearing in the photographed image is detected, a person whose face is facing a predetermined direction is detected as a target person, and the sound direction adjusting mechanism The sound output control method is characterized in that the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker is adjusted to face the target person and the sound is output from the superdirective speaker.
According to this method, since the sound is output from the superdirective speaker with the person facing the predetermined direction among the persons in the range where the display surface of the advertisement is visible, the advertisement can be viewed in the range. Of those who are in a particular state of interest in the advertisement, guidance by voice or the like can be given to those who are in a specific state, thereby effectively collecting attention on the advertisement.

The present invention is also a program executed by a computer connected to a super-directional speaker that outputs sound in a specific direction and a sound direction adjusting mechanism that adjusts a sound output direction of the super-directional speaker. Then, the computer detects a person appearing in the photographed image based on the photographing means for photographing the front of the advertisement display surface and the photographed image photographed by the photographing means, and the face orientation is predetermined. Target person detecting means for detecting a person facing the direction as a target person, and adjusting the sound output direction of the super-directional speaker to the target person detected by the target person detecting means by the sound direction adjusting mechanism; A program is provided that functions as voice output control means for outputting voice from the superdirective speaker.
According to the computer that executes this program, since the sound is output from the super-directional speaker with the person facing the predetermined direction among the persons in the range where the display surface of the advertisement is visible, the advertisement is visually recognized. It is possible to effectively attract attention to the advertisement by performing voice guidance or the like for those who are in a possible range and who are in a specific state of attention to the advertisement.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively provide attention to an advertisement by performing voice guidance or the like for a person who is in a specific state of attention to the advertisement among those who are in a range where the advertisement can be visually recognized. Can be collected.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an audio output system 1 according to the present embodiment.
The audio output system 1 is configured by connecting a super-directional speaker 40, a camera 50, and a display device 60 to the control device 10.
The audio output system 1 as an audio output device displays an image of an advertisement such as a product or service on the display device 60, and captures a range in which the advertisement displayed on the display device 60 is visible with the camera 50. A person in the range is detected based on the photographed image, and sound is output from superdirective speaker 40 toward the detected person.

The super-directional speaker 40 is a speaker having high directivity called a parametric speaker, and can be heard only by a small number of people including a person located in the sound output direction or a person in the vicinity of the person. Output audio to. As a specific example, an ultrasonic speaker that includes an ultrasonic transducer and outputs a modulated wave in which an ultrasonic wave carrier wave is modulated by an audio signal in an audible band is used as the super directional speaker 40. be able to.
Superdirective speaker 40 is supported by speaker base 41. The speaker pedestal 41 is a pedestal when the super-directional speaker 40 is installed, and functions as a sound direction adjusting mechanism that adjusts the sound output direction of the super-directional speaker 40. As an example, the speaker pedestal 41 according to the present embodiment has one to three axes (one axis, two axes, or three axes) movable axes (not shown) and the direction of the super-directional speaker 40 around these movable axes. A motor to be changed (not shown). As will be described later, by operating the speaker base 41 under the control of the control device 10, the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker 40 can be changed to an arbitrary direction.

The camera 50 is a camera that captures a still image and / or a moving image. The camera 50 captures images under the control of the control device 10 and outputs captured image data to the control device 10.
The camera 50 includes an interface unit 51, a shooting control unit 52, and a shooting unit 53 that are connected to the control device 10.
The photographing unit 53 includes an image pickup device (not shown) such as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, a photographing lens group (not shown), and a lens driving unit (not shown) that drives the lens group to adjust zoom and focus. ) And the like, and performs shooting according to the control of the shooting control unit 52. The imaging control unit 52 operates a lens driving unit of the imaging unit 53 according to a control signal input via the interface unit 51 to realize a predetermined imaging condition. Under this condition, an imaging element included in the imaging unit 53 The output data is converted into data of a predetermined format, and is output as captured image data via the interface unit 51. The interface unit 51 is connected to the control device 10 via a wired cable or a wireless communication line, receives a control signal input from the control device 10, outputs the control signal to the shooting control unit 52, and inputs from the shooting control unit 52. The captured image data and the like are output to the control device 10.

The display device 60 displays advertisement images (including still images and moving images) under the control of the control device 10.
The display device 60 includes an interface unit 61 connected to the control device 10, a drawing control unit 62 that acquires a display signal input via the interface unit 61, a drawing memory 63 connected to the drawing control unit 62, A display drive circuit 64 that drives the display panel 65 under the control of the drawing control unit 62 and a display panel 65 are provided.
The drawing control unit 62 draws a display image in the drawing memory 63 based on a display signal input from the control device 10 via the interface unit 61. Then, the drawing control unit 62 reads an image from the drawing memory 63 in accordance with the drawing timing on the display panel 65 and outputs the image to the display drive circuit 64. The display driving circuit 64 drives the display panel 65 based on the image input from the drawing control unit 62 to display the image.

  Here, the display panel 65 is configured by a flat display panel such as a liquid crystal display panel, a plasma display panel, or an organic EL panel. When the display panel 65 is composed of a transmissive liquid crystal display panel, the display device 60 includes a backlight device (not shown), and the display drive circuit 64 drives the display panel 65 and controls the lighting of the backlight device. And turn it on at a predetermined timing. Further, when the display panel 65 is a self-luminous type such as a plasma display panel or an organic EL panel, a backlight device is unnecessary.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an installation state of the super-directional speaker 40 and the camera 50. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the shooting range of the camera 50.
As shown in FIG. 2, superdirective speaker 40 and camera 50 are attached to the upper end portion of display device 60.
The super-directional speaker 40 is attached so that the sound output direction is mainly directed to the front of the display panel 65. In the present embodiment, the speaker base 41 has two orthogonal movable axes, and the sound output of the superdirective speaker 40 in the direction indicated by the arrow MH (horizontal direction) and the direction indicated by the arrow MV (vertical direction) in the figure. Change direction. Although the movable range of the speaker base 41 is not particularly limited, as a typical example, as indicated by an arrow MH and an arrow MV, the sound output direction of the superdirectional speaker 40 is left and right with the front direction of the display panel 65 as the center. And the aspect changed up and down is mentioned. The sound output direction of superdirective speaker 40 changes in the direction of arrow MV according to the distance from display panel 65 to the subject who hears the sound, and changes in the direction of arrow MH according to the position of the subject in the left-right direction. .

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the camera 50 serving as a photographing unit is installed so as to photograph the front of the display panel 65 including the front surface of the display panel 65 serving as an advertisement display surface. The shooting range of the camera 50 is a region indicated by a symbol G in FIG. 3 and is a range in which an advertisement image displayed on the display panel 65 can be visually recognized. In other words, the camera 50 is arranged so that a person at a position where the display panel 65 can be viewed can be photographed. Here, when the audio output system 1 uses only one camera 50, the camera 50 has a wide-angle lens with a focal length of 35 to 24 mm or an ultra-wide-angle lens with a focal length of 21 mm or less (both focal lengths are equivalent to 35 mm film). ), Or a fish-eye lens is preferably used to photograph a wide range, and the installation position of the camera 50 is preferably approximately at the center of the display panel 65 as shown in FIGS. When the audio output system 1 includes a plurality of cameras 50 and the control apparatus 10 uses the captured images of the plurality of cameras 50 by performing processing such as elimination of duplication, the shooting ranges of the respective cameras 50 are illustrated in FIG. It is only necessary to cover a part of the third region G. In this case, the camera 50 can function sufficiently if it is provided with a normal wide-angle lens.

When the audio output system 1 uses only one super-directional speaker 40, the horizontal movable range by the speaker base 41 is widened, for example, 180 degrees or more in the horizontal direction indicated by the arrow MH. Can be considered.
In addition, the height position of the installation location of the super-directional speaker 40 and the camera 50 is not limited to the upper end of the display device 60, and may be a higher position. In order to efficiently capture the entire area G with the camera 50 and to ensure that a specific person in the area G listens to the sound of the superdirectional speaker 40, the superdirectional speaker 40 and the camera 50 are installed at a high place. It can be said that it is relatively preferable.

  The control device 10 that controls each unit of the audio output system 1 is realized as a personal computer, for example, and functions as an audio output control device. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 10 includes a sound output unit 11, a pedestal drive unit 12, an input unit 13, a display unit 14, a recording medium reading unit 15, an interface unit 16, and a control unit that controls each unit of the control device 10. 20 and a storage unit 30.

The audio output unit 11 is connected to the superdirective speaker 40 and generates an audio signal for outputting audio related to the audio data stored in the storage unit 30 according to the control of the control unit 20. Output to the directional speaker 40.
The pedestal drive unit 12 supplies a drive signal and power for driving a motor (not shown) included in the speaker pedestal 41 according to the control of the control unit 20. The motor is rotated by a predetermined angle by a drive signal or power source output from the pedestal drive unit 12 to the speaker pedestal 41, and the sound output direction of the super-directional speaker 40 becomes the direction determined by the control unit 20.

The input unit 13 is connected to input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard, detects operations of these input devices, and outputs operation signals corresponding to these operations to the control unit 20.
The display unit 14 displays various types of information under the control of the control unit 20, and is configured using, for example, a liquid crystal display panel.
The recording medium reading unit 15 uses an optical disk type recording medium such as a CD, a DVD, or a next-generation DVD, a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MO, a magnetic recording medium, a storage device using a semiconductor storage element, or a magnetic recording medium. This is a device that reads a program and data from a recording device or the like. Under the control of the control unit 20, the recording medium reading unit 15 includes data related to an image displayed on the display panel 65, data related to sound output from the superdirective speaker 40, a program executed by the control unit 20, and a processing target. Data and the like are read and output to the control unit 20. Data and programs read by the recording medium reading unit 15 are stored in the storage unit 30 based on the control of the control unit 20.

  The interface unit 16 is connected to the interface unit 51 included in the camera 50 and the interface unit 61 included in the display device 60 by wire or wirelessly. The interface unit 16 performs input / output of control signals, display information, captured image data, and the like with the interface units 51 and 61.

The control unit 20 centrally controls each unit of the control device 10, and includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a basic control program executed by the CPU and data to be processed in a nonvolatile manner, and a program executed by the CPU. And a RAM for temporarily storing data to be processed and other peripheral circuits. The control unit 20 controls each unit of the control device 10 by reading and executing the basic control program stored in the ROM. Further, the control unit 20 reads out and executes a program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 30 to control various units connected to the control device 10, thereby realizing various functions of the control device 10.
That is, the control unit 20 includes a face direction determination unit 21 (subject detection unit), an attribute determination unit 22 (attribute determination unit), an audio output control unit 23 (audio output control unit), and a speaker pedestal control unit 24. It has a functional part. These functional units are realized when a CPU included in the control unit 20 executes a predetermined program.

The face direction determination unit 21 analyzes the captured image data input from the camera 50 and performs a process of determining the face orientation for each person shown in the captured image of the camera 50. The face direction determination unit 21 determines at least whether each person's face is facing the display panel 65.
As shown in FIG. 3, the camera 50 is capable of photographing a person in the region G. For example, when there are three people U1, U2, U3 in the region G, the photographed image of the camera 50 includes three images. The faces of people U1-U3 are shown. In FIG. 3, the direction of the face of the person U1 is defined as a direction A1, the direction of the face of the person U2 is defined as a direction A2, and the direction of the face of the person U3 is defined as a direction A3. In the example of FIG. 3, the face direction A1 of the person U1 is lateral to the display panel 65, and the face direction A3 of the person U3 is an oblique direction opposite to the display panel 65. In contrast, the face direction A2 of the person U2 faces the display panel 65 from the front.
Since the camera 50 photographs the front of the display panel 65, that is, a range (region G) where the display panel 65 can be viewed from the same side as the display surface of the display panel 65, the camera 50 faces the display panel 65 in the photographed image of the camera 50. The face of the person U2 is in front.
The face direction determination unit 21 determines the face direction by detecting the person's appearance in the image captured by the camera 50 and determining whether each person's face is a front-facing face. The face direction determination unit 21 not only determines whether or not a human face is looking at the display panel 65 from the front, but also laterally or obliquely with respect to the display panel 65 or on the opposite side of the display panel 65. It may be possible to determine the orientation and approximate angle of the face of a person facing the camera.

The attribute determination unit 22 analyzes the captured image data input from the camera 50 and performs a process of determining the attribute for each person shown in the captured image of the camera 50. The attribute determination unit 22 determines at least whether each person's face is facing the display panel 65.
The attribute discriminating unit 22 detects a human figure portion from a photographed image of the camera 50 and detects a feature of the human figure portion. The features detected here are the proportion of hair in the image, the color of hair and skin, the height and width and their ratio, the characteristics of the face, the color of clothes, and the like. Subsequently, the attribute discrimination unit 22 discriminates, for example, gender and age as the person's attribute based on the detected feature of the image.

The voice output control unit 23 is the face direction for each person determined by the face direction determination unit 21 among the persons shown in the captured image of the camera 50, and the attribute for each person determined by the attribute determination unit 22. Based on the above, the target person who listens to the sound is selected by the super-directional speaker 40. Then, the voice output control unit 23 selects a voice suitable for the target person based on the voice selection table 33 stored in the storage unit 30, reads the selected voice data from the advertising voice data 32, and A sound signal for outputting sound is output from the sound output unit 11 to the superdirective speaker 40.
The speaker pedestal control unit 24 drives the speaker pedestal 41 based on the position of the target person in the captured image of the camera 50 so that the target person selected by the sound output control part 23 listens to the sound of the superdirective speaker 40. The direction and the driving amount are calculated, the pedestal driving unit 12 is controlled based on the calculation result, and the speaker pedestal 41 is operated.
By the operations of the audio output control unit 23 and the speaker base control unit 24, audio is output from the superdirective speaker 40 to a specific person (target person) among persons photographed by the camera 50.

The storage unit 30 includes a storage device using a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor storage element, and stores various programs and data in a nonvolatile manner. In addition, the storage unit 30 stores information of advertisement image data 31, advertisement sound data 32, sound selection table 33, and personal identification information 34.
The advertisement image data 31 is data of an image displayed by the display device 60 and is data of a still image or a moving image for advertisement such as a product or service. The advertisement image data 31 includes data of a plurality of images.
The advertisement sound data 32 is sound data output from the superdirective speaker 40, and corresponds to the type of each image data included in the advertisement image data 31, the attribute of the target person who listens to the sound, and the like. A plurality of audio data is included in the advertisement audio data 32.
The sound selection table 33 is a table for selecting the sound output from the superdirective speaker 40 from the advertisement sound data 32, and conditions and the like for determining one sound data are set.
The personal identification information 34 is information for identifying the difference in each person in the photographed image of the camera 50. For example, the feature of the photographed image detected when the attribute discrimination unit 22 discriminates the attribute. It is.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of the voice selection table 33.
According to the voice selection table 33 in the example shown in FIG. 4, the type of advertisement image displayed on the display device 60, the number of times the target person is detected in the captured image of the camera 50, and the attributes of the target person The voice data is determined based on the original.
That is, in the voice selection table 33, the type of advertisement image displayed on the display device 60, the number of times the target person is detected in the image captured by the camera 50, and the corresponding voice for each target person attribute (age, gender). Data is set. For example, the advertisement image being displayed on the display device 60 is the advertisement image A, and the target person detected by the audio output control unit 23 is first detected from the captured image of the camera 50 (first time). If the attribute is a male in his 20-30s, voice data A1 is set as the voice data.
Therefore, the audio output control unit 23 determines the type of advertisement image displayed on the display device 60 under the control of the control unit 20, the number of times the target person is detected from the captured image of the camera 50 by the attribute determination unit 22, and the attribute determination. Appropriate sound data can be selected from a plurality of sound data included in the advertisement sound data 32 based on the attributes (age, gender) of the subject determined by the unit 22.
Further, in the example of FIG. 4, in the audio selection table 33, different audio data is associated with each face orientation when the number of times of detection is the second time or later. As described above, the voice selection table 33 can be set so that different voice data is selected for each face direction determined by the face direction determination unit 21.

Here, the number of times the target person is detected in the captured image of the camera 50 can be obtained by using the personal identification information 34, for example.
That is, the control unit 20 detects the feature of the human figure from the photographed image of the camera 50 by the attribute discrimination unit 22, and then adds a unique ID to the detected feature and registers it in the personal identification information 34. Then, the control unit 20 detects the feature of the human figure from the photographed image of the camera 50 by the attribute discriminating unit 22, and then the information of the person image having the same feature is registered in the personal identification information 34. It is determined whether or not. By this determination, it can be determined whether or not the figure of the person detected from the photographed image of the camera 50 is the figure of the person previously detected in the photographed image of the camera 50. You can see if it is a person.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the audio output system 1.
The operation shown in FIG. 5 is performed every time the control unit 20 of the control device 10 samples a captured image of the camera 50 every predetermined time. When the operation of FIG. 5 is executed, the control unit 20 functions as a subject detection unit, an attribute determination unit, and an audio output control unit.
First, the control unit 20 acquires a captured image of the camera 50 via the interface unit 16 (step S11). The captured image acquired here may be still image data or may be one obtained by cutting out one frame from moving image data.
The control unit 20 performs detection by the face direction determination unit 21 and the attribute determination unit 22, and determines whether or not there is an image of a person (person image) in the captured image of the camera 50 (step S12). Here, when there is no person image in the captured image (step S12; No), the control unit 20 ends the process.

On the other hand, when there is an image of a person in the captured image, that is, when a person is captured (step S12; Yes), the control unit 20 performs processing from the images of all persons detected in the captured image. One image is selected (step S13), and it is determined whether this image is an image of a person registered in the personal identification information 34 (step S14). This determination is performed by detecting the characteristics of the image of the person to be processed as described above and determining whether an image having the same characteristics as the detected characteristics is registered in the personal identification information 34.
When the image of the person to be processed has not yet been registered in the personal identification information 34 (step S14; No), the control unit 20 uses the function of the face direction determination unit 21 to change the face direction from the image of the person to be processed. Is determined (step S15).

  Here, when the orientation of the face determined from the image of the person to be processed is the front direction of the display panel 65 (step S16; Yes), the control unit 20 does not perform processing such as sound output and the like. The process proceeds to S23. That is, in this embodiment, the control unit 20 does not perform audio output from the superdirective speaker 40 to a person who has already seen the advertisement image displayed on the display panel 65. This is to make a person who has not seen the advertisement image listen to the sound of the super-directional speaker 40 so as to pay attention to the advertisement, and is particularly effective when the highest priority is to attract attention to the advertisement. .

When the face orientation determined from the image of the person to be processed is not facing the front of the display panel 65 (step S16; No), the control unit 20 outputs the voice to the superdirective speaker 40. (Step S17), the attribute discrimination unit 22 performs attribute discrimination based on the person image (step S18), and the audio output control unit 23 uses the audio output control unit 23 to obtain audio data according to the audio selection table 33. The selected audio data is acquired from the advertisement audio data 32 (step S19).
Subsequently, the control unit 20 controls the pedestal driving unit 12 by the function of the speaker pedestal control unit 24 in order to adjust the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker 40 to the direction of the subject determined in step S17, and the superdirectivity. The direction of the speaker 40 is adjusted (step S20). And the control part 20 outputs a sound from the super-directional speaker 40 by the function of the audio | voice output control part 23 (step S21), and registers the characteristic detected by step S18 about this person image in the personal identification information 34 (step). S22), the process proceeds to step S23.
In step S23, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all the human images detected in the captured image of the camera 50, and if all the human images have been processed (step S23; Yes), the present When the process ends and there is an image of a person who has not yet been processed (step S23; No), the process returns to step S13 to set another person's image as a processing target.

  By the way, when the image of the person to be processed selected in step S13 is registered in the personal identification information 34 (step S14; Yes), the control unit 20 determines the face direction by the function of the face direction determination unit 21. Determination is made (step S24), and the voice data is selected based on the voice selection table 33 in consideration of the orientation of the face, and the selected voice data is acquired from the advertising voice data 32 (step S25). Subsequently, the control unit 20 controls the pedestal driving unit 12 by the function of the speaker pedestal control unit 24 in order to adjust the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker 40 to the direction of the subject determined in step S17, and the superdirectivity. The direction of the speaker 40 is adjusted (step S26). And the control part 20 outputs an audio | voice from the super-directional speaker 40 by the function of the audio | voice output control part 23 (step S27), and transfers to step S23.

  As described above, according to the audio output system 1 according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, a person who is in a range where the display panel 65 of the display device 60 that displays an advertisement image is visible can be photographed by the camera 50, Based on this photographed image, the orientation of each person's face is determined, and a person who is facing a predetermined direction, for example, a person who is not facing the display panel 65 is regarded as a target person from the super-directional speaker 40 to the target person. Therefore, it is possible to select a target person according to the state of attention to the advertisement and output the sound so that only the target person can hear it. Thereby, among those who are in the range G where the advertisement can be visually recognized, those who are in a specific state of attention to the advertisement, for example, those who have not seen the advertisement image on the display panel 65, or are looking at the advertisement image It is possible to effectively attract attention to advertisements by providing voice guidance for people. In addition, by using the super-directional speaker 4, it is possible to output sound so that only a small number of people can hear it, and to the display panel 65 as compared with the case where sound is output so that it can be heard by a wide range of people. It is possible to strongly attract attention to the displayed advertisement.

  In the audio output system 1, the camera 50 captures a range G in which the display panel 65 that displays the advertisement image can be visually recognized, and the control device 10 is displaying on the display device 60 with the superdirective speaker 40. Since the sound related to the advertisement image is output, the sound related to the advertisement image is output more effectively for the person whose attention is focused on the advertisement image of the display panel 65 in a specific state. In addition, attention can be attracted to advertisements displayed on the display screen. Further, it is possible to provide more information regarding the content of the advertisement being displayed by the display device 60, and it can be expected that the advertisement effect is further enhanced.

  Further, the control device 10 determines the attribute of the person shown in the captured image of the camera 50 by the function of the attribute determination unit 22, and based on the audio selection table 33, converts the audio data corresponding to the attribute to the advertisement audio data. 32, and output from the super-directional speaker 40. By outputting sound suitable for the attributes of the target person, the target person can be strongly and effectively acted, and attention to the advertisement is effectively collected. At the same time, the advertising effect can be enhanced.

In addition, based on the audio selection table 33, the control device 10 selects different audio data depending on whether the person image detected from the captured image of the camera 50 is shown in the captured image for the first time or after the second time. Therefore, it is possible to take fine measures such as making the same person hear different sounds. Thereby, it is possible to more effectively attract attention to the advertisement displayed on the display panel 65 and enhance the advertisement effect.
Also, since different audio data is selected and output not only according to the number of times the person image detected from the captured image of the camera 50 is captured in the captured image but also according to the orientation of the face when it is captured after the second time, It becomes possible to listen to the voice according to the person's action, and it is possible to more effectively attract attention to the advertisement displayed on the display panel 65 and to enhance the advertisement effect.
For example, after the target person listens to a voice that guides the user to pay attention to the display panel 65, when the face direction of the target person faces the display panel 65, the target person is a super-directional speaker. Attention is paid to the advertisement image on the display panel 65 in accordance with the voice from 40. For this reason, when it is detected from the photographed image of the camera 50 for the second time, the target person can hear a sound that explains the content of the advertisement image being displayed on the display panel 65 in more detail, What is necessary is just to hear the voice of thanks for having paid attention to the display panel 65. Thus, a higher advertising effect can be expected by changing the voice reflecting the behavior of the target person.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the audio data is selected based on the audio selection table 33 according to the attributes of the target person has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, For example, if an attribute of a target person is set in advance and there is an image of a person corresponding to this attribute, it is possible to output sound only to this person.
Hereinafter, this case will be described as a modified example.

[Modification]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the audio output system 1 in a modification of the embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
In this modified example, the configuration of the audio output system 1 is the same as that of the above-described embodiment. Therefore, the components of the audio output system 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and illustration and description thereof are omitted. 6 is common to the operation shown in FIG. 5, the common processing will be described with only the same reference numerals.

The operation illustrated in FIG. 6 is performed each time the control unit 20 of the control device 10 samples the captured image of the camera 50 at predetermined time intervals. The control unit 20 acquires a photographed image of the camera 50 (step S11), determines whether or not there is a person image in the photographed image (step S12), and if there is no person image in the photographed image (step S12) Step S12; No), this processing is terminated.
If there is a person image in the photographed image (step S12; Yes), the control unit 20 selects one person image to be processed from all the person images detected in the photographed image (step S13). Then, it is determined whether or not this image is an image of a person registered in the personal identification information 34 (step S14).
When the person image to be processed is not registered in the personal identification information 34 (Step S14; No), the control unit 20 determines the face direction from the image of the person to be processed (Step S15).
Here, when the face direction is the front direction of the display panel 65 (step S16; Yes), the control unit 20 proceeds to step S23 without performing processing such as sound output. If the face is not facing the front of the display panel 65 (step S16; No), the control unit 20 performs attribute determination by the attribute determination unit 22 based on the person image (step S18), and the sound. It is determined whether or not the attribute is set in advance as an output target (step S31).

When the attribute determined by the attribute determination unit 22 is an attribute set in advance as an audio output target (step S31; Yes), the control unit 20 sets the person as a target for audio output of the superdirective speaker 40. The voice data is selected according to the voice selection table 33 and the selected voice data is acquired from the advertisement voice data 32 by the function of the voice output control unit 23 (step S32).
Subsequently, the control unit 20 controls the pedestal driving unit 12 by the function of the speaker pedestal control unit 24, adjusts the direction of the superdirective speaker 40 (step S20), and outputs sound from the superdirective speaker 40 ( In step S21), the feature detected in step S18 for this person image is registered in the personal identification information 34 (step S22), and the process proceeds to step S23.
In step S23, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all the human images detected in the captured image of the camera 50, and if all the human images have been processed (step S23; Yes), the present When the process ends and there is an image of a person who has not yet been processed (step S23; No), the process returns to step S13 to set another person's image as a processing target.

  In addition, when the image of the person to be processed selected in step S13 is registered in the personal identification information 34 (step S14; Yes), the control unit 20 changes the face direction by the function of the face direction determination unit 21. A determination is made (step S24), and voice data is selected and acquired based on the voice selection table 33 in consideration of the face direction (step S25), and the direction of the superdirective speaker 40 is adjusted (step S26). ), Sound is output from superdirective speaker 40 (step S27), and the process proceeds to step S23.

  According to the operation of this modification, only when the image of the person detected from the captured image of the camera 50 is an attribute set in advance as the attribute of the target person, the superdirective speaker 40 performs audio output, A person with an attribute other than the set attribute is not allowed to hear the sound from superdirective speaker 40. For example, it is not meaningful to call attention to an advertisement image to a person who deviates from an attribute assumed as an advertisement target, such as the target age of the advertisement image displayed on the display panel 65 and the sex of the target. In this modified example, the sound of the superdirective speaker 40 is not heard by a person who does not correspond to the attribute set based on the target attribute or the like of the advertisement image of the display panel 65, and only for the person with the set attribute. By listening to the sound, it is possible to effectively attract attention to the advertisement, and a higher advertising effect can be expected.

In addition, embodiment mentioned above and a modification show the one aspect | mode of this invention to the last, A deformation | transformation and application are arbitrarily possible within the scope of the present invention.
In the above embodiment and modification, the attribute determination unit 22 is configured to determine the gender and age of the person as an attribute. However, the attribute to be determined is not limited to gender, and whether the attribute is a Japanese or a foreigner. In the case of Japanese, a Japanese voice may be output to this person, and in the case of a foreigner, a foreign language voice may be output to this person.
Further, in the above-described embodiment and modification, for example, the configuration in which the superdirective speaker 40 and the camera 50 are installed in the display device 60 installed on the wall has been described as an example, but the present invention is limited to this. Instead, it is of course possible to install the super-directional speaker 40 and the camera 50 in a place away from the display device 60, and the super-directional speaker 40 and the camera 50 can be installed in places away from each other. is there. Furthermore, the display surface for displaying the advertisement is not limited to the display panel 65 of the display device 60. For example, a bulletin board displaying a poster made of a sheet of paper or synthetic resin corresponds to the display surface for displaying the advertisement. When an advertisement is directly drawn on the wall surface, the wall surface itself can be handled as an advertisement display surface. That is, the range in which the wall surface can be visually recognized is photographed by the camera 50, and the target person who hears the sound is selected based on the photographed image, and then the sound is output to the target person by the superdirective speaker 40. It is possible.

  Furthermore, the number of superdirective speakers 40 and cameras 50 in the above-described embodiments and modifications is also arbitrary, and the program executed by the control unit 20 is recorded on a recording medium that can be read by the storage unit 30 or the recording medium reading unit 15. In addition, it is also possible to download via a communication line (not shown), and it is of course possible to arbitrarily change the detailed configuration of the audio output system 1 as well.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of an audio | voice output system. It is a perspective view which shows the installation state of a super-directional speaker and a camera. It is a top view which shows the imaging | photography range of a camera. It is a figure which shows typically the structural example of the table for audio | voice selection. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an audio | voice output system. It is a flowchart which shows the modification of operation | movement of an audio | voice output system.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Audio | voice output system (audio | voice output apparatus), 10 ... Control apparatus (audio | voice output control apparatus), 11 ... Audio | voice output part, 12 ... Base drive part, 20 ... Control part (subject detection means), 21 ... Face direction determination Part (subject detection means), 22 ... attribute discrimination part (attribute discrimination means), 23 ... audio output control part (audio output control means), 24 ... speaker pedestal control part, 30 ... storage part, 31 ... advertising image data, 32 ... Advertising audio data, 32 ... Audio selection table, 33 ... Audio selection table, 34 ... Personal identification information, 40 ... Super directional speaker, 41 ... Speaker base (audio direction adjustment mechanism), 50 ... Camera (imaging means) ), 60 ... display device, 65 ... display panel.

Claims (7)

Connected to a super directional speaker that outputs sound in a specific direction and a sound direction adjusting mechanism that adjusts a sound output direction of the super directional speaker;
Photographing means for photographing the range in which the display surface of the advertisement is visible,
A target person detecting means for detecting, as a target person, a person whose face is facing a predetermined direction among persons photographed in the photographed image photographed by the photographing means;
Audio output control means for causing the audio output direction of the superdirective speaker to be directed toward the subject detected by the subject detection means by the audio direction adjusting mechanism, and for outputting sound from the superdirective speaker; ,
An audio output control device comprising: The photographing means photographs a range in which a display screen of a display device that displays an advertisement image is visible as a display surface of the advertisement.
The sound output control means is configured to output sound related to an advertisement image being displayed by the display device from the superdirective speaker;
The audio output control apparatus according to claim 1. Further comprising attribute determination means for determining the attribute of the subject based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing means;
The sound output control means directs the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker to a person identified as a specific attribute by the attribute determination means among the target person;
The sound output control device according to claim 1 or 2. Further comprising attribute determination means for determining the attribute of the subject based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing means;
The sound output control means causes the superdirective speaker to output sound corresponding to the attribute of the subject determined by the attribute determination means;
The sound output control device according to claim 1 or 2. A super-directional speaker that outputs sound in a specific direction;
An audio direction adjustment mechanism for adjusting an audio output direction of the superdirective speaker;
Photographing means for photographing the range in which the display surface of the advertisement is visible,
A target person detecting means for detecting a person shown in the shot image based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing means and detecting a person whose face is facing a predetermined direction as a target person;
An audio output control means for adjusting the audio output direction of the superdirective speaker to be directed toward the target detected by the target detection means by the audio direction adjusting mechanism, and outputting the audio from the superdirective speaker;
An audio output device comprising: With a sound output control device connected to a super-directional speaker that outputs sound in a specific direction and a sound direction adjusting mechanism that adjusts a sound output direction of the super-directional speaker,
Take a picture of the front side of the advertising display,
Based on the photographed image, a person in the photographed image is detected, and a person whose face is facing a predetermined direction is detected as a target person.
Adjusting the sound output direction of the superdirective speaker to face the subject by the sound direction adjusting mechanism, and outputting sound from the superdirective speaker;
An audio output control method characterized by the above. A program executed by a computer connected to a super-directional speaker that outputs sound in a specific direction and a sound direction adjusting mechanism that adjusts a sound output direction of the super-directional speaker,
The computer,
Photographing means for photographing the front of the display surface of the advertisement;
A target person detecting means for detecting a person shown in the shot image based on a photographed image photographed by the photographing means and detecting a person whose face is facing a predetermined direction as a target person;
An audio output control means for adjusting the audio output direction of the superdirective speaker to be directed toward the target detected by the target detection means by the audio direction adjusting mechanism, and outputting the audio from the superdirective speaker;
A program characterized by making it function.

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