JP2023184716A - Image processing apparatus, image processing method, image processing program, and recording medium with program stored therein - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image processing apparatus which can decide a commodity or a service of interest to a user on the basis of a plurality of images captured by the user, an image processing method, an image processing program, and a recording medium with the program stored therein.SOLUTION: An image processing apparatus reads an image from among a plurality of images captured by a first user. A CPU determines an object of interest to the first user from the read image (step 34). The CPU 11 determines, from the determined object, information on a commodity or a service different from a commodity of the object per se included in the read image or a service selling the object per se (step 35). The image processing apparatus transmits the determined information to a second user or a third user (step 38), and the determined information is transmitted from the second user or the third user to the first user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, an image processing program, and a recording medium storing the program.

When a user searches for or purchases a product using the Internet, the user must input the product name. Since a search cannot be performed unless the user knows the product name, a method has been proposed that searches for an object such as the desired product or an object similar thereto (Patent Document 1). In addition, when purchasing products using the Internet, the product category of the product included in a single image posted by the user is recognized, and recommended products are determined from product categories other than the recognized product category. There is one (Patent Document 2). Furthermore, there is also a method that acquires product names from posted information, identifies user preferences, and generates recommended information (Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-006660 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-141892 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-184369

When a user tries to find an object of interest using an image taken by the user, the user may be interested not only in the subject itself included in the image but also in something that is not included in the image. In Cited Document 1, when a user searches for a product called shoes, clothes that match the shoes are suggested, and images taken by the user are not used. In Cited Document 2, product categories other than the product category included in the posted image are identified from the posted image, but since only one posted image is used, it is difficult for the user to find the object of interest. I don't necessarily know if it's true or not. In Cited Document 3, the user's preferences are specified based on sentences posted by the user on SNS (Social Networking Service), etc., and are not related to the user's image.

An object of the present invention is to determine products and services that a user is potentially interested in based on images read from a recording device that records a plurality of images taken by the user.

The image processing device according to the present invention includes a reading unit that reads images from a recording device that records a plurality of images taken by a first user, and a subject detection unit that detects a subject included in the image read by the reading unit. and a first determining means for determining information about at least one of a product different from the subject detected by the subject detecting means or a service different from a service selling the subject itself.

The invention also provides an image processing method. That is, the reading means reads an image from a recording device that records a plurality of images taken by the first user, the subject detection means detects a subject included in the image read by the reading means, The determining means determines information about at least one of a product different from the subject detected by the subject detecting means or a service different from a service selling the subject itself.

The present invention also provides a program for controlling a computer of an image processing apparatus and a recording medium storing the program.

The image processing device includes a reading means for reading an image from a recording device that records a plurality of images taken by the first user, and a processor, and the processor reads a subject included in the image read by the reading means. may be detected, and information about at least one of a product different from the detected subject itself or a service different from a service that sells the subject itself may be determined.

The first determination means is information about products or services related to the subject detected by the subject detection means, and is a service that sells products or services that are different from the subject detected by the subject detection means. Preferably, information about different services is determined.

The reading means reads two or more images from the recording device, for example.

The subject detection means detects, for example, a subject whose number of appearances is equal to or greater than a threshold value from among subjects obtained from two or more images read by the reading means.

The subject is, for example, the main subject.

The subject detection means may detect a first subject included in the first image and a second subject included in the second image from among the plurality of images read by the reading unit. In this case, the first determining means is, for example, a product that is different from the first subject and the second subject detected by the subject detecting means, or a service that sells both the first subject and the second subject. determining information about at least one of the services different from the service;

The subject detection means detects, for example, at least two subjects included in the image read by the reading means. In this case, the first determining means is, for example, a product different from the subject itself detected by the subject detection means or a service different from a service that sells the subject itself, and which is related to a combination of at least two subjects. or determine information about at least one of the Services.

The information processing apparatus may further include notification means for notifying information about the product or service determined by the first determination means to a second user who sells the product or a third user who provides the service.

a photographing skill determining means for determining the photographing skill of the first user based on the image read by the reading means; and a first determining means for determining information about a product or service related to photographing according to the determination result of the photographing skill determining means. 2 determining means may be further provided.

a photographing device information detection means for detecting information regarding the first photographing device that photographed the images based on the plurality of images read by the reading means; You may further include a third determining means for determining information regarding.

The information processing apparatus may further include display control means for displaying the information determined by the first determination means on a display device.

The first determining means is, for example, a product or service related to the subject itself detected by the subject detection means, but a product or service different from the subject itself detected by the subject detection means or a service different from a service that sells the subject itself. Information about at least one of the following may be determined.

According to this invention, a product or service that a user is interested in can be determined based on a plurality of images taken by the user.

This is an overview of the image processing system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a storage server. It shows the user's image recorded on the hard disk. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the storage server. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the storage server. This is an example of an image of the first user. This is an example of management information regarding products. This is an example of management information regarding a service. This is an example of a second user's image. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure which a 1st user determines the object of interest. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the storage server. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the storage server.

[First example]
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and shows an overview of an image processing system.

The image processing system includes n (n is a positive integer) client computers 1-n, and these n client computers 1-n are connected to the Internet. The image processing system also includes a storage server 10 and an information providing server 20, and each of these storage servers 10 and information providing server 20 is connected to each of the n client computers 1-n. Communication is possible via the Internet.

The client computer 1-n sends an image file representing an image taken by a user to the storage server 10, and the storage server 10 receives and stores the image file sent from the client computer 1-n. It is. Although the information providing server 20 sends information to the user, the storage server 10 may also send information to the user.

Although n client computers 1-n are illustrated in FIG. 1, only one client computer may be included in the image processing system. Regardless of the number of client computers, it is only necessary that a plurality of users can upload image data to the storage server 10 using the client computers. Furthermore, a communication device such as a smartphone may be used instead of the client computer 1-n.

Furthermore, the image processing system may be configured without using the information providing server 20.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the storage server 10.

The entire operation of the storage server 10 (which is an example of an image processing device) is supervised by a CPU (central processing unit) 11.

The storage server 10 includes a communication device 12 for connecting to the Internet, a memory card reader/writer 13 for accessing the memory card 14, and a compact disc 16 for reading data recorded on the compact disc 16. A disk drive 15, a hard disk 18 for recording image files etc. sent from users (client computers 1-n), and writing image files to the hard disk 18 and reading image files from the hard disk 18. Contains 17 hard disk drives. Furthermore, storage server 10 also includes memory 19 and display device 19A.

The compact disc 16 (portable recording medium) stores a program that controls the operation of the storage server 10, and the program recorded on the compact disc 16 is read by the compact disc drive 15. , installed on storage server 10. The program is not read from the compact disk 16 and installed on the storage server 10, but is received at the storage server 10 via a network such as the Internet, and the received program is installed on the storage server 10. Good too.

The information providing server 20 also has the same electrical configuration as the storage server 10, and includes a CPU, a communication device, a memory, and the like.

FIG. 3 shows a plurality of images stored on hard disk 18.

The hard disk 18 (which is an example of a recording device) has multiple users storing images P1 to P100 taken by user U1, images P101 to P200 taken by user U2, and images P201 to P300 taken by user U3. Multiple captured images are stored. Images of users other than users U1, U2, and U3 are also stored on the hard disk 18. By using the user ID and password, user U1 can access user U1's images P1 to P100, but other users, for example, user U2's images P101 to P200 or user U3's images P201 to P300, cannot access them. Not accessible. Other users are also managed so that they can access their own images, but cannot access the images of other users.

This embodiment detects a subject included in multiple images taken by one user (hereinafter referred to as the first user), and detects a product or subject that is different from the subject itself. This is to determine information about at least one of the services that are different from the service that sells the service itself. The determined information is sent to the first user.

4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the storage server 10 (image processing device).

The processing procedures shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be started when the determined information is sent to the first user, may be started at any timing, or may be started periodically. Alternatively, the process may be started at the timing when an image is sent from the user to the storage server 10. Who among the plurality of users is to be the first user may be determined in any manner. The images may be sorted simply in order of user ID, in order of the number of uploaded images, in order of the oldest and newest users who have uploaded images, or in order of the frequency of uploads.

In any case, when the time comes to determine information about the first user, one of the multiple images taken by the first user is read from the hard disk 18 of the storage server 10. The CPU 11 of the storage server 10 determines whether it is set to read two or more images from the hard disk 18 of the storage server 10. This setting may be set for each user, for example, or may be set uniformly regardless of the user.

If the setting is to read one image (YES in step 31), one of the multiple images stored on the hard disk 18 taken by the first user will be scanned. The image is read by the hard disk drive 17 (which is an example of a reading means) (step 32). Which image among the plurality of images taken by the first user may be read by the hard disk drive 17, for example, the last image taken among the images sent to the storage server 10, The last transmitted image, etc. may be read by the hard disk drive 17. An image taken at the time of informing the first user may be read by the hard disk drive 17, or if there is an image taken of a special event, the image of the special event may be read by the hard disk drive 17. - May be read by disk drive 17. Data such as when the image was taken and the event the image represents are recorded in the header of the image file representing the image, and can therefore be known from the header. However, data such as the time when the image was taken and the event that the image represents may be recorded in the hard disk 18 as an image data table for each user in correspondence with the image (image file name). In that case, the data recorded in the image data table is updated by the CPU 11 every time an image is uploaded.

When the image is read, the subject (which may be the main subject) included in the read image is detected by the CPU 11 (which is an example of subject detection means) (step 33).

FIG. 6 is an example of an image 50 read from the hard disk 18.

FIG. 6 is an image of a person riding a bicycle.

Image 50 includes a bicycle 51, a water bottle 52, cycling wear 53, sunglasses 54, a helmet 55, etc. as subjects. These bicycle 51, water bottle 52, cycle wear 53, sunglasses 54, and helmet 55 are detected by the CPU 11 as objects included in the image 50. In object detection, for example, edge detection is performed on the image 50, and the shape, color distribution, etc. of the obtained area are stored in advance in the hard disk 18 or a storage device provided outside the storage server 10. This is done through matching processing with existing product images. Through object detection, the CPU 11 recognizes the specific product, etc. of the object included in the image 50 (note that the term "product" or "product, etc." may include services; the same applies hereinafter).

When a main subject is detected by the CPU 11, for example, a bicycle 51 is detected as the main subject. Among the objects detected in image 50, such as bicycle 51, water bottle 52, cycling wear 53, sunglasses 54, helmet 55, etc., those are located close to the center of the image and have a constant size ratio to image 50. Although the above objects are detected as the main object, the main object may be determined by the CPU 11 using other methods. The number of main subjects is not limited to one, but may be two or more.

When the CPU 11 detects a subject (main subject) from the image 50, the CPU 11 determines an object that the first user is likely to be interested in from among the detected subjects (main subject) (step 34 in FIG. 5). ).

In image 50, a bicycle 51, a water bottle 52, cycling wear 53, sunglasses 54, and a helmet 55 are detected as objects, so the first user may be interested in objects such as road racing, bicycles, etc. etc. are determined by the CPU 11. This determination can be made using, for example, AI (artificial intelligence) or a correspondence table between objects. For example, the correspondence table is stored in advance in the hard disk 18, storage server 10, etc., and the CPU 11 can determine the object that the first user is interested in based on the correspondence. When the CPU 11 determines an object that the first user is interested in using the bicycle 51, which is the main subject, the CPU 11 determines, for example, road racing, cycling, and bicycles. The object that the first user is interested in may be the subject (main subject) detected from the image 50, or may not be the subject (main subject) itself but something related to the subject (main subject). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the first user is interested in a bicycle.

When the object that the first user is interested in is determined by the CPU 11, information to be notified to the first user is determined by the CPU 11 based on the determined object (step 35). In this way, the information determined is, for example, about an object of interest to the first user. However, the CPU 11 may determine the information to be notified to the first user by using the subject (main subject) detected from the image 50 as described above, without the first user determining the object of interest. Good too. In any case, the CPU 11 determines that the service is different from a service that sells a product different from the subject itself detected from the image 50 or a service that sells the subject itself. In this embodiment, the object that the first user is interested in is determined from the detected object (main object), and then the product information management structure is referred to for the object of interest, and the product is notified to the first user. This section mainly explains the case of determining information about .

FIG. 7 is an example of a product information management structure.

The management structure consists of multiple layers. The first layer is ``sporting goods,'' and the second layer below the first layer manages products with concepts under the first layer ``sporting goods.'' Although "bicycles" are exemplified in the second layer, other products (for example, mountain climbing equipment) also exist. In the third layer below the second layer, products of concepts below the products in the second layer are managed. For example, "bicycle accessories," "maintenance products," and "wear/shoes," which are products under "bicycle," which is an example of a second-tier product, are shown as examples of third-tier products. ing. Similarly, in the fourth layer below the third layer, products of concepts below the products in the third layer are managed. For example, "smartphone folders," "cycle computers," "keys," etc., which are examples of fourth-tier products, are different from the concepts below "bicycle accessories," which are examples of third-tier products. Managed as a product. Similarly, for "maintenance supplies" and "wear/shoes," which are examples of third-tier products, products of concepts below these products are managed. The first to fourth hierarchies are not specified for all sports products, and depending on the type of sports product, the number of hierarchies may be at least four or more than four.

In the first layer of the product information management structure shown in Figure 7, only "sports goods" are shown, but similarly, for example, "music goods", "travel goods", "health goods", "animals", Other classifications, such as "plants", are defined.

FIG. 8 is an example of a management structure of service information.

In FIG. 8, services related to events such as "bicycle travel," "bicycle maintenance," "road race tournament," and "cycling tournament" are defined in the hierarchy below the product "bicycle." However, services that sell "bicycles" themselves are not stipulated, but may be stipulated.

A management structure similar to the management structure shown in FIG. 8 is also defined for products other than the product "bicycle."

The product information management structure shown in FIG. 7 and the service information management structure shown in FIG. It is stored in the device, etc.

The CPU 11 can determine the information about the product to be notified to the first user by referring to the product information management structure shown in FIG. 7, and can determine the information about the product to be notified to the first user by referring to the service information management structure shown in FIG. can determine information about

When the object of interest of the first user is determined to be "bicycle" (the same applies when the detected object or main subject is determined to be "bicycle" without determining the object of interest), Referring to FIG. 7, "bicycle" defined in the second hierarchy is read by CPU 11. Products that are defined in a hierarchy lower than the second hierarchy and that are different from the subject detected from the image 50 serve as the information about the products to be notified to the first user. For example, "smartphone folder", "cycle computer", and bicycles are defined in the fourth layer below "bicycle accessories" in the third layer under the second layer, where bicycles are specified. "Inflator", "tools", etc. specified in the fourth layer below the "maintenance supplies" in the third layer below the second layer are the information about the product that is notified to the first user. .

Information about a plurality of products may be notified to the first user, or information about one product may be notified to the first user. The first user may be informed of information about products that sell well above a certain number. However, among the products specified in the fourth layer below the third layer "wear/shoes" under the second layer where bicycles are specified, "helmets" and "cycling wear" etc. Since it has been detected as a subject from image 50, it is not information about the product to be notified to the first user.

Similarly, referring to FIG. 8, services regarding events, etc. specified in the hierarchy below the "bicycle" hierarchy, such as "bicycle trip" and "bicycle maintenance", are provided to the first user. This is information about the services to be notified. Since a service that sells the bicycle itself is not defined in the hierarchy below the “bicycle,” the service that sells the bicycle itself does not serve as information about the service to be notified to the first user. The first user may be informed of information about a service that has more than a certain number of users.

There are multiple subjects (main subjects) detected from one image 50, and the CPU 11 uses these multiple subjects (main subjects) to determine information on at least one of the products and services to be notified to the first user. You can also. In such a case, the CPU 11 determines information about products other than the products corresponding to the plurality of detected subjects from the product management structure shown in FIG. Furthermore, regarding services, as shown in FIG. 8, the CPU 11 determines information about services defined in the hierarchy below the detected subject.

Information about the products and services determined in this manner is displayed on the display screen of the display device 19A by the CPU 11 (which is an example of display control means) (step 36).

If the determined information about the product or service is the subject itself included in image 50 or the service itself that sells the subject (YES in step 37), the first user is interested in the subject. , and the CPU 11 determines the information to be newly notified to the first user. If the information about the determined product or service is not the subject itself included in the image 50 or the service that sells the subject (NO in step 37), the information about the determined product is not communicated to the second user. The information transmitted by the device 12 about the determined service is transmitted by the communication device 12 to the third user (step 38).

Information about the determined product is transmitted from the second user to the first user, and the first user can purchase the product by knowing the information. Further, information about the determined product is transmitted from the third user to the first user, and the first user can purchase the service by knowing the information. Both the information about the determined product and the information about the determined service may be transmitted to the second user or the third user. At least one of the second user and the third user transmits both information about the determined product and information about the determined service to the first user.

When two or more of the plurality of images taken by the first user are read by the hard disk drive 17 (which is an example of a reading means) (NO in step 31 in FIG. 4, YES in step 42) , a subject (main subject) is detected from each of the two or more read images by the CPU 11 (which is an example of subject detection means) (step 43).

For example, assume that the image 50 shown in FIG. 6 and the image 70 shown in FIG. 9 are read by the hard disk drive 17. As mentioned above, from the image 50 shown in FIG. 6, the objects include a bicycle 51, a water bottle 52, cycling wear 53, sunglasses 54, a helmet 55, etc. All or one of the objects of the helmet 55 is an example of the first object) is detected. Dogs 71-75 (all or any one of these dogs 71-75 are an example of the second subject) are detected from the image 70 shown in FIG. 9 as subjects. The CPU 11 determines "bicycle" as the object that the first user is interested in from among the subjects of the bicycle 51, water bottle 52, cycle wear 53, sunglasses 54, and helmet 55 included in the image 50 shown in FIG. From among the dogs 71-75 included in the image 70 shown in FIG. 5, "dog" is determined by the CPU 11 as an object that the first user is interested in (step 34 in FIG. 5).

From these objects of interest, information to be notified to the first user is determined by the CPU 11 (which is an example of the first determining means) (step 35 in FIG. 5). If multiple subjects of interest are determined in this way, products and services that are commonly used by those multiple subjects of interest, other than the detected subject itself, or At least one of the services different from the service of selling the subject itself is determined by the CPU 11. For example, if "bicycles" and "dogs" are determined to be objects of interest to the first user, first, all data of the management structure of product information and service information regarding bicycles is read. In addition, all the data for the management structure of product information and service information regarding dogs is read. Information about products that appears in both the product information management structure for bicycles and the product information management structure for dogs, in this case, the "bicycle pet carrier" used when transporting dogs on bicycles. "Case" is determined by the CPU 11 as information about the product to be notified to the first user. In addition, information about services that appear in both the management structure of service information regarding bicycles and the management structure of service information regarding dogs, in this case, the service that "hotels that allow cycling with pets" is notified to the first user. It is determined by the CPU 11 as information about. Of course, other products and services may be determined by the CPU 11 as information to be notified to the first user.

AI may be used to determine related products and services from a plurality of objects of interest, and information about the products and services may be notified to the first user. For example, the CPU 11 finds an image in the hard disk 18 that includes multiple objects of interest (in this case, it is not limited to images taken by the first user), and the CPU 11 finds the image that the found image represents. The shooting situation (for example, a trip if the image is a travel image, a pet tournament if the image is a pet competition) is determined, and the shooting situation is set as an object of interest to the user. From the objects determined in this manner, the CPU 11 may determine at least one of information about products and services to be notified to the first user.

If the determined information is neither the subject itself detected from the image read from the hard disk 18 nor the service that sells the detected subject itself (NO in step 37), information about the determined product is is transmitted by the communication device 12 (which is an example of a notification means) to, for example, a second user who sells the determined product, and information about the determined service is transmitted by the communication device 12, for example, to a second user who sells the determined product. (step 38). The information may be sent to the first user. Both the information about the product and the information about the service may be sent by the communication device 12 to the second user or the third user, and may be sent by the communication device 12 to the first user. .

According to the above-described embodiment, a product or service that the user is interested in can be determined based on a plurality of images taken by the user.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for determining the object that the first user is interested in (the processing procedure of step 34 in FIG. 5).

When a subject (main subject) is detected from each of two or more images, the CPU 11 calculates the number of detections (number of appearances) for each type of detected subject (main subject) (step 61). . The CPU 11 determines an object that the first user is interested in from among the objects (main objects) for which the number of detections has exceeded a threshold (first threshold) (step 62).

The object (main object) detected more frequently is considered to be the object (main object) of interest to the first user. The CPU 11 can determine the object that the first user is interested in from among the objects (subjects) that the first user is interested in.

[Second example]
FIG. 11 shows the second embodiment, and is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the storage server 10. The processing procedure shown in FIG. 11 corresponds to the processing procedure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Similarly to the first embodiment, when the hard disk drive 17 from the hard disk 18 of the storage server 10 reads an image taken by the first user, the storage server 10 reads one image. 10 (YES in step 81), one image is read by hard disk drive 17 (step 82) and storage server 10 is configured to read more than one image. If so (NO in step 81), the two or more images are read by the hard disk drive 17 (step 83).

Using one or more of the read images, the first user's photography skill is determined by the CPU 11 (which is an example of photography skill determination means) (step 84). The CPU 11 analyzes the image to determine the degree of blur of the main subject included in the image, its brightness, its contrast, the size and position of the main subject relative to the entire image, etc. Skill is determined (step 85).

Once the photography skill is known, the CPU 11 (which is an example of the second determining means) determines information about products and services related to photography in accordance with the photography skill (step 85). For example, if the first user's photography skills are determined to be beginner's, then books on how to photograph for beginners, products such as cameras for beginners, services such as photography classes for intermediate users, etc. will be provided. It is determined by the CPU 11 as information about products and services. For example, if the first user's photography skills are determined to be intermediate, services such as books on how to take pictures for intermediate users, cameras, cameras and lenses for intermediate users, and photography classes for intermediate users may be provided. etc. are determined by the CPU 11 as information about products and services related to photography. In addition, if the first user's photography skills are determined to be advanced, we will provide services such as products such as cameras, lenses, and filters for advanced users, introductions to work as a photographer, and introductions to instructors for photography classes. is determined by the CPU 11 as information about products and services related to photography. Information about products and services may be determined in advance for each photography skill.

Once the information about the product or service is determined, the determined information is displayed by the CPU 11 on the display screen of the display device 19A of the storage server 10 (step 86). Information about the determined product is transmitted to the second user by the communication device 12, and information about the determined service is transmitted to the third user by the communication device 12 (step 87). Information about the determined product is transmitted from the second user to the first user, and information about the determined service is transmitted from the third user to the first user. The communication device 12 of the storage server 10 may transmit information about the determined products and services to at least one of the second user and the third user.

In the processing procedure shown in FIG. 11, the processing from step 84 to step 86 may be performed between the processing at step 35 and the processing at step 36 in FIG.

According to the second embodiment, the storage server 10 can determine information about products and services depending on the shooting skill.

[Third example]
FIG. 12 shows the third embodiment, and is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the storage server 10. The processing procedure shown in FIG. 12 corresponds to the processing procedure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Similar to the first and second embodiments, when the hard disk drive 17 from the hard disk 18 of the storage server 10 reads an image taken by the first user, one image is read. If the storage server 10 is configured to read two or more images (YES at step 91), one image is read by the hard disk drive 17 (step 92), and the storage server is If set to 10 (NO in step 91), then two or more images are read by hard disk drive 17 (step 93).

Using the read one or more images, the CPU 11 (which is an example of the imaging device information detection means) reads information regarding the first imaging device (the imaging device of the first user) (step 94 ). Information regarding the first photographing device is recorded in the header of the image file representing the image read from the hard disk 18, so the CPU 11 can read it from the header.

When the information regarding the first photographing device is read, the information regarding the second photographing device is determined by the CPU 11 (which is an example of the third determining means) (step 95). The information about the first imaging device is information about the device with which the first user took the image, and the information about the second imaging device is, for example, information about the imaging device recommended to the first user. This is information for prompting the first user to purchase a product or the like. For example, information about a photographing device of a higher model than the first photographing device, information about a camera of a higher model, etc. are examples of information regarding the second photographing device.

When the information regarding the second imaging device is determined, the determined information is displayed by the CPU 11 on the display screen of the display device 19A of the storage server 10 (step 96). The determined information is transmitted by the communication device 12 to the second user (step 97). The communication device 12 of the storage server 10 may send the determined information to the second user.

In the processing procedure shown in FIG. 11, the processing in steps 94 and 95 may be performed between the processing in step 35 and the processing in step 36 in FIG.

According to the third embodiment, for example, the storage server 10 can determine information regarding the second imaging device recommended to the first user.

In addition to the CPU11 that executes software and functions as various processing units, the processing unit that executes the above processing includes a programmable device such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that can change the circuit configuration after manufacturing.・Includes dedicated electric circuits such as logic devices and ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), which are processors with circuit configurations specifically designed to execute specific processes.

One processing unit may be composed of one of these various types of processors, or may be composed of a combination of two or more processors of the same type or different types (for example, multiple FPGAs, a combination of a CPU and an FPGA). may be done. First, as an example of configuring multiple processing units with one processor, one processor is configured with a combination of one or more CPUs and software, as typified by computers such as client computers and servers. However, there is a form in which this processor functions as multiple processing units. Second, as typified by system-on-chip, there is a form of using a processor that realizes the functions of an entire system including multiple processing units with a single IC (integrated circuit) chip. In this way, various processing units are configured using one or more of various types of processors as a hardware structure.

Furthermore, the hardware structure of these various processors is, more specifically, an electric circuit that is a combination of circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

1-n: Computer, 10: Storage server, 11: CPU, 12: Communication device, 13: Memory card reader/writer, 14: Memory card, 15: Compact disk drive, 16: Compact disk , 17: Hard disk drive, 18: Hard disk, 19: Memory, 19A: Display device, 20: Information providing server, 50: Image, 51: Bicycle, 52: Water bottle, 53: Cycle wear, 54: Sunglasses, 55: Helmet, 70: Image, P1-P300: Image, U1-U3: User

Claims (4)

reading means for reading two or more images from a recording device that records a plurality of images taken by the first user;
A subject detection means for detecting at least two subjects whose number of appearances is equal to or greater than a threshold value among subjects obtained from two or more images read by the reading means; and at least two subjects detected by the subject detection means. The first user determines that one object is a plurality of objects of interest, and the first user determines that the first user is a product or service that is commonly used by the plurality of objects, and that is a different type of product or service that is different from the detected object itself. determining means for determining information about at least one of a service that sells the subject itself and a different type of service;
An image processing device equipped with The reading means reads two or more images from a recording device that records a plurality of images taken by the first user,
The object detection means detects at least two objects whose number of appearances is equal to or greater than a threshold value among the objects obtained from the two or more images read by the reading means,
A determining means determines at least two subjects detected by the subject detecting means as a plurality of objects of interest to the first user, and products and services commonly used by the plurality of objects, determining information about at least one of a different type of product than the detected subject itself or a service that sells the detected subject itself and a different type of service;
Image processing method. A program readable by a computer of an image processing device,
Read two or more images from a recording device that records a plurality of images taken by the first user,
Among the objects obtained from the two or more read images, at least two objects whose number of appearances is equal to or greater than a threshold are detected,
determining at least two detected objects as a plurality of objects of interest to the first user;
Information about products and services that are commonly used by the above-mentioned subjects and is of a different type than the detected subject itself, or at least one of services that sell the detected subject itself and services of a different type. A program that controls the computer of the image processing device to make decisions. A recording medium storing the program according to claim 3.