JP4660592B2 - Camera control apparatus, camera control method, camera control program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera control device, a camera control method, a camera control program, and a recording medium that control a shooting direction of a camera. However, the use of the present invention is not limited to the above-described camera control device, camera control method, camera control program, and recording medium.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are some video conference systems using the Internet or telephone lines in which a speaker is photographed by directing a camera in a direction in which voice is emitted so that a conference can proceed without a sense of incongruity. In such a video conference system, for example, when the sound generation direction is not within the current angle of view of the camera, it is determined whether or not the angle of view is within the angle of view by changing the direction with the camera platform. When the pan head is driven to enter the angle of view and an image is displayed, and it is determined that it does not enter, the angle of view is widened and the pan head is driven to display the image so that it is within the angle of view. (For example, see Patent Document 1 below.)

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-244885

  However, according to the above-described conventional technology, there is a problem that it is not possible to perform shooting in consideration of the content of the speech by the speaker. In the prior art, a speaker who is shooting a voice is photographed by a camera. However, depending on the content of the utterance, it may not always be appropriate to photograph the speaker. For example, if there is a person related to the content of the remark within the shootable range of the camera, it may be preferable to shoot that person.

  In addition, according to the above-described prior art, there is a problem that it is necessary to change the shooting direction of the camera by a manual operation by an operator when it is desired to take an image other than the speaker. In this case, an operator who operates the camera is required, and the problem that shooting becomes complicated is an example.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a camera control device according to the invention of claim 1 is an acquisition unit that acquires audio around the camera, and an image captured by the camera from the audio acquired by the acquisition unit. Discriminating means for discriminating a word (hereinafter referred to as “specific phrase”) for specifying an object, control means for controlling the shooting direction of the camera based on the specific word / phrase discriminated by the discriminating means, Input means for accepting input of information relating to candidates, and detection means for detecting the position of the candidate for photographing object, wherein the determining means substantially matches the information relating to the candidate for photographing object input to the input means. A phrase to be identified is determined as the specific phrase, and the control unit determines that the determination unit determines a phrase that substantially matches information regarding the candidate to be photographed. Wherein the directing the shooting direction of the camera to the position of the candidate of the detected said imaging target by the detection means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a camera control method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring audio around a camera; and a phrase that specifies a subject to be photographed by the camera from the voice acquired by the acquisition step (hereinafter referred to as “specific phrase”). A control step for controlling the shooting direction of the camera based on the specific phrase determined by the determination step, an input step for receiving input of information regarding the candidate for the shooting target, Detecting a position of the candidate for the photographing target, and the determining step determines, as the specific phrase, a phrase that substantially matches information related to the candidate for the photographing target input in the input step, In the control step, the word detected by the detection step is determined when a word or phrase substantially matching the information related to the candidate for the photographing target is determined by the determination step. Wherein the the position of the shadow object candidate directs photographing direction of the camera.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a camera control program causes a computer to execute the camera control method according to the sixth aspect.

  A recording medium according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is readable by a computer that records the camera control program according to the seventh aspect.

  Exemplary embodiments of a camera control device, a camera control method, a camera control program, and a recording medium according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment)
First, a functional configuration of the camera control device 100 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the camera control apparatus. The camera control device 100 includes an acquisition unit 101, a determination unit 102, a control unit 103, an input unit 104, and a detection unit 105.

  The acquisition unit 101 acquires sound around the camera 110. The sound around the camera 110 is, for example, an utterance by a person located around the camera 110. The acquisition unit 101 acquires sound around the camera 110 using, for example, a microphone.

  The discriminating unit 102 discriminates a phrase (hereinafter referred to as a specific phrase) that specifies a subject to be photographed by the camera 110 from the voice acquired by the acquiring unit 101. The determination unit 102 determines, for example, information on a candidate for photographing input to the input unit 104 described later as a specific phrase.

  The control unit 103 controls the shooting direction of the camera 110 based on the specific phrase determined by the determination unit 102. For example, when the determination unit 102 determines a phrase that substantially matches the information related to the candidate for shooting target, the control unit 103 sets the shooting direction of the camera 110 to the position of the candidate for shooting target detected by the detection unit 105 described later. Turn. The phrase that approximately matches is a phrase that is the same as or similar to the phrase that is input as information related to the candidate to be imaged.

  The input unit 104 receives input of information related to a candidate for shooting. The information related to the candidate for imaging target is, for example, name information (name, nickname, etc.) and attribute information of the candidate for imaging target. The input unit 104 may be input with a candidate image or sound to be captured.

  The detection unit 105 detects the position of a candidate for shooting. For example, the detection unit 105 collates a candidate image to be photographed input to the input unit 104 with a video photographed by the camera 110 and detects the position of the candidate to be photographed. Here, the position of the imaging target is, for example, the position of the seat where the imaging target is seated when the camera 110 is installed in the vehicle, and the detection unit 105 determines which seat the passenger is seated on. Is detected. Further, the position of the photographing target may be a relative direction from the camera 110, a relative direction, or the like. Specifically, for example, when an object whose similarity with a candidate image to be imaged appears in a video imaged by the camera 110, the detection unit 105 captures the position of the object. The position of the target candidate.

  For example, the detection unit 105 detects the position of the shooting target candidate by collating the sound of the shooting target candidate input to the input unit 104 with the sound acquired by the acquisition unit 101. Specifically, for example, when the voice acquired by the acquisition unit 101 includes a voice whose similarity to the shooting target candidate voice is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the position where the voice is pronounced is determined. It is set as the position of a candidate for photographing.

  The camera 110 may be installed inside the vehicle. In this case, for example, the acquisition unit 101 acquires the utterance of the passenger of the vehicle, the determination unit 102 determines information on the passenger to be imaged as a specific phrase, and the control unit 103 is specified by the specific phrase. The shooting direction of the camera 110 is directed to the boarding position of the passenger. In addition, for example, information related to the passenger is input to the input unit 104, and the detection unit 105 detects which seat each passenger is seated in.

  Next, control processing of the camera 110 by the camera control apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of camera control processing by the camera control apparatus. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, first, information regarding a candidate to be photographed is input to the input unit 104 (step S201). In addition, the detection unit 105 detects the position of the photographing target candidate (step S202).

  Next, the sound around the camera 110 is acquired by the acquisition unit 101 (step S203). Subsequently, the determination unit 102 determines a specific phrase from the voice acquired in step S203 (step S204). The specific phrase at this time is information relating to a candidate for photographing. Thereby, a photographing target to be photographed is specified from among photographing target candidates. And the control part 103 controls the imaging | photography direction of the camera 110 to the position of the imaging | photography object detected by step S202 (step S205), and complete | finishes the process by this flowchart.

  As described above, according to the camera control device 100, the shooting target is specified from the sound around the camera, and the shooting direction of the camera is controlled toward the shooting target. Thereby, it is possible to change the shooting direction of the camera 110 in consideration of the audio content around the camera.

  In addition, since the camera control apparatus 100 specifies the shooting target using information relating to the shooting target candidates input in advance as specific words, the shooting target can be specified with higher accuracy. Furthermore, since the position of the shooting target is detected from the image or sound of the shooting target candidate, the shooting direction of the camera 110 can be controlled with higher accuracy.

  Next, an example of the camera control apparatus 100 according to the above-described embodiment will be described. In the following embodiment, a case where the camera control device 100 is applied to a navigation device 300 mounted on a vehicle will be described.

(Configuration of peripheral devices of navigation device 300)
First, the peripheral device configuration of the navigation device 300 will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the vicinity of the dashboard of the vehicle in which the navigation device is installed. The navigation device 300 is installed on the dashboard of the vehicle. The navigation device 300 includes a main body M and a display unit (display) D. The display unit D displays the current location of the vehicle, map information, the current time, and the like.

  The navigation device 300 is connected to an in-vehicle camera 311 installed around the rearview mirror and an in-vehicle microphone 312 installed in the sun visor. The in-vehicle camera 311 can change the shooting direction, and images each part (such as a passenger) in front of the vehicle and in the vehicle. Hereinafter, the in-vehicle camera 311 is assumed to be a camera capable of capturing moving images and still images, but may be a camera capable of capturing only still images.

  The in-vehicle microphone 312 is used when an in-vehicle sound is input and an operation by the sound input of the navigation device 300 or a state in the vehicle is recorded. Note that the position of the in-vehicle microphone 312 is not limited to the sun visor, and may be any position where the sound in the vehicle can be input efficiently. A plurality of in-vehicle cameras 311 and in-vehicle microphones 312 may be installed in the vehicle, and may be movable rather than fixed. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the in-vehicle microphone 312 is provided for each passenger's seat.

  The navigation apparatus 300 has an in-vehicle shooting function for recording the state in the vehicle being driven, in addition to searching for a route to the destination point and recording information. The in-vehicle shooting function records in-vehicle video and audio with the in-vehicle camera 311 and the in-vehicle microphone 312. The video and audio recorded by the in-vehicle shooting function are recorded on a recording medium (a magnetic disk 405 and an optical disk 407 described later) of the navigation device 300. Also, the recorded video and audio may be recorded on an external recording medium so that they can be enjoyed on a home television or the like.

(Hardware configuration of navigation device 300)
Next, the hardware configuration of the navigation device 300 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the navigation apparatus. 4, the navigation apparatus 300 includes a CPU 401, a ROM 402, a RAM (memory) 403, a magnetic disk drive 404, a magnetic disk 405, an optical disk drive 406, an optical disk 407, and an audio I / F (interface) 408. , Microphone 409, speaker 410, input device 411, video I / F 412, camera 413, display 414, communication I / F 415, GPS unit 416, various sensors 417, and external connection I / F F418. Each component 401 to 418 is connected by a bus 420.

  First, the CPU 401 governs overall control of the navigation device 300. The ROM 402 records programs such as a boot program, a communication program, a database creation program, and a data analysis program. The RAM 403 is used as a work area for the CPU 401.

  The magnetic disk drive 404 controls the reading / writing of the data with respect to the magnetic disk 405 according to control of CPU401. The magnetic disk 405 records data written under the control of the magnetic disk drive 404. As the magnetic disk 405, for example, an HD (hard disk) or an FD (flexible disk) can be used.

  The optical disk drive 406 controls the reading / writing of the data with respect to the optical disk 407 according to control of CPU401. The optical disc 407 is a detachable recording medium from which data is read according to the control of the optical disc drive 406. As the optical disc 407, a writable recording medium can be used. In addition to the optical disk 407, the removable recording medium may be an MO, a memory card, or the like.

  One example of information recorded on the magnetic disk 405 or the optical disk 407 is map data used for route search / route guidance. The map data includes background data representing features (features) such as buildings, rivers, and the ground surface, and road shape data representing the shape of the road. The map data is displayed on the display screen of the display 414 in two dimensions or three dimensions. Drawn. When the navigation device 300 is guiding a route, the map data and the current location of the vehicle acquired by the GPS unit 416 described later are displayed in an overlapping manner.

  The audio I / F 408 is connected to an audio input microphone 409 (for example, the in-vehicle microphone 312 in FIG. 3) and an audio output speaker 410. The sound received by the microphone 409 is A / D converted in the sound I / F 408. In addition, sound is output from the speaker 410. Note that the voice input from the microphone 409 can be recorded on the magnetic disk 405 or the optical disk 407 as voice data.

  Examples of the input device 411 include a remote controller including a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like. Further, the input device 411 can be connected to another information processing terminal such as a digital camera or a mobile phone terminal to input / output data.

  The video I / F 412 is connected to a video input camera 413 (for example, the in-vehicle camera 311 in FIG. 3) and a video output display 414. Specifically, the video I / F 412 includes, for example, a graphic controller that controls the entire display 414, a buffer memory such as a VRAM (Video RAM) that temporarily records image information that can be displayed immediately, and a graphic controller. Based on the output image data, the display 414 is configured by a control IC that controls display.

  The camera 413 captures images (including moving images) inside and outside the vehicle and outputs them as image data. An image captured by the camera 413 can be recorded on the magnetic disk 405 or the optical disk 407 as image data. This image data can be used by other information processing terminals by outputting it on the display 414, recording it on a recording medium, or transmitting it via a network.

  The display 414 displays icons, cursors, menus, windows, or various data such as characters and images. As the display 414, for example, a CRT, a TFT liquid crystal display, a plasma display, or the like can be adopted.

  The communication I / F 415 is connected to a communication network such as the Internet via wireless and functions as an interface between the communication network and the CPU 401. Communication networks include LANs, WANs, public line networks and mobile phone networks.

  The GPS unit 416 receives radio waves from GPS satellites and outputs information indicating the current position of the vehicle (current position of the navigation device 300). The output information of the GPS unit 416 is used when the current position of the vehicle is calculated by the CPU 401 together with output values of various sensors 417 described later. The information indicating the current location is information for specifying one point on the map data, such as latitude / longitude and altitude.

  The various sensors 417 output information that can determine the position and behavior of the vehicle, such as a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and an angular velocity sensor. The output values of the various sensors 417 are used for the calculation of the current location by the CPU 401 and the measurement of the amount of change in speed and direction.

  The external connection I / F 418 is an interface for connecting to an external device such as an audio device or a vehicle air conditioner. The external connection I / F 418 includes, for example, a dedicated connection cable port, an infrared communication port, and the like.

  In the configuration of the camera control apparatus 100 according to the embodiment, the acquisition unit 101 is an audio I / F 408 and a microphone 409, the determination unit 102 and the detection unit 105 are CPU 401, the control unit 103 is a CPU 401, and a video I / F 412. Thus, the input unit 104 realizes each function by the input device 411.

(In-car shooting process by navigation device 300)
Next, in-vehicle shooting processing by the navigation device 300 will be described. As described above, the in-vehicle camera 311 and the in-vehicle microphone 312 are provided in the vehicle in which the navigation device 300 is installed, and the state in the vehicle during driving can be recorded. Here, when photographing the state in the vehicle, simply photographing the inside of the vehicle is not attractive as content, and the opportunity to view the recorded video is reduced.

  For this reason, the navigation apparatus 300 specifies the imaging target based on the content of the utterance by the passenger, and changes the imaging direction of the in-vehicle camera 311. Specifically, when a speech corresponding to a specific passenger is included in the utterance of the speaker, the in-vehicle camera 311 is photographed toward the passenger. Thereby, it is possible to focus on the passenger at the center of the topic and photograph the state in the vehicle, and it is possible to improve the attractiveness of the recorded video content.

  Here, in the navigation device 300, in order to identify a passenger to be imaged, information related to the passenger is registered in advance, and the vehicle-mounted camera 311 is controlled based on the registered information. Specifically, the navigation device 300 includes a storage-type database (planned passenger database) in which information related to the possibility of boarding a vehicle or a person who has a plan (hereinafter, “planned boarding person”) is accumulated. An update type database (current passenger database) that is updated each time a passenger gets on and off the vehicle is created.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the contents of a database created by the navigation device. In the boarding person database 510, text information 511 such as name information 521, nickname information 522, attribute information 523, a keyword 524 corresponding to the boarding person, and a face image of the passenger Data 512 and voiceprint data 513 are registered.

  In the current passenger database 530, text information 541 corresponding to the current passenger and the boarding position information 542 are registered. As will be described later, the navigation device 300 identifies the passenger who has boarded this time from the image or voiceprint of the passenger. Then, information corresponding to the passenger (text information 541) stored in the scheduled passenger information database 510 is stored in the current passenger database 530.

  The text information 541 includes name information 551, nickname information 552, attribute information 553, a keyword 554 corresponding to the boarding person, and the like, similar to the boarding person database 510. The boarding position information 542 is information such as the “passenger seat” and the “right rear seat”, for example, the boarding position of the passenger who has boarded this time.

  In relation to the boarding position information 542, the control table 560 of the in-vehicle camera 311 corresponding to the position of each seat is recorded in the ROM 402 of the navigation device 300. The control table 500 defines a change amount for changing the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera 311 when shooting each seat. Specifically, for example, if the reference shooting direction (0 ° direction) is perpendicular to the rear window, the driver's seat is 45 ° left from the reference shooting direction, and the passenger seat is from the reference shooting direction. The right 45 ° direction, the right rear seat is 30 ° left from the reference shooting direction, and the left rear seat is 30 ° right from the reference shooting direction.

  Using the database as described above, the navigation apparatus 300 controls the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera 311.

  6 and 7 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the in-vehicle shooting process of the navigation device. In the flowchart of FIG. 6, the navigation apparatus 300 first causes the person who is scheduled to board the vehicle on which the apparatus is mounted to input boarding person information (step S601). The boarding person information corresponds to the text information 511 in FIG. 5 and is information such as the name, nickname, attribute, and keyword of the passenger. The passenger occupant information may be input using the input device 411 of the navigation apparatus 300, or may be performed via a network from a PC (personal computer) or a mobile phone terminal at the home of each passenger.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an input screen for prospective passenger information. FIG. 8 illustrates an example in which a boarding person is registered using the input device 411 of the navigation apparatus 300. In FIG. 8, a new registration screen 800 for a prospective boarding person is displayed on the display 414 of the navigation device 300. In the new registration screen 800, a name input unit 811 for inputting the name of a prospective boarder, a nickname input unit 812 for inputting a nickname of the prospective boarder, an attribute input unit 813 for inputting attributes of the prospective boarder, A keyword input unit 814 for inputting related keywords is displayed.

  A newly registered boarding person inputs his / her information in these input sections. Then, the photographing button 821 is pressed and a self-portrait image is photographed using the in-vehicle camera 311. In addition, the sound collection button 822 is pressed, and the own sound is collected using the in-vehicle microphone 312. Note that only one of the face image shooting and the sound collection may be used. Further, the person who is registered as a boarding person is not limited to a human being but may be an animal such as a dog or a cat. In this case, registration in the boarding person information database 510 is performed by a human instead.

  As described above, the new registration screen is displayed on the input screen and the boarding person information is input by characters. For example, the boarding person information may be spoken and input by voice by voice dialogue. Good. According to this method, audio data can be acquired simultaneously. In addition, the face image of the person who is scheduled to board may be automatically taken by using the opening / closing of the door of the vehicle as a trigger.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the navigation apparatus 300 stores the passenger information input in step S601 in the passenger boarding person database 510 (step S602). Specifically, the text information 511 such as the name, nickname, and attribute of the prospective passenger is associated with the facial image data 512 of the prospective passenger and voiceprint data 513 extracted from the voice (only one of them may be used) Store in the planned passenger database.

  Next, the navigation device 300 stands by until the passenger gets on the vehicle (step S603: No loop). Whether or not the passenger has boarded the vehicle is determined based on, for example, whether or not the vehicle engine has been started and whether or not the vehicle door has been opened or closed. When the passenger gets on (step S603: Yes), the vehicle-mounted camera 311 captures an image of the entire vehicle, and the vehicle-mounted microphone 312 collects the voice of the passenger who has boarded each seat (step S604). Specifically, the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera 311 is controlled to capture a range in which the faces of the passengers in all seats are located. In addition, the passenger is instructed to speak to the in-vehicle microphone 312 provided in each seat. Note that only one of image shooting and sound pickup may be performed.

  Next, the navigation device 300 extracts a face image and a voiceprint of the passenger who has boarded this time from the image and sound captured and collected in step S604 (step S605). Then, any one of the face images and voiceprints extracted in step S605 is collated with the planned passenger database 510 (step S606), and face image data 512 and voiceprint data 513 similar to the face images and voiceprints are obtained. It is determined whether or not it is stored (step S607). Specifically, the feature point of the face image or voiceprint of the passenger who has boarded this time is compared with the feature point of the face image data 512 or voiceprint data 513 stored in the boarding person database, and the degree of similarity is predetermined. It is determined whether face image data 512 and voiceprint data 513 equal to or greater than the value are accumulated.

  When similar face image data 512 and voiceprint data 513 are accumulated (step S607: Yes), the text information 511 of the scheduled passenger corresponding to the face image data 512 and voiceprint data 513 is used as text information 541 this time. While being stored in the passenger database 530, the boarding position information 542 of the passenger is stored in the current passenger database (step S608). Note that the text information 511 stored in the planned passenger database 510 is also retained.

  On the other hand, when similar face image data 512 and voiceprint data 513 are not accumulated (step S607: No), the passenger information is input to the passenger (step S609). Then, the input information is stored in the boarding person database 510 as boarding person information (step S610). Then, the passenger information input in step S609 is stored as text information 541 in the current passenger database 530, and the boarding position information 542 of the passenger is stored in the current passenger database (step S611).

  Until all face images and voiceprints are collated (step S612: No), the process returns to step S606, and the subsequent processing is repeated. When all face images and voiceprints are collated (step S612: Yes), the process proceeds to step S613 in FIG. Through the processing up to this point, the scheduled passenger database 510 and the current passenger database 530 are created.

  In addition, since the arrangement of the passengers may change during traveling, the current passenger is detected when the passenger gets on or off at a predetermined timing during traveling, for example, when the door is opened or closed after stopping. The database 530 may be updated. In this case, the navigation apparatus 300 updates the passenger database 530 this time by performing the processing after step S604.

  Moving to the description of FIG. 7, the navigation device 300 monitors the voice in the vehicle (step S613), and the phrase (specific phrase) included in the text information 541 stored in the passenger database 530 this time is the utterance of the passenger. It is determined whether or not it is included (step S614). The voice monitoring is performed using a generally used voice recognition technology. Specifically, the voice collected by the in-vehicle microphone 312 is converted into text, and it is determined whether or not the phrase included in the text information 541 is included in the utterance of the passenger.

  When the phrase included in the text information 541 is uttered (step S614: Yes), the passenger database 530 is checked this time, and the boarding position information 542 of the passenger corresponding to the spoken phrase is acquired (step S615). . Subsequently, the navigation device 300 determines whether there is a priority camera operation (step S616). The priority camera operation is a process to be performed with priority over the passenger photographing process among the processes using the in-vehicle camera 311 such as a drive recorder function and a passenger recognition process. For example, when the traveling speed of the vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, or when the current position of the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from the intersection, the drive recorder function is preferentially operated because the possibility that an accident will occur is higher than usual. The preferential camera operation condition setting may be determined in advance or may be set by the user. Until this time, the in-vehicle camera 311 may be in a stopped (power off) state.

  If there is a priority camera operation (step S616: Yes), the process waits until the camera operation ends. When there is no priority camera operation (step S616: No), the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera 311 is set at the boarding position of the passenger corresponding to the spoken word with reference to the control table 560 recorded in the ROM 402. The change is made (step S617), and the passenger is photographed (step S618). On the other hand, when the phrase included in the text information 541 is not uttered (step S614: No), the process returns to step S613, and voice monitoring is continued.

  It should be noted that when a phrase included in the text information 541 is uttered (see step S614), the passenger is not always photographed, but in addition to the phrase included in the text information 541, a specific keyword (shooting instruction keyword) is used. Shooting may be performed only when an utterance is made. Shooting instruction keywords include words such as “shooting” and “shooting” directly, and indirectly such as “Look at Mr. XX” and “Towards Mr. XX”. It is a phrase that instructs shooting. The shooting instruction keyword may be determined in advance or may be registered by the user.

  Alternatively, for example, after the shooting direction is directed to the passenger in step S617, shooting may be started when an utterance including the shooting instruction keyword is made. In this case, if a shooting instruction keyword is not spoken until a predetermined time has elapsed after a keyword specifying a subject is issued, the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera 311 may be returned to the initial state as a timeout. .

  On the other hand, when the utterance including the shooting instruction keyword is started, shooting is started, and when the phrase included in the text information 541 is uttered during shooting, the passenger corresponding to the spoken phrase You may make it turn to. Furthermore, when the utterance including the shooting instruction keyword is made, the shooting direction is directed toward the speaker, and then the boarding corresponding to the uttered word or phrase when the word or phrase included in the text information 541 is uttered. The shooting direction may be directed toward the person to start shooting.

  Further, the number of passengers to be photographed is not limited to one. For example, when an attribute common to a plurality of passengers such as “all members” and “male” is spoken, the corresponding passengers are sequentially photographed. . In addition, when a plurality of words / phrases included in the text information 541 are uttered in the utterance, the passengers corresponding to the respective words / phrases are sequentially photographed. In addition, the shooting priority order of each passenger may be determined.

  When there is an instruction to end shooting (step S619: Yes), or when a predetermined time has elapsed after starting shooting (step S620: Yes), the navigation device 300 ends shooting of the passenger (step S620: step S619: Yes). S621). Here, the shooting end instruction includes, for example, words such as “stop” and “end” that directly indicate the end of shooting, as well as utterances of specific keywords, button operations, and the like. Further, if there is no instruction to end the shooting (step S619: No) and the predetermined time has not elapsed since the start of shooting (step S620: No), the process returns to step S618 and the passenger's shooting is continued.

  After shooting is finished in step S621, the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera 311 is returned to the original position (step S622). Until the vehicle travels (step S623: No), the process returns to step S613, and the subsequent processing is continued. And when driving | running | working of a vehicle is complete | finished (step S623: Yes), a passenger database is erase | eliminated this time (step S624), and the process of this flowchart is complete | finished.

  In the above description, the planned passenger information is stored in the planned passenger information database 510. For example, the planned passenger information database 510 is not created, and the passenger information is input for each run. Thus, only the passenger database 530 this time may be generated. That is, the registration screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed for each run, and the passenger information is input to all the passengers on board at that time, and is stored in the current passenger database 530 together with the boarding position information. Since this time the passenger database 530 is deleted every time traveling is completed, the passenger needs to input information every time he / she gets on, but the navigation device 300 does not need to hold the passenger information.

  In this embodiment, the situation inside the vehicle is photographed. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to, for example, a video conference system. In this case, the boarding person in the present embodiment is a meeting attendee, and the boarding position is the seating position in the meeting room.

  As described above, according to the navigation device 300, a shooting target is specified from the sound in the vehicle, and the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera 311 is controlled toward the shooting target. Thereby, the imaging direction of the vehicle-mounted camera 311 can be changed in consideration of the content of the passenger's utterance. For example, a child sitting in the back seat can be called out, the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera 311 can be directed to the child, and the video can be output to the display 414. Thereby, the state of the child in the rear seat can be confirmed without looking back while driving.

  In addition, the navigation device 300 extracts the position of the occupant from the video captured by the in-vehicle camera 311 and the sound collected from the in-vehicle microphone 312. Accordingly, the boarding position of the passenger can be specified without causing the passenger to input the boarding position. Furthermore, since the boarding person information is stored in the boarding person database, it is possible to perform shooting without causing the passenger to perform complicated processing without inputting information about the boarder each time.

  The camera control method described in the present embodiment can be realized by executing a program prepared in advance on a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. The program may be a transmission medium that can be distributed via a network such as the Internet.

It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of a camera control apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the camera control process by a camera control apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the dashboard vicinity of the vehicle in which the navigation apparatus was installed. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a navigation apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the content of the database which a navigation apparatus produces. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the imaging | photography process of a navigation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the imaging | photography process of a navigation apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the input screen of passenger planner information.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Camera control apparatus 101 Acquisition part 102 Discriminating part 103 Control part 104 Input part 105 Detection part 110 Camera

Claims (8)

Acquisition means for acquiring audio around the camera;
Discriminating means for discriminating a phrase (hereinafter referred to as “specific phrase”) for identifying a subject to be photographed by the camera from the voice acquired by the acquiring means;
Control means for controlling the shooting direction of the camera based on the specific phrase determined by the determination means;
Input means for accepting input of information relating to the candidate to be photographed;
Detecting means for detecting the position of the candidate to be photographed,
The discrimination means includes
Determining a phrase that substantially matches the information related to the candidate to be photographed input to the input means as the specific phrase;
The control means includes
A camera that directs the shooting direction of the camera to the position of the candidate for the photographing target detected by the detecting means when a phrase that substantially matches the information related to the candidate for the photographing target is determined by the determining means. Control device. The input means includes
The camera control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of name information of the shooting target candidate and attribute information of the shooting target candidate is input as the information related to the shooting target candidate. . The input means includes
A candidate image of the shooting target is input,
The detection means includes
The camera control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the candidate to be photographed is detected by comparing the image with a video photographed by the camera. The input means includes
The voice of the candidate for shooting is input,
The detection means includes
The camera control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the candidate to be photographed is detected by comparing the sound and the sound acquired by the acquisition unit. The camera
It is installed inside the vehicle,
The acquisition means includes
Obtaining the utterance of the passenger of the vehicle,
The discrimination means includes
Identifying information about the passenger to be photographed as a specific phrase,
The control means includes
The camera control device according to claim 1, wherein a shooting direction of the camera is directed to a boarding position of the occupant specified by the specific phrase. An acquisition process for acquiring audio around the camera;
A discrimination step of discriminating a phrase (hereinafter referred to as “specific phrase”) that identifies a subject to be photographed by the camera, from the voice acquired by the acquisition step;
A control step of controlling the shooting direction of the camera based on the specific phrase determined by the determination step;
An input step for receiving input of information related to the candidate to be photographed;
Detecting a position of the candidate for the photographing target,
The discrimination step includes
A word or phrase that substantially matches information related to the candidate to be photographed input in the input step is determined as the specific word and phrase,
The control step includes
A camera that directs the shooting direction of the camera to the position of the candidate for the shooting target detected by the detection step when a phrase that substantially matches the information about the candidate for the shooting target is determined by the determination step. Control method.   A camera control program for causing a computer to execute the camera control method according to claim 6.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the camera control program according to claim 7 is recorded.

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