JP5031070B2 - Information processing apparatus and information processing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing technique, and more particularly to a technique for determining a light emission color of a device including a light emitter.

  There has been proposed a technique in which a controller transmits data representing an appearance color to a game machine, and the game machine associates the appearance color of the controller with a character color (see Patent Document 1). In recent years, wireless game controllers have become widespread as game input devices, and in addition to conventional button operation input, a device that a user moves is imaged with a camera, and the movement of the device in the captured image is input to the game. The technology to be used as is also proposed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-269016

  The present inventor has found the possibility of realizing various applications by using an input device equipped with a light emitter that can freely change the light emission color. The light emission color may be freely set by the user. However, when the movement of the light emitter is used as a game input, it is preferable that the light emitter can be recognized from the captured image with high accuracy. On the other hand, there is a desire for the user to make the luminous body emit light in a favorite color, and if the emission color can be automatically set to the user's favorite color, the user can happily execute the application.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for appropriately setting the emission color of a light emitter mounted on a device.

  In order to solve the above problem, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives color specifying information for specifying color information of a main body from an input device having a light emitter and a main body, and an input device A color determination unit that determines color information of the light emitter; and a notification unit that notifies the input device of the determined color information. The color determining unit determines color information different from the color information of the main body specified from the color specifying information as the color information of the light emitter of the input device.

  Another aspect of the present invention relates to an information processing system including an information processing apparatus and an input device. The input device includes a light emitter, a main body, and a light emission control unit that controls light emission of the light emitter, and the information processing apparatus accepts color specification information for specifying color information of the main body from the input device. A color determination unit that determines color information of a light emitter of the input device, and a notification unit that notifies the input device of the determined color information.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which sets appropriately the luminescent color of the light-emitting body mounted in the device can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the use environment of the information processing system concerning the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of an input device. It is a figure which shows the structure of an input device. It is a figure which shows the structure of a game device. It is a figure which shows an example of the presentation screen of a luminescent color candidate. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of a color information determination process. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of a color information determination process.

  FIG. 1 shows a use environment of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1 includes a game device 10 that executes game software, a display device 12 that outputs a processing result by the game device 10, an input device 20, and an imaging device 14 that images the input device 20.

  The input device 20 is an operation input device for a user to give an operation instruction, and the game apparatus 10 executes a game program based on the operation instruction in the input device 20 and receives an image signal indicating a processing result of the game. An information processing device to be generated.

  The input device 20 has a function of transmitting an operation instruction from the user to the game apparatus 10 and is configured as a wireless controller capable of wireless communication with the game apparatus 10 in this embodiment. The input device 20 and the game apparatus 10 may establish a wireless connection using a Bluetooth (registered trademark) protocol. The input device 20 is not limited to the wireless controller, and may be a wired controller connected to the game apparatus 10 via a cable.

  The input device 20 is driven by a battery and is configured to have a plurality of buttons for performing operation instructions for proceeding with the game. When the user operates the button of the input device 20, the operation instruction is transmitted to the game apparatus 10 by radio. The game apparatus 10 receives an operation instruction from the input device 20, controls the game progress in accordance with the operation instruction, and generates a game image signal. The generated game image signal is output from the display device 12.

  The imaging device 14 is a video camera composed of a CCD imaging device, a CMOS imaging device, or the like. The imaging device 14 images a real space at a predetermined cycle and generates a frame image for each cycle. For example, the imaging speed of the imaging device 14 may be 30 frames / second so as to match the frame rate of the display device 12. The imaging device 14 is connected to the game device 10 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) or other interface.

  The display device 12 is a display that outputs an image. The display device 12 receives an image signal generated by the game device 10 and displays a game screen. The display device 12 may be a television having a display and a speaker, or may be a computer display. The display device 12 may be connected to the game device 10 by a wired cable, or may be wirelessly connected by a wireless local area network (LAN) or the like.

  In the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the input device 20 has a light emitter. During the game, the light emitter emits light and is imaged by the imaging device 14. The imaging device 14 images the input device 20, generates a frame image, and supplies the frame image to the game device 10. The game apparatus 10 acquires a frame image, and derives position information of the light emitter in real space from the position and size of the image of the light emitter in the frame image. The game apparatus 10 treats the position information as a game operation instruction and reflects it in the game process such as controlling the movement of the player character. The game apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has a function of executing a game program using not only operation inputs such as buttons of the input device 20 but also positional information of the acquired light emitter image.

  The light emitter of the input device 20 is configured to emit light in a plurality of colors. The illuminant can set the luminescent color based on the color information specified from the game apparatus 10. Further, the light emitting body may be able to set the light emission color based on the color information specified from the internal circuit of the input device 20.

  The input device 20 includes an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor. The detection value of the sensor is transmitted to the game apparatus 10 at a predetermined cycle, and the game apparatus 10 acquires the detection value of the sensor and acquires the posture information of the input device 20 in the real space. The game apparatus 10 handles the posture information as a game operation instruction and reflects it in the game processing. As described above, the game apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has a function of executing the game program using the acquired posture information of the input device 20.

  In the present embodiment, the game apparatus 10 is shown as an example of the information processing apparatus, but the information processing apparatus may execute other application software.

  FIG. 2 shows an external configuration of the input device 20. FIG. 2A shows the top surface configuration of the input device 20, and FIG. 2B shows the bottom surface configuration of the input device 20. The input device 20 includes a light emitter 22 and a cylindrical main body 24. The light emitting body 22 is formed in a sphere with a light-transmitting resin on the outside, and has a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode or a light bulb on the inside, and when the inner light emitting element emits light, the entire outer sphere shines. Operation buttons 30, 32, 34, 36, and 38 and an activation button 42 are provided on the upper surface of the main body 24, and an operation button 40 is provided on the lower surface. The user operates the operation buttons 30, 32, 34, 36, and 38 with the thumb and the operation button 40 with the index finger while holding the end of the main body 24 with the hand. The operation buttons 30, 32, 34, 36, and 38 and the activation button 42 may be configured to be pressed, and the operation button 40 may be configured to be rotatable.

  The user plays the game while watching the game screen displayed on the display device 12. Since the imaging device 14 needs to image the light emitter 22 during execution of the game software, the imaging device 14 is preferably arranged so that the imaging range faces the same direction as the display device 12. In general, since a user often plays a game in front of the display device 12, the imaging device 14 is arranged so that the direction of the optical axis thereof coincides with the front direction of the display device 12. Specifically, the imaging device 14 is preferably arranged in the vicinity of the display device 12 so that the imaging range includes a position where the user can visually recognize the display screen of the display device 12. Thereby, the imaging device 14 can image the input device 20.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the input device 20. The input device 20 includes a wireless communication module 50, a reception unit 52, a transmission unit 54, a light emission control unit 60, a light emission unit 62, a reception unit 70, a recording unit 82, a sensor 84, and a light emission color management unit 90. The reception unit 70 includes a color information reception unit 72, a light emission instruction reception unit 74, an operation input reception unit 76, and a sensor information reception unit 78. The emission color management unit 90 includes a color candidate determination unit 92 and a color determination unit 94. The sensor 84 includes a triaxial acceleration sensor 56 and a triaxial gyro sensor 58. The wireless communication module 50 has a function of transmitting / receiving data to / from the wireless communication module of the game apparatus 10. Note that the wireless communication module 50 may include a receiving unit 52 and a transmitting unit 54.

  Each function of the input device 20 is realized by a CPU, a memory, a program loaded in the memory, and the like, and FIG. 3 shows functional blocks realized by their cooperation. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

  The recording unit 82 is a non-volatile memory and holds device information related to the input device 20. The device information includes a device identification number that identifies the input device 20, color information of the main body 24 of the input device 20, and the like. The device information is held in the recording unit 82 when the input device 20 is shipped. The color information of the main body 24 may be, for example, RGB information that specifies the housing color of the main body 24. When the input device 20 is wirelessly connected to the game apparatus 10, the transmission unit 54 transmits the device information held in the recording unit 82 from the wireless communication module 50 to the game apparatus 10.

  The triaxial acceleration sensor 56 detects acceleration components in the XYZ triaxial directions. The triaxial gyro sensor 58 detects angular velocities in the XZ plane, the ZY plane, and the YX plane. The sensor information reception unit 78 receives detection value information from the triaxial acceleration sensor 56 and the triaxial gyro sensor 58 and sends the detection value information to the transmission unit 54. The operation input receiving unit 76 receives input information from the operation buttons 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40 and the activation button 42 and sends it to the transmitting unit 54. The transmission unit 54 transmits the detection value information from the triaxial acceleration sensor 56 and the detection value information from the triaxial gyro sensor 58 together with the input information from the operation buttons via the wireless communication module 50 in a predetermined cycle. To the wireless communication module. This transmission cycle is set to 11.25 milliseconds, for example.

  The receiving unit 52 receives a signal transmitted from the game apparatus 10 via the wireless communication module 50 and passes it to the receiving unit 70. From the game apparatus 10, color information specifying the emission color of the light emitter 22 and various instructions are transmitted. When the color information reception unit 72 receives the transmitted color information, the color information reception unit 72 passes it to the emission color management unit 90.

  The emission color management unit 90 performs the emission color determination process or the determination support process of the light emission unit 62. The color candidate determination unit 92 determines a light emission color candidate. For example, the color candidate determination unit 92 determines the emission color candidates by excluding colors existing in the environment included in the captured image. The color determination unit 94 determines the light emission color of the light emitter 22 from the light emission color candidates determined by the color candidate determination unit 92. The recording unit 82 records the color information determined by the color determining unit 94. The color candidate determination unit 92 and the color determination unit 94 may determine a light emission color candidate and a light emission color from the history of color information recorded in the recording unit 82, respectively.

  The light emission control unit 60 controls the light emission of the light emitting unit 62, and controls, for example, the color tone and lighting timing of the light emitting unit 62. The light emitting unit 62 includes a red LED 64a, a green LED 64b, and a blue LED 64c, and enables light emission of a plurality of colors. The light emission control unit 60 adjusts the light emission of the red LED 64a, the green LED 64b, and the blue LED 64c according to the color information determined by the color determination unit 94.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the game apparatus 10. The game apparatus 10 includes a frame image acquisition unit 100, an image processing unit 102, a calibration processing unit 104, a light emission color management unit 110, a wireless communication module 120, a reception unit 122, a transmission unit 124, a reception unit 130, an application processing unit 140, An output unit 142 and a recording unit 150 are provided. The emission color management unit 110 includes a color candidate determination unit 112 and a color determination unit 114, and the reception unit 130 includes a device information reception unit 132 and an input reception unit 134. The wireless communication module 120 has a function of transmitting / receiving data to / from the wireless communication module 50 of the input device 20. Note that the wireless communication module 120 may include a receiving unit 122 and a transmitting unit 124.

  Each function of the game apparatus 10 is realized by a CPU, a memory, a program loaded in the memory, and the like, and FIG. 4 illustrates functional blocks realized by their cooperation. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof.

  In the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, when the activation button 42 of the input device 20 is pressed, an activation request is transmitted to the game apparatus 10 and the power of the game apparatus 10 is turned on. The wireless communication module 50 makes a call using identification information that identifies the game apparatus 10, and the wireless communication module 120 of the game apparatus 10 connects between the wireless communication module 50 and the wireless communication module 120 in response thereto. Established. At this time, the input device 20 operates as a master and the game apparatus 10 operates as a slave, but their roles are switched after the connection is established. With the above communication processing, the input device 20 can transmit the operation button state information, the detection values information of the triaxial acceleration sensor 56 and the triaxial gyro sensor 58 to the game apparatus 10 at a predetermined cycle.

  Note that when the input device 20 calls the game apparatus 10 or at a timing after the connection is established, the transmission unit 54 of the input device 20 transmits the device information held in the recording unit 82 to the game apparatus 10. In the game apparatus 10, the receiving unit 122 receives device information via the wireless communication module 120. Upon receiving the device information, the device information receiving unit 132 passes the received device information to the emission color management unit 110. Note that the device information receiving unit 132 may temporarily store the device information in a predetermined area of the memory and acquire the device information from the memory at a timing required by the light emission color management unit 110.

  The frame image acquisition unit 100 is configured as a USB interface, and acquires a frame image from the imaging device 14 at a predetermined imaging speed (for example, 30 frames / second). In the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, color calibration of the imaging device 14 is performed before the game is started.

  The calibration processing unit 104 generates a light emission instruction for calibration, and the transmission unit 124 transmits it to the input device 20 via the wireless communication module 120. The light emission instruction for calibration is information that instructs the light emitting unit 62 to emit light for a predetermined time in the order of red, green, and blue, for example. In the input device 20, when the light emission instruction receiving unit 74 receives a light emission instruction, the light emission control unit 60 controls lighting of the light emitting unit 62 in accordance with the light emission color and the light emission time included in the instruction content.

  In the input device 20, the recording unit 82 may hold a light emission pattern for calibration. In this case, the light emission instruction transmitted from the transmission unit 124 may not include information on the light emission color and the light emission time. When the light emission instruction receiving unit 74 receives the light emission instruction, the light emission control unit 60 records the light. The light emission pattern for calibration may be read from the unit 82, and the light emitting unit 62 may be controlled to be turned on according to the light emission pattern.

  When the frame image acquisition unit 100 acquires the frame image from the imaging device 14, the frame image acquisition unit 100 passes the frame image to the calibration processing unit 104. Calibration is executed to adjust the gain and the like of the imaging device 14.

  Further, the calibration processing unit 104 extracts environmental colors included in the frame image and generates environmental parameters. The environmental color is a color included in a space imaged by the imaging device 14, and the environmental parameter is generated as color information of the environmental color. The color information may be a value in which R (red), G (green), and B (blue) of one pixel are each expressed by 8 bits. The calibration processing unit 104 passes the generated environment parameter to the color candidate determination unit 112. Thus, the color calibration is completed.

In the following, processing during application execution will be described.
The light emission color management unit 110 performs a light emission color determination process or a determination support process of the light emission unit 62. The color candidate determination unit 112 determines an emission color candidate using an environmental parameter. When the light emitting unit 62 emits light in the same color as the environmental color, it may be difficult to extract the image of the light emitting unit 62 from the frame image. As a typical example, even if the light emitting unit 62 is lit red in a room surrounded by a red wall, it is easy to distinguish and recognize the image of the light emitting unit 62 and the wall image in the frame image. Not. Therefore, it is preferable that the color candidate determination unit 112 determines the emission color candidates by excluding the color information specified by the environmental parameters. It should be noted that it is preferable not to include environmental colors that occupy only a small number of pixels in the frame image. Thus, by ignoring environmental colors that do not substantially affect the recognition accuracy of the light emitting unit image, it is possible to widen the selection range of light emitting color candidates.

  The color determination unit 114 determines the light emission color of the light emitter 22 from the light emission color candidates determined by the color candidate determination unit 112. The recording unit 150 records the color information determined by the color determination unit 114. The color candidate determination unit 112 and the color determination unit 114 may determine a light emission color candidate and a light emission color from the history of color information recorded in the recording unit 150, respectively. The transmission unit 124 notifies the input device 20 of the color information determined by the color determination unit 114 via the wireless communication module 120. In the input device 20, when the color information reception unit 72 receives the color information from the reception unit 52, the color information reception unit 72 passes the color information to the emission color management unit 90. The color determination unit 94 determines the passed color information as the emission color information of the light emitting unit 62. The color determination unit 94 passes the color information to the light emission control unit 60, and the light emission control unit 60 controls the lighting of the light emission unit 62 according to the passed color information.

  In the game apparatus 10, the image processing unit 102 extracts a light emitter image from the frame image. The image processing unit 102 specifies the position and size of the light emitter image in the frame image. The image processing unit 102 may binarize the frame image data using a threshold value corresponding to the emission color of the light emitting unit 62 to generate a binarized image. As a result of this binarization processing, the pixel value of the pixel holding the luminance greater than the predetermined threshold is encoded as “1”, and the pixel value of the pixel holding the luminance equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold is encoded as “0”. The Accordingly, the image processing unit 102 can specify the position and size of the light emitter image from the binarized image. For example, the image processing unit 102 specifies the barycentric coordinates of the light emitter image in the frame image and the radius and area of the light emitter image. When a plurality of users operate the input device 20 and there are a plurality of light emitters 22 in the frame image, the image processing unit 102 uses a threshold value corresponding to the light emission color of each light emitter 22. Then, a plurality of binarized images are generated, and the position and size of each light emitter image are specified.

  The image processing unit 102 derives position information of the input device 20 as viewed from the imaging device 14 from the position and size of the identified light emitter image. The image processing unit 102 derives position coordinates in the camera coordinates from the barycentric coordinates of the light emitter image, and derives distance information from the imaging device 14 from the radius and area of the light emitter image. The position coordinates and distance information constitute position information of the input device 20. The image processing unit 102 derives the position information of the input device 20 for each frame image and passes it to the application processing unit 140. The application processing unit 140 receives the position information of the input device 20 as a game operation instruction.

  The receiving unit 122 receives the operation button state information and the sensor detection value information transmitted from the input device 20 via the wireless communication module 120, and supplies them to the input receiving unit 134. The input reception unit 134 separates the button state information and the sensor detection value information and passes them to the application processing unit 140. The application processing unit 140 receives button state information and sensor detection value information as game operation instructions. The application processing unit 140 handles sensor detection value information as posture information of the input device 20.

  The application processing unit 140 advances the game from the position information and posture information of the input device 20 and the button state information, and generates an image signal indicating the processing result of the game program. The image signal is sent from the output unit 142 to the display device 12 and output as a display image.

  In the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, the game device 10 reflects the position information of the light emitter 22 in the game process by extracting the light emitter 22 of the input device 20 from the captured image of the imaging device 14. Therefore, the light emitter 22 preferably emits light in a color other than the color included in the environmental parameters. Thereby, the game device 10 can accurately extract the image of the light emitter 22 from the captured image.

  On the other hand, the input device 20 includes not only the light emitter 22 but also a main body 24 held by the user. When the image processing unit 102 extracts the illuminant image from the frame image, the main body 24 is adjacent to the illuminant 22, and thus has a considerable influence on the recognition accuracy of the illuminant image. The calibration processing unit 104 extracts environmental colors included in the frame image and generates environmental parameters. Even when the input device 20 is included in the frame image, the orientation of the input device 20 with respect to the imaging device 14 Depending on the case, the image of the main body 24 may not be included in the frame image. If the main body 24 is not imaged, the color information of the main body 24 is not specified as an environmental color. However, as described above, the color of the main body 24 may affect the recognition accuracy of the illuminant image. In determining the emission color, it is preferable to ensure that the color information of the main body 24 is taken into account.

  There is also a demand for the user to cause the light emitter 22 to emit light in a desired color. For example, in the case of an application that allows the user to select a light emission color, the user can play a game by causing the light emitter 22 to emit light in a favorite color that is not an environmental color. When the game is played next time, the user again selects a color. If this selection operation can be omitted, there is an advantage that the user can play the game immediately. Based on the above circumstances, the process for determining the emission color in the information processing system 1 will be described. The information processing system 1 supports the emission color determination process by the game device 10 and the emission color determination process by the input device 20.

<Emission Color Determination Process by Game Device 10>
In the game apparatus 10, the device information receiving unit 132 receives device information of the input device 20. The device information includes a device identification number that identifies the input device 20, color information of the main body 24 of the input device 20, and the like. In this embodiment, the device identification number and the main body color information are accepted as color specifying information for specifying the color information of the main body 24.

  In the device information receiving unit 132, the color information of the main body 24 of the input device 20 is color specifying information that directly specifies the color information of the main body 24. For example, when the main body 24 is red, the color information included in the device information is information indicating red. On the other hand, even if the device information does not include color information, the game apparatus 10 holds in advance a table in which the device identification information of the input device 20 and the color information of the main body 24 are associated with each other. Thus, the device identification information can be received as color specifying information for specifying the color information of the main body 24 indirectly. When the input device 20 is used for the first time, it is necessary to register (pair) the device identification information with the game device 10. At this time, the user registers the color information of the main body 24, so that the correspondence table is created. Created. When the device information receiving unit 132 receives the device identification information, the device information receiving unit 132 reads the color information using the device identification information as a key with reference to the table. The device information receiving unit 132 passes the color information of the main body 24 specified from the color specifying information to the emission color management unit 110.

  When the color determining unit 114 receives the color information of the main body 24, the color determining unit 114 determines color information different from the color information of the main body 24 as the emission color of the light emitter 22. Thereby, in the frame image imaged by the imaging device 14, the light emitter image and the main body image can be easily separated by image processing.

  At this time, the color candidate determination unit 112 may receive the color information of the main body 24 to determine a light emission color candidate, and the color determination unit 114 may determine a light emission color from the candidates. In the candidate determination by the color candidate determining unit 112, the candidate for the emission color is determined by excluding the color information of the main body 24 from the plurality of emission colors that can be generated by the light emitter 22. Note that the color candidate determination unit 112 has already excluded the color information specified by the environment parameter from the candidates, and further determines the emission color candidate by excluding the color information of the main body 24. Note that the luminescent color candidate may be color information itself specifying RGB pixel values, or a selection range so that environmental color information and main body color information cannot be selected in a color template that allows the user to select a color. May be limited. From the candidates thus narrowed down, the color determination unit 114 determines the emission color. At this time, the color determination unit 114 may determine the emission color according to a user's selection instruction. Thereby, in the frame image imaged by the imaging device 14, the light emitter image can be easily separated from the environment image including the main body image by image processing. The transmission unit 124 notifies the color information determined by the color determination unit 114 to the input device 20 via the wireless communication module 120.

The color candidate determination unit 112 may present the determined emission color candidates to the user.
FIG. 5 shows an example of an emission color candidate presentation screen. In the display device 12, the light emission color candidates determined by the color candidate determination unit 112 are shown in the color arrangement regions 200a to 200f. Candidate colors are assigned to the respective color arrangement regions 200 a to 200 f, and the user can select one of the color arrangement regions 200 by operating the input device 20. For example, when the user selects the color arrangement area 200b, the input reception unit 134 receives an operation instruction input to the input device 20, and the color determination unit 114 converts the color information of the light emitter 22 into the color information of the color arrangement area 200b. decide. By presenting a plurality of emission color candidates, the user can select a favorite color.

  When the color determination unit 114 determines color information and the transmission unit 124 notifies the input device 20 of the color information, the reception unit 52 in the input device 20 receives the color information. When the color information receiving unit 72 receives the color information and passes it to the color determining unit 94, the color determining unit 94 determines the color information of the light emitter 22, and the light emission control unit 60 uses the color information to identify the light emitting unit 62. Emits light.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the color information determination process. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the processing procedure of each part is displayed by a combination of S (acronym for Step) meaning a step and a number. In addition, when a determination process is executed in the process displayed by the combination of S and a number, and the determination result is affirmative, Y (acronym for Yes) is added, for example (Y in S10) If the result of the determination is negative, N (acronym for No) is added and (N in S10) is displayed. The meaning of the display in the flowchart is the same in the flowcharts shown in other drawings.

  The device information receiving unit 132 receives color specifying information for specifying the color information of the main body 24 of the input device 20 (S10). The color candidate determination unit 112 determines a light emission color candidate that can be assigned to the light emitter 22 from the environmental parameters and the color information of the main body 24 (S12). This candidate is presented to the user on the display device 12 (N in S14). When the user selects one of the candidates (Y in S14), the color determination unit 114 determines the selected color information as the color information of the light emitter 22 (S16). The transmission unit 124 notifies the input device 20 of the color information determined by the color determination unit 114 via the wireless communication module 120 (S18).

  It is assumed that another user participates in the game halfway. An input device to which color information has already been assigned is referred to as a “first input device 20”, and an input device of a user who participates midway is referred to as a “second input device 20”.

  As already described, the second input device 20 owned by the new user transmits device information to the game apparatus 10, and the device information receiving unit 132 specifies the color information of the main body 24 of the second input device 20. Color specific information is acquired. The device information receiving unit 132 passes the color information of the main body 24 to the emission color management unit 110.

  When the color determination unit 114 receives the color information of the main body 24 of the second input device 20, the color information of the light emitter 22 of the second input device 20 is different from the color information of the light emitter 22 of the first input device 20. To be determined. Thereby, the light emission colors of the first input device 20 and the second input device 20 can be made different, and the image processing unit 102 can distinguish and recognize each of them.

  At this time, when the color information of the main body 24 of the second input device 20 and the color information of the light emitter 22 of the first input device 20 indicate the same color, the color determination unit 114 emits light of the first input device 20. The color information of the body 22 is changed. Note that the same color includes not only the case where all the RGB pixel values constituting the color information are the same, but also the color that is difficult to be separated by the filter processing in the image processing unit 102 even if they are different. For example, when the color information (R, G, B) of the main body 24 of the second input device 20 indicates (255, 0, 0) and red, the color information of the light emitter 22 of the first input device 20 is (245, Even when a red color slightly different from (0, 0) is displayed, it is practically difficult to distinguish the color information in the image processing unit 102. In such a case, the first input device 20 The color information of the light emitter 22 is changed. The threshold for determining whether or not the colors are the same depends on the environment, and the color determination unit 114 has the threshold map information depending on the environment, so that the main body color information of the second input device 20 and the first input It is determined whether or not the light emission color information of the device 20 is the same color.

  Note that when changing the emission color information of the first input device 20, the color determination unit 114 may forcibly execute the change process, but the color candidate determination unit 112 displays a display screen of emission color candidates. It may be generated in the device 12 so that the user can select a favorite color.

  When the color determining unit 114 determines the color information of the light emitter 22, the color determining unit 114 records the color information in the recording unit 150. In general, the display device 12 and the imaging device 14 are arranged in a room, and the arrangement is rarely changed. Therefore, the space imaged by the imaging device 14 is not significantly changed, and therefore the environmental parameters are not greatly changed from day to day.

  Since the color determining unit 114 determines the light emission color information with reference to the environmental parameters, the light emission color information is highly likely to be used even in the next game play. Furthermore, since the emission color is determined by the user's selection, it is often the user's favorite color. Therefore, by recording the color information determined by the color determination unit 114 in the recording unit 150, the color information recorded in the recording unit 150 may be used at the next game play.

  For the above reason, the game apparatus 10 records the history of the color information determined by the color determination unit 114 in the recording unit 150. At this time, the color determination unit 114 records device identification information for specifying the input device 20 and color information in association with each other. For example, when the user A uses the first input device 20 and the user B uses the second input device 20, by recording the device identification information of the first input device 20 and the emission color information in association with each other, In the next play, the user can assign a past emission color to the user A. Similarly, by recording the device identification information of the second input device 20 and the emission color information in association with each other, the user B On the other hand, the past emission color can be assigned at the next play.

  Specifically, when the wireless connection between the game apparatus 10 and the input device 20 is established, the color determination unit 114 receives the device identification information of the input device 20 from the device information reception unit 132 and is recorded in the recording unit 150. Get the emission color information. The color determination unit 114 uses the emission color information recorded most recently, that is, the emission color information assigned at the end of the previous play, among the emission color information recorded in the recording unit 150. Determine as. Thereby, it becomes possible to reassign the luminescent color which the user selected last time, without the selection operation | movement by a user.

  At this time, when the color candidate determining unit 112 determines the luminescent color candidates that can be assigned using the environmental parameters, and the luminescent color information acquired from the recording unit 150 is included in the candidates, the color determining unit 114 The color information may be determined. As a result, it is possible to realize the assignment of the luminescent color in consideration of the environmental parameters. At this time, if the latest emission color information recorded in the recording unit 150 is not available, it is determined whether the emission color can be assigned in the order of the recording date and time from the current date and time, and the color information of the light emitter 22 is determined. May be.

  In addition, when the wireless connection between the game apparatus 10 and the input device 20 is established, the color candidate determination unit 112 receives the device identification information of the input device 20 from the device information reception unit 132, and from the history recorded in the recording unit 150. Alternatively, a plurality of emission color information may be acquired in order from the current date and time to generate the presentation screen shown in FIG. The input reception unit 134 receives a determination instruction for the emission color from the user, and the color determination unit 114 determines the color information of the light emitter 22 based on the determination instruction. As a result, the user is presented not only with the color information at the time of the previous play but also with a plurality of color information as options, and the opportunity for selecting the emission color increases.

  FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the color information determination process. The device information receiving unit 132 receives device identification information of the input device 20 (S30). When the color candidate determination unit 112 acquires the device identification information of the input device 20 from the device information reception unit 132, the color candidate determination unit 112 refers to the recording unit 150 and uses a plurality of emission colors as candidates from the history associated with the device identification information. Information is acquired (S32). This candidate is presented to the user on the display device 12 (N in S34). When the user selects any one of the candidates (Y in S34), the color determination unit 114 determines the selected color information as the color information of the light emitter 22 (S36). The transmission unit 124 notifies the input device 20 of the color information determined by the color determination unit 114 via the wireless communication module 120 (S38).

The above is the process for determining the emission color by the game apparatus 10, but the process for determining the emission color by the input device 20 will be described below.
<Emission Color Determination Process Using Input Device 20>
In the input device 20, the recording unit 82 records a history of color information determined by the color determining unit 94. The color determining unit 94 determines the color information received by the color information receiving unit 72 from the game apparatus 10 as the color information of the light emitting unit 62. Accordingly, the recording unit 82 stores color information determined on the game apparatus 10 side and color information history determined on the input device 20 side.

  The color determination unit 94 acquires the emission color information recorded in the recording unit 82. The color determination unit 114 uses the emission color information recorded in the recording unit 82 as the most recently recorded emission color information, that is, the emission color information assigned at the end of the previous play. Determine as. Thereby, it becomes possible to reassign the luminescent color which the user selected last time, without the selection operation | movement by a user.

  Further, the color candidate determination unit 92 may acquire a plurality of pieces of light emission color information from the history recorded in the recording unit 82 in the order of the recording date and time from the current date and time. At this time, the color candidate determination unit 92 passes the color information to the color determination unit 94 in the order from the current date and time. The color determination unit 94 sends the color information to the light emission control unit 60, and the light emission control unit 60 emits the light emission unit 62.

  If the user does not like the emitted color, the user cancels the emitted color with a simple operation. For example, it is assumed that this simple operation is an operation in which the user shakes the input device 20 in the horizontal direction. When the user shakes the input device 20 in the horizontal direction, the sensor information receiving unit 78 receives detection value information of the sensor 84. From this detected value information, for example, when the internal circuit of the input device 20 or the game apparatus 10 determines that the operation is a swinging motion and notifies the light emission color management unit 90, the light emission color management unit 90 determines whether the light emission color candidate is present. Recognize that it was canceled. The color candidate determination unit 92 passes the next color information to the color determination unit 94, and when the color determination unit 94 sends the color information to the light emission control unit 60, the light emission control unit 60 emits the light emission unit 62. As a result, the user is presented not only with the color information at the time of the previous play but also with a plurality of color information as options, and can easily select the emission color. When the user likes the emitted color, the user performs an operation for determining the emitted color. This determination operation is, for example, an operation in which the user swings the input device 20 in the vertical direction, and the light emission color management unit 90 recognizes that the light emission color has been determined in the above-described procedure.

  In the above, this invention was demonstrated based on the Example. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. .

  For example, when the main body 24 has a plurality of colors, the device information transmitted from the input device 20 to the game apparatus 10 includes color specifying information for specifying a plurality of color information. Further, for example, when a pattern sticker or the like is affixed to the main body 24, the user associates the game apparatus 10 with a table in which the identification information of the input device 20 and the color information of the main body 24 are associated with each other. Further, it is preferable that color information of the seal is registered. Further, the color information of the seal may be registered in the table as the color information of the main body 24.

  In the embodiment, the environmental parameter has been described. However, the color information that cannot be assigned as the emission color due to the environmental parameter is accumulated in the recording unit 150, and the color candidate determination unit 112 and the color determination unit 114 thereafter perform the respective processes. It may be handled as unassignable color information that cannot be determined as the luminescent color candidate and luminescent color information. In this case, the color candidate determination unit 112 and the color determination unit 114 determine the emission color candidate and the emission color information from the current environmental parameter and the accumulated unassignable color information, respectively. Note that, when the arrangement of the display device 12 or the imaging device 14 is changed and it is detected that the environmental parameter has changed significantly, the accumulated unallocated color information may be deleted from the recording unit 150. preferable.

  Further, when the input device 20 is not wirelessly connected to the game apparatus 10, the light emitting unit 62 may emit light in a predetermined pattern. For example, a light emission mode may be set in which the light emission color changes according to the acceleration of the input device 20 being shaken, or the light emission mode blinks after lighting for a predetermined time. When the user operates a predetermined button, the input device 20 transitions to this blinking light emission mode.

  With reference to FIG. 2, for example, when the operation buttons 34 and 36 are pressed at the same time and a START button (not shown) provided on the side surface of the main body 24 is pressed, the mode changes to the flashing emission mode. The return from the blinking light emission mode to the normal mode may be realized by pressing the START button. In addition, when the input device 20 is wirelessly connected to the game apparatus 10, the transition from the normal mode to the flashing light emission mode is prohibited, and the wireless connection between the input device 20 and the game apparatus 10 is performed in the flashing light emission mode. May be set to be prohibited.

  In the blinking light emission mode, the light emission color of the light emitter 22 may be set regardless of the restriction of the use color due to the environmental color, the main body color, or the like. On the other hand, the input device 20 may acquire environmental parameters from the game apparatus 10 in advance, and the color determination unit 94 may determine the emission color so as to avoid environmental colors. In this way, the input device 20 can realize not only an application input device but also a function as an independent device having a lighting function corresponding to the mode.

  Since the input device 20 is battery-driven, it is preferable to suppress power consumption. Therefore, the input device 20 can transition to the power saving light emission mode autonomously or in response to an instruction from the game apparatus 10. In the power saving light-emitting mode, when high-luminance light emission is avoided and the light-emitting unit 62 is an LED that is controlled to emit light within a luminance value range of 0 to 255, lighting with a high luminance value is not permitted. The light emission is controlled in the range of the luminance value of ˜127.

  The input device 20 has a function of monitoring the remaining battery level. When the input device 20 detects that the remaining battery level is lower than the predetermined value, the input device 20 may autonomously shift to the power saving light emission mode. In the power saving light emission mode, the color determination unit 94 determines whether the light emission color information of the light emission unit 62 is in the range of luminance values from 0 to 127. The upper limit of the luminance value is not limited to 127, and may be set arbitrarily. When any luminance value of RGB exceeds the upper limit, the color determination unit 94 sets the color information so that all the luminance values of RGB are 127 or less so that the hue of the emission color of the light emitting unit 62 does not change greatly. decide. For example, by setting the highest luminance value to 127 or less and lowering the other luminance values by the same ratio, it is possible to realize power saving of the input device 20 without changing the overall hue. Thereby, even if the user may feel that the emission color of the light emitting unit 62 has become slightly dark, since the overall hue does not change, the game play can be continued without feeling uncomfortable. When the color determination unit 94 determines the emission color information, the transmission unit 54 transmits the emission color information to the game device 10 for the light emitter image recognition processing in the game device 10.

  Further, the input device 20 transmits information on the remaining battery level to the game apparatus 10, and when the game apparatus 10 detects that the remaining battery level has fallen below a predetermined value, the input device 20 is shifted to the power saving light emission mode. Also good. Note that the user may be able to select the power saving light emission mode as the operation mode of the input device 20. In this case, the game apparatus 10 receives a request for transition to the power saving light emission mode from the input device 20 and inputs it. The device 20 is shifted to the power saving mode.

  In the game apparatus 10, the color determination unit 114 determines whether the emission color information of the light emitting unit 62 is in the range of luminance values from 0 to 127. When any luminance value of RGB is 128 or more, the color determination unit 114 performs color information so that all luminance values of RGB are 127 or less so that the hue of the emission color of the light emitting unit 62 does not change significantly. To decide. Specifically, the color determination unit 114 executes the process described as the process of the color determination unit 94. When the color determination unit 114 determines the emission color information, the transmission unit 124 transmits the emission color information to the input device 20.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing system, 10 ... Game device, 12 ... Display device, 14 ... Imaging device, 20 ... Input device, 22 ... Light emitter, 24 ... Main body, 50 ... Wireless communication module, 52 ... Receiver, 54 ... Transmitter, 60 ... Light emission control unit, 62 ... Light emission unit, 70 ... Reception unit, 72 ... Color information reception , 74... Luminescence instruction receiving unit, 76 .. operation input receiving unit, 78... Sensor information receiving unit, 82... Recording unit, 90. Candidate determination unit, 94 ... color determination unit, 100 ... frame image acquisition unit, 102 ... image processing unit, 104 ... calibration processing unit, 110 ... emission color management unit, 112 ... Color candidate determination unit, 114 ... color determination unit, 120 ... wireless communication module, 122 ..Receiving unit 124... Transmitting unit 130... Receiving unit 132 132 device information receiving unit 134... Input receiving unit 140... Application processing unit 142. 150 recording unit.

Claims (11)

A receiving unit that receives color specifying information for specifying color information of the main body from a first input device having a light emitter and the main body;
A color determination unit for determining color information of the light emitter of the first input device;
A notification unit for notifying the determined color information to the first input device,
The color determination unit determines color information different from main body color information specified from color specifying information as color information of a light emitter of a first input device. A color candidate deciding unit for deciding emission color candidates of the illuminant;
The color candidate determination unit determines a light emission color candidate by excluding the main body color information specified from the color specification information from a plurality of light emission colors that can be generated by a light emitter. The information processing apparatus described in 1.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the color candidate determination unit presents the determined light emission color candidates to the user.   When the reception unit receives color specifying information from the second input device, the color determination unit is configured so that the color information of the light emitter of the second input device is different from the color information of the light emitter of the first device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is determined as follows.   When the reception unit receives color specifying information from the second input device, the color determination unit determines that the color information of the main body of the second input device and the color information of the light emitter of the first input device have the same color. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color information of the light emitter of the first input device is changed when the information is displayed. An acquisition unit for acquiring a captured image of the input device;
An image processing unit for extracting a light emitter image from a captured image of the input device;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the color determination unit determines color information different from environmental color information included in the captured image as color information of a light emitter of the first input device.   When an upper limit is set for the luminance value included in the color information of the light emitter, and the luminance value of the color information of the light emitter exceeds the upper limit, the color determination unit determines the luminance value to be equal to or lower than the upper limit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is set. An information processing system including an information processing apparatus and an input device,
The input device is
A light emitter;
The body,
A light emission control unit for controlling light emission of the light emitter,
Information processing device
A receiving unit that receives color specifying information for specifying color information of the main body from an input device;
A color determining unit that determines color information of the light emitter of the input device;
A notification unit for notifying the input device of the determined color information,
An information processing system characterized by this. On the computer,
A function of receiving color specifying information for specifying color information of the main body from an input device having a light emitter and the main body;
A function for determining color information different from the color information of the main body specified from the color specification information as the color information of the light emitter of the input device;
A function to notify the input device of the determined color information;
A program to realize   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program of Claim 10.

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