Sony Corporation

Tadafusa Tomitaka

Masakazu Koyanagi

Naoyasu Hosonuma

Ken Tamayama

Toshiyuki Iijima

Taro Suito

Takayuki Sakamoto

Hiroshi Kawamura

Takayuki Sasaki

Kyoko Fukuda

Koji Kageyama

Yukihiko Machida

Naohisa Arai

Tsuneo Sekiya

Jun Ohkawa

A picture photographed by a camera portion is sent to a video capturing portion of a computer. The picture is displayed in an operation area of a monitor. A panorama picture of which pictures in part or all moving range of a pan tiler are combined is displayed in a panorama operation area. A pan tilter portion sends positional information of pan and tilt to the computer through a mode controller. With a mouse, the operation area and the panorama operation area are operated so as to select an object. The computer obtains data for driving the pan tilter. Thus, the selected object is displayed at the center of the operation area.

Controller for photographing apparatus and photographing system

A picture photographed by a camera portion is sent to a video capturing portion of a computer. The picture is displayed in an operation, area of a monitor. A panorama picture of which pictures in part or all moving range of a pan tiler are combined is displayed in a panorama operation area. A pan tilter portion sends positional information of pan and tilt to the computer through a mode controller. With a mouse, the operation area and the panorama operation area are operated so as to select an object. The computer obtains data for driving the pan tilter. Thus, the selected object is displayed at the center of the operation area.

A personal computer detects the current state of a video camera with reference to setting information transmitted thereto from a work station. When a command for controlling the video camera is inputted from a mouse, the personal computer predicts an image, which is assumed to be shot by the video camera upon execution of the command, with reference to both the information transmitted from the work station and the command inputted from the mouse, and then displays the predicted image on a CRT monitor. Referring to the image being displayed on the CRT monitor, a user performs a manipulation to instruct execution of the command in the case of executing the previous input command. As a result, the command inputted previously is transmitted to the work station via an internet, thereby controlling the video camera and a pan tilter. Thus, the video camera connected via a network or the like can be controlled smoothly.

Camera controlling device and method for predicted viewing

A tracking apparatus for tracking an imaging object, includes: imaging means for imaging the imaging object; driving means for driving the imaging means to perform panning and tilting; position detection means for detecting a position of the imaging object in an image outputted from the imaging means; automatic tracking means for calculating a displacement amount between the position of the imaging object detected by the position detection means and a reference position in the image outputted from the imaging means and controlling the driving means based on the displacement amount so that the position of the imaging object may coincide with the reference position to automatically track the imaging object; and reference position setting means for setting the reference position.

Tracking apparatus and tracking method

A motion detection system for detecting motion in input images. One of the input images is stored for use as a reference image for motion detection processing. The reference image is updated according to any one of a multiple of possible updating modes. Images input after establishment of the reference image are compared to the reference image and the detection of motion in the input images is based on the comparison. The interval in which motion in the input images is detected is extended according to a predetermined extension time.

Motion detection apparatus and motion detection method

An incorrect operation is prevented from occurring in a tracking system for keeping track of a photographic object and taking a picture of the photographic object. When a body which is most likely to be recognized incorrectly as a photographic object exists, pan/tilt driving is carried out on a lens block employed in the tracking system so that an optical axis of the lens block is brought into the range of an angle set as an allowed-drive range. By doing so, the lens block will never take a picture of the body. As a result, an incorrect operation can be prevented from occurring due to incorrect recognition of the body as a photographic object.

Control apparatus and control method

The invention provides a tracking apparatus and a tracking method by which an imaging object can be set without any special manual operation by a user. An imaged image is supplied to an imaging object setting section via an imaging object processing section. In the imaging object setting section, a motion detection section calculates a difference value between images of successive two frames and detects a motion of an image based on the difference value. Then, a portion of the image from which the motion is detected is set as an imaging object to be tracked.

The automatic tracking/image sensing device includes a lens barrel for supporting an image sensing lens, a support mechanism for supporting the lens barrel in such a way that the lens barrel can be moved, driver for driving the lens barrel, an image sensor installed at a location in close proximity to an image created by the image sensing lens, a video signal processor for generating a video signal based on a signal output by the image sensor, an object position detector for computing a positional deviation from the current position of the object to the center of the screen in accordance with the video signal generated by the video signal processor, a deflection detecting sensor for detecting the deflection of the lens barrel and a lens barrel posture controller for adjusting the angle of the lens barrel by using a driver in accordance with the positional deviation and the deflection. There can thus be provided an automatic tracking image sensing device with a simple configuration for automatic tracking by deflection correction.

Automatic tracking/image sensing device

A video camera system and method for automatically controlling the exposure of a desired object image. A plurality of average luminance values are respectively determined by a plurality of light measurement units. A plurality of reference luminance values are obtained from a plurality of reference value circuits. Selected ones of the average luminance values and the reference luminance values are utilized to form control signals. Such control signals control the video camera so as to maintain a proper exposure of the desired object.

System and method for controlling exposure of a video camera by

A method and apparatus for printing a hand motion corrected still picture frame to form a clear, high quality image. Even field and odd field data making up a still picture frame are stored in a memory. The stored frame is divided into blocks and a motion vector is detected for each block. A hand motion correction (or deviation) quantity is determined from the entirety of the detected motion vectors; and the two fields of the still picture frame are read out of the memory, corrected as a function of the deviation quantity and printed.

Method and apparatus for printing high quality still picture frames

A video camera system can suitably track a moving object without influence of other objects outside the desired image. Detection feature patterns are formed after brightness and hue frequency feature data are obtained on the basis of image information of the detection measurement frame. The position of detection measurement frame having a feature pattern with the largest similarity to the standard feature pattern obtained from the standard measurement frame is determined. An imaging condition of a television camera is controlled on the basis of the position information of the detection measurement frame in order to attain a video camera system enabling to suitably track the object motion. Further, a video camera system can obtain a face image of constantly a same size with a simple construction. An area of the face image on the display plane is detected as the detected face area, and by comparing this with a standard face area, zooming-processing is performed such that the difference becomes 0. Thus, it is unnecessary to use the method of a distance sensor, etc., and a video camera system with a simple construction can be obtained.

Video camera system which automatically follows subject changes

A video signal follow-up processing system for adaptively tracking to the moving of a subject. A detection feature pattern is formed through acquisition of brightness and hue frequency characteristic data based on pixel information in a detection measurement frame, a similarity calculation method, which can distinguish a reference measurement frame from other areas, is selected on the screen, and the position of a detection measurement frame with a feature pattern having the highest similarity with the standard feature pattern obtained from the reference measurement frame is determined, in order to change and control an image to be projected on the display screen based on the positional information of the detection measurement frame, so that the video signal follow-up processing system can adaptively track to the moving of the subject.

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Chiba, Japan

Tadafusa Tomitaka