Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Toshimichi Tokuda

Hirotaka Sawa

Shinichi Shigenaga

Kazunori Hayashi

Akitoshi Izumi

Shintaro Yoshikuni

Hiroyuki Matsumoto

Shuichi Watanabe

Hisashi Tsuji

Tadashi Maki

Teppei Fukuda

Takashi Hirabara

Naoya Tanaka

Kosuke Shinozaki

Shojiro Matsuo

Ryoichi Yuge

Keisuke Fujimoto

Masanari Miyamoto

Ryota Fujii

Hirokazu Tasaka

Takashi Kimura

Natsushi Ono

Kenichi Taniguchi

Susumu Ono

Ryouichi Yuge

Yoshio Ikura

Nobuyuki Kono

In a sound source display system, an omnidirectional camera captures an image of a monitoring area. A microphone array collects a voice in the monitoring area. A monitoring monitor displays the image of an imaging area captured by the omnidirectional camera. A sound pressure calculator in a directivity control device calculates a sound pressure indicating a source of a sound in the image of the imaging area using voice data of the voice collected by the microphone array. An output controller in the directivity control device compares the sound pressure and threshold values (first threshold value, second threshold value), and causes sound image information in which the sound pressure is converted into visual information according to the result of comparison, to be displayed on the monitoring monitor so as to be superimposed on the image of the imaging area.

Monitoring system and monitoring method

In a directionality control system, a camera device captures a video of image capture area. A microphone array device collects a sound in image capture area. A signal processing section detects a sound source of the sound in image capture area, which is collected by the microphone array device. In a case where the detected sound source is within a range of privacy area, an output control section controls the sound in image capture area, which is collected by the microphone array device and is output from speaker device.

Directionality control system and sound output control method

A directionality control system includes: a camera; a microphone provided as a separate body from the camera; a display that displays video data captured by the camera; and a processor that computes a sound collection direction, which is directed from the microphone toward a sound position corresponding to a designated position in the video data. The processor computes the sound collection direction by using parameters including: a first height of the camera from a reference surface, a second height of the microphone from the reference surface, a third height of a computation reference point from the reference surface, the computation reference point being positioned in the sound collection direction at a position different from the sound position, a direction which is directed from the camera toward the sound position, and a fourth height of the sound position from the reference surface.

Directionality control system, calibration method, horizontal deviation angle computation method, and directionality control method

A directivity control apparatus is provided which controls a directivity of a sound collected by a first sound collector including a plurality of microphones. The directivity control apparatus forms a directivity of the sound in a direction toward a position of a monitoring target in an image displayed on a display. Information on the position of the monitoring target in the image displayed on the display is obtained. The directivity of the sound is changed toward the position of the monitoring target in accordance with a movement of the monitoring target by referring to the obtained information on the position of the monitoring target.

Directivity control apparatus, directivity control method, storage medium and directivity control system

In a communication apparatus, an encoder compresses telephone call voice which is transmitted from another communication apparatus. A voice accumulator preserves the telephone call voice, which is compressed by the encoder, as a message. A decoder expands the telephone call voice which is preserved in the voice accumulator. A signal memory temporarily maintains the telephone call voice which is expanded by the decoder. A speech speed convertor performs speech speed conversion on the telephone call voice, which is read from the signal memory, and outputs resulting voice from a speaker. A memory monitor temporarily stops to expand the telephone call voice in the decoder in a case where the memory monitor determines that an idle capacity of the signal memory approaches a predetermined lower limit value.

Communication apparatus mounted with speech speed conversion device

A directivity control method is provided for controlling a directivity of a sound collected by a first sound collector including a plurality of microphones. The directivity control method includes: forming a directivity of the sound in a direction toward a monitoring target corresponding to a first designated position in an image displayed on a display; obtaining information on a second designated position in the image displayed on the display, designated in accordance with a movement of the monitoring target, and changing the directivity of the sound toward the monitoring target corresponding to the second designated position by referring to the information on the second designated position.

Sound collection directionality is formed toward a location corresponding to a position designated in a video of a predetermined region which is imaged by a camera apparatus with a microphone array apparatus as a reference, and audio data is collected with high accuracy. In a directionality control system (), a signal processing unit () derives a sound collection direction (&#x3b8;,&#x3b8;) which is directed from an installation position of a microphone array apparatus () toward a sound position corresponding to a position designated in video data on a screen of the display device () in response to a user's designation of any position in the video data displayed on the screen. The signal processing unit () forms sound collection directionality of audio data in the derived sound collection direction (&#x3b8;,&#x3b8;).

A recorder receives designation of a video which is desired to be reproduced from a user. If designation of one or more designated locations where sound is emphasized on a screen of a display which displays the video is received by the recorder from the user via an operation unit during reproduction or temporary stopping of the video, a signal processing unit performs an emphasis process on audio data, that is, the signal processing unit emphasizes audio data in directions directed toward positions corresponding to the designated locations from a microphone array by using audio data recorded in the recorder. A reproducing device reproduces the emphasis-processed audio data and video data in synchronization with each other.

Sound processing system and processing method that emphasize sound from position designated in displayed video image

A directivity control apparatus controls a directivity of a sound collected by a first sound collecting unit including a plurality of microphones. The directivity control apparatus includes a directivity forming unit, configured to form a directivity of the sound in a direction toward a monitoring target corresponding to a first designated position in an image displayed on a display unit, and an information obtaining unit, configured to obtain information on a second designated position in the image displayed on the display unit, designated in accordance with a movement of the monitoring target. The directivity forming unit is configured to change the directivity of the sound toward the monitoring target corresponding to the second designated position by referring to the information on the second designated position obtained by the information obtaining unit.

A system includes an imaging part that captures an image, a sound collection part that collects sounds, a display part that displays image data captured by the imaging part, a directive direction calculation part that calculates a directive direction which directs toward a sound position corresponding to a designated position of the image data from the sound collection part when any position of the displayed image data is designated, and a control part that forms a directivity in the sounds in the calculated directive direction. The control part controls output of the sounds collected by the sound collection part or output of the sounds which are collected by the sound collection part and of which the directivity is formed, or suspends collection of sounds in the sound collection part, when it is determined that the sound position is included in a preset protection region.

Directivity control system and sound output control method

A failure detection system includes an omnidirectional microphone array device having a plurality of microphone elements and a directivity control device that calculates a delay time of a voice propagated from a sound source to each microphone element and forms a directivity of the voice using the delay time and the voice collected by the omnidirectional microphone array device, and detects a failure of the microphone element. A smoothing unit calculates an average power of one microphone element. An average calculator calculates a total average power of a plurality of usable microphone elements included in the omnidirectional microphone array device. A comparison unit compares whether or not a difference between the average power and the total average power exceeds a range of &#xb1;6 dB, and determines whether the microphone element is in failure based on the comparison result.

Failure detection system and failure detection method

An audio processing system, includes: an audio collector that collects audio in a non-directivity state using audio collection elements; an operator receives an input of one or more designation directions for audio emphasis for switching from the non-directivity state to a directivity state; an emphasis processor that generates audio data in the directivity state obtained by performing an emphasis process on the audio data in the designation direction from the audio collector using audio data collected by the audio collector according to the input of the designation direction; a volume adjustor that adjusts volume of the audio data in a directivity state; and an audio output that outputs the audio in a non-directivity state collected by the audio collector or the audio in a directivity state after the volume has been adjusted by the volume adjustor.

Audio processing system and audio processing method

A directivity control system includes: a sound collection unit, configured to collect a sound; a display unit, configured to display a designation screen used to designate a directivity direction oriented from the sound collection unit to a first sound position; a directivity direction calculation unit, configured to calculate a horizontal angle and a vertical angle from the sound collection unit to the first sound position corresponding to the designated directivity direction in accordance with a designation of the directivity direction on the designation screen displayed by the display unit; and a control unit, configured to form directivity of the sound collected by the sound collection unit based on the horizontal angle and the vertical angle calculated by the directivity direction calculation unit.

Directivity control system, directivity control method, sound collection system and sound collection control method

A directivity control apparatus controls a directivity of a sound collected by a sound collecting unit including a plurality of microphones. A beam forming unit forms a beam in a direction from the sound collecting unit toward a sound source corresponding to a position designated in an image on a display unit. A magnification setting unit sets a magnification for magnifying or demagnifying the image in the display according to an input. The beam forming unit also changes a size of the formed beam in accordance with the magnification set by the magnification setting unit.

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Fukuoka, Japan

Toshimichi Tokuda