JP2010041187A - Monitoring camera system and monitoring operation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a surveillance camera system capable of facilitating an operation for causing a surveillance camera device to catch a target and improving operability.
A video signal is transmitted from a monitoring camera device 3 to a monitoring operation device 5 and displayed on a monitor 33. The data communication unit 35 receives the target information including the position of the target detected from the image captured by the monitoring camera device 3 from the monitoring camera device in real time without including the delay of the video signal. The virtual screen generation unit 41 generates a virtual screen based on the target information. The virtual screen generation unit 41 generates an image that virtually represents the position of the target in the image as a virtual screen. A mark representing the real-time position and direction of the target may be added to the virtual screen. Marks representing the delayed position and orientation of the target in the video may also be added. Also, a mark representing the moving direction of the target in real time may be added.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring camera system that transmits video from a monitoring camera device to a monitoring operation device and displays the video on the monitoring operation device.

  Conventionally, a surveillance camera system including a surveillance camera device and a remote surveillance operation device is known. In the surveillance camera system, an image is generated by the surveillance camera device. The video signal is transmitted to the monitoring operation device via a network or the like and displayed on the monitor of the monitoring operation device. The user looks at the monitor and performs an operation for instructing rotation of the surveillance camera. This operation is accepted by the monitoring camera device via the monitoring operation device, and the monitoring camera device rotates and turns in the direction according to the user's instruction. When the user performs an operation for instructing the zoom magnification, this operation is accepted by the monitoring camera device, and the zoom magnification is controlled.

  In this type of surveillance camera system, video delay may occur due to video signal encoding processing and transmission processing. When the video delay occurs, the image displayed on the monitor and the image actually captured by the surveillance camera device are shifted. For this reason, the user continues the rotation operation even though the monitoring camera device is already facing the target direction. As a result, the surveillance camera device may turn more than necessary. Such a phenomenon is called overrun.

  Conventionally, as a technique for avoiding overrun, the video delay is reduced by reducing the size of the video or reducing the resolution.

  Another overrun avoidance technique proposes to inform the user on the monitor that the surveillance camera is rotating. In this technique, for example, a specific color is used for the window frame of the monitoring video to express whether or not it is rotating (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Still another overrun avoidance technique calculates coordinate information of a control target based on a camera operation control command according to a user operation, and superimposes an arrow or the like according to the calculated coordinate information on an image received from the camera for monitoring. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-174091 JP 2001-36883 A

  However, in the conventional surveillance camera system, if the size of the video is reduced or the resolution is lowered to avoid overrun, it is difficult to monitor while looking at the entire imaging area, and the necessary video cannot be acquired. There was also a problem that the operability was lowered. For example, since the size of the image is small, the target moves and deviates from the imaging area, and as a result, the target may be lost.

  Moreover, even if the monitor display indicating whether or not the rotation is performed as described in Patent Document 1, whether or not the rotation is being performed is a matter already known by the user, and the operability is sufficient. Not improved.

  Moreover, in patent document 2, the coordinate information of the control target corresponding to user operation is superimposed on a received image. Therefore, the user can grasp the direction in which the camera faces after the delay time by the user's own operation. However, it is impossible to grasp where the target object is captured in the image without delay currently captured by the camera. Therefore, it is not easy to properly capture the target object, and the operability is not sufficient.

  The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a surveillance camera system that can easily perform an operation of causing a surveillance camera device to catch a target and improve operability. is there.

  The surveillance camera system of the present invention includes a surveillance camera device and a surveillance operation device for displaying the video of the surveillance camera device and operating the surveillance camera device. The surveillance camera device includes an imaging unit, A rotation mechanism that rotates the imaging unit, a video transmission unit that transmits a video signal generated from an image captured by the imaging unit, and a target detection that detects a target from the image captured by the imaging unit And a data communication unit for transmitting in real time target information including the position of the target detected by the target detection unit without including a delay of the video signal, A video reception unit that receives the video signal, a monitor that displays the video signal, a data communication unit that receives the target information, and a virtual screen based on the target information It includes a virtual screen generation unit, wherein the virtual screen generating unit, as the virtual screen to generate an image representing virtually the position of the target in the image.

  With this configuration, target information including the position of the target detected from the image is transmitted to the monitoring operation device in real time. The monitoring operation device generates and displays a monitoring screen that virtually represents the position of the target in the image. Therefore, since the user can grasp the position of the target in the latest image actually captured by the monitoring camera device, the operation for causing the monitoring camera device to capture the target can be easily performed. Can be improved.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a monitoring operation device for displaying a video of a monitoring camera device and operating the monitoring camera device, wherein the video receiving unit receives a video signal from the monitoring camera device, and the video A monitor for displaying a signal and target information including the position of the target detected from the image captured by the monitoring camera device is received from the monitoring camera device in real time without including a delay of the video signal. A data communication unit; and a virtual screen generation unit that generates a virtual screen based on the target object information. The virtual screen generation unit virtually determines the position of the target in an image as the virtual screen. An image is generated.

  With this configuration, the target information including the position of the target detected by the target detection unit is transmitted to the monitoring operation device in real time without including the delay of the video signal, as in the above-described aspect. The monitoring operation device generates and displays a monitoring screen that virtually represents the position of the target in the image. Therefore, since the position of the target in the image actually captured by the monitoring camera device can be grasped, an operation for causing the monitoring camera device to catch the target can be facilitated, and the operability can be improved.

  Further, in the monitoring camera device of the present invention, the virtual screen generation unit displays a real-time target mark indicating the position of the target included in the current target information received in real time from the monitoring camera device in the virtual screen. Append to With this configuration, a virtual screen that can easily grasp the position of the target can be generated by a simple process.

  In the monitoring camera device of the present invention, the target information includes a size of the target, and the virtual screen generation unit displays the real-time target mark indicating the position and size of the target on the visible screen. Append.

  With this configuration, a virtual screen that can easily grasp the size in addition to the position of the target can be generated by a simple process, an operation for causing the surveillance camera device to catch the target can be facilitated, and operability can be improved. .

  In the surveillance camera device of the present invention, the target information includes a moving direction of the target in an image, and the data communication unit includes camera moving information including a direction of the imaging unit together with the target information. The virtual screen generation unit receives the movement direction mark indicating the movement direction of the target object on the virtual screen based on the target object information and the camera movement information.

  With this configuration, it is possible to provide a virtual screen that can easily grasp the moving direction in addition to the position of the target. Depending on the camera movement direction, the movement direction of the target in the image may be different from the actual movement direction of the target. Even in such a case, the actual moving direction of the target can be grasped by looking at the virtual screen. Therefore, the operation for causing the monitoring camera device to catch the target can be facilitated, and the operability can be improved.

  In the surveillance camera device of the present invention, the virtual screen generation unit is further included in past target information obtained at the imaging time of the delayed video received by the video receiving unit and displayed on the monitor. A delayed target mark indicating the position of the target to be added is added to the virtual screen.

  With this configuration, in addition to the position of the target in the image actually captured by the surveillance camera device, the position of the target in the delayed video displayed on the monitor can be grasped. The positional relationship between the two can be grasped, and the operability can be improved.

  The monitoring camera device of the present invention determines an operation unit that receives a rotation operation of the monitoring camera device and an instruction speed to be instructed to the monitoring camera based on the rotation operation received by the operation unit. An instruction speed determination unit, wherein the instruction speed determination unit determines an instruction speed according to a delay time and a target object delay distance of the video signal, and the target object delay distance is real-time from the monitoring camera device. Included in the target information included in the current target information received in the past, and in the past target information obtained at the imaging time of the delayed video received by the video receiver and displayed on the monitor The distance to the target position.

  With this configuration, by adjusting the rotation speed of the monitoring camera device according to the above-described delay time and target delay distance, the rotation speed can be appropriately adjusted according to the video delay, and operability can be improved.

  The monitoring camera device of the present invention further includes an adjustment parameter storage unit that stores an adjustment parameter for adjusting the rotation speed according to the delay time and the target delay distance, and the operation unit includes the operation unit The rotation speed is received, and the instruction speed determination unit determines the instruction speed to be instructed to the monitoring camera device by adjusting the rotation speed using the adjustment parameter.

  With this configuration, the rotation speed according to the user operation is adjusted using the adjustment parameter for adjusting the rotation speed according to the delay time and the target object delay distance, and the instruction speed is obtained. The adjustment parameter is, for example, an adjustment coefficient. Thereby, the instruction speed is appropriately adjusted, and the operability can be improved.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a monitoring method executed in a monitoring camera system including a monitoring camera device and a monitoring operation device for displaying an image of the monitoring camera device and operating the monitoring camera. The video signal generated from the image captured by the imaging unit of the monitoring camera device is transmitted to the monitoring operation device, and includes the position of the target detected from the image captured by the imaging unit. The target information is transmitted to the monitoring operation device in real time without including the delay of the video signal, the video signal is received by the monitoring operation device and displayed on the monitor, and the target is displayed by the monitoring operation device. Object information is received, based on the object information, a virtual screen that is an image that virtually represents the position of the object in the image is generated, and the virtual screen is displayed on the monitor. Also by this method, the above-described advantages of the present invention can be suitably obtained.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a monitoring operation support method for supporting a monitoring operation, which is executed by a monitoring operation device for displaying an image of the monitoring camera device and operating the monitoring camera. A video signal is received from a camera device and displayed on a monitor, and target information including the position of the target detected from an image captured by the monitoring camera is obtained in real time without including a delay of the video signal. Based on the target information received from the monitoring camera device, a virtual screen that is an image that virtually represents the position of the target in the image is generated, and the virtual screen is displayed on the monitor. Also by this method, the above-described advantages of the present invention can be suitably obtained.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a monitoring operation support program executed by a monitoring operation device for displaying a video of a monitoring camera device and operating the monitoring camera, wherein a video signal is received from the monitoring camera device. Received and displayed on the monitor, and receives the target information including the position of the target detected from the image captured by the monitoring camera from the monitoring camera device in real time without including the delay of the video signal. Based on the target information, a virtual screen that is an image that virtually represents the position of the target in the image is generated, and processing for displaying the virtual screen on the monitor is executed by the monitoring operation device. . Also with this configuration, the above-described advantages of the present invention can be suitably obtained.

  The present invention transmits target information including the position of a target detected from an image in real time, and displays a virtual screen that virtually represents the position of the target on a monitoring operation device, thereby enabling the monitoring camera device to It is possible to provide a surveillance camera system that can easily perform an operation for capturing a target and can improve operability.

  Hereinafter, surveillance camera devices according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  A surveillance camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the surveillance camera system 1 includes a surveillance camera device 3 and a surveillance operation device 5 for remotely operating the surveillance camera device 3.

  The monitoring camera device 3 includes an imaging unit 11, a rotation mechanism 13 that rotates the imaging unit 11, a video transmission unit 15 that transmits a video signal to the monitoring operation device 5, and a monitoring operation device 5 that transmits control-related data. A data communication unit 17 that communicates with each other, a target detection unit 19 that detects a target from an image captured by the imaging unit 11, and a control unit 21 that controls the entire camera.

  The imaging unit 11 includes a lens and an imaging element (for example, a CCD or a CMOS), and generates an image signal of a subject. The imaging unit 11 includes a zoom lens, and the zoom magnification, aperture, shutter speed, and the like are controlled by the control unit 21.

  The rotation mechanism 13 is configured to rotate the imaging unit 11, and is configured of a turntable, for example. The rotation mechanism 13 may include a motor and a mechanism for transmitting the rotation. The rotation mechanism 13 may have a pan driving mechanism and a tilt driving mechanism. In this case, the rotation mechanism 13 may include a pan motor and a tilt motor, and may rotate the imaging unit 11 in the pan direction (horizontal direction) and the tilt direction (vertical direction). The rotation of the rotation mechanism 13 is controlled by the control unit 21. The rotation mechanism 13 supplies the rotation angle (pan angle and tilt angle) to the control unit 21 as information on the imaging direction.

  The video transmission unit 15 is configured to transmit a video signal generated from the image captured by the imaging unit 11 to the monitoring operation device 5. The video transmission unit 15 may transmit a digital video signal or an analog video signal.

  The data communication unit 17 communicates control-related data with the monitoring operation device 5. The data communication unit 17 receives operation instruction data from the monitoring operation device 5 and supplies the operation instruction data to the control unit 21. The operation instruction includes an instruction speed and instruction direction of the rotation operation and an instruction magnification of the zoom operation. Further, as will be described later, the data communication unit 17 transmits camera movement information and target information as information to be sent from the monitoring camera device 3 to the monitoring operation device 5.

  The target object detection unit 19 is realized by the image processing function of the monitoring camera device 3, and detects the target object from the image. The target object detection unit 19 detects, for example, a moving person. In this case, the person detection function and the moving object detection function may be combined. The target object detection unit 19 detects a person by image processing, determines whether or not the detected person is moving, and thereby detects the moving person as a target object.

  Target detection is not limited to the above. One of a person detection function, a face detection function, a moving object detection function, and an object feature detection function may be performed, and two or more of these detection functions may be combined. The object feature change is a change in the size, color, etc. of the object. Then, the target detection unit 19 detects the position, size, moving direction, and moving speed of the target in the image. These are information relative to the image, that is, information on the target viewed from the camera.

  The control unit 21 is composed of a microcomputer or the like and controls the entire camera. The control unit 21 acquires the operation instruction received from the monitoring operation device 5 by the data communication unit 17, controls the imaging unit 11, the rotation mechanism 13 and the like according to the operation instruction, and realizes the camera operation according to the operation instruction. .

  Further, the control unit 21 transmits the camera movement information and the target object information to the monitoring operation device 5 via the data communication unit 17. The camera movement information includes the rotation speed, direction, angle of view, zoom magnification, and imaging time of the imaging unit 11. The rotation speed and direction are acquired from the rotation mechanism 13. Further, the angle of view and the zoom magnification are acquired from the lens driving unit of the imaging unit 11. The imaging time is obtained from a clock in the monitoring camera device 3. The target information includes the position, size, moving speed, and moving direction of the target detected by the target detecting unit 19 in the image.

  Next, the configuration of the monitoring operation device 5 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the monitoring operation device 5 includes a video reception unit 31, a monitor 33, a data communication unit 35, an operation unit 37, and a control unit 39. The monitoring operation device 5 includes a virtual screen generation unit 41 that generates a virtual screen characteristic of the present embodiment, and an information storage unit 43 and a mark data storage unit 45 that are used for processing in the virtual screen generation unit 41. Have Further, the monitoring operation device 5 includes an instruction speed determination unit 47 provided in the control unit 39 and an adjustment parameter storage unit 49 used for processing of the instruction speed determination unit 47.

  The video receiver 31 receives a video signal from the monitoring camera device 3, and the monitor 33 displays the received video signal. The data communication unit 35 performs control-related data communication with the monitoring camera device 3.

  The operation unit 37 is operated by a user and inputs a user operation for remotely operating the monitoring camera device 3. Specifically, the operation unit 37 accepts a rotation operation and a zoom operation. The rotation operation is an operation for instructing a rotation speed and a rotation direction, and the zoom operation is an operation for instructing a zoom magnification.

  The control unit 39 is composed of a microcomputer or the like and controls the entire monitoring operation device 5. The controller 39 displays the video received by the video receiver 31 on the monitor 33. In addition, the control unit 39 receives an operation input from the operation unit 37 and generates operation instruction data to be transmitted to the monitoring camera device 3. The operation instruction data includes the instruction speed and instruction direction of the rotation operation and the instruction magnification of the zoom operation. These operation instruction data are transmitted from the data communication unit 35 to the monitoring camera device 3.

  The virtual screen generation unit 41 generates a virtual screen characteristic of the present embodiment as described above. The virtual screen is displayed on the monitor 33 by the control unit 39.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a virtual screen. As illustrated, the virtual screen V is a partial image displayed on a part of the monitor 33. The virtual screen V may be a small image without a background. On the virtual screen V, a real-time target mark M1 and a delayed target mark M2 are displayed. The real-time target mark M1 represents the position and size of the target in the real-time image captured by the monitoring camera device 3. On the other hand, the delayed target mark M2 represents the position and size of the target in the image being displayed on the monitor 33. Due to video delays such as encoding delay and transmission delay, the delay target mark M2 deviates from the real-time target mark M1. The virtual screen V also displays information on the delay time (delay amount) of the video delay. Further, a moving direction mark M3 indicating the moving direction of the target is added to the real-time target mark M1 on the virtual screen V. The movement direction mark M3 is an arrow indicating the movement direction. Furthermore, the moving speed is suitably represented by the size or thickness of the arrow. These moving direction and moving speed are not relative values to the screen but absolute values in space. The virtual screen V is generated by the virtual screen generation unit 41 as follows.

  The virtual screen generation unit 41 acquires camera movement information and target object information in order to generate the virtual screen V. The camera movement information and the target information are transmitted from the control unit 21 of the monitoring camera device 3 via the data communication unit 17, received by the data communication unit 35 of the monitoring operation device 5, acquired by the control unit 39, and virtual It is supplied to the screen generator 41.

  As described above, the camera movement information and the target object information are transmitted independently of the video signal. Thereby, camera movement information and target object information are acquired in real time without including delays such as encoding delay and transmission delay. These camera movement information and target information may be called real-time information. The camera movement information and the target information are stored in the information storage unit 43.

  As already described, the camera movement information includes the rotation speed, direction, angle of view, zoom magnification, and imaging time of the imaging unit 11. The target information includes the position, size, moving speed, and moving direction of the target detected by the target detecting unit 19 in the image.

  The virtual screen generator 41 adds the real-time target mark M1 to the virtual screen V according to the position and size of the target in the target information. The mark shape is stored in the mark data storage unit 45 and read by the virtual screen generation unit 41. In the example of the present embodiment, the mark shape is a simple square, but the present invention is not limited to this. More complex shaped marks may be used. The read mark shape is enlarged or reduced in accordance with the size of the target, and is pasted at the position of the target on the virtual screen V. As described above, the target information is received in real time without including video delay. Therefore, the position and size of the target in the image actually captured by the imaging unit 11 are shown on the virtual screen V.

  Next, a process for adding the delayed target mark M2 will be described. The virtual screen generation unit 41 acquires information on the imaging time attached to the header of the video signal received by the monitoring operation device 5. This imaging time corresponds to the time when the video is captured before the time corresponding to the video delay. The imaging time may be added to the header of the video signal, and is acquired by the control unit 39 and provided to the virtual screen generation unit 41.

  The virtual screen generation unit 41 reads the past target information obtained at the acquired imaging time from the information storage unit 43. In the information storage unit 43, the target information and the captured object movement information are associated with each other. With reference to the imaging time in the imaging object movement information, past target information corresponding to the imaging time of the delayed video is read out.

  The virtual screen generator 41 adds the delayed target mark M2 to the virtual screen V based on the position and size of the past target information. Also here, the mark shape is acquired from the mark data storage unit 45, processed according to the size of the target, and pasted at the position of the target. Further, the difference between the imaging time of the delayed video and the current time is displayed on the virtual screen V as a delay time.

  Next, processing for adding the movement direction mark M3 will be described. The camera movement information includes the rotation speed, direction, angle of view, and zoom magnification of the imaging unit 11, and the target information includes the relative movement speed and direction of the target in the image. The virtual screen generation unit 41 calculates the absolute movement direction and movement speed of the target based on these pieces of information. The virtual screen generation unit 41 adds a movement direction mark M3 representing the calculated movement direction and movement speed to the vicinity of the real-time target mark M1. As described above, the movement direction mark M3 is an arrow, the direction of the arrow corresponds to the movement direction, and the length or thickness of the arrow corresponds to the movement speed. Due to the video delay, there is a possibility that the moving direction of the target in the video is shifted or opposite to the actual moving direction. In the present embodiment, displaying the movement direction mark M3 allows the user to grasp the actual movement direction of the target.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the process of the instruction speed determination unit 47 of the control unit 39 will be described. As described above, the control unit 39 acquires information on the rotation operation and the zoom operation input from the operation unit 37, and the operation instruction data for the monitoring camera device 3 from the information on the rotation operation and the zoom operation. Is generated. The operation instruction data includes the instruction speed and instruction direction of the rotation operation and the instruction magnification of the zoom operation. Of these, the command speed of the rotation operation is determined by the command speed determination unit 47.

  In the present embodiment, in order to simplify the user operation, the operation unit 37 is roughly instructed to rotate. As a rough operation, a start point and an end point of a rotation operation are input. For example, a pointing device such as a mouse is used as the operation unit 37, and a start point and an end point are input by a drag operation. By inputting the start point and the end point, a rotation amount and a rotation direction are designated. The rotation amount is the distance between the start point and the end point, and the rotation direction is the direction from the start point to the end point. The distance between the start point and the end point corresponds to the rotation speed. Here, it is assumed that the rotation speed is proportional to the distance between the start point and the end point (that is, the rotation amount).

  The instruction speed determination unit 47 acquires information on the rotation speed input to the operation unit 37. The instruction speed determination unit 47 acquires the target information received by the data communication unit 35 and obtains the target delay distance from the target information. The target delay distance is a distance between the position of the target in the currently captured image and the position of the target in the delayed video.

  The position of the target in the currently captured image is the position of the target included in the current target information received from the surveillance camera device 3 in real time. The position of the target in the delayed video is the position of the target included in the past target information obtained at the imaging time of the delayed video. The imaging time of the delayed video is attached to the received video. The target information of the past photographing time is read from the information storage unit 43. The distance between the two target positions is calculated as the target delay distance.

  In short, the target delay distance corresponds to the distance between the real-time target mark M1 and the delayed target mark M2 on the virtual screen V. This distance between marks may be used as the target delay distance. Further, the instruction speed determination unit 47 obtains the delay time of the video signal. The delay time may be the difference between the imaging time attached to the video signal and the current time.

  The instruction speed determination unit 47 adjusts the rotation speed input from the operation unit 37 in accordance with the delay time of the video signal obtained as described above and the target object delay distance, and thereby the surveillance camera device 3. Determine the indicated speed to be sent to.

  FIG. 3 shows a map of adjustment parameters used in the adjustment process. This map is stored in the adjustment parameter storage unit 49. The adjustment parameter is set according to the delay time and the target delay distance. In the present embodiment, the adjustment parameter is the adjustment coefficient k. The command speed determination unit 47 reads the adjustment coefficient k corresponding to the calculated delay time and the target object delay distance, and obtains the command speed by multiplying the rotation speed by the adjustment coefficient k.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the delay time is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value t1 and the target delay distance is equal to or larger than the predetermined value d1, the adjustment coefficient k = k1 and k> 1. That is, the adjustment coefficient k is set large, and the rotation speed is increased by adjusting the adjustment parameter. A large target delay distance in spite of a small delay time means that the moving speed of the target is high. In such a case, in the present embodiment, the rotation speed of the imaging unit 11 is corrected so as to increase, and the rotation speed can be adjusted according to the speed of the target.

  In the map of FIG. 3, when the delay time is equal to or greater than the predetermined value t2 and the target delay distance is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value d2, the adjustment coefficient k = k2 and k2 <1. That is, the adjustment coefficient k is set small, and the rotation speed is reduced by adjusting the adjustment parameter. The small target delay distance despite the large delay time means that the imaging unit 11 is already facing the direction of the target or the vicinity thereof. In such a case, in the present embodiment, correction can be made to reduce the rotation speed of the imaging unit 11, and the rotation speed can be adjusted according to the speed of the target.

  In other areas, the adjustment coefficient k = k0 and k0 = 1. That is, the rotation speed becomes the instruction speed as it is.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the rotational speed roughly instructed by the user can be suitably adjusted by correcting the rotational speed according to the delay time and the target delay distance, and the operation can be performed. Easy to do.

  Next, an example of a more detailed configuration of the monitoring camera device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the monitoring camera device 3 includes a camera unit 51 and a turntable unit 52, and the camera unit 51 is rotatably mounted on the turntable unit 52. The video signal is transmitted from the camera unit 51, and data communication is performed by the turntable unit 52.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the camera unit 51 includes a lens device 53, an imaging processing unit 54 that converts an optical image generated by the lens device 53 into an electrical video signal, and a signal processing unit 55 that processes the video signal. And a camera image processing unit 56, a video signal encoding unit 57 that encodes a video signal, and a video demultiplexing circuit 58 that performs demultiplexing processing of the encoded video signal.

  The camera unit 51 includes a lens diaphragm driving unit 60 that drives the diaphragm 59 of the lens device 53, a lens magnification focus driving unit 61 that controls the lens magnification, and a clock function. It includes a time information generation unit 62 that generates and an image storage processing unit 64 that records images and other data on the recording medium 63.

  Furthermore, the camera unit 51 includes an image recognition processing unit 65, a target history management unit 66, and a target history temporary database 67 for target detection. The image recognition processing unit 65 processes the image supplied from the camera image processing unit 56 and detects a target. The target history management unit 66 performs processing for managing the position coordinates and size of the target. The target history temporary database 67 stores information such as position and size for target management. When a plurality of targets are detected, the position and size of each target are managed. The target object history management unit 66 sets the detection condition of the target object detection process by informing the image recognition processing unit 65 of the history of the position and size of the target object being managed.

  Further, the camera unit 51 includes a control unit 68, and the control unit 68 controls the entire camera unit 51 and also controls the turntable unit 52. The control unit 68 controls the signal processing unit 55 and the lens aperture driving unit 60 to control video processing and image quality. The control unit 68 controls the lens magnification focus driving unit 61 to control the moving speed and position of the lens. The control unit 68 acquires time information from the time information generation unit 62 and instructs the image storage processing unit 64 to store an image. Further, the control unit 68 controls the target history management unit 66 to acquire information on the target detected by the image recognition processing unit 65.

  The camera unit 51 includes an image cut-out enlargement processing unit 69, an image compression processing unit 70, a video distribution additional information generation unit 71, a distribution control unit 72, and a target object database generation processing unit 73. In response to a request from the control unit 68, the image cut-out enlargement processing unit 69 performs image cut-out and enlargement processing of the target image detected by the image recognition processing unit 65. The clipped image is compressed by the image compression processing unit 70. Further, the video distribution additional information generation unit 71 generates additional information to be transmitted together with the cut image. The additional information includes the target information and camera movement information described above. The clipped image and additional information are sent out by the distribution control unit 72 via the turntable unit 52. The cut image is stored in the recording medium 63 by the image storage processing unit 64, and the additional information is stored in the recording medium 63 by the target object database generation processing unit 73. As described above, in the configuration example of FIG. 4, a cutout image of the target is transmitted. The clipped image is preferably used as a target mark on the virtual screen.

  Next, the turntable unit 52 will be described. The turntable unit 52 includes a turntable control circuit unit 74. The turntable control circuit unit 74 controls the horizontal / vertical rotation device 75, and the horizontal / vertical rotation device 75 rotates the camera unit 51 via the rotation fulcrum support mechanism 76. Here, motor control is performed, and motor position detection information is supplied to the control unit 68 via the turntable control circuit unit 74.

  The turntable 52 has a sensor input / output unit 77. In the present embodiment, various sensors can be connected to the turntable 52. The sensor information is input to the sensor input / output unit 77 and supplied to the control unit 68.

  Further, the turntable unit 52 includes a communication processing unit 78. The communication processing unit 78 is configured to perform data communication with the monitoring operation device 5 under the control of the control unit 68. The communication processing unit 78 provides the data received from the monitoring operation device 5 to the control unit 68. Further, data supplied from the distribution control unit 72 of the turntable unit 52 is transmitted to the monitoring operation device 5. As data communication, packet communication may be performed by a LAN or WAN.

  In the above configuration, the lens device 53 and the imaging processing unit 54 correspond to the imaging unit 11 in FIG. The horizontal / vertical rotation device 70 constitutes the rotation mechanism 13 together with the turntable control circuit unit 69. The video signal encoding unit 57 and the video demultiplexing circuit 58 constitute the video transmission unit 15. Further, the communication processing unit 73 of the turntable unit 52 corresponds to the data communication unit 17, the image recognition processing unit 65 corresponds to the target detection unit 19 together with the target management unit 66, and the control unit 68 corresponds to the control unit of FIG. 21.

  The configuration of the surveillance camera system 1 according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, the operation of the surveillance camera system 1 will be described.

  In the monitoring camera device 3, the imaging unit 11 captures an image, and the video transmission unit 15 transmits a video signal to the monitoring operation device 5. The video signal is received by the video receiver 31 of the monitoring operation device 5 and displayed on the monitor 33 by the controller 39.

  In the surveillance camera device 3, the target is detected by the target detection unit 19, and target information is acquired by the control unit 21. Further, the control unit 21 acquires camera movement information from the imaging unit 11 and the rotation mechanism 13. The target information and camera movement information are transmitted from the data communication unit 17 of the monitoring camera device 3 to the data communication unit 35 of the monitoring operation device 5 and acquired by the virtual screen generation unit 41. The virtual screen generation unit 41 generates the virtual screen V of FIG. 2 using these pieces of information.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a virtual screen generation process. First, the virtual screen generation unit 41 acquires camera movement information and target information (S1). The camera movement information and the target information are stored in the information storage unit 43. In addition, the virtual screen generation unit 41 acquires an imaging time attached to the currently received video signal (S3). This imaging time is the imaging time of the delayed video. The virtual screen generation unit 41 calculates a delay time from the imaging time (S5). The delay time is a difference between the imaging time and the current time.

  The virtual screen generator 41 adds the real-time target mark M1 to the virtual screen V using the position and size of the target included in the target information received by the data communication unit 35 (S7). Further, the virtual screen generation unit 41 acquires the target information at the imaging time obtained in step S3 from the information storage unit 43, and uses the obtained target information to set the delayed target mark M2 on the virtual screen V. It is added (S9). Further, the virtual screen generation unit 41 generates a movement direction mark M3 from the target object information and the camera movement information and adds it to the virtual screen V (S11). The virtual screen generation unit 41 also adds information on the delay time obtained in step S5 to the virtual screen V (S13). The generated virtual screen V is displayed on the monitor 33 by the control unit 39 (S15).

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the virtual screen V is displayed on the monitor 33 in addition to the video signal. Although the video signal is delayed, the virtual screen V can indicate the position and size of the target imaged in real time by the monitoring camera device 3. Further, the virtual screen V also shows the position and size of the target in the delayed video, and the distance difference and size difference between them are shown in an easy-to-understand manner. Furthermore, the virtual screen V also shows the moving direction and moving speed of the target by the moving direction mark M3. In the virtual screen V, the actual moving direction and moving speed can be known from the moving direction mark M3.

  Since such a virtual screen V is displayed, the user can easily grasp the actual shooting state of the surveillance camera device 3, and the rotation operation (pan operation and tilt operation) and zoom so that the camera can catch the target. The operation can be suitably performed. The user operation is converted into operation instruction data by the control unit 39 and transmitted to the monitoring camera apparatus 3, and the monitoring camera apparatus 3 operates according to the operation instruction.

  In the operation of the operation unit 37, a rough rotation operation is performed as described above. For example, two points are designated by a drag operation using a pointing device, and the distance and direction between the two points are input as instructions for the rotation speed and rotation direction, and are acquired by the control unit 39. Among these, the rotation speed is adjusted by the instruction speed determination unit 47 and converted into the instruction speed.

  FIG. 6 shows processing of the instruction speed determination unit 47. The instruction speed determination unit 47 acquires the rotation speed from the operation unit 37 (S21). The instruction speed determination unit 47 calculates a delay time (S23). The delay time is a difference between the imaging time of the received video and the current time. Further, the command speed determination unit 47 obtains a target delay distance from the target information (S25). The target delay distance is the distance between the position of the target received in real time and the position of the target when the delayed video is captured, and the real-time target mark M1 and the delayed target mark on the virtual screen V. It is also the distance of M2.

  The command speed determination unit 47 acquires the adjustment coefficient k corresponding to the delay time and the target object delay distance obtained in steps S23 and S25 from the map of FIG. 3 (S27). Then, the instruction speed determination unit 47 adjusts the rotation speed by multiplying the rotation speed obtained in step S21 by the adjustment coefficient k to obtain the instruction speed (S29). The instruction speed is transmitted from the data communication unit 35 to the monitoring camera device 3 (S31).

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the rotation speed is suitably adjusted using the map of FIG. When the user designates a rough speed, the speed is adjusted appropriately, so that the operation becomes easy.

  The operation of the surveillance camera system 1 according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, modifications and application examples applicable to this embodiment will be described.

  In the above embodiment, the virtual screen V has no background. However, the virtual screen V may be a reduced version of a normal video. In the reduced version, the resolution may be reduced.

  As described with reference to FIG. 4, a clipped image of the target may be sent from the monitoring camera device 3 to the monitoring operation device 5. This cut-out image may be pasted on the virtual screen V as a target mark.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the virtual screen V is a small image and is displayed in the corner of the normal video. In the modification, the mark of the target and the mark in the moving direction may be combined with the normal image. The real-time target mark M1 and the moving direction mark M3 are suitably combined. The delayed target mark M2 may also be synthesized. In this example, the virtual screen has the same size as the normal video, and both overlap. Such a configuration may also be included in the present invention.

  The camera movement information may include absolute position coordinates of the center of the camera image. The absolute position coordinates are also transmitted from the monitoring camera device 3 to the monitoring operation device 5. In the monitoring operation device 5, the absolute coordinates are suitably calculated from the relative coordinates on the screen using the absolute position coordinates and the angle of view. Then, the history of the absolute position of the moving object is accumulated. The movement history is also suitably displayed on the virtual screen V. Even after the image size is changed or the pan / tilt operation is performed, the movement history can be accurately displayed. In the history display, for example, a line indicating a movement trajectory may be displayed on the virtual screen V. A trajectory from the delayed target mark M2 to the real-time target mark M1 may be displayed. The movement history is also useful for predicting the movement direction. The movement history may be displayed together with the movement direction mark M3, or may be displayed instead of the movement direction mark M3.

  In this embodiment, video delay time is used. The delay time may be measured as follows. Here, it is assumed that the monitoring operation device 5 is a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC). The surveillance camera device 3 is a network connection type camera and is assumed to have an image server function or a camera http server function. Here, the monitoring camera device 3 is simply called a camera. (1) The PC receives a turntable / zoom operation instruction through a GUI or the like. (2) The PC generates parameters such as direction, magnification, and speed, and generates command data necessary for a request to the camera. A file name and a parameter to be added to cgi are generated. Also, a command identification sequence number and a time parameter are added. (3) The PC transmits command data to the camera via the network protocol stack. (4) The camera embeds a time code in an option header portion of a header such as JPEG or MPEG at the time of video transmission. The embedded time code is the time when an operation is requested from the PC. The embedded data is changed in consideration of the delay of the video on which the operation instruction is reflected. Since it can be statistically offset, the clock time of the generation source may be different depending on the clock used between the PC and the camera. (5) The PC extracts the sequence number and time for command identification from the header of the video data, adds the image format type and the current time, and records them in the log as delay information. In this way, the PC can statistically determine how the command sent to the camera has been delayed or changed through the line even if the PC and the camera have different synchronization. The delay measurement may be performed for each image format. The delay measurement may be performed for each HTTP session or each video stream start request, or may be performed for each user.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. According to the present embodiment, the target information including the position of the target detected from the image is transmitted to the monitoring operation device 5 in real time. The monitoring operation device 5 generates and displays a monitoring screen V that virtually represents the position of the target in the image. Therefore, since the user can grasp the position of the target in the latest image actually captured by the monitoring camera device 3, the operation for capturing the target can be facilitated and the operability can be improved. .

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the real-time target mark M1 indicating the position of the target included in the current target information received in real time from the surveillance camera device 3 is added to the virtual screen V. The real-time target mark M1 represents the position of the target included in the current target information received from the surveillance camera device 3 in real time. Therefore, the virtual screen V that can easily grasp the position of the target can be generated by a simple process.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the real-time target mark M1 represents the position and size of the target. A virtual screen V that can easily grasp the size in addition to the position of the target can be generated by a simple process, an operation for causing the surveillance camera device to catch the target can be facilitated, and operability can be improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the target information includes the moving direction of the target in the image. Camera movement information including the direction of the imaging unit is received together with the target information. Then, a movement direction mark indicating the movement direction of the target is added to the virtual screen V based on the target information and the camera movement information. Therefore, it is possible to provide the virtual screen V that can easily grasp the moving direction in addition to the position of the target. Depending on the camera movement direction, the movement direction of the target in the image may be different from the actual movement direction of the target. Even in such a case, the actual moving direction of the target can be grasped by looking at the virtual screen V. Therefore, the operation for causing the monitoring camera device 3 to catch the target can be facilitated, and the operability can be improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the delayed target mark is added to the virtual screen V. The delayed target mark represents the position of the target included in the past target information obtained at the imaging time of the delayed video. Therefore, in addition to the position of the target in the image actually captured by the monitoring camera device 3, the position of the target in the delayed video displayed on the monitor 33 can be grasped. The positional relationship between the two can be grasped, and the operability can be improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, a turning operation is accepted, and an instruction speed to be instructed to the monitoring camera is determined based on the turning operation. In the speed determination process, the instruction speed is determined according to the delay time of the video signal and the target delay distance. The target delay distance is a distance between the position of the target included in the current target information and the position of the target included in the past target information obtained at the imaging time of the delayed video. By adjusting the rotation speed of the monitoring camera device 3 according to the delay time and the target object delay distance, the rotation speed can be appropriately adjusted according to the video delay, and the operability can be improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the rotation speed is adjusted using the adjustment parameter set according to the delay time and the target object delay distance, and the instruction speed is obtained. In the example of the present embodiment, the adjustment parameter is the adjustment coefficient k. Thereby, the instruction speed is appropriately adjusted, and the operability can be improved.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that those skilled in the art can modify the above-described embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the present invention has an effect that the operation for causing the monitoring camera device to catch the target can be facilitated and the operability can be improved, and is useful as a monitoring camera system or the like.

Block diagram of a surveillance camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the virtual screen which is generated with the surveillance camera system The figure which shows the map of the adjustment parameter in order to adjust the rotation speed The figure which shows the structural example of a surveillance camera apparatus Diagram showing virtual screen generation processing The figure which shows adjustment processing of rotation speed

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Surveillance camera system 3 Surveillance camera apparatus 5 Surveillance operation apparatus 11 Imaging part 13 Rotating mechanism 15 Image | video transmission part 17 Data communication part 19 Target object detection part 21 Control part 31 Image | video receiving part 33 Monitor 35 Data communication part 37 Operation part 39 Control Unit 41 Virtual screen generation unit 43 Information storage unit 47 Instruction speed determination unit 49 Adjustment parameter storage unit V Virtual screen M1 Real-time target mark M2 Delayed target mark M3 Movement direction mark

Claims (11)

A monitoring camera device, and a monitoring operation device for displaying the video of the monitoring camera device and operating the monitoring camera device;
The surveillance camera device is
An imaging unit;
A rotation mechanism for rotating the imaging unit;
A video transmission unit that transmits a video signal generated from an image captured by the imaging unit;
A target detection unit for detecting a target from an image captured by the imaging unit;
A target information including the position of the target detected by the target detection unit, and a data communication unit for transmitting in real time without including a delay of the video signal,
The monitoring operation device includes:
A video receiver for receiving the video signal;
A monitor for displaying the video signal;
A data communication unit for receiving the target information;
A virtual screen generator that generates a virtual screen based on the target information;
And the virtual screen generation unit generates an image that virtually represents the position of the target in the image as the virtual screen. A monitoring operation device for displaying an image of the monitoring camera device and operating the monitoring camera device,
A video receiver for receiving a video signal from the surveillance camera device;
A monitor for displaying the video signal;
A data communication unit that receives target information including the position of a target detected from an image captured by the monitoring camera device from the monitoring camera device in real time without including a delay of the video signal;
A virtual screen generator that generates a virtual screen based on the target information;
And the virtual screen generation unit generates an image that virtually represents the position of the target in the image as the virtual screen.   The virtual screen generation unit adds a real-time target mark representing a position of the target included in current target information received in real time from the monitoring camera device to the virtual screen. 2. The monitoring operation device according to 2. The target information includes a size of the target,
The monitoring operation device according to claim 3, wherein the virtual screen generation unit adds the real-time target mark representing the position and size of the target to the visible screen. The target information includes a moving direction of the target in the image,
The data communication unit receives camera movement information including a direction of the imaging unit together with the target information,
The virtual screen generation unit adds a movement direction mark indicating a movement direction of the target to the virtual screen based on the target information and the camera movement information. Monitoring operation device.   The virtual screen generation unit further includes a delay target that represents the position of the target included in past target information obtained at the imaging time of the delayed video received by the video reception unit and displayed on the monitor. 6. The monitoring operation device according to claim 3, wherein an object mark is added to the virtual screen. An operation unit for receiving a rotation operation of the monitoring camera device;
An instruction speed determination unit that determines an instruction speed to be instructed to the monitoring camera based on the rotation operation received by the operation unit;
The instruction speed determination unit determines an instruction speed according to a delay time and a target object delay distance of the video signal, and the target object delay distance is the current target information received in real time from the monitoring camera device. The distance between the position of the target included in the target and the position of the target included in the past target information obtained at the imaging time of the delayed video received by the video receiver and displayed on the monitor The monitoring operation device according to claim 2, wherein the monitoring operation device is a device. An adjustment parameter storage unit that stores an adjustment parameter for adjusting the rotation speed according to the delay time and the target delay distance;
The operation unit receives the rotation speed,
The monitoring operation according to claim 7, wherein the instruction speed determination unit determines the instruction speed to be instructed to the monitoring camera device by adjusting the rotation speed using the adjustment parameter. apparatus. A monitoring method executed in a monitoring camera system comprising a monitoring camera device and a monitoring operation device for displaying the video of the monitoring camera device and operating the monitoring camera,
Transmitting a video signal generated from an image captured by the imaging unit of the monitoring camera device to the monitoring operation device;
Transmitting target information including the position of the target detected from the image captured by the imaging unit to the monitoring operation device in real time without including a delay of the video signal;
The monitoring operation device receives the video signal and displays it on a monitor,
The monitoring operation device receives the target information, generates a virtual screen that is an image that virtually represents the position of the target in an image based on the target information, and converts the virtual screen to the virtual screen. A monitoring method characterized by displaying on a monitor. A monitoring operation support method for displaying a video of a monitoring camera device and being executed by a monitoring operation device for operating the monitoring camera and supporting the monitoring operation,
Receive a video signal from the monitoring camera device and display it on a monitor,
The target information including the position of the target detected from the image captured by the monitoring camera is received from the monitoring camera device in real time without including the delay of the video signal,
A monitoring operation support method, comprising: generating a virtual screen that is an image that virtually represents a position of the target in an image based on the target information; and displaying the virtual screen on the monitor. A monitoring operation support program executed by the monitoring operation device for displaying the video of the monitoring camera device and operating the monitoring camera,
Receive a video signal from the monitoring camera device and display it on a monitor,
The target information including the position of the target detected from the image captured by the monitoring camera is received from the monitoring camera device in real time without including the delay of the video signal,
Generating a virtual screen, which is an image that virtually represents the position of the target in the image, based on the target information, and causing the monitoring operation device to execute a process of displaying the virtual screen on the monitor Monitoring operation support program characterized by

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