Information processing device, information processing system, method, program, and recording medium

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of protecting the privacy of a photographed person.SOLUTION: An information processing device of the present disclosure includes a communication unit that acquires an image including a moving image or a still image obtained by imaging one or more people, a memory unit that stores a list that associates the one or more people in the image with multiple viewers who can view the image, and a control unit that performs image processing on the image. The control unit acquires identification information about the one or more people from the image, identifies the one or more people appearing in the image based on the identification information, acquires authentication information for the multiple viewers to identify the multiple viewers based on the authentication information, determines a specific person who can be viewed by a specific viewer from the one or more people based on the list, and changes the display of one or more people other than the specific person appearing in the image through image processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing system, a method, a program, and a recording medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing device having a data processing unit that receives a captured image and processes the image.

[0003] In the information processing device of Patent Document 1, a data processing unit executes image processing to change a predefined partial area in a captured image into an unidentifiable image. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 019987 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The information processing device of Patent Document 1 still has room for improvement in terms of protecting the privacy of photographed people.

[0006] The present disclosure provides an information processing device, an information processing system, a method, a program, and a recording medium that can protect the privacy of a person photographed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: A communication unit for acquiring images including moving images or still images of one or more people; a storage unit that stores a list that associates the one or more people in the image with a plurality of viewers who can view the image; A control unit that performs image processing on the image; Equipped with The control unit is obtaining identifying information about the person or persons from the image; identifying the person or people appearing in the image based on the identification information; obtaining authentication information for the plurality of viewers and identifying the plurality of viewers based on the authentication information; determining a specific person who is available for viewing by the specific viewer from among the one or more people based on the list; Image processing alters the appearance of the person or people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image.

[0008] An information processing system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: an imaging unit that captures an image of one or more people to generate an image including a moving image or a still image; a server that receives the image from the imaging unit and executes image processing; Equipped with The server, obtaining identifying information about the person or persons from the image; identifying the person or people appearing in the image based on the identification information; obtaining authentication information for the plurality of viewers and identifying the plurality of viewers based on the authentication information; determining a specific person who can view the image from among the one or more people based on a list that associates the one or more people with a multiple viewers who can view the image; Image processing alters the appearance of the person or people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image.

[0009] A method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: capturing an image, including a moving or still image, of one or more people; obtaining identification information for the one or more people depicted in the image; identifying the one or more people appearing in the image based on the identification information; acquiring authentication information of a plurality of viewers who are permitted to view the image, and identifying the plurality of viewers based on the authentication information; determining a specific person who can be viewed by a specific viewer from among the one or more persons based on a list that associates the one or more persons with the multiple viewers; modifying the display of the one or more people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image by image processing; Includes.

[0010] A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure causes execution of the method according to the above aspect.

[0011] A recording medium according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon for executing the method according to the above aspect. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an information processing device, an information processing system, a method, a program, and a recording medium that are capable of protecting the privacy of a person photographed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image captured by an imaging unit; [Diagram 3] Table showing an example of a list [Figure 4A] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image in which the display of a person is changed in the first embodiment; [Figure 4B] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image in which the display of a person is changed in the first embodiment; [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a process when a plurality of viewers access an information processing device; [Figure 6] A flowchart for explaining an information processing method of the information processing device 1. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image in which the display of a person is changed according to the first modification of the first embodiment; [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image in which the display of a person is changed according to a second modification of the first embodiment; [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an information processing system according to a third modification of the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device according to a second embodiment; [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image in which the display of a person is changed in the second embodiment; [Figure 12] A flowchart for explaining an information processing method of an information processing device [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image acquired by an imaging unit; [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image in which the display of a person is changed in the third embodiment. [Figure 16] A flowchart for explaining an information processing method of an information processing device [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 18] 18 is a flowchart illustrating the information processing method of the information processing apparatus of FIG. 17. [Figure 19] A flowchart for explaining an information processing method of an information processing device according to a fifth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] (Background to this disclosure) 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for example, consideration has been given to providing a system in which network cameras are installed in childcare facilities and the like, enabling parents to check on the state of their children.

[0015] However, there is a problem that the privacy of people appearing in the images may be violated. For example, when images taken at a childcare facility are provided to parents, there is a concern that the parents may post the images on social media, which may expose the images to an unspecified number of people.

[0016] Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor(s) considered protecting privacy by performing image processing on captured images, and arrived at the following invention.

[0017] (Embodiment 1) [Overall configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an information processing device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] The information processing device 1 is installed, for example, in a facility where multiple people gather, such as a childcare facility, school, or care facility, and takes pictures of multiple users, including children, students, or people requiring care who attend the facility, and provides the captured images to the users' guardians, relatives, etc. The guardians or relatives can access the information processing device 1 using their own electronic device, such as a PC or smartphone, to refer to the images and understand the state of the users at the facility.

[0019] In this embodiment, the information processing device 1 has a function of photographing a plurality of people, processing the photographed images, and providing them to a viewer. The information processing device 1 has a function and a configuration to be connected to the electronic device of the viewer via a network, and can transmit images to the electronic device of the viewer via the network.

[0020] 1, the information processing device 1 includes a storage unit 20, a control unit 30, and a communication unit 21. The information processing device 1 acquires an image captured by an imaging unit 10 and stores the image in the storage unit 20. The information processing device 1 further performs image processing on the image stored in the storage unit 20 by the control unit 30. Note that the imaging unit 10 is not an essential component of the information processing device 1.

[0021] The imaging unit 10 captures an image of one or more people and generates an image including a moving image or a still image. The one or more people correspond to users of the facility described above. The imaging unit 10 is a camera capable of capturing moving images or still images. The image generated by the imaging unit 10 is stored in the storage unit 20 of the information processing device 1 via the communication unit 21.

[0022] The storage unit 20 stores an image 40 captured by the imaging unit 10 and a list 50, which will be described later. The storage unit 20 is configured, for example, with a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory or a solid state drive (SSD), a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), or a volatile memory such as an SRAM or DRAM.

[0023] The communication unit 21 includes a network interface circuit that communicates with the imaging unit 10 or other electronic devices by wire or wirelessly. The communication unit 21 acquires an image generated by the imaging unit 10 using a predetermined communication standard such as mobile communication such as a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a long term evolution (LTE), or 5G, or short-range wireless communication including power line communication and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0024] The control unit 30 is a processor for executing image processing on the image captured by the imaging unit 10. The control unit 30 is configured by a processor that realizes a predetermined function by executing a program stored in a built-in storage device, for example. The control unit 30 is not limited to a processor that executes a predetermined function by cooperation between hardware and software, and may be a hardware circuit designed to realize the predetermined function. In other words, the control unit 30 can be configured by various processors such as a microcomputer, a CPU, an MPU, a GPU, a DSP, an FPGA, and an ASIC.

[0025] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 30 includes an identification information acquisition unit 31, a person identification unit 32, a viewer identification unit 33, a view permission determination unit , and an image processing unit .

[0026] Next, a description will be given of image processing by the control unit 30. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which image processing is performed on an image captured in a childcare facility.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image 40 captured by the imaging section 10. As shown in FIG.

[0028] The identification information acquisition unit 31 acquires identification information on one or more people from the image 40 captured by the imaging unit 10. In this embodiment, the multiple people include children attending a childcare facility, staff at the childcare facility, etc. The identification information on one or more people is information for identifying each person in the image, and includes, for example, features of each person, such as the face, height, and bone structure. The identification information acquisition unit 31 extracts people from the image 40. In the example of FIG. 2, the identification information acquisition unit 31 can extract four people, people a1 to a4. The identification information acquisition unit 31 acquires, for example, facial features as the identification information on the extracted people a1 to a4. The facial features are, for example, information including the shape, size, and position of specific parts of the face of each person, such as the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc., and are information that can identify each person.

[0029] The person identification unit 32 identifies one or more people appearing in the image 40 based on the acquired identification information. The person identification unit 32 identifies each person appearing in the image by, for example, comparing the acquired identification information with data that associates each person with identification information such as facial features that has been stored in advance in the storage unit 20. In other words, the person identification unit 32 identifies who each person appearing in the image is. In the example of FIG. 2, the person identification unit 32 identifies that person a1 is child A, person a2 is staff member O, person a3 is child B, and person a4 is child C.

[0030] The viewer identification unit 33 acquires authentication information of multiple viewers and identifies the multiple viewers based on the authentication information. The multiple viewers are those who are permitted to view the image 40. In the example of this embodiment, those who are permitted to view are those related to the child, such as the guardian or relative of the child attending the childcare facility. That is, in this embodiment, viewers include those related to the child, such as the guardian or relative of the child attending the childcare facility. The viewer can view the image 40 by accessing the information processing device 1 using his / her own electronic device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or PC. The viewer identification unit 33 acquires the authentication information of the viewer when the information processing device 1 is accessed from the viewer's electronic device. The authentication information of the viewer includes, for example, ID information for accessing the information processing device 1, or terminal-specific information indicating the viewer's electronic device. The ID information includes, for example, a user ID for accessing the information processing device 1, the viewer's email address, or biometric authentication information such as the viewer's fingerprint, vein, or iris. The terminal-specific information includes information that can uniquely identify a terminal, such as a serial number set for each electronic device, or a MAC address. The viewer identification unit 33 identifies the viewer who has accessed the information processing device 1 based on the authentication information of the viewer. That is, the viewer identification unit 33 identifies which child the viewer is related to.

[0031] The accessibility determination unit 34 determines a specific person that can be viewed by a specific viewer from among one or more people based on the list 50 stored in the storage unit 20. When multiple people are shown in the image 40, each viewer can view the specific person. The specific person is a person that can be viewed by the specific viewer, and in this embodiment, is the viewer's own child or grandchild. The accessibility determination unit 34 determines a person that can be viewed by the specific viewer. FIG. 3 is a table showing an example of the list 50. As shown in FIG. 3, the list 50 shows the correspondence between multiple people and multiple viewers. In the list 50 shown as an example in FIG. 3, it is shown that the person that can be viewed by the guardian R is child A, the person that can be viewed by the guardian S is child B, the person that can be viewed by the guardian T is child C, and the person that can be viewed by the guardian U is child D. Note that in the example of FIG. 3, no viewers are assigned to the staff members O to Q, and none of the viewers can view the staff members O to Q. When the viewer identification unit 33 identifies the viewer as guardian R, the accessibility determination unit 34 determines that the specified person is child A. When the viewer identification unit 33 identifies the viewer as guardian S, the accessibility determination unit 34 determines that the specified person is child B. In this way, the accessibility determination unit 34 determines, for the viewer identified by the viewer identification unit 33, who is permitted to access the content.

[0032] The image processing unit 35 changes the display of one or more people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image 40 by image processing. FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams showing examples of images 40a to 40b in which the display of people has been changed in the first embodiment. For example, when the viewer identification unit 33 identifies the viewer as guardian R and the viewing permission determination unit 34 determines that the predetermined person is child A, the image processing unit 35 changes the display of the people other than child A among one or more people appearing in the image 40. As described above, in the image 40 of FIG. 2, the person identification unit 32 identifies person a1 as child A. When the viewer is guardian R, the predetermined person is child A. Therefore, the image processing unit 35 changes the display of people a2 to a4 other than person a1 (child A) as shown in FIG. 4A. In the example of FIG. 4A, the image processing unit 35 changes the display of people by overwriting the faces of the three people a2 to a4 with images prepared in advance. In the example of FIG. 4A, a star-shaped image 41a is overwritten on the face of the person a2 who is a staff member, and a heart-shaped image 41b is overwritten on the faces of the people a3 and a4 who are children, so that the viewer can distinguish between the staff and the children. The overwritten images 41a and 41b may be the same image for all the people, or may be different images for all the people. Similarly, when the viewer identification unit 33 identifies the viewer as a guardian S and the viewing permission determination unit 34 determines that a specific person is a child B, the image processing unit 35 changes the display of the person other than the child B among one or more people appearing in the image 40. As described above, in the image 40 of FIG. 2, the person identification unit 32 identifies the person a3 as the child B. The image processing unit 35 changes the display by overwriting the faces of the people a1 to a2, and 4 other than the person a3 with the images 41a and 41b, as shown in FIG. 4B.

[0033] Each viewer can view an image in which the display of a person other than a predetermined person that can be viewed by the viewer has been changed. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a process in which a plurality of viewers access the information processing device 1. In the example of FIG. 5, an example is shown in which three viewers b1 to b3 access the information processing device 1. In the information processing device 1, the viewer identification unit 33 acquires the identification information c1 to c3 of each of the viewers b1 to b3, and identifies each of the viewers b1 to b3 as the guardians R to T shown in FIG. 3 based on the identification information c1 to c3. In this case, the information processing device 1 allows the viewer b1 identified as the guardian R to view the image 40a in which the display of other than the person a1 has been changed. Similarly, the information processing device 1 allows the viewer b2 identified as the guardian S to view the image 40b in which the display of other than the person a3 has been changed. Furthermore, the information processing device 1 allows the viewer b3 identified as the guardian T to view the image 40c in which the display of other than the person a3 (child C) has been changed. Therefore, even if each of the viewers b1 to b3 looks at the images 40a to 40c that they are viewing, it is difficult for them to know who is in the images 40a to 40c other than the predetermined person. The information processing device 1 allows the multiple viewers b1 to b3 to view different images, thereby protecting the privacy of the people in the images.

[0034] [Information processing method] 6 is a flowchart for explaining the information processing method of the information processing device 1. The information processing method of the information processing device 1 will be explained with reference to FIG.

[0035] In step S1, the communication unit 21 captures an image 40 including a moving image or a still image by capturing an image of one or more people captured by the imaging unit 10. The captured image 40 is stored in the storage unit 20.

[0036] In step S2, the identification information acquisition unit 31 acquires identification information of one or more people appearing in the image 40. In this embodiment, the identification information acquisition unit 31 acquires facial features of the people.

[0037] In step S3, the person identification unit 32 identifies one or more people appearing in the image 40 based on the identification information. In this embodiment, the person identification unit 32 identifies the people a1 to a4 in the image 40 shown in Fig. 2 as Child A, Staff O, Child B, and Child C, respectively, based on facial features.

[0038] In step S4, the viewer identification unit 33 acquires authentication information c1 to c3 of viewers b1 to b3 who are permitted to view the image 40, and identifies the viewers b1 to b3 based on the authentication information c1 to c3. In this embodiment, the viewer identification unit 33 identifies the viewers b1 to b3 as guardian R, guardian S, and guardian T, respectively.

[0039] In step S5, the accessibility determination unit 34 determines, from one or more persons, a specified person who is permitted to be accessed by the specified viewers b1 to b3, based on the list 50. In this embodiment, the accessibility determination unit 34 determines, based on the list 50, that the viewer b1 (guardian R) is permitted to view the person a1 (child A), the viewer b2 (guardian S) is permitted to view the person a3 (child B), and the viewer b3 is permitted to view the person a4 (child C).

[0040] In step S6, the image processing unit 35 changes the display of people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image 40. For example, when the viewer is guardian R (viewer b1), the image processing unit 35 changes the images of people a2 to a4 other than the predetermined person, person a1 (child A). Specifically, when the viewer is guardian R (viewer b1), the image processing unit 35 overwrites the faces of people a2 to a4 other than the predetermined person with different images 41a to 41b as described above. When the viewer is guardian S to U, the image 40 is processed in a similar manner.

[0041] [effect] According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

[0042] The information processing device 1 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 20, and a control unit 30. The communication unit 21 captures one or more people and acquires an image 40 including a moving image or a still image. The storage unit 20 stores a list 50 that associates one or more people with multiple viewers who can view the image 40. The control unit 30 executes image processing on the image 40. The control unit 30 acquires identification information on one or more people from the image 40. The control unit 30 identifies one or more people appearing in the image 40 based on the identification information. The control unit 30 acquires authentication information of the multiple viewers and identifies the multiple viewers based on the authentication information. The control unit 30 determines a specific person who can be viewed by a specific viewer from one or more people based on the list 50. The control unit 30 changes the display of one or more people other than the specific person appearing in the image 40 by image processing.

[0043] With this configuration, the privacy of the people appearing in the image 40 can be protected by changing the display of people other than the people the specified viewer can view. Also, by changing the display of people other than the people the specified viewer can view, the viewer can check the appearance of the people that he or she can view. Furthermore, by changing the display of people other than the people the specified viewer can view, the stress of being constantly monitored can be reduced for the people appearing in the image.

[0044] Changing the display of one or more people other than the predetermined person appearing in image 40 includes overwriting the one or more people with a pre-prepared image.

[0045] With this configuration, the viewer cannot know who are the people other than those that the viewer can view, so privacy can be protected even when many people appear in the image.

[0046] The authentication information includes ID information of the viewer for accessing the information processing device 1, or terminal specific information indicating an electronic device owned by the viewer that can access the information processing device 1.

[0047] With this configuration, it is possible to identify viewers and provide images that have been subjected to different image processing for each viewer.

[0048] The present disclosure can provide a computer program and a storage medium for controlling the information processing device 1.

[0049] A computer program for causing the information processing device 1 to execute the above-mentioned information processing method is provided.

[0050] The computer program is stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is read and executed by the control unit 30 of the information processing device 1, the above-described information processing method is realized.

[0051] The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be the storage unit 20 of the information processing device 1 or may be an external storage device of the information processing device 1.

[0052] In the above embodiment, the person identification unit 32 of the control unit 30 identifies one or more people based on facial features, but the present invention is not limited to this. The person identification unit 32 may identify one or more people based on information such as height or bone structure in addition to the face.

[0053] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image 40d in which the display of a person has been changed in the first modification of the first embodiment. The display of a person may be changed by applying mosaic processing 42 to the persons a2 to a4 other than the predetermined person a1. When the predetermined person that can be viewed by the predetermined viewer b1 is the person a1, as shown in FIG. 7, the image processing unit 35 applies mosaic processing 42 to the faces of the persons a2 to a4. The mosaic processing makes it possible for the viewer b1 to not know who the persons a2 to a4 are when viewing the image 40d. Note that in the example of FIG. 7, the faces of the persons a2 to a4 are subjected to mosaic processing 42, but the whole bodies of the persons a2 to a4 may also be subjected to mosaic processing.

[0054] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image 40e in which the display of the person is changed in the second modification of the first embodiment. The display of the person may be changed by painting the persons a2 to a4 other than the predetermined person a1 with a predetermined color. When the predetermined person that the predetermined viewer b1 can view is the person a1, as shown in FIG. 7, the image processing unit 35 paints the faces of the persons a2 to a4 with a predetermined color 43. By painting the faces of the persons a2 to a4 with the predetermined color 43, it is possible to make it impossible to know who the persons a2 to a4 are when the viewer b1 views the image 40e. In the example of FIG. 8, the faces of the persons a2 to a4 are painted with the predetermined color 43, but the entire bodies of the persons a2 to a4 may be painted with the predetermined color.

[0055] FIG. 9 is a block diagram that illustrates an information processing system 100 in the third modification of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the information processing device 1 including the communication unit 21, the storage unit 20, and the control unit 30 has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the information processing system 100 may include, for example, an imaging unit 10 and a server 60 including the storage unit 20 and the control unit 30. As shown in FIG. 9, the information processing system 100 includes the imaging unit 10 and the server 60. The imaging unit 10 has the same configuration as the imaging unit 10 of the information processing device 1 described in the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described. The server 60 includes the storage unit 20 and the control unit 30 of the information processing device 1 described in the first embodiment. The server 60 receives the image 40 from the imaging unit 10 and performs image processing. In the information processing system 100, the imaging unit 10 and the server 60 can be arranged in different locations. That is, the imaging unit 10 installed in a childcare facility or the like can be remotely operated by the server 60. Note that the server 60 does not necessarily have to be on a network, and may be, for example, a notebook PC, a NAS (Network Attached Storage), or an electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet.

[0056] (Embodiment 2) A second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. In the second embodiment, the same or equivalent configurations as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In the second embodiment, descriptions that overlap with those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0057] Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device 1A according to the second embodiment. Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image 40f in which the display of a person in the second embodiment is changed. Moreover, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the facial expression detection unit 36 ​​of the control unit 30 detects the facial orientation and facial expression of one or more people based on facial features. Moreover, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that changing the display of a person includes changing the person's face to an avatar.

[0058] 10, in an information processing device 1A according to the second embodiment, a control unit 30 includes a facial expression detection unit 36. The other configurations are similar to those of the information processing device 1 according to the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described.

[0059] In the second embodiment, the identification information for identifying one or more persons includes facial features of one or more persons. The facial expression detection unit 36 ​​detects the facial orientation and facial expression of one or more persons appearing in the image based on the facial features. The facial expression includes, for example, facial movements such as opening and closing of the eyes and opening and closing of the mouth, and refers to a mental state such as a person's emotion or feeling that is expressed on the face by the action of the facial muscles. In the example of the image 40 in FIG. 2, the facial expression detection unit 36 ​​detects the facial orientation, for example, that the persons a1 to a3 are facing the imaging unit 10, and that the person a4 is facing the opposite direction to the imaging unit 10. The facial expression detection unit 36 ​​also detects the facial expressions of the respective persons a1 to a4. The image processing unit 35 changes the faces of one or more persons other than the predetermined person to avatars, reflecting the facial orientation and facial expression of the persons a1 to a4 detected by the facial expression detection unit 36. The avatar is a character displayed in the image as an alter ego of the persons a1 to a4 appearing in the image. By reflecting the facial direction and facial expressions of the persons a1 to a4 appearing in the image in the avatar, the privacy of the persons a1 to a4 appearing in the image is protected while the viewer can get a more realistic grasp of the facial expressions and movements of the persons a1 to a4 appearing in the image.

[0060] With reference to FIG. 11, an example will be described in which the viewer is the guardian R shown in FIG. 3 and the person a1 is the child A. The image 40f in FIG. 11 is an image that the guardian R can view. Since the viewing permission determination unit 34 has identified the specific person as the person a1 (child A), the image processing unit 35 changes the faces of the people a2 to a4 other than the person a1 to avatars 44a to 44c. The avatars 44a to 44c are generated based on the facial features of the people a2 to a4, respectively, so as to reflect the facial orientation and facial expression. For example, since the person a2 is smiling facing the imaging unit 10, the face of the person a2 is changed to the avatar 44a facing the front and smiling. Similarly, since the person a4 is facing the opposite side of the imaging unit 10, the face of the person a4 is changed to the avatar 44c showing the back of the head.

[0061] For example, in the case of person a4 who faces the opposite side of the imaging unit 10 and cannot be identified from the facial features, the viewing permission determination unit 34 may determine that person a4 is a person who cannot be viewed by all viewers. In this case, the information processing device 1B can provide an image in which the face of person a4 has been changed to an avatar to all viewers.

[0062] The information processing method of the information processing device 1B will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the information processing method of the information processing device 1B. Note that steps S11 to S15 in Fig. 12 are similar to steps S1 to S5 in the flowchart in Fig. 6, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0063] In step S16, the facial expression detection unit 36 ​​of the control unit 30 detects the facial orientation and facial expression of the persons a2 to a4 other than the predetermined person a1. The facial expression detection unit 36 ​​can detect the facial orientation and facial expression of the persons a2 to a4 other than the predetermined person a1 based on the facial feature amount in the person identification information acquired in step S12.

[0064] In step S17, the image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 changes the faces of the persons a2 to a4 other than the predetermined person a1 to avatars 44a to 44c. At this time, the image processing unit 35 generates the avatars 44a to 44c by reflecting the facial expressions of the persons a2 to a4 other than the predetermined person a1.

[0065] [effect] According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

[0066] The identification information includes facial features of one or more persons. A person identification unit 32 of the control unit 30 detects the facial orientation and facial expression of one or more persons a1 to a4 based on the facial features. An image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 changes the faces of one or more persons a2 to a4 other than the specified person a1 to avatars 44a to 44c, reflecting the facial orientation and facial expression of the one or more persons a1 to a4.

[0067] With this configuration, the privacy of the persons a1 to a4 appearing in the image is protected, while the viewer can grasp the facial expressions of each of the persons a1 to a4 in more detail.

[0068] (Embodiment 3) A third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 13 to Fig. 15. In the third embodiment, the same or equivalent configurations as those in the second embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In the third embodiment, descriptions that overlap with those in the second embodiment will be omitted.

[0069] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device 1B according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image 45 acquired by the imaging unit 10. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an image 45a in which the display of a person in the third embodiment is changed. The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the identification information acquisition unit 31 of the control unit 30 acquires skeletal information of a person appearing in an image as identification information. Also, the third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the control unit 30 has a motion detection unit 37, as shown in FIG. 13, and the motion detection unit 37 detects the motion of a person based on the skeletal information. Also, the third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 changes the body of a person other than a predetermined person to an avatar, reflecting the motion of the person.

[0070] In the example of Fig. 14, five persons a11 to a15 appear in an image 45. The identification information acquisition unit 31 acquires skeletal information of each of the persons a11 to a15 in the image 45. The skeletal information is information indicating the position of a predetermined part such as the head or joints of each of the persons a11 to a15 appearing in the image. The predetermined part includes, for example, the head, neck, knees, elbows, wrists, ankles, or shoulders.

[0071] The motion detection unit 37 detects motions of the people a11 to a15 appearing in the image 45 based on the skeletal information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 31. The motion detection unit 37 can detect the body movements of the people a11 to a15 as motions from changes in the positions of predetermined parts. The image processing unit 35 changes the bodies of the predetermined people a11 to a15 into avatars that reflect the detected motions.

[0072] With reference to FIG. 15, an example will be described in which the viewer is the guardian U shown in FIG. 3 and the person a12 is child D. An image 45a in FIG. 14 is an image that can be viewed by the guardian U. Since the viewing permission determination unit 34 identifies the specific person as the person a12 (child D), the image processing unit 35 changes the bodies of the persons a11 and a13 to a15 other than the person a12 to avatars 46a to 46d. The avatars 46a to 46d are generated reflecting the movements of the persons a11 and a13 to a15, respectively, detected by the movement detection unit 37.

[0073] The information processing method of the information processing device 1B will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the information processing method of the information processing device 1B. Note that steps S21 and S23 to S25 in Fig. 16 are similar to steps S11 and S13 to S15 in Fig. 12, respectively, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0074] In step S22, the identification information acquisition unit 31 of the control unit 30 acquires bone structure information of the persons a11 and a13 to a15 other than the predetermined person a12.

[0075] In step S26, the movement detection unit of the control unit 30 detects the movements of the persons a11, and a13 to a15 based on the skeleton information.

[0076] In step S27, the image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 generates avatars 46a to 46d that reflect the movements of the people a11, a13 to a15, and changes the bodies of the people a11, a13 to a15 to the avatars 46a to 46d.

[0077] [effect] According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0078] The identification information includes skeletal information of one or more people. The motion detection unit 37 of the control unit 30 detects the motion of one or more people based on the skeletal information. The image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 changes the body of one or more people other than the specified person to an avatar that reflects the motion.

[0079] With this configuration, the privacy of people other than the specified person can be protected by changing the body of the person to an avatar. Furthermore, by reflecting the movements of one or more people in the avatar, the viewer can view the image and get a more realistic understanding of the appearance of one or more people.

[0080] (Embodiment 4) A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 17. In the fourth embodiment, the same or equivalent configurations as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In the fourth embodiment, descriptions that overlap with those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0081] Fig. 17 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device 1C according to embodiment 4. As shown in Fig. 17, embodiment 4 differs from embodiment 1 in that a communication unit 21 acquires a sound collected by a sound collection unit 70. Also, embodiment 4 differs from embodiment 1 in that a control unit 30 has a sound processing unit 38.

[0082] In this embodiment, the communication unit 21 acquires the sound collected by the sound collection unit 70. The sound collection unit 70 is, for example, a device such as a microphone that collects the sound of one or more people appearing in an image when the image generated by the imaging unit 10 is a video image, and converts the collected sound into an electrical signal. At the same time as the image is generated by the imaging unit 10, the sound collection unit 70 collects the sound, and the communication unit 21 can acquire the image and the sound at the same time.

[0083] In this embodiment, the identification information acquisition unit 31 acquires voice information of one or more persons as identification information. The voice information is information including, for example, the voiceprint of each person, and is information that can identify who each person is.

[0084] The person identification unit 32 of the control unit 30 identifies one or more people based on the voice information. That is, the person identification unit 32 of the control unit 30 identifies which voice, among the collected voices, belongs to which person.

[0085] The voice processing unit 38 of the control unit 30 changes the voices of the other than the predetermined person contained in the voice by voice processing. For example, the voice processing unit 38 can change the voices of the other than the predetermined person by processing the collected voice and changing the pitch. Alternatively, the voice processing unit 38 can change the voices of the other than the predetermined person by silencing the voices of the other than the predetermined person.

[0086] The information processing method of the information processing device 1C will be described with reference to Fig. 18. Fig. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the information processing method of the information processing device 1C in Fig. 17. Note that steps S31 and S35 to S37 in Fig. 18 are similar to steps S1 to S6 described in Fig. 6, respectively, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0087] In step S32, the sound collection unit 70 acquires the sounds of one or more people appearing in the image.

[0088] In step S33, the identification information acquisition unit 31 of the control unit 30 acquires identification information of people appearing in the images. The identification information acquisition unit 31 acquires, for example, facial features of each person in the acquired images and a voiceprint of each person in the acquired voice.

[0089] In step S34, the person identification unit 32 of the control unit 30 identifies one or more people in the image, and further identifies one or more people in the voice. For example, the person identification is performed by comparing data that associates each person with identification information such as facial features and voiceprints, which has been stored in advance in the storage unit 20, with the acquired identification information to identify each person.

[0090] In step S38, the voice processing unit 38 of the control unit 30 changes the voices of people other than the predetermined person. The voice processing unit 38 changes the voices, for example, by changing the pitch of the voices of people other than the predetermined person.

[0091] [effect] The above-described embodiment provides the following advantages:

[0092] The information processing device 1C further includes a sound collection unit 70 that acquires sound. An identification information acquisition unit 31 of the control unit 30 acquires sound information of one or more people as identification information. A person identification unit 32 of the control unit 30 identifies one or more people based on the sound information. A sound processing unit 38 of the control unit 30 changes the voice of one or more people other than a predetermined person contained in the sound by sound processing.

[0093] With this configuration, the audio as well as the image can be modified, thereby enhancing privacy protection.

[0094] (Embodiment 5) A fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 19. In the fifth embodiment, the same or equivalent configurations as those in the third embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In the fifth embodiment, descriptions that overlap with those in the third embodiment will be omitted.

[0095] FIG. 19 is a flowchart for explaining an information processing method of the information processing device of the fifth embodiment. The configuration of the information processing device is the same as that of the information processing device 1B described in the third embodiment, and therefore the description is omitted. The fifth embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that, as shown in FIG. 19, the motion detection unit 37 of the control unit 30 detects a predetermined facial expression or a predetermined motion of a predetermined person. Also, the fifth embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that, as shown in FIG. 19, the image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 extracts a portion of the image generated by the imaging unit 10 in which a predetermined facial expression or a predetermined motion is recorded, and generates a digest image.

[0096] An information processing method of the information processing device according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 19. Note that steps S41 to S47 in Fig. 19 are similar to steps S21 to S27 in the third embodiment described with reference to Fig. 16, and therefore will not be described.

[0097] In step S48, the movement detection unit 37 of the control unit 30 detects a predetermined facial expression or a predetermined movement of a predetermined person from the image that has been subjected to image processing. The predetermined facial expression is, for example, a facial expression including a smiling face or a crying face of the predetermined person. The predetermined facial expression can be detected based on the facial feature amount acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 31. The predetermined movement includes, for example, sitting, crawling, or standing up. The predetermined movement can be detected based on the skeletal information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 31.

[0098] In step S49, the image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 extracts a portion of the image generated by the imaging unit 10 in which a predetermined facial expression or a predetermined action is recorded, generates a digest image, and stores it in the memory unit 20.

[0099] By extracting a portion in which a specific facial expression or action of a specific person is recorded and generating a digest image, the viewer can view the image provided by the information processing device as a growth record of a viewable person such as his / her child. At this time, the display of people other than the person viewable by the viewer is changed, so that the privacy of people other than the specific person appearing in the image can be protected.

[0100] [effect] According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

[0101] The motion detection unit 37 of the control unit 30 detects a predetermined facial expression of a predetermined person based on the facial feature amount. The image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 extracts a portion of the image in which the predetermined facial expression is recorded, and generates a digest image.

[0102] The motion detection unit 37 of the control unit 30 detects a predetermined motion of a predetermined person based on the skeletal information. The image processing unit 35 of the control unit 30 extracts a portion of the image in which the predetermined motion is recorded, and generates a digest image.

[0103] With this configuration, it is possible to provide the viewer with a digest image in which a specific facial expression or a specific action of a person viewable by the viewer is extracted. At this time, the display of people other than the specific person viewable by the viewer is changed, so that the privacy of people other than the specific person appearing in the image can be protected.

[0104] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the movement detection unit 37 of the control unit 30 detects a predetermined facial expression and a predetermined movement, but it is sufficient for the movement detection unit 37 to detect either a predetermined facial expression or a predetermined movement.

[0105] (Outline of the embodiment) (1) The information processing device disclosed herein includes a communication unit that acquires images including video or still images of one or more people, a memory unit that stores a list that matches one or more people in the image with multiple viewers who can view the image, and a control unit that performs processing on the image, wherein the control unit acquires identification information about the one or more people from the image, identifies the one or more people appearing in the image based on the identification information, acquires authentication information for the multiple viewers and identifies the multiple viewers based on the authentication information, determines a specific person from the one or more people who can be viewed by a specific viewer based on the list, and changes the display of one or more people other than the specific person appearing in the image by image processing.

[0106] (2) In the information processing device of (1), changing the display of one or more people other than a specified person appearing in an image may include any of the following: overwriting the one or more people with a prepared image, applying a mosaic process to the one or more people, or painting the one or more people with a specified color.

[0107] (3) In the information processing device of (1) or (2), the identification information includes facial features of one or more persons, and the control unit may further detect a facial orientation and facial expression of the one or more persons based on the facial features, and changing the display of the multiple persons other than a specified person appearing in the image may include changing the faces of the one or more persons other than the specified person to avatars to reflect the facial orientation and facial expression of the one or more persons.

[0108] (4) In any one of the information processing devices of (1) to (3), the identification information may include skeletal information of one or more persons, and the control unit may detect the movement of the one or more persons based on the skeletal information and change the bodies of one or more persons other than the specified person to avatars to reflect the movement.

[0109] (5) In any one of the information processing devices of (1) to (4), the authentication information may include ID information of the viewer for accessing the information processing device, or terminal-specific information indicating an electronic device that can access the information processing device owned by the viewer.

[0110] (6) In any one of the information processing devices of (1) to (5), the communication unit further acquires audio picked up by the audio pickup unit, the identification information includes audio information of one or more persons, and the control unit identifies the one or more persons based on the audio information, and may change the voices of one or more persons other than a specified person contained in the audio by audio processing.

[0111] (7) In any one of the information processing devices of (3) to (6), the control unit may detect a predetermined facial expression of a predetermined person based on facial features, and extract a portion of the image in which the predetermined facial expression is recorded to generate a digest image.

[0112] (8) In any one of the information processing devices of (4) to (7), the control unit may detect a predetermined movement of a predetermined person based on skeletal information, and extract a portion of the image in which the predetermined movement is recorded to generate a digest image.

[0113] (9) The information processing system disclosed herein includes an imaging unit that captures an image of one or more people to generate an image including a video or a still image, and a server that receives the image from the imaging unit and performs image processing, wherein the server obtains identification information for the one or more people from the image, identifies the one or more people appearing in the image based on the identification information, obtains authentication information for multiple viewers and identifies the multiple viewers based on the authentication information, determines a specific person from the one or more people that can be viewed by a specific viewer based on a list that matches the one or more people with multiple viewers who can view the image, and changes the display of one or more people other than the specific person appearing in the image through image processing.

[0114] (10) The method disclosed herein includes the steps of capturing an image of one or more persons to obtain an image including a video or a still image, obtaining identification information for the one or more persons appearing in the image, identifying the one or more persons appearing in the image based on the identification information, obtaining authentication information of multiple viewers who can view the image and identifying the multiple viewers based on the authentication information, determining a specific person from the one or more persons who can be viewed by a specific viewer based on a list that corresponds the one or more persons to the multiple viewers, and changing the display of one or more people appearing in the image other than the specific person by image processing.

[0115] (11) The program disclosed herein causes a computer to execute the method of (10).

[0116] (12) A computer-readable recording medium of the present disclosure records a program for causing a computer to execute the method of (10). [Industrial Applicability]

[0117] The present disclosure can be broadly applied to image processing for privacy protection. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 1, 1A~1C Information processing device 10. Imaging unit 20 Memory section 30 Control section 40, 40a-40f, 41a-41b, 45, 45a Images 42 Mosaic Processing 43 colors 44a-44c, 46a-46d Avatar 50 List 60 Servers 70 Sound pickup section 100 Information Processing Systems

Claims

1. A communication unit for acquiring images including moving images or still images of one or more people; a storage unit that stores a list that associates the one or more people in the image with a plurality of viewers who can view the image; A control unit that performs image processing on the image; Equipped with The control unit is obtaining identifying information about the person or persons from the image; identifying the person or people appearing in the image based on the identification information; obtaining authentication information for the plurality of viewers and identifying the plurality of viewers based on the authentication information; determining a specific person who is available for viewing by the specific viewer from among the one or more people based on the list; changing the display of the one or more people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image by image processing; Information processing device.

2. Changing the display of the one or more people other than the specified person appearing in the image includes any one of overwriting the one or more people with a prepared image, applying a mosaic process to the one or more people, or filling the one or more people with a specified color. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. the identification information includes facial features of the one or more persons; The control unit further detects a facial orientation and an expression of the one or more persons based on the facial feature amount, Changing the display of the plurality of people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image includes changing the face of the one or more people other than the predetermined person to an avatar to reflect the facial direction and facial expression of the one or more people. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. the identification information includes skeletal information of the one or more persons; The control unit is Detecting a motion of the one or more persons based on the skeletal information; changing the body of the one or more persons other than the predetermined person into an avatar to reflect the action; The information processing device according to claim 3 .

5. The authentication information includes ID information of the viewer for accessing the information processing device, or terminal specific information indicating an electronic device owned by the viewer that can access the information processing device. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. The communication unit further acquires a sound collected by a sound collection unit, the identification information includes audio information of the person or persons; The control unit is identifying the one or more persons based on the audio information; changing the voice of the one or more people other than the predetermined person included in the audio by audio processing; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. The control unit is detecting a predetermined facial expression of the predetermined person based on the facial feature amount; extracting a portion of the image in which the predetermined facial expression is recorded, and generating a digest image; The information processing device according to claim 3 .

8. The control unit is Detecting a predetermined motion of the predetermined person based on the skeleton information; extracting a portion of the image in which the predetermined action is recorded, and generating a digest image; The information processing device according to claim 4.

9. an imaging unit that captures an image of one or more people to generate an image including a moving image or a still image; a server that receives the image from the imaging unit and executes image processing; Equipped with The server, obtaining identifying information about the person or persons from the image; identifying the person or people appearing in the image based on the identification information; obtaining authentication information for the plurality of viewers and identifying the plurality of viewers based on the authentication information; determining a specific person who can view the image from among the one or more people based on a list that associates the one or more people with a multiple viewers who can view the image; changing the display of the one or more people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image by image processing; Information processing system.

10. acquiring images, including video or still images, of one or more people; obtaining identification information for the one or more people depicted in the image; identifying the one or more people appearing in the image based on the identification information; acquiring authentication information of a plurality of viewers who are permitted to view the image, and identifying the plurality of viewers based on the authentication information; determining a specific person who can be viewed by a specific viewer from among the one or more persons based on a list that associates the one or more persons with the multiple viewers; modifying the display of the one or more people other than the predetermined person appearing in the image by image processing; Including, method.

11. A program causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 10.

12. A computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 10.

Images