Video camera device, control method, and storage medium for controlling operations based on voice

Abstract

The present invention provides a camera device, a control method, and a storage medium for controlling operations based on voice. The camera device includes: an imaging unit for obtaining a video; an audio input unit for collecting sounds; and a control unit for controlling the recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sounds collected by the audio input unit. When the control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sounds, the control unit stops recording the video and records the video data before the start time of the wake-up word as a video file.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a camera device that is controlled based on voice, a control method thereof, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Speech recognition technology has been evolving due to technological innovations in deep learning-based natural language processing (NLP). As a result, it has become possible to more accurately recognize speech uttered by a user, and the demand for controlling devices using voice input has been increasing.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-203974 discloses a technique for preventing a control voice from being recorded on a recording device by rewinding the recording device to a position immediately before the position where the control voice was input.

[0004] In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-203974 (particularly the part related to the rewinding control), control of a control voice that gives an instruction to stop recording is described, but the use of multiple control voices is not anticipated. For example, in the case of applying the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-203974 to an arrangement with multiple control voices, it is not clear which control voice should be used as the voice based on which the rewinding process is to be performed according to the description in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-203974. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides a camera device, a control method thereof, and a storage medium that can appropriately remove unnecessary control voices from a video.

[0006] Accordingly, the present invention provides a camera device including: an imaging unit configured to obtain a video; an audio input unit configured to collect sound; and a control unit configured to control recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit, wherein, when a control word that gives an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, the control unit stops recording the video and records video data before a start time of the wake-up word as a video file.

[0007] The present invention provides a camera device including: an imaging unit configured to obtain a video; an audio input unit configured to collect sound; and a control unit configured to control recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit, wherein, when the control word that gives an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, the control unit stops recording the video, adds reference information to a frame corresponding to a start time of the wake-up word in the video data, and records the video data as a video file.

[0008] The present invention provides a camera device, comprising: a camera unit for obtaining video; an audio input unit for collecting sound; and a control unit for controlling the recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit, wherein, when the control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, a switch can be allowed between the following settings: a setting of recording video data before the start time of the wake-up word as a video file and stopping the recording of the video; and a setting of adding reference information to a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake-up word in the video data, recording the video data as the video file, and stopping the recording of the video.

[0009] The present invention provides a control method for a camera device, the camera device comprising a camera unit for obtaining video and an audio input unit for collecting sound, the control method comprising: controlling the recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit; and when the control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, recording the video data before the start time of the wake-up word as a video file and stopping the recording of the video.

[0010] The present invention provides a control method for a camera device, the camera device comprising a camera unit for obtaining video and an audio input unit for collecting sound, the control method comprising: controlling the recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit; and when the control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, adding reference information to a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake-up word in the video data, recording the video data as a video file, and stopping the recording of the video.

[0011] The present invention provides a control method for a camera device, the camera device comprising a camera unit for obtaining video and an audio input unit for collecting sound, the control method comprising: controlling the recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit; and when the control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, switching between the following settings: a setting of recording the video data before the start time of the wake-up word as a video file and stopping; and a setting of adding reference information to a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake-up word in the video data and recording the video data as the video file.

[0012] The present invention provides a non - transitory computer - readable storage medium that stores computer - executable programs, and the computer - executable programs execute any of the above - described control methods for a photographing device according to the present invention.

[0013] Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to the accompanying drawings). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is an external view of a digital camera as an example of a photographing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing a functional arrangement of the digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing a main process in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an initialization process in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 5A and 5B is a flowchart showing a setting change process in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figures 6A to 6D is a diagram for explaining an example of a setting change screen in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 7A and 7B is a flowchart showing a voice input process in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing a video editing process in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Figure 1 is an external view of a digital camera 100 as an example of a photographing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The digital camera 100 has a display 28, a mode selector switch 60, a shutter button 61, an operation unit 70, a power switch 72, a controller wheel 73, a connector 112, a recording medium slot 201, and a cover 202.

[0023] The display 28 displays a captured image and various types of information, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display.

[0024] The mode selector switch 60 is an operation member for switching between various modes such as a video shooting mode and a still image shooting mode.

[0025] The shutter button 61 is an operating member for instructing the digital camera 100 to capture images such as videos and still images.

[0026] The operation unit 70 is an operating member for receiving various operations from the user, and includes a switch, buttons, and a touch panel integrated with the display 28. The controller wheel 73 is an operating member for receiving a rotational operation from the user.

[0027] The mode selector switch 60, the shutter button 61, the operation unit 70, and the controller wheel 73 constitute the operation unit according to the present embodiment. The operation unit may include other members.

[0028] The power switch 72 is an operating member for switching the digital camera 100 between a powered-on state and a powered-off state.

[0029] The connector 112 is an element for connecting the digital camera 100 and the connection cable 111. The connection cable 111 is an element for connecting an external device such as a computer and a printer to the digital camera 100.

[0030] The recording medium slot 201 is configured to accommodate a recording medium 200 such as a memory card and a hard disk. The recording medium 200 accommodated in the recording medium slot 201 is electrically connected to the digital camera 100 via the terminals of the recording medium slot 201 to communicate with the digital camera 100. As a result, data can be recorded on the recording medium 200 and read from the recording medium 200.

[0031] The cover 202 is configured to cover the recording medium 200 accommodated in the recording medium slot 201 when it is closed. In Figure 1 which, the cover 202 is open, and a part of the recording medium 200 exposes itself from the recording medium slot 201.

[0032] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the digital camera 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A description of the elements provided in the digital camera 100 will now be given.

[0033] The system control unit 50 includes, for example, one or more processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and globally controls the operations of the elements included in the digital camera 100.

[0034] The non-volatile memory 56 is a non-volatile electrically erasable and programmable storage medium including, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). The non-volatile memory 56 stores values (constants, variables, etc.) for operations and programs for control.

[0035] The system memory 52 is a volatile storage medium and includes, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory). The system memory 52 serves as a working memory for storing values (constants, variables, etc.) to be used by the system control unit 50 for operations and for expanding programs.

[0036] The descriptions of various processes in this embodiment given later with reference to flowcharts and the like are implemented by expanding the programs stored in the non-volatile memory 56 on the system memory 52 and executing them by one or more processors included in the system control unit 50. It should be noted that at least a part of the various processes in this embodiment can be implemented by elements other than the system control unit 50 under the control of the system control unit 50.

[0037] The photographing lens 103 is a lens group including a zoom lens and a focusing lens. For simplicity of illustration, the photographing lens 103 is schematically represented by one photographing lens in Figure 2 but the photographing lens 103 may include a plurality of lenses. The shutter 101 is a focal-plane shutter controlled by the system control unit 50 to open and close. The imaging unit 22 (which is an imaging device including a CCD or a CMOS) converts the optical image of the subject formed on the light incident surface into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal to the A / D converter 23. The A / D converter 23 converts the electrical signal (analog signal) into a digital signal (image data) and outputs the digital signal to at least one of the memory control unit 15 and the image processing unit 24.

[0038] The imaging unit 22, the photographing lens 103, and the shutter 101 constitute the imaging unit. The shutter 102 covers the imaging unit to prevent contamination and damage.

[0039] The image processing unit 24 is an integrated circuit that performs various types of image processing (image interpolation, resizing, color conversion, etc.) on the digital signal output from the A / D converter 23 or the memory control unit 15. The image processing unit 24 performs various types of computational processing based on the photographed image data. The system control unit 50 can perform exposure control processing and distance measurement control processing based on the results of the computational processing. These control processes use the TTL (Through The Lens) method to implement AF processing, AE processing, and EF processing (pre-flash processing). The image processing unit 24 can also perform automatic white balance (AWB) processing using the TTL method.

[0040] The memory 32 is a storage medium that stores data such as image data obtained by the imaging unit 22 and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 23, and image data to be displayed on the display 28. The image data output from the A / D converter 23 is processed by the image processing unit 24 and then written into the memory 32 via the memory control unit 15, or directly written into the memory 32 via the memory control unit 15. The memory 32 has a capacity sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images or video and audio for a predetermined period of time. The memory 32 also serves as a video memory for image display.

[0041] The D / A converter 13 converts the data for image display into an analog signal and supplies the analog signal to the display 28.

[0042] The display 28 has a display such as a liquid crystal display, and displays the image data (analog signal) for image display on the display. The image data is written into the memory 32 and supplied to the display 28 via the D / A converter 13. By displaying on the display 28 the image data successively supplied to the display 28 via the imaging unit 22, the A / D converter 23, the memory control unit 15, the memory 32, and the D / A converter 13, the display 28 serves as an electronic viewfinder that continuously displays an image "through-the-lens". That is, the digital camera 100 realizes live view (LV) display by displaying on the display 28 the captured images obtained by continuously shooting using the imaging unit. The image displayed in live view can be referred to as a "live view image".

[0043] The system control unit 50 controls the display by controlling display-related components such as the memory 32, the D / A converter 13, and the display 28 described above.

[0044] The system timer 53 is a timing generation unit for various types of control and is also a time measurement unit that measures the time of a built-in clock (not shown). The system control unit 50 controls the operation of each component based on the timing generated by the system timer 53.

[0045] As described above, the mode selector switch 60, the shutter button 61, the operation unit 70 (including the touch panel 70a to be described later), and the controller wheel 73 constitute the operation unit according to the present embodiment. The operation unit inputs various operation instructions to the system control unit 50.

[0046] The mode selector switch 60 is used to switch between various types of operation modes. The operation modes include a still image mode for obtaining a still image, a video mode for obtaining a video, and a playback mode for playing back still images and videos. The still image mode includes an auto shooting mode, an auto scene judgment mode, a manual mode, an aperture priority mode (Av mode), a shutter speed priority mode (Tv mode), various scene modes in which shooting settings vary according to the shooting scene, a program AE mode, and a custom mode. Similarly, the video shooting mode includes the above-mentioned multiple modes. By operating the mode selector switch 60, the user directly selects one of those modes. The mode can be selected from a mode list screen displayed by operating the mode selector switch 60 through another operation member such as a touch panel 70a to be described later.

[0047] The shutter button 61 includes a first shutter switch 62 that is turned on when pressed (i.e., pressed halfway down) and a second shutter switch 64 that is turned on by pressing all the way down. When the first shutter switch 62 is turned on, a first shutter switch signal SW1 is output, which instructs the system control unit 50 to start shooting preparations such as AF processing, AE processing, AWB processing, and EF processing. On the other hand, when the second shutter switch 64 is turned on, a second shutter switch signal SW2 is output, which instructs the system control unit 50 to start a series of shooting operations such as signal reading processing, developing processing, compression / expansion processing, and data writing processing.

[0048] As described above, the operation unit 70 has a plurality of operation members. A plurality of functions that vary according to the scene can be assigned to each operation member. That is, each operation member can be used as a function button that is pressed to trigger a function suitable for the scene. Functions are assigned by, for example, selecting various function icons displayed on the setting screen of the display 28. Examples of function buttons include an end button, a back button, an image feed button, a jump button, a zoom-out button, an attribute change button, and a video recording button, but they are not restrictive. When the menu button is pressed, a menu screen for configuring various settings is displayed on the display 28. The user can intuitively configure various settings by using the menu screen displayed on the display 28 and the cross keys and the set (SET) button.

[0049] The controller wheel 73 is an operation member that detects a rotational operation performed by the user corresponding to the selection of an option, and is, for example, a dial member that outputs a pulse signal by rotating according to the amount of the rotational operation. The system control unit 50 controls the components of the digital camera 100 based on the angle and the number of rotations of the rotational operation identified by the pulse signal. It should be noted that the controller wheel 73 can be a touch wheel member that does not rotate by itself and has a touch sensor that detects the movement of the user's finger on the controller wheel 73 and then outputs a signal.

[0050] The power supply unit 30 is a component that supplies power to the digital camera 100 and includes at least one of the following: a primary battery (alkaline battery, lithium battery, etc.), a secondary battery (nickel-cadmium (NiCd) battery, nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery, lithium (Li) battery, etc.), and an AC adapter. The power supply control unit 80 includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switching circuit for switching the blocks to be powered, and the like. The power supply control unit 80 can detect whether a battery is installed, the type of the installed battery, and the remaining capacity of the battery. The power supply control unit 80 controls the DC-DC converter based on an instruction from the system control unit 50 and supplies a required voltage to the components of the digital camera 100 (including the recording medium 200) for a required period of time.

[0051] The recording medium I / F 18 is an interface for connecting to the recording medium 200 that can be connected to the digital camera 100. The recording medium 200 is an external recording medium such as a memory card that records images and videos obtained by the digital camera 100 and includes a storage device such as a semiconductor memory and a magnetic disk. The system control unit 50 can record the video obtained by the processing according to the present embodiment in the recording medium 200 via the recording medium I / F 18.

[0052] The communication unit 54 is a communication interface that connects the digital camera 100 to other devices via wired or wireless communication and transmits and receives video signals and audio signals, and can be connected to a network such as a wireless LAN and the Internet. The communication unit 54 can transmit the still images and videos (including LV images) obtained by the digital camera 100 and the still images and videos recorded in the recording medium 200 to an external device and receive images and various types of information from the external device.

[0053] The posture sensing unit 55 senses the posture of the digital camera 100 in the direction of gravity and outputs posture information to the system control unit 50. The posture sensing unit 55 includes, for example, an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor. The system control unit 50 can attach orientation information corresponding to the posture information from the posture sensing unit 55 to the image, and convert and record the orientation of the image based on the posture information. The orientation information attached to the image is information indicating the orientation (portrait or landscape) of the digital camera 100 at the time of taking the image.

[0054] The operation unit 70 has a touch panel 70a that senses a user's touch operation on the display 28. The touch panel 70a is mounted on the display surface of the display 28 in a manner integrated with the display surface. The light transmittance of the touch panel 70a is preferably set to a value that does not interfere with the display on the display 28. By associating the input coordinates of the touch panel 70a with the display coordinates of the display 28, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) is provided that enables the user to intuitively operate the display screen displayed by the display 28. The system control unit 50 can detect the touch operations described below on the touch panel 70a based on the input coordinates input from the touch panel 70a.

[0055] - Touch-down: A contact body such as a finger or a pen has started touching the touch panel 70a

[0056] - Touch-On: The contact body is touching the touch panel 70a without moving

[0057] - Touch-Move: The contact body is moving while in contact with the touch panel 70a

[0058] - Touch-Up: The contact body that has been in contact with the touch panel 70a has left the touch panel 70a

[0059] - Touch-Off: The contact body is not in contact with the touch panel 70a

[0060] When "Touch-down" is detected, "Touch-On" is also detected simultaneously. After "Touch-down", "Touch-On" is usually continuously detected unless "Touch-Up" is detected. In the state where "Touch-On" is being detected, "Touch-Move" is detected. Even when "Touch-On" is detected, "Touch-Move" is not detected unless the touch position has shifted. After "Touch-Up" of all contact bodies that have touched the touch panel 70a is detected, "Touch-Off" is detected.

[0061] The audio input unit 90 converts the sound collected by the microphone into an electrical signal (audio signal) and outputs it to the system control unit 50. The system control unit 50 can record the input audio signal as audio data together with the video, and also uses the input audio signal for voice input (operation instructions using voice). The audio input processing will be described below.

[0062] The system control unit 50 uses any suitable speech recognition algorithm to remove sounds other than the user's speech from the input audio signal, extracts phonemes, which are the smallest units of spoken language, and recognizes characters based on the extracted phonemes. It should be noted that the system control unit 50 can also recognize words based on multiple recognized characters. The system control unit 50 determines whether the combination of multiple characters, words, or word combinations obtained through speech recognition corresponds to a wake-up word or a control word.

[0063] When it is determined that it corresponds to a wake-up word, the system control unit 50 transitions to a state of being ready to receive a control word ("control voice input enabled state"). When a control word is input to the audio input unit 90 in this state, the system control unit 50 performs a control operation on the input control word. For example, the system control unit 50 can start or stop video recording according to the control word. It should be noted that the wake-up word and the control word can be collectively referred to as "control-related words".

[0064] It should be noted that the above speech recognition (phoneme analysis and word analysis) can be performed by a device other than the digital camera 100. For example, the system control unit 50 can supply the audio signal input via the audio input unit 90 to an external device, and the external device performs speech recognition and sends the recognition result back to the digital camera 100.

[0065] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the main processing in an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the main processing performed after the power of the digital camera 100 is turned "ON" is sequential processing including recognizing the user's speech, starting and stopping video recording by voice operation, and editing of video data. As described above, the main processing in this flowchart is implemented by one or more processors included in the system control unit 50 expanding a program stored in the non-volatile memory 56 on the system memory 52 and executing the program.

[0066] In step S301, the system control unit 50 performs initialization processing. The initialization processing in this step will be described in detail later with reference to Figure 4 Describe the initialization processing in this step in detail.

[0067] In step S302, the system control unit 50 determines whether an instruction to change settings has been issued through a user operation on the operation unit. Changing settings is a concept including registration or deletion of a "wake-up word for stopping video recording", registration or deletion of a "control word for stopping video recording", change of "video editing settings", and change of "video editing method". When the system control unit 50 determines that an instruction to change settings has been issued (S302: Yes), the process proceeds to the setting change processing in step S303 ( Figure 5A and 5B)。On the other hand, when the system control unit 50 determines that an instruction to change the settings has not been issued (S302: No), the process proceeds to the audio input processing in step S304 ( Figure 7A and 7B ).

[0068] In step S303, the system control unit 50 performs the setting change process. The setting change process in this step will be described in detail later with reference to Figure 5A and 5B and Figures 6A to 6D .

[0069] In step S304, the system control unit 50 performs the audio input processing. The audio input processing in this step will be described in detail later with reference to Figure 7A and 7B .

[0070] In step S305, the system control unit 50 determines whether an instruction to end the main process has been issued by an operation such as pressing the power switch 72. When the system control unit 50 determines in step S305 that an instruction to end the main process has been issued (S305: Yes), the process proceeds to step S306. On the other hand, when the system control unit 50 determines that an instruction to end the main process has not been issued (S305: No), the process returns to step S302.

[0071] In step S306, the system control unit 50 ends the main process by storing the setting values in the non-volatile memory 56. The setting values are values representing "wake word for stopping video recording", "control word for stopping video recording", "video editing settings", and "video editing method".

[0072] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing in detail the initialization process in step S301 in Figure 3 . Generally, in this initialization process, initialization related to the setting values for voice input and video editing (initialization of the system memory 52) is performed.

[0073] In step S401, the system control unit 50 sets the "control voice input disable state" at the position (area) in the system memory 52 that indicates the "voice input reception state". Here, when a setting value is stored in the position in the non-volatile memory 56 that indicates the "voice input reception state", the system control unit 50 sets the setting value at the position in the system memory 52 that indicates the "voice input reception state".

[0074] In step S402, the system control unit 50 clears the position indicating the "wake-up word for stopping video recording". When a setting value is stored at the position indicating the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" in the non-volatile memory 56, the system control unit 50 sets the setting value at the position indicating the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" in the system memory 52.

[0075] In step S403, the system control unit 50 clears the position indicating the "control word for stopping video recording" in the system memory 52. When a setting value is stored at the position indicating the "control word for stopping video recording" in the non-volatile memory 56, the system control unit 50 sets the setting value at the position indicating the "control word for stopping video recording" in the system memory 52.

[0076] In step S404, the system control unit 50 sets "not edited" at the position indicating the "video editing setting" in the system memory 52. Here, when a setting value is stored at the position indicating the "video editing setting" in the non-volatile memory 56, the system control unit 50 sets the setting value at the position indicating the "video editing setting" in the system memory 52.

[0077] In step S405, the system control unit 50 sets "automatic deletion" at the position indicating the "video editing method" in the system memory 52. Here, when a setting value is stored at the position indicating the "video editing method" in the non-volatile memory 56, the system control unit 50 sets the setting value at the position indicating the "video editing method" in the system memory 52.

[0078] In step S406, the system control unit 50 clears the position indicating the "characters and time values of phonemes" in the system memory 52.

[0079] In step S407, the system control unit 50 clears the position indicating the "word analysis result" in the system memory 52.

[0080] Figure 5A and 5B shows Figure 3 the flowchart of the setting change process in step S303. Figures 6A to 6D is a diagram for explaining an example of the setting change screen. In the setting change process, the settings regarding audio input and video editing are changed according to the instruction input from the user. Generally, the wake-up word and the control word, which are the audio input settings related to video recording, are changed according to the instruction input from the user.

[0081] As Figure 5AAs shown, in step S501, the system control unit 50 determines whether the operation of the user on the operation unit is an instruction for changing the setting regarding "voice input for stopping video recording". If the determination result is affirmative (Yes), the process proceeds to step S502, and the setting change screen in Figure 6A is displayed on the display 28. Figure 6A The setting change screen in includes a text box 601 where the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" can be input, a text box 602 where the "control word for stopping video recording" can be input, and an OK button 603. On the other hand, if the determination result is negative (No), the process proceeds to step S516.

[0082] In step S502, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user has input the "wake-up word for stopping video recording". More specifically, when the OK button 603 is touched while a string representing the wake-up word has been input in the text box 601, the system control unit 50 determines that the user has input the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" (S502: Yes). On the other hand, when the OK button 603 is touched while the text box 601 is blank, the system control unit 50 determines that the user has not input the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" (S502: No). If the determination result in step S502 is affirmative (Yes), the process proceeds to step S503, and if the determination result in step S502 is negative (No), the process proceeds to step S504.

[0083] In step S503, the system control unit 50 stores (i.e., registers) the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" that the user has input at the position in the system memory 52 indicating the "wake-up word for stopping video recording". The system control unit 50 can store the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" as a string or as a word. When storing the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" as a word, the system control unit 50 can perform word analysis on the input string, or can identify where one word starts and where another word starts when the user inputs a word.

[0084] In step S504, the system control unit 50 clears the position in the system memory 52 indicating the "wake-up word for stopping video recording".

[0085] In step S505, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user has input the "control word for stopping video recording". More specifically, when the OK button 603 is touched in a state where the string representing the control word has been input into the text box 601, the system control unit 50 determines that the user has input the "control word for stopping video recording" (S505: Yes). On the other hand, when the OK button 603 is touched in a state where the text box 601 is blank, the system control unit 50 determines that the user has not input the "control word for stopping video recording" (S505: No). When the determination result in step S505 is affirmative (Yes), the process proceeds to step S506, and when the determination result in step S505 is negative (No), the process proceeds to step S507.

[0086] In step S506, the system control unit 50 stores (i.e., registers) the "control word for stopping video recording" that the user has input at the position in the system memory 52 indicating the "control word for stopping video recording". The system control unit 50 can store the "control word for stopping video recording" as a string or as a word. When storing the "control word for stopping video recording" as a word, the same analysis as in step S503 is performed.

[0087] In step S507, the system control unit 50 clears the position in the system memory 52 indicating the "control word for stopping video recording".

[0088] In step S508, the system control unit 50 determines whether the "wake word for stopping video recording" is recorded in the system memory 52. When the determination result in step S508 is affirmative (Yes), the process proceeds to step S511, and when the determination result in step S508 is negative (No), the process proceeds to step S509.

[0089] In step S509, the system control unit 50 causes the display 28 to display Figure 6B the setting change screen in, and determines whether an instruction to change the "video editing setting" to "before the wake word for stopping video recording" has been issued. More specifically, when the "Yes" button 605 is touched in a state where the check box 604 indicating "before the wake word" on the setting change screen in Figure 6B is selected, the determination result of the system control unit 50 in step S509 is affirmative (Yes). On the other hand, in Figure 6BWhen the "No" button 606 is touched while the checkbox 604 indicating "Before Wake Word" on the setting change screen is selected, the determination result of the system control unit 50 in step S509 is negative (No). When the determination result in step S509 is positive (Yes), the process proceeds to step S510, and when the determination result in step S509 is negative (No), the process proceeds to step S516. It should be noted that in step S509, the checkbox 604 indicating "Before Wake Word" is preferably displayed so that it cannot be changed while it is selected.

[0090] In step S510, the system control unit 50 sets "Before Wake Word for Stopping Video Recording" at the position indicating "Video Editing Settings" in the system memory 52, and then the process proceeds to step S516.

[0091] In step S511, the system control unit 50 determines whether "Control Word for Stopping Video Recording" is recorded in the system memory 52. When the determination result in step S511 is positive (Yes), the process proceeds to step S514, and when the determination result in step S511 is negative (No), the process proceeds to step S512.

[0092] In step S512, the system control unit 50 determines whether an instruction to change "Video Editing Settings" to "Before Control Word for Stopping Video Recording" has been issued. When the determination result in step S512 is positive (Yes), the process proceeds to step S513, and when the determination result in step S512 is negative (No), the process proceeds to step S516.

[0093] In step S513, the system control unit 50 sets "Before Control Word for Stopping Video Recording" at the position indicating "Video Editing Settings" in the system memory 52, and then the process proceeds to step S516.

[0094] In step S514, the system control unit 50 determines whether an instruction to change "Video Editing Settings" to "Do Not Edit" has been issued. When the determination result in step S514 is positive (Yes), the process proceeds to step S515, and when the determination result in step S514 is negative (No), the process proceeds to step S516.

[0095] In step S515, the system control unit 50 sets "Do Not Edit" at the position indicating "Video Editing Settings" in the system memory 52, and then the process proceeds to step S516.

[0096] In step S516, the system control unit 50 determines whether the operation of the user on the operation unit is an instruction to change the "video editing settings". If the determination result in step S516 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S517, and the setting change screen in Figure 6C is displayed on the display 28. Figure 6C The setting change screen in includes elements such as a checkbox 607 indicating "before the wake word" and an OK button 608. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S516 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S522.

[0097] In step S517, the system control unit 50 determines whether an instruction to change the "video editing settings" to "before the wake word for stopping video recording" has been issued. More specifically, when the OK button 608 is touched while the checkbox 607 is selected, the system control unit 50 determines that an instruction to change the "video editing settings" to "before the wake word for stopping video recording" has been issued (S517: yes). If the determination result in step S517 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S518, and if the determination result in step S517 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S519. It should be noted that on the setting change screen shown in Figure 6C , preferably only the last selected checkbox among the multiple checkboxes is selected.

[0098] In step S518, the system control unit 50 sets "before the wake word for stopping video recording" at the position in the system memory 52 indicating the "video editing settings", and then the process proceeds to step S522.

[0099] In step S519, the system control unit 50 determines whether an instruction to change the "video editing settings" to "before the control word for stopping video recording" has been issued. More specifically, when the OK button 608 is touched while the checkbox indicating "before the control word for stopping video recording" is selected, the system control unit 50 determines that an instruction to change the "video editing settings" to "before the control word for stopping video recording" has been issued (S519: yes). If the determination result in step S519 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S520, and if the determination result in step S519 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S521.

[0100] In step S520, the system control unit 50 sets "before the control word for stopping video recording" at the position in the system memory 52 indicating the "video editing settings", and then the process proceeds to step S522.

[0101] In step S521, the system control unit 50 sets "not edit" at the position in the system memory 52 that indicates "video editing settings", and then the process proceeds to step S522.

[0102] In step S522, the system control unit 50 determines whether the operation of the user on the operation unit is an instruction to change the "video editing method". If the determination result in step S522 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S523, and a setting change screen in Figure 6D is displayed on the display 28. Figure 6D The setting change screen in includes elements such as a checkbox 609 indicating "automatic deletion" and an OK button 610. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S522 is negative (no), the system control unit 50 ends the flow of the setting change process.

[0103] In step S523, the system control unit 50 determines whether an instruction to change the "video editing method" to "automatic deletion" has been issued. More specifically, when the OK button 610 is touched in a state where the checkbox 609 is selected, the system control unit 50 determines that an instruction to change the "video editing method" to "automatic deletion" has been issued (S523: yes). If the determination result in step S523 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S524, and if the determination result in step S523 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S525. It should be noted that on the setting change screen shown in Figure 6D , preferably only the last selected checkbox among the multiple checkboxes is selected.

[0104] In step S524, the system control unit 50 sets "automatic deletion" at the position in the system memory 52 that indicates "video editing method", and the system control unit 50 ends the flow of the setting change process.

[0105] In step S525, the system control unit 50 sets "add information" at the position in the system memory 52 that indicates "video editing method", and the system control unit 50 ends the flow of the setting change process.

[0106] Figure 7A and 7B are flowcharts showing the audio input processing in step S304 in Figure 3 . Generally speaking, in the audio input processing, the input audio signal is analyzed, and based on the analysis result, the start and stop of video recording are controlled. As is clear from the flowchart of Figure 3 , while the main process is being executed, Figure 7A and 7BThe audio input processing shown in the figure. It should be noted that any suitable speech recognition algorithm can be used in each step included in the audio input processing.

[0107] In step S701, the system control unit 50 determines whether an audio signal has been input through the microphone and the audio input unit 90. If the determination result in step S701 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S702, and if the determination result in step S701 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S724.

[0108] In step S702, the system control unit 50 removes the sounds (noise) other than the user's speech from the input audio signal.

[0109] In step S703, for the audio signal from which noise has been removed in step S702, the system control unit 50 performs phoneme analysis to extract phonemes, which are the minimum unit waveforms corresponding to characters as speech.

[0110] In step S704, based on the phoneme analysis result in step S703, the system control unit 50 determines whether there are phonemes (sounds that can be converted into characters) in the input audio signal. If the determination result in step S704 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S705, and if the determination result in step S704 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S724.

[0111] In step S705, based on the phoneme analysis result in step S703, the system control unit 50 stores, in the system memory 52 in tabular form, the time value at which the waveform corresponding to each of the obtained multiple phonemes starts and the corresponding characters.

[0112] In step S706, the system control unit 50 performs word analysis on the characters corresponding to the audio signal stored in the system memory 52 in step S705. The result of this word analysis can be stored in the system memory 52.

[0113] In step S707, the system control unit 50 determines whether the position indicating the "audio input reception status" in the system memory 52 indicates the "audio input enabled status". If the determination result in step S707 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to Figure 7B step S713, and if the determination result in step S707 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S708.

[0114] In step S708, the system control unit 50 determines whether the combination of multiple characters, words, or combinations of words obtained through speech recognition corresponds to the wake-up word. When the determination result in step S708 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S709, and when the determination result in step S708 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S724.

[0115] Here, in step S708, the system control unit 50 can make the determination based on the character string obtained by combining the characters obtained in step S705 or based on the word (or combination of words) obtained as a result of the word analysis in step S706. It should be noted that similarly, when the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" is stored in the system memory 52 and video recording is in progress, the system control unit 50 can also use the "wake-up word for stopping video recording" as the wake-up word in the determination in step S708.

[0116] In step S709, the system control unit 50 stores the time value of the start of the first phoneme as the wake-up word start time X in the system memory 52, and the first phoneme is included in the audio signal corresponding to the character or word (wake-up word) related to the In step S708 judgment. The system control unit 50 can read the information required for this step from the table showing phonemes and time values stored in step S705.

[0117] In step S710, the system control unit 50 clears the data on the phonemes and time values related to the current process that have been stored in the system memory 52.

[0118] In step S711, the system control unit 50 clears the word information related to the current process that has been stored in the system memory 52.

[0119] In step S712, the system control unit 50 causes the system memory 52 to transition from the "audio input receiving state" to the "controlled voice input enabled state", and then the process proceeds to step S724.

[0120] Now, a description of Figure 7B steps S713 to S723 will be given. In step S713, the system control unit 50 determines whether the combination of multiple characters, words, or combinations of words obtained through speech recognition corresponds to the control word indicating the start of video recording. When the determination result in step S713 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S714, and when the determination result in step S713 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S718.

[0121] Here, in step S713, the system control unit 50 can make a judgment based on the string obtained by combining the characters obtained in step S705 or based on the word (or combination of words) obtained as a result of the word analysis in step S706.

[0122] In step S714, the system control unit 50 performs a process of starting video recording, and then the process proceeds to step S715.

[0123] In step S715, the system control unit 50 clears the data of the characters and time values of the phonemes related to the current process that have been stored in the system memory 52.

[0124] In step S716, the system control unit 50 clears the word information related to the current process that has been stored in the system memory 52.

[0125] In step S717, the system control unit 50 causes the system memory 52 to transition from the "audio input receiving state" to the "control voice input disabled state". After step S717 is completed, the process then proceeds to step S724.

[0126] In step S718, the system control unit 50 determines whether the combination of multiple characters, word, or combination of words obtained through speech recognition corresponds to a control word indicating the stop of video recording. If the determination result in step S718 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S719, and if the determination result in step S718 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S722.

[0127] Here, in step S718, the system control unit 50 can make a judgment based on the string obtained by combining the characters obtained in step S705 or based on the word (or combination of words) obtained as a result of the word analysis in step S706. It should be noted that when the "control word for stopping video recording" is stored in the system memory 52 and video recording is in progress, the system control unit 50 can also use the "control word for stopping video recording" as the control word in the judgment in step S718.

[0128] In step S719, the system control unit 50 stores the time value at which the first phoneme starts as the control word start time Y in the system memory 52, and the first phoneme is included in the audio signal corresponding to the character or word (control word for stopping video recording) related to the judgment in step S718. The system control unit 50 can read the information required for this step from the table of indicated phonemes and time values stored in step S705.

[0129] In step S720, the system control unit 50 performs a process of stopping video recording.

[0130] In step S721, the system control unit 50 performs processing to edit video data, and then the processing proceeds to step S715. The video editing processing in step S721 will be described in detail later with reference to Figure 8 the detailed description of the video editing processing in step S721.

[0131] In step S722, the system control unit 50 determines whether the combination of multiple characters, words, or combinations of words obtained through speech recognition corresponds to other control words. If the determination result in step S722 is affirmative (yes), the processing proceeds to step S723, and if the determination result in step S722 is negative (no), the processing proceeds to step S724.

[0132] Here, in step S722, the system control unit 50 can make the determination based on the string obtained by combining the characters obtained in step S705 or based on the word (or combination of words) obtained as a result of the word analysis in step S706.

[0133] In step S723, the system control unit 50 performs processing based on the other control word related to the determination in step S722, and then the processing proceeds to step S715.

[0134] In Figure 7A step S724, the system control unit 50 determines whether the determination related to the presence of phonemes in step S704 has been continuously negative (no) for a predetermined period or longer. If the system control unit 50 determines that there has been no continuous presence of phonemes for a predetermined period or longer, the processing proceeds to step S725, and if phonemes have been present for a period shorter than the predetermined period, the system control unit 50 ends the audio input processing flow.

[0135] In step S725, the system control unit 50 clears the data of the characters and time values of the phonemes related to the current processing that have been stored in the system memory 52.

[0136] In step S726, the system control unit 50 clears the word information related to the current processing that has been stored in the system memory 52.

[0137] In step S727, the system control unit 50 causes the system memory 52 to transition from the "audio input receiving state" to the "control voice input disabled state". After completing step S727, the system control unit 50 ends the audio input processing flow.

[0138] Figure 8 is shown Figure 7AFlowchart of video editing processing in step S721. Generally speaking, in this processing, video data before the start time of the control-related word is cut into a video file, or reference information indicating the start time of the control-related word is added to the video data.

[0139] In step S801, the system control unit 50 determines whether the position indicating "video editing method" in the system memory 52 indicates "automatic deletion". If the determination result in step S801 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S802, and if the determination result in step S801 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S806.

[0140] In step S802, the system control unit 50 determines whether the position indicating "video editing settings" in the system memory 52 indicates "before the wake word to stop video recording". If the determination result in step S802 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S803, and if the determination result in step S802 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S804.

[0141] In step S803, the system control unit 50 cuts out the data before the wake word start time X in the system memory 52 from the video data related to the video recording process stopped in step S720 as a video file and records it in the recording medium 200.

[0142] In step S804, the system control unit 50 determines whether the position indicating "video editing settings" in the system memory 52 indicates "before the control word to stop video recording". If the determination result in step S804 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S805, and if the determination result in step S804 is negative (no), the system control unit 50 ends the video editing processing flow.

[0143] In step S805, the system control unit 50 cuts out the data before the control word start time Y in the system memory 52 from the video data related to the video recording process stopped in step S720 as a video file and records it in the recording medium 200.

[0144] In step S806, the system control unit 50 determines whether the position indicating "video editing settings" in the system memory 52 indicates "before the wake word to stop video recording". If the determination result in step S806 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S807, and if the determination result in step S806 is negative (no), the process proceeds to step S808.

[0145] In step S807, the system control unit 50 adds reference information indicating the wake-up word start time X to the frame corresponding to the wake-up word start time X in the video data related to the video recording process stopped in step S720, and records it in the recording medium 200. The user can later delete the video data in the frame where the reference information indicating the wake-up word start time X is added and the subsequent frames based on this reference information.

[0146] In step S808, the system control unit 50 determines whether the position indicating "video editing settings" in the system memory 52 indicates "before the control word for stopping video recording". If the determination result in step S808 is affirmative (yes), the process proceeds to step S809. If the determination result in step S808 is negative (no), the system control unit 50 ends the video editing process flow.

[0147] In step S809, the system control unit 50 adds reference information indicating the control word start time Y to the frame corresponding to the control word start time Y in the video data related to the video recording process stopped in step S720, and records it in the recording medium 200. The user can later delete the video data in the frame where the reference information indicating the control word start time Y is added and the subsequent frames based on this reference information.

[0148] According to the arrangement of the above-described embodiment, unnecessary control voices can be appropriately deleted from the video. According to the arrangement of recording the video data before the start time of the control-related word (wake-up word or control word) as a video file, the voice related to the control-related word can be appropriately removed from the video file. In addition, according to the arrangement of adding reference information to the frame corresponding to the start time of the control-related word in the video data and recording the video data as a video file, it is possible to easily remove a part including the voice related to the control-related word included in this frame or any subsequent frames. Further, according to the arrangement where the user can switch the range of recording video data and the position of adding reference information, the user can easily leave the desired part in the video file.

[0149] Other embodiments

[0150] The above-described embodiment is modified in various ways. Specific examples of the modification will be given below. Two or more forms arbitrarily selected from the above-described embodiment and the modifications described below can be appropriately combined as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0151] In Figure 7A 、 7BIn the audio-related processing in 8, the system control unit 50 can perform speech recognition processing using a neural network. In this case, for example, by using the speech related to the control-related word as input and the recognition information of the processing corresponding to the control-related word as supervised data, a learning model is generated by performing machine learning. For example, machine learning is performed by using speech such as "stop video" as input and the recognition information of the corresponding processing of stopping video recording as supervised data. In this speech recognition processing, the probability that the input audio signal includes a control-related word (wake-up word or control word) can be output from the neural network. The system control unit 50 can edit the video based on this probability. For example, when the probability is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the system control unit 50 can cut the data before the start time X or Y of the control-related word into a video file, and when the probability is less than the predetermined threshold, the system control unit 50 can add reference information to the frame corresponding to the start time X or Y of the control-related word. With this arrangement, when the probability that the control-related word will be included in the audio signal is high, unnecessary parts are automatically deleted, resulting in improved user convenience. On the other hand, when the probability that the control-related word will be included in the audio signal is not so high, reference information is added without automatic deletion, which reduces incorrect deletion and enables the user to easily perform later deletion based on this reference information.

[0152] It should be noted that in order to execute the learning model generated by the neural network, a certain degree of machine power is required. Therefore, for example, the processing of the neural network can be performed by a server connected via Wi-Fi or the Internet. That is, the digital camera 100 uploads the input speech to the server via Wi-Fi or the Internet, and the server in turn performs speech recognition using the neural network. Then, the system control unit 50 downloads the recognition information related to the processing, which is output as the recognition result. Therefore, even when the system control unit 50 lacks processing speed, the implementation using the learning model becomes possible.

[0153] In addition, in the scenario where the user speaks to the device and speech recognition is used, preferably, the time from when the user's speech is uttered to when the processing is executed is as short as possible. Therefore, the wake-up word can be recognized by the digital camera 100, and the speech command following the wake-up word can be recognized by the server. This can reduce the amount of data to be uploaded to the server and thus can shorten the time required for uploading. It should be noted that when the wake-up word is predetermined, the number of layers in the neural network can be reduced compared to the neural network for recognizing the speech command. Therefore, the digital camera 100 can be configured to execute the learning model constructed by the neural network.

[0154] In the above-described embodiments, the system control unit 50 executes various types of control processes. These control processes can be executed by a single piece of hardware, or can be executed on a shared basis by multiple pieces of hardware (e.g., multiple processors or circuits). In addition, the processing on the above neural network can be implemented by, for example, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).

[0155] In the above-described embodiments, the digital camera 100 is illustrated as an imaging device according to the present invention. However, the present invention can be applied to any device having an imaging unit and an audio input unit. For example, the present invention can be applied to devices such as personal computers, PDAs, mobile phone terminals, game machines, and voice recognition devices.

[0156] Embodiments of the present invention can also be implemented by a method in which software (program) that executes the functions of the above-described embodiments is provided to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and a computer or a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessing unit (MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program.

[0157] Although the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the appended claims should be given the broadest interpretation to cover all such modifications as well as equivalent structures and functions.

[0158] This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-043327, filed on Mar. 12, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Claims

1. A video camera device, comprising: a video capturing unit configured to capture video; an audio input unit configured to collect sound; and a control unit configured to control recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit, wherein, when the control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, the control unit stops recording the video and records the video data before the start time of the wake-up word as a video file.

2. The video camera device according to claim 1, wherein the user is allowed to set the wake-up word for stopping recording the video, and the user is allowed to switch between the following settings: a setting of recording the video data before the start time of the wake-up word as the video file; and a setting of recording the video data before the start time of the control word as the video file.

3. The video camera device according to claim 1, wherein the user is allowed to set the wake-up word and the control word for stopping recording the video, and the user is allowed to switch between the following settings: a setting of recording the video data before the start time of the wake-up word as the video file; and a setting of recording the video data before the time of stopping recording of the video as the video file.

4. The video camera device according to claim 1, wherein the user is allowed to switch between the following settings: a setting of recording the video data before the start time of the wake-up word as the video file; a setting of recording the video data before the start time of the control word as the video file; and a setting of recording the video data before the time of stopping recording of the video as the video file.

5. The video camera device according to claim 1, wherein when the wake-up word is input via the audio input unit, the control unit transitions to a state of being ready to receive the control word.

6. A video camera device, comprising: a video capturing unit configured to capture video; an audio input unit configured to collect sound; and a control unit configured to control recording of the video based on a wake-up word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit, wherein, when the control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, the control unit stops recording the video, adds reference information indicating the start time of the wake-up word to the frame corresponding to the start time of the wake-up word in the video data, and records the video data as a video file, wherein the control unit deletes the video data in the frame where the reference information indicating the start time is added and subsequent frames from the video file.

7. The video camera device according to claim 6, wherein the user is allowed to set the wake-up word for stopping recording the video, and It is possible to allow the user to switch between the following settings: a setting in which reference information indicating the start time of the wake word is added to video data in a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake word and recorded as the video file; and a setting in which reference information indicating the start time of the control word is added to video data in a frame corresponding to the start time of the control word and recorded as the video file.

8. The imaging device according to claim 6, wherein, it is possible to allow the user to set the wake word and the control word for stopping the recording of the video, and it is possible to allow the user to switch between the following settings: a setting in which the reference information is added to video data in a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake word and recorded as the video file; and a setting in which the video data is recorded as the video file without adding the reference information to the video data.

9. The imaging device according to claim 6, wherein, it is possible to allow the user to switch between the following settings: a setting in which reference information indicating the start time of the wake word is added to video data in a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake word and recorded as the video file; a setting in which reference information indicating the start time of the control word is added to video data in a frame corresponding to the start time of the control word and recorded as the video file; and a setting in which the video data is recorded as the video file without adding reference information indicating the start time of the wake word and reference information indicating the start time of the control word to the video data.

10. An imaging device, comprising: an imaging unit configured to obtain video; an audio input unit configured to collect sound; and a control unit configured to control the recording of the video based on a wake word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit, wherein, when the control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, it is possible to switch between the following settings: a setting in which video data before the start time of the wake word is recorded as a video file and the recording of the video is stopped; and a setting in which reference information indicating the start time of the wake word is added to a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake word in the video data, the video data is recorded as the video file, and the recording of the video is stopped, wherein the control unit deletes video data in frames subsequent to the frame to which the reference information indicating the start time is added from the video file.

11. A control method for an imaging device, the imaging device including an imaging unit configured to obtain video and an audio input unit configured to collect sound, the control method comprising: controlling the recording of the video based on a wake word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit; and In a case where a control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, record video data before a start time of the wake word as a video file and stop recording the video.

12. A control method for a video camera device, the video camera device including a camera unit for obtaining video and an audio input unit for collecting sound, the control method including: Controlling recording of the video based on a wake word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit; And In a case where a control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, add reference information indicating a start time of the wake word to a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake word in the video data, record the video data as a video file, and stop recording the video, wherein video data in a frame in which the reference information indicating the start time is added and subsequent frames is deleted from the video file.

13. A control method for a video camera device, the video camera device including a camera unit for obtaining video and an audio input unit for collecting sound, the control method including: Controlling recording of the video based on a wake word and a control word included in the sound collected by the audio input unit; And In a case where a control word for giving an instruction to stop recording the video is included in the sound, switch between the following settings: a setting in which video data before a start time of the wake word is recorded as a video file and recording is stopped; and a setting in which reference information indicating a start time of the wake word is added to a frame corresponding to the start time of the wake word in the video data and the video data is recorded as the video file, wherein video data in a frame in which the reference information indicating the start time is added and subsequent frames is deleted from the video file.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable programs, the computer-executable programs, when executed by a computer, execute the control method for a video camera device according to any one of claims 11-13.

15. A computer program product including computer-executable programs, the computer-executable programs, when executed by a computer, execute the control method for a video camera device according to any one of claims 11-13.

Images