Imaging device, imaging method, and program

Abstract

The pan and pitch drive unit (21) performs at least one of a pan operation and a pitch operation of the imaging unit. The drive control unit controls the pan / tilt drive unit (21). The detection unit (112) detects an animal from the image captured by the imaging unit. The determination unit (113) determines whether or not the animal detected by the detection unit (112) is alerting the imaging device. When the panning and pitching driving unit (21) performs a panning action or a pitching action according to the movement of the animal, the driving control unit stops the panning action or the pitching action of the panning and pitching driving unit (21) if the determination unit (113) determines that the animal is alerting the imaging device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a photographing device, a photographing method and a program for photographing animals. Background Art

[0002] In order to conduct ecological surveys and research on wild animals, animals are sometimes detected based on the video captured by the camera, and the pan and tilt stages can be driven in conjunction with the movement of the detected animals to photograph the animals while changing the shooting direction. In addition, in order to conduct ecological surveys and research on wild animals, animals are sometimes photographed with infrared cameras. In order to maintain the image quality in infrared cameras, it is necessary to implement a calibration process for the infrared sensor. As a calibration process method for infrared sensors, there is a known method of calibrating the infrared sensor by closing the shutter and photographing the temperature uniform surface on the back of the shutter. In this calibration method, the shutter needs to be closed regularly or irregularly.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a device for detecting and photographing wild animals.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-156400. Summary of the invention

[0007] Since the pan and tilt stages are driven by motors, animals may notice the driving sound of the motors during pan or tilt movements, causing them to become alert. In addition, since the shutter is driven by a motor, it produces an operating sound. Animals may sometimes notice the operating sound and become alert.

[0008] The present embodiment has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present embodiment is to provide a technology for capturing moving images of animals without causing the animals to become alert.

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a certain mode of the present embodiment of the present invention comprises: a photographing unit; a detection unit for detecting an animal from an image photographed by the photographing unit; and a judgment unit for judging whether the animal detected by the detection unit is alerting the present photographing unit. When the judgment unit judges that the animal is alerting the photographing unit, the action of generating the action sound is suspended.

[0010] Another mode of the present embodiment is a shooting method. The method comprises the following steps: detecting an animal from an image captured by a shooting unit; determining whether the detected animal is alerting the shooting device; and pausing the action of generating an action sound when it is determined that the animal is alerting the shooting device.

[0011] Furthermore, any combination of the above-described constituent elements and any form of expression of the present embodiment in the form of a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. may also be practiced as additional forms of the present embodiment.

[0012] According to the present embodiment, it is possible to capture a moving image of an animal without causing the animal to become alert. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing a configuration example of an imaging device according to Embodiment 1.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing the specific structure of the imaging unit and the pan / tilt stage according to the first embodiment.

[0015] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing a configuration example of a control unit of an imaging unit according to the first embodiment.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a diagram for explaining a specific example of the process of detecting the face orientation of an animal.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a flowchart for explaining operation example 1 of the imaging device according to the first embodiment.

[0018] Figure 6 This is a flowchart for explaining the second operation example of the imaging device according to the first embodiment.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing the specific structure of the imaging unit and the pan / tilt stage according to the second embodiment.

[0020] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing a configuration example of a control unit of an imaging unit according to the second embodiment.

[0021] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart for explaining the operation example 1 of the imaging device involved in the second embodiment.

[0022] Fig.10 This is a flowchart for explaining the second operation example of the imaging device involved in the second embodiment.

[0023] Fig.11 This is a flowchart for explaining the third operation example of the imaging device according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] (Implementation Method 1)

[0025] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an imaging device 1 according to Embodiment 1. Figure 1In the example shown, the pan and tilt stage 20 is mounted on the stage of the tripod 40, and the photographing unit 10 is fixed to the pan and tilt stage 20. The pan and tilt stage 20 includes an electric motor and can pan the fixed photographing unit 10 by rotating in the horizontal direction. In addition, the pan and tilt stage 20 can tilt the fixed photographing unit 10 by rotating in the vertical direction within a range of 180°. A lens unit 30 is mounted on the photographing unit 10.

[0026] Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing a specific structure of the imaging unit 10 and the pan and tilt stage 20 according to Embodiment 1. The pan and tilt stage 20 includes a stepping motor or a servo motor (not shown) for rotating the pan and tilt stage 20 in the horizontal direction, a stepping motor or a servo motor (not shown) for rotating the pan and tilt stage 20 in the vertical direction, and a pan and tilt drive unit 21 for driving the motor for the horizontal direction and the motor for the vertical direction. The pan and tilt drive unit 21 controls the current flowing through the motor for the horizontal direction and the motor for the vertical direction, respectively, based on a control signal provided from the control unit 11 of the imaging unit 10, so as to control the movement and stop position of the pan and tilt stage 20 in the pan direction, and the movement and stop position of the pan and tilt stage 20 in the tilt direction. That is, the pan and tilt drive unit 21 implements at least one of the panning action and the tilting action of the imaging unit 10.

[0027] The photographing unit 10 includes a control unit 11, a photographing sensor 12, and a lens driving unit 13. The photographing unit 10 may be any camera selected from the group consisting of a visible light camera, a near infrared camera, and a far infrared camera. In the following, a visible light camera is taken as an example in Embodiment 1. The lens unit 30 has a variable zoom lens for switching the focal length of the photographing sensor 12. The lens driving unit 13 can switch the viewing angle to a wide angle side by bringing the zoom lens close to the photographing sensor 12, and can switch the viewing angle to a narrow angle side by moving the zoom lens away from the photographing sensor 12. That is, the lens driving unit 13 adjusts the focal length of the photographing sensor 12.

[0028] A CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor or a CCD (Charge Coupled Devices) image sensor can be used as the imaging sensor 12. The imaging sensor 12 converts light incident via the lens unit 30 into a movie image signal. The imaging sensor 12 captures a moving image at a frame rate of 30 Hz or 60 Hz and outputs the moving image to the control unit 11.

[0029] Figure 31 is a diagram showing a structural example of the control unit 11 of the shooting unit 10 involved in embodiment 1. The control unit 11 includes an image processing unit 111, a detection unit 112, a judgment unit 113, a pan and tilt drive control unit 114, and a lens drive control unit 115. These components can be implemented by the collaboration of hardware resources and software resources or only by hardware resources. As hardware resources, CPU, ROM, RAM, GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), DSP (Digital Signal Processor), ISP (Image Signal Processor), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and other LSIs (Large Scale Integrated Circuits) can be used. As software resources, programs such as firmware can be used.

[0030] The image processing unit 111 performs various image processing such as gray scale correction and contour correction on the image signal input from the imaging sensor 12 and outputs the resultant image.

[0031] The detection unit 112 includes a detector for detecting an animal as an observation object. For example, a detector is generated for the whole body, face, and each part of the face (left eye, right eye, mouth, left ear, right ear, etc.) of the animal as the observation object, and is maintained as dictionary data. Each detector is generated by learning the feature quantities of the whole body, face, and part of the face of the animal contained in multiple images reflecting the animal as the observation object. The whole body, face, and part of the face of the animal in the image are framed by an annotation tool before learning. As feature quantities, for example, HOG (Histograms of Oriented Gradients), Haar-like (Haar features), LBP (Local Binary Patterns), etc. can be used.

[0032] The detection unit 112 uses each detector to search each frame image of the input image. When the detection unit 112 detects an animal as an observation object in a frame image, it tracks the detected animal in subsequent frame images. In tracking the animal, for example, a particle filter or a mean shift method can be used. The detection unit 112 can detect the motion vector of the animal in the tracking process of the detected animal. When there are multiple animals as observation objects in the frame image, the detection unit 112 selects the animal with the shortest distance from the shooting unit 10 as the subject. The detection unit 112 can detect in which direction the animal's face is facing based on the positional relationship of the parts of the animal's face.

[0033] Figure 4 1 is a diagram for explaining a specific example of the detection process of the face direction of an animal. In the frame image FR1, the whole body B1 and the face F1 of the fox FO are detected. Furthermore, as the face part, the left eye EY1, the right eye EY2, the mouth M1, the left ear E1, and the right ear E2 are detected. The detection unit 112 determines the face direction of the animal relative to the imaging unit 10 based on the inverted triangle with the left eye EY1, the right eye EY2, and the mouth M1 as vertices. For example, if the inverted triangle is a shape that can be regarded as symmetrical on the left and right, the detection unit 112 determines that the animal is facing the front relative to the imaging unit 10.

[0034] return Figure 3 The judgment unit 113 judges whether the animal detected by the detection unit 112 is alerting the camera 1. The pan and tilt drive control unit 114 controls the pan and tilt drive unit 21 to perform a panning action or a tilting action according to the movement of the animal detected by the detection unit 112. Hereinafter, the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 is sometimes referred to as a drive control unit.

[0035] When the animal being tracked enters the end region set in the frame image, when the animal moves in a direction deviating from the viewing angle, the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 provides a control signal to the pan and tilt drive unit 21, so that the pan and tilt stage 20 rotates in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction at a speed corresponding to the moving speed of the animal. For example, when the animal being tracked enters the right end region set in the frame image, when the animal moves to the right of the viewing angle, the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 provides a control signal to the pan and tilt drive unit 21, so that the pan and tilt stage 20 rotates to the right at a speed corresponding to the moving speed of the animal.

[0036] In addition, when the animal being tracked is located in the central area set in the frame image, or even if the animal being tracked enters but does not move in a direction that deviates from the field of view, the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 does not start the pan and tilt control.

[0037] During the pan and tilt control, when the determination unit 113 determines that the animal being tracked is alerting the camera 1 , the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 provides a control signal for causing the pan and tilt drive unit 21 to stop the panning or tilting operation.

[0038] In the basic state, the lens drive control unit 115 controls the lens drive unit 13 to control the zoom lens to the narrow angle side so that the animal as the subject is reflected larger. When the determination unit 113 determines that the animal being tracked is alerting the camera 1, the lens drive control unit 115 provides the lens drive unit 13 with a control signal for switching the zoom lens to the wide angle side.

[0039] Figure 5 This is a flowchart for explaining an operation example 1 of the imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment. The image captured by the imaging sensor 12 is input to the control unit 11 (step S10). The image processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 performs a predetermined image processing on the input image. When the imaging is continued (yes in step S11), the process proceeds to step S12. When the imaging is terminated (no in step S11), the overall process ends.

[0040] The detection unit 112 searches for the animal to be observed in the frame image using the detector (step S12). If the animal to be observed cannot be detected (No in step S12), the process moves to step S10. If the animal to be observed can be detected (Yes in step S12), the detection unit 112 tracks the animal to be observed (step S13).

[0041] The judgment unit 113 predicts whether the animal being tracked is about to exceed the viewing angle (step S14). Here, the viewing angle is an angle representing the shooting range of the shooting unit 10. For example, when the animal being tracked that moves from any position within the viewing angle toward the end of the screen approaches the end of the screen to within a certain distance, the judgment unit 113 predicts that the animal being tracked is about to exceed the viewing angle. For example, when the animal being tracked stops moving, the judgment unit 113 predicts that the animal being tracked will not exceed the viewing angle. In addition, step S14 may be omitted, in which case step S15 is executed after the processing of step S13.

[0042] If it is predicted that the view angle will not exceed (No in step S14), the process proceeds to step S10. If it is predicted that the view angle will exceed (Yes in step S14), the determination unit 113 determines whether the animal being tracked has performed an alert action (step S15).

[0043] In the present specification, the alert behavior of an animal refers to a behavior that satisfies at least one of the following (1) to (3).

[0044] (1) When the animal moving out of the field of view stops moving. When the animal notices the presence of the camera 1, it may suddenly stop.

[0045] (2) When the animal's face is facing the direction of the imaging device 1 (when facing the front with respect to the imaging unit 10). The movement toward the imaging device 1 that generates the sound can be regarded as a reliable alert movement of the animal.

[0046] (3) When the animal's ears are erected. It is known that the behavior of an animal with its ears erected is a behavior that indicates alertness. By preparing a detector for the left ear in the erected state and a detector for the right ear in the erected state, the behavior of an animal with its ears erected can be detected.

[0047] (4) When an animal that has descended to ground level suddenly raises its head. When an animal that has lowered its head to eat grass on the ground suddenly raises its head, it can be considered a warning action.

[0048] If the alert action of the animal being tracked is not detected (No in step S15), the process proceeds to step S16. If the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 is not controlling the pan and tilt stage 20 (No in step S16), the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 starts pan and tilt control so that the animal being tracked is included in the viewing angle as much as possible (step S17). Then, the process proceeds to step S10. If the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 is controlling the pan and tilt stage 20 (Yes in step S16), the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 continues the pan and tilt control (step S18).

[0049] The determination unit 113 determines whether the animal being tracked is stably within the field of view (step S19). The determination unit 113 determines that the animal being tracked is stably within the field of view when the animal being tracked is in the center of the field of view or when the animal being tracked stops moving.

[0050] In the case where the animal being tracked is not stably included in the viewing angle (No in step S19), transfer to step S10. If the animal being tracked is stably included in the viewing angle (Yes in step S19), the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 stops the pan and tilt control (step S110). Then, transfer to step S10. In step S15, in the case where the alert action of the animal being tracked is detected (Yes in step S15), the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 also stops the pan and tilt control (step S110). Then, transfer to step S10. That is, during the period when it is judged that the animal alert camera 1 is being tracked, the pan and tilt drive control unit 114 does not perform the pan and tilt control. Then, after it is no longer judged as the animal alert camera 1 being tracked, the pan and tilt control is performed.

[0051] Figure 6is a flowchart for explaining an operation example 2 of the imaging device 1 according to the first embodiment. Figure 5 The flowchart of the operation example 1 of the embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a flowchart in which the processing of step S151 and step S152 are added. Figure 5 The flowchart related to the operation example 1 of the embodiment 1 shown is different.

[0052] In step S15, when the alert action of the animal being tracked is not detected ("No" in step S15), the lens drive control unit 115 controls the zoom lens to the narrow angle side so that the animal is displayed more clearly (S151). When the alert action of the animal being tracked is detected ("Yes" in step S15), the lens drive control unit 115 controls the zoom lens to the wide angle side so that the animal is within the field of view even if the pan and tilt control is stopped (S152).

[0053] That is, since the direction of the imaging unit 10 follows the movement of the animal during the panning and tilting operation, the imaging unit 10 is zoomed in to capture the animal being tracked as large as possible. On the other hand, during the period when the panning and tilting operation is stopped, the direction of the imaging unit 10 does not follow the movement of the animal, so the imaging unit 10 is zoomed out to capture a wide angle. Figure 5 The flowchart shown is the same.

[0054] As described above, according to Embodiment 1, when alerted by an animal, the panning and tilting actions are stopped immediately, thereby enabling dynamic photography of the animal's ecology with minimal alerting by the animal. In addition, by switching the zoom lens to a wide angle until the alert action is released, animal tracking and ecological observation can be continued.

[0055] (Implementation Method 2)

[0056] Figure 7 1 is a diagram showing the specific structure of the imaging unit 10 and the pan and tilt stage 20 of the second embodiment. The following describes the differences from the imaging unit 10 of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, a far infrared camera is used as the imaging unit 10. The far infrared camera is a camera that can capture infrared rays emitted by the subject even without irradiating infrared rays to the subject. The imaging unit 10 of the second embodiment further includes a shutter drive unit 14.

[0057] As the shooting sensor 12 of the far-infrared camera, for example, a microbolometer is used. The microbolometer is a non-cooled thermal detection element, including an FPA (Focal Plane Array) in which a plurality of bolometers are arranged in a two-dimensional grid (for example, 640×480, 1024×768). The bolometer constituting each pixel has an absorption layer formed of amorphous silicon and vanadium oxide. When far-infrared rays are incident on the absorption layer, the temperature of the absorption layer changes, and the resistance value of the absorption layer changes. By applying a specified voltage between two electrodes of the absorption layer, the change in the resistance value of the absorption layer is detected as a change in the current value. The current value of each bolometer is converted into a voltage and output as a brightness signal of each pixel. The shooting sensor 12 outputs an infrared thermal image composed of brightness signals of a plurality of pixels arranged in a two-dimensional grid to the control unit 11.

[0058] Although not shown, a temperature sensor (eg, a thermistor) is provided near the microbolometer, and the temperature near the microbolometer measured by the temperature sensor is output to the control unit 11 .

[0059] In the second embodiment, a shutter 31 is provided on the optical path of infrared light focused by the imaging sensor 12. Figure 7 In the embodiment, the shutter 31 is provided at the front end of the lens unit 30, but it can be provided at any position as long as it is on the optical path of the infrared light focused by the imaging sensor 12, and can be provided inside the lens unit 30 or between the lens unit 30 and the imaging sensor 12. The shutter driving unit 14 drives the opening and closing of the shutter 31 based on the control signal provided from the control unit 11. The shutter 31 is a mechanical shutter, and generates a relatively loud operation sound when opening and closing.

[0060] Figure 8 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the control unit 11 of the imaging unit 10 according to Embodiment 2. In Embodiment 2, a correction unit 116 and a shutter drive control unit 117 are added to the configuration of the control unit 11 shown in Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, the shutter drive control unit 117 may be referred to as a drive control unit.

[0061] The correction unit 116 corrects the deviation of the offset of the signal output by each bolometer constituting each pixel. The back side of the shutter 31 becomes a temperature uniform surface. That is, the back side of the shutter 31 can be photographed as a temperature uniform surface even when the ambient temperature changes. The correction unit 116 makes the imaging sensor 12 photograph the back side of the shutter 31 when the shutter 31 is closed, thereby preparing a correction table for pixel deviation. Usually, in order to obtain the correction data for calibration of the imaging sensor 12, the shutter 31 needs to be closed for less than 1 second. The correction unit 116 refers to the correction table, adjusts the offset of each pixel of the input image, and corrects it to a flat image.

[0062] The shutter drive control unit 117 causes the shutter drive unit 14 to execute the closing action of the shutter 31 for implementing the calibration of the imaging sensor 12 according to the prescribed calibration implementation conditions. The output characteristics of the bolometer constituting the imaging sensor 12 are constantly changing due to environmental factors such as temperature. In the present embodiment, as the prescribed calibration implementation conditions, at least one of a certain time (e.g., 2 minutes) has passed since the last calibration implementation time, and a certain temperature (e.g., 0.5 degrees) or more change in the temperature of the imaging sensor 12 from the last calibration implementation time is adopted.

[0063] When the determination unit 113 determines that the animal being tracked is alerting the imaging device 1, the shutter drive control unit 117 provides the shutter drive unit 14 with a control signal for suspending the opening and closing action of the shutter 31 for implementing the calibration of the imaging sensor 12. That is, while it is determined that the animal being tracked is alerting the imaging device 1, the implementation of the shutter calibration of the imaging sensor 12 is suspended.

[0064] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart for explaining the operation example 1 of the imaging device 1 involved in the second embodiment. The infrared image captured by the imaging sensor 12 is input to the control unit 11 (step S20). The image processing unit 111 of the control unit 11 performs a predetermined image processing on the input infrared image. In the case of continuing to shoot (yes in step S21), the process transfers to step S22. In the case of ending shooting (no in step S21), the overall process ends.

[0065] The detection unit 112 uses the detector to search for an animal as an observation object in the frame image (step S22). When the animal as the observation object cannot be detected (No in step S22), the correction unit 116 determines whether the prescribed calibration implementation conditions are met (step S23). When the prescribed calibration implementation conditions are not met (No in step S23), transfer to step S20. When the prescribed calibration implementation conditions are met ("Yes" in step S23), the correction unit 116 instructs the shutter drive control unit 117 to close the shutter 31 and implements shutter calibration (step S24). In addition, the image processing unit 111 may not output the image captured during the shutter calibration to the detection unit 112. This is because the shutter 31 is closed during the shutter calibration, so the animal cannot be detected from the image. After the shutter calibration is implemented, the correction unit 116 instructs the shutter drive control unit 117 to open the shutter 31 and transfers to step S20.

[0066] In step S22, if the animal to be observed can be detected (Yes in step S22), the detection unit 112 tracks the animal to be observed (step S25). The calibration unit 116 determines whether the prescribed calibration implementation conditions are met (step S27). If the prescribed calibration implementation conditions are not met (No in step S27), the process moves to step S20.

[0067] When the prescribed calibration implementation conditions are met (Yes in step S27), the judgment unit 113 judges whether the animal being tracked has performed an alert action (step S28). When the alert action of the animal being tracked is detected (Yes in step S28), the process moves to step S20. When the alert action of the animal being tracked is not detected (No in step S28), the calibration unit 116 instructs the shutter drive control unit 117 to close the shutter 31 and performs shutter calibration (step S29). After performing the shutter calibration, the calibration unit 116 instructs the shutter drive control unit 117 to open the shutter 31 and the process moves to step S20.

[0068] Here, in the case where the calibration implementation condition is that a certain time has passed since the last calibration implementation time, in step S29, the last calibration implementation time is updated to the current time. In addition, the implementation of the shutter calibration is suspended in the process of "Yes" in step S28, so the last calibration implementation time may not be updated. That is, in step S27 after the judgment unit 113 judges that the animal being tracked has performed an alert action ("Yes" in step S28), since more than a certain time has passed since the last calibration implementation time, the shutter drive control unit 117 meets the implementation condition ("Yes" in step S27). Therefore, when the prescribed calibration implementation condition is met (Yes in step S27) and the judgment unit 113 judges that the animal being tracked has not performed an alert action (No in step S28), the shutter drive control unit 117 releases the suspension of the shutter calibration and implements the shutter calibration (step S29).

[0069] Fig.10 2 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example 2 of the imaging device 1 according to the second embodiment. The processing of steps S20 to S25 is similar to that of Fig. 9 The flowchart related to the operation example 1 of the second embodiment shown is the same.

[0070] The judgment unit 113 predicts whether the animal being tracked will exceed the viewing angle (step S26). If it is predicted that the animal will not exceed the viewing angle (No in step S26), the execution Fig. 9 After the processing is executed, the process moves to step S20. If it is predicted that the animal being tracked will go beyond the field of view ("Yes" in step S26), the process is executed. Figure 5The process of step S15 to step S110 of the flowchart shown in the figure is executed. After the process is executed, the process proceeds to step S20.

[0071] exist Fig.10 In the illustrated operation example 2, the shutter calibration is suspended when the animal being tracked is showing an alert action and when the animal is in any of the panning and tilting actions. In this regard, if the accuracy of the shutter calibration is ensured even when the imaging unit 10 is in operation, the following specification may be adopted: even during the panning and tilting actions, the shutter calibration is performed when the animal being tracked is not showing an alert action.

[0072] Fig.11 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example 3 of the imaging device 1 according to the second embodiment. In the flowchart according to the operation example 3 of the third embodiment, Fig.10 In step S26 of the flowchart of the operation example 2 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , when it is predicted that the animal being tracked will go beyond the field of view (“Yes” in step S26 ), the processing to be executed is replaced by Figure 6 The processing of steps S15 to S110, step S151, and step S152 of the flowchart shown in the figure is added to perform a process of shooting at a narrow angle during the panning and tilting operation and shooting at a wide angle during the stop of the panning and tilting operation.

[0073] As described above, according to Embodiment 2, by pausing the shutter calibration when the animal is alerted, it is possible to perform dynamic image photography of the animal's ecology without alerting the animal as much as possible. When the animal is not in the field of view, or when the animal is in the field of view but in a state of being released from alert action, by performing shutter calibration, it is possible to continue observing the animal's ecology without alerting the animal. In addition, it is possible to prevent frame loss in the image of the section where the animal is in alert action, and to ensure the quality of the image of the ecology observation.

[0074] The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are illustrative only and that various modifications may be made to the combinations of the constituent elements and the processing steps, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

[0075] In the above embodiment, an example of using the pan and tilt stage 20 capable of both panning and tilting is described. In this regard, a pan stage capable of only panning or a tilt stage capable of only tilting may be used instead of the pan and tilt stage 20. For example, when an animal to be observed enters a cage and the range of movement of the animal is limited, only one of the pan stage or the tilt stage may be used.

[0076] Furthermore, the imaging device 1 according to the embodiment may be constituted by a PTZ camera mounted on a ceiling, a wall, a pole, etc. without using the tripod 40. A PTZ camera is a camera including a PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) mechanism for changing the direction of the camera and the zoom ratio of the camera.

[0077] In Embodiment 2, the pan and tilt stage 20 may be omitted. That is, the imaging unit 10 of Embodiment 2 may also use an infrared camera with a fixed viewing angle. In Embodiment 2, when an animal that does not react to infrared irradiation is an observation object, a near-infrared camera may also be used.

[0078] Possibility of Industrial Application

[0079] The present invention can be used when photographing animals with a camera.

[0080] Explanation of symbols

[0081] 1 shooting device, 10 shooting unit, 11 control unit, 111 image processing unit, 112 detection unit, 113 judgment unit, 114 pan and tilt drive control unit, 115 lens drive control unit, 116 correction unit, 117 shutter drive control unit, 12 shooting sensor, 13 lens drive unit, 14 shutter drive unit, 20 pan and tilt stage, 21 pan and tilt drive unit, 30 lens unit, 31 shutter, 40 tripod.

Claims

1. A photographing device, comprising: Filming Department; a detection unit, configured to detect an animal from the image captured by the capturing unit; as well as a judging unit, for judging whether the animal detected by the detecting unit is alerting the photographing device, The determination unit suspends the action of generating the action sound when determining that the animal is alerting the imaging device.

2. The photographing device according to claim 1, further comprising: A pan and tilt driving unit for performing at least one of a pan motion and a tilt motion of the camera unit; as well as A drive control unit controls the pan and tilt drive units, When the pan and tilt driving unit is performing a pan action or a tilt action according to the movement of the animal, if the judging unit determines that the animal is alerting the shooting device, the driving control unit stops the pan action or the tilt action of the pan and tilt driving unit.

3. The photographing device according to claim 2, wherein: The imaging unit further includes a lens driving unit that drives a zoom lens, wherein the zoom lens adjusts the focal length of the imaging sensor provided in the imaging unit. When the determination unit determines that the animal is alerting the imaging device, the drive control unit causes the lens drive unit to control the zoom lens to a wide-angle side.

4. The photographing device according to claim 1, further comprising: A shutter drive unit drives the shutter to open and close; as well as a drive control unit for controlling the shutter drive unit, When the determination unit determines that the animal is alerting the imaging device, the drive control unit temporarily calibrates the imaging sensor of the imaging unit in conjunction with the opening and closing of the shutter by the shutter drive unit.

5. The photographing device according to claim 4, wherein: The drive control unit performs the calibration when a predetermined execution condition of the calibration is satisfied and the determination unit determines that the animal is not on guard against the imaging device.

6. The photographing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The detection unit detects the whole and part of the animal from the image captured by the imaging unit. The determination unit determines that the animal is alerting the camera when at least one of detecting that the moving animal stops moving, that the animal moves toward the camera, that the animal's ears stand up, and that the animal's head is raised.

7. A shooting method, wherein: The following steps are involved: detecting animals from images captured by the camera; Determine whether the detected animal is alerting the camera; and When it is determined that the animal is alerting the camera, the action of generating the action sound is suspended.

8. A program that causes a computer to execute the following processing: detecting animals from images captured by the camera; Determine whether the detected animal is alerting the camera; and When it is determined that the animal is alerting the camera, the action of generating the action sound is suspended.

Images