Image processing system

Abstract

To provide an image processing system that accurately performs detection by acquiring a region of attention at high resolution while performing imaging in a wide range.SOLUTION: An image processing system has an imaging unit that is installed near an intersection and picks up an image of a movable body; and a detection unit that detects the position of the movable body in the image created by the imaging unit. The image includes a high resolution region, and a low resolution region with a resolution lower than that of the high resolution region. The imaging unit is installed so that it can pick up an image of a predetermined region as the high resolution region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing system, and more particularly to an image processing system that captures an image of a moving object and analyzes the image. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a system has been proposed in which moving objects such as vehicles and people are captured using fixed cameras such as surveillance cameras, and their positions on the images are detected to generate positions on a map surface and three-dimensional spatial information (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-46501 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A certain level of resolution is required to accurately detect objects from an image. Therefore, to accurately detect objects that are far away from the camera, it is necessary to capture distant objects with high resolution using a camera with a narrow viewing angle. However, a camera with a narrow viewing angle cannot capture a wide range, so the detection range is narrow. On the other hand, when using a wide-angle camera such as a fisheye lens, the resolution of objects in distant areas is low, resulting in reduced detection accuracy.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing system that can perform detection with high accuracy by capturing an image of a wide range and acquiring a region of interest with high resolution. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An image processing system as one aspect of the present invention is installed near an intersection and has an imaging unit that images a moving object and a detection unit that detects the position of the moving object in an image generated by the imaging unit, the image including a high-resolution area and a low-resolution area having a lower resolution than the high-resolution area, and the imaging unit is installed so as to be able to image a predetermined area as the high-resolution area. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing system that performs detection with high accuracy by capturing an image of a wide range and acquiring a region of interest with high resolution. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an intersection monitoring system, which is an example of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from a horizontal direction of a road surface. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an observation device. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing a process executed by an information processing unit. [Figure 4] (A) shows the image height at each half angle of view on the light receiving surface of the image sensor as contour lines, and (B) shows the relationship between the half angle of view and image height in the first quadrant of (A). [Diagram 5] 11 is a graph showing an example of equidistant projection and the resolution characteristics of the optical system 11. [Figure 6] 4A to 4C are diagrams illustrating captured images for each optical system. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of observation devices. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of observation devices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same components, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an intersection monitoring system, which is an example of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the horizontal direction of the road surface. In the intersection monitoring system, an observation device 100 is placed near an intersection and functions as a surveillance camera. The observation device 100 is a housing equipped with a camera, an information processing unit, and a communication unit, and is fixedly installed on a support 400, which is a pole-shaped facility such as a utility pole near the intersection. Note that the observation device 100 may also be installed in a structure such as a building.

[0011] The observation device 100 is disposed so as to capture moving objects such as a vehicle 300 or a pedestrian (not shown) moving (passing) within a detection target area 500, and detects the position of the moving object in the captured image (captured image). The camera 10 (not shown) built into the observation device 100 generates an image including a first area 510 (high resolution area) from the optical axis to a half angle of view θa, and a second area 511 (low resolution area) from the optical axis to a maximum half angle of view θmax (>θa). At this time, the position of the moving object can be detected with high accuracy by installing the observation device 100 so that the detection target area 500 is included in the high resolution area (so that a predetermined area can be captured as a high resolution area). In the following description, an area where object detection is desired to be performed with high accuracy is called a target area. Furthermore, a pedestrian 311 existing near the observation device 100 can also be included in the imaging range, and a situation with a wide angle of view can be grasped. Position information of the moving object is generated by calculating the position of the moving object on the map plane from the coordinates on the image. For example, location information can be used to understand road conditions and to notify vehicles and pedestrians of approaching vehicles and intrusions into intersections, thereby alerting them to dangers and ensuring safety.

[0012] 2 is a block diagram of the observation device 100. The observation device 100 is a housing including a camera (imaging unit) 10 and an image processing device 20, and functions as a surveillance camera to capture images of moving objects. Note that the camera 10 and the image processing device 20 do not need to be in the same housing, and only image information may be transmitted from the camera 10 to the image processing device 20 in a separate housing by wired or wireless communication.

[0013] The camera 10 includes an image sensor 12 that captures an optical image and an optical system 11 that forms the optical image on the light receiving surface (imaging surface) of the image sensor 12, and captures the surrounding situation as image data. The optical system 11 has optical properties of forming a high-resolution optical image in a narrow angle-of-view region around the optical axis, and forming a low-resolution optical image in a peripheral angle-of-view region away from the optical axis. The image sensor 12 is, for example, a CMOS image sensor or a CCD image sensor, which performs photoelectric conversion on the optical image and outputs imaging data. The image sensor 12 has, for example, RGB color filters arranged for each pixel in a Bayer array, and can capture a color image by performing demosaic processing.

[0014] The image processing device 20 is a computer including various hardware components, such as an information processing unit 21, a communication unit 24, a storage unit (not shown), and various interfaces (not shown) for power input and output. The image processing device 20 is also connected to the camera 10, analyzes image data acquired from the camera 10, generates various information, and outputs the information to the external device 200 via the communication unit 24.

[0015] The information processing unit 21 executes computer programs stored in the memory to perform various controls of the entire observation device 100. In this embodiment, the information processing unit 21 is a CPU, and the image processing device 20 is described as a computer equipped with RAM and ROM, but the present invention is not limited to this. The information processing unit 21 may be, for example, a SOC (System On Chip), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC, a DSP, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or the like.

[0016] The information processing unit 21 also performs signal processing of the image acquired from the camera 10. Specifically, the information processing unit 21 performs de-Bayer processing on the image data input from the camera 10 according to the Bayer array, and converts it into image data in an RGB raster format. Furthermore, the information processing unit 21 performs various types of image processing and image adjustment, such as white balance adjustment, gain / offset adjustment, gamma processing, color matrix processing, lossless compression processing, and lens distortion correction processing.

[0017] Moreover, the information processing unit 21 includes a detection unit 22 and a position calculation unit (acquisition unit) 23. The detection unit 22 performs image recognition based on the image captured by the camera 10 to detect the object position on the image. The position calculation unit 23 performs coordinate transformation (projection transformation) processing from the camera coordinates (plane) to the world coordinates (plane) using the object position detected on the image by the detection unit 22.

[0018] The storage unit is an information storage device such as a ROM, and stores information necessary for controlling the entire observation device 100. The storage unit may be a removable recording medium such as a hard disk or an SD card. The storage unit also stores various information such as parameters for controlling the camera 10 and the image processing device 20, and coordinate conversion tables for performing image processing and deformation / coordinate conversion processing. Furthermore, the storage unit may record image data generated by the image processing device 20.

[0019] The communication unit 24 is a network interface for outputting information processed by the image processing device 20 to the external device 200. The communication unit 24 is connected to the external device 200 in a wired or wireless manner to perform bidirectional communication.

[0020] The external device 200 acquires information output from the observation device 100, processes and analyzes the acquired information, and displays it on a display or the like to notify the user of the information. The external device 200 may continue to record information as log data without having a display function, or may transmit information to another terminal. Furthermore, the external device 200 may be mounted on a moving object such as a vehicle.

[0021] In this embodiment, the information processing unit 21 is included in the housing of the observation device 100, but it does not have to be included in the housing of the observation device 100. For example, an image acquired by the observation device 100 may be transmitted directly to the external device 200, and the same processing may be performed using the information processing unit in the external device 200.

[0022] Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the information processing unit 21. Note that the information processing unit 21, which is a CPU serving as a computer, executes a computer program stored in a memory to perform the operations of the steps in the flowchart in Fig. 3.

[0023] 3 starts with obtaining an image captured by the camera 10. The camera 10 obtains images periodically at, for example, 60 frames / second, and the flow of FIG. 3 is executed for each frame.

[0024] In step S101, the information processing unit 21 (detection unit 22) detects an object (observation target) such as a vehicle from an image acquired from the camera 10 by image recognition. That is, the object position on the image is detected based on the image. A model trained by deep learning can be used as a method for detecting an object. A bounding box may be assigned to the detected object, or the detected object may be extracted in pixel value units as semantic area division. Template matching or the like may also be used as a method for detecting an object. In a method for detecting an object from image information, the accuracy of detection is generally increased by acquiring the object clearly with high resolution. Therefore, object detection can be performed with higher accuracy in the high-resolution area generated by the camera 10 compared to other areas.

[0025] In step S102, the information processing unit 21 (position calculation unit 23) performs coordinate transformation (projective transformation) of the position of the object in the image from the camera coordinates (plane) to the world coordinates (plane). That is, transformation is performed from the object position on the image to the object position in the world coordinates. The object position on the image is set as the camera coordinates (plane), and the world coordinates (plane) are the same as the road surface (plane) (not matching in a wide area, but locally the same). The projective transformation matrix for the coordinate transformation may be generated from the position of the observation device 100 and 3D information of the photographing target. In addition, the projective transformation matrix for the coordinate transformation may be generated by linking the orthoimage including map information such as latitude and longitude with the corresponding points of the image captured by the camera 10. By transforming the object detected in step S101 from the camera coordinates (plane) to the world coordinates (plane), the position of the detected object in the world coordinates (plane) can be obtained. At this time, for example, the position that is the midpoint of the lower side of the bounding box detected in step S101 can be set as the representative point. This allows the position of the observation target in the world coordinate (plane) to be represented by one point in step S102. In other words, the detection target area 500 can be rephrased as an area in which the position in the world coordinate (plane) can be acquired. Note that the method of determining the position of the observation target in this embodiment is merely one example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

[0026] In step S103, the information processing unit 21 transmits information such as the predicted position of the observation target to the external device 200 via the communication unit 24.

[0027] Hereinafter, the optical characteristics of the optical system 11 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4(A) shows the image height y at each half angle of view on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 12 in the form of contour lines, and Fig. 4(B) shows the relationship between the half angle of view θ and the image height y in the first quadrant of Fig. 4(A) (the projection characteristics of the optical system 11).

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4B, the optical system 11 is configured such that the projection characteristic y(θ) differs between a field angle less than (or equal to or less than) a predetermined half angle of view θa and a field angle equal to (or greater than) the half angle of view θa (θa is an absolute value). Therefore, the optical system 11 is configured such that the resolution differs depending on the field angle (area on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 11) when the increase in image height y per unit half angle of view θ is defined as the resolution. The local resolution can be expressed as the differential value dy(θ) / dθ of the projection characteristic y(θ) at the half angle of view θ. For example, the larger the inclination of the projection characteristic y(θ) in FIG. 4B, the higher the resolution. Also, in FIG. 4A, the larger the interval between the contour lines of the image height y at each half angle of view, the higher the resolution.

[0029] In this embodiment, the optical system 11 has a projection characteristic in which the rate of increase of the image height y (the slope of the projection characteristic y(θ) in FIG. 4(B)) is large in the central region near the optical axis, and the rate of increase of the image height y becomes smaller in the peripheral region outside the central region as the angle of view becomes larger.

[0030] In FIG. 4A, a first region 510a (high resolution region) including the center corresponds to an angle of view less than a half angle of view θa, and a second region 511a (low resolution region) outside the first region 510 corresponds to an angle of view equal to or greater than the half angle of view θa. The angle of view less than the half angle of view θa corresponds to the first region 510 in FIG. 1, and the angle of view equal to or greater than the half angle of view θa corresponds to the second region 511 in FIG. 1. As described above, the first region 510a is a relatively high resolution region, and the second region 511a is a relatively low resolution region. The first region 510a is a low distortion region with relatively little distortion, and the second region 511a is a high distortion region with relatively much distortion. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first region 510a may be referred to as a high-resolution region or a low-distortion region, and the second region 511a may be referred to as a low-resolution region or a high-distortion region.

[0031] The characteristics shown in FIG. 4 are merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the low-resolution region and the high-resolution region of the optical system 11 do not have to be configured in a concentric shape, and each region may have a distorted shape. In addition, the center of gravity of the low-resolution region and the center of gravity of the high-resolution region do not have to coincide. Furthermore, the center of gravity of the low-resolution region and the center of gravity of the high-resolution region may be shifted from the center of the light receiving surface of the image sensor 11.

[0032] In the optical system 11 of this embodiment, it is sufficient that the high resolution region is formed in the vicinity of the optical axis, and the low resolution region is formed on the peripheral side in the vicinity of the optical axis.

[0033] The optical system 11 is configured so that the projection characteristic y(θ) in the first region 510a is greater than f×θ (f is the focal length of the optical system 11). Moreover, the projection characteristic y(θ) in the first region 510a is set to be different from the projection characteristic in the second region 511a.

[0034] The ratio θa / θmax of the half angle of view θa to the maximum half angle of view θmax of the optical system 11 is preferably equal to or greater than a predetermined lower limit, and the predetermined lower limit is, for example, 0.15 to 0.16. The ratio θa / θmax is preferably equal to or less than a predetermined upper limit, and the predetermined upper limit is, for example, 0.25 to 0.35. For example, when the half angle of view θmax is 90°, the predetermined lower limit is 0.15, and the predetermined upper limit is 0.35, it is preferable to determine the half angle of view θa in the range of 13.5 to 31.5°. However, the above is just an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0035] Furthermore, the optical system 11 is configured so that the projection characteristic y(θ) also satisfies the following conditional expression (1).

[0036]

number

[0037] Here, f is the focal length of the optical system 11 as described above, and A is a predetermined constant. By setting the lower limit to 1, it is possible to increase the central resolution compared to a fisheye lens of the orthogonal projection type (y=f×sinθ) having the same maximum imaging height, and by setting the upper limit to the predetermined constant A, it is possible to obtain an angle of view equivalent to that of a fisheye lens while maintaining good optical performance. The predetermined constant A may be determined in consideration of the balance between the resolutions of the high-resolution region and the low-resolution region, and is preferably 1.4 to 1.9. However, the above is just an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

[0038] By configuring the optical system 11 as described above, high resolution can be obtained in the first region 510a, while the increase in image height y per unit half angle of view θ can be reduced in the second region 511a, making it possible to capture a wider angle of view. Therefore, while the imaging range has a wide angle of view equivalent to that of a fisheye lens, high resolution can be obtained in the high resolution region.

[0039] 5 is a graph showing an example of the resolution characteristics of equidistant projection and the optical system 11. The horizontal axis is the half angle of view θ, and the vertical axis is the resolution, which is the number of pixels per unit angle of view. With equidistant projection, the resolution is constant at any half angle of view position, but the optical system 11 has the characteristic that the resolution is higher at a smaller half angle of view position.

[0040] By using the optical system 11 having the above characteristics, it is possible to obtain a high-resolution image in the high-resolution region while capturing an image with a wide angle of view equivalent to that of a fisheye lens with a half angle of view θmax. In the optical system 11, the vicinity of the optical axis is the high-resolution region, and the characteristics are similar to the central projection method (y=f×tan θ), which is the projection characteristic of an optical system for normal imaging, so that optical distortion is small and it is possible to display in detail. Therefore, by appropriately arranging the high-resolution region in the detection target region, it is possible to perform detection with high accuracy and capture an image with a wide angle of view. In the following description, the region in the detection target region where it is desired to perform object detection with high accuracy is called the attention region (within the detection target region).

[0041] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing captured images for each optical system. FIG. 6(A) is an image generated by the optical system 11 of this embodiment, in which the vehicle 300 in the detection target area 500 and the pedestrian 311 existing outside the detection target area 500 correspond to FIG. 1, and the area 500a is the road surface part of the detection target area 500. FIG. 6(B) is an image generated by an optical system whose projection characteristic is an equidistant projection method (y=f×θ). Note that although the projection characteristics are different between FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B), the imaging angle of view (imaging range) corresponding to the half angle of view θmax is the same. FIG. 6(C) is an image generated by an optical system whose projection characteristic is a central projection method (y=f×tanθ). The imaging angle of view in FIG. 6(C) is changed so that the size of the vehicle 300 on the image shown in FIG. 6(A) is approximately the same. 6(A) and 6(B) represents the range in which the optical system 11 forms an image on the light receiving surface, and no image is generated (a black image is acquired) outside the range of the effective image circle 520. The half angle of view θmax of the optical system 11 corresponds to the range of the effective image circle 520, and an image is generated only inside the half angle of view θmax.

[0042] Also, in FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B), the center of the image sensor and the center of the optical axis are misaligned (shifted), and the upper part of the effective image circle 520 is outside the range of the image sensor, resulting in a missing image. Although it is not necessary to shift the optical axis, for example, by shifting the optical axis until the bottom of the effective image circle 520 is on the light receiving surface of the image sensor, the imaging range in the downward direction of the image (toward the road surface in FIG. 1) can be expanded. This allows the imaging range to be changed according to the use case. In an intersection monitoring system, there are cases where it is desired to install the observation device 100 at a position high above the road surface, capture images of the road surface in the distance, while also obtaining a wide angle of view directly below the observation device 100. In such a case, the optical axis can be shifted and positioned as described above to effectively capture images of the distant and directly below.

[0043] In the case of the equidistant projection method of FIG. 6(B), a wide angle of view can be secured so that pedestrians 311 in the vicinity of the camera can be captured, but the resolution within area 500a is low (small on the image), resulting in reduced detection accuracy.

[0044] In the case of the central projection method of Fig. 6(C), the resolution of the area 500a can be high, but the angle of view cannot be wide. Therefore, the pedestrian 311 is not captured, and many blind spots occur near the camera. In addition, although it is possible to use a zoom lens to zoom in on the area of ​​interest and capture an image at high resolution, it is not possible to capture an image of a wide range of the vicinity while capturing an image of the area of ​​interest at high resolution at the same time.

[0045] 6(A), the optical system 11 of this embodiment generates an image having a high-resolution area near the optical axis and a low-resolution area around it, as described above, so that it can capture an image with a wide angle of view while maintaining high resolution in the area 500a. This allows the intersection monitoring system of this embodiment to grasp the situation near the camera 10 with a wide angle of view while maintaining high detection accuracy of the area of ​​interest.

[0046] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of observation device 100, showing a schematic diagram of an intersection monitoring system viewed from a horizontal direction with respect to the road surface. In FIG. 7, observation device 100 (not shown) is placed at point P, which is at a height h1 from point O on the road surface plane. More specifically, it is placed so that the optical center of camera 10 is at point P. In addition, the Z axis is an axis perpendicular to the road surface plane, and the X axis is an axis perpendicular to the Z axis and passes through point P. That is, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram on the XZ plane.

[0047] In this case, the detection target area 500 can be expressed as a rectangle on the XZ plane with a height of h2. Lines PT1 and PT2 are lines that pass through point P and circumscribe the detection target area 500. The height h2 may vary depending on the approximate size of the detection target, and the height direction may be ignored and h2 may be considered as 0. In this case, the detection target area 500 can be considered as a plane on the road surface.

[0048] Here, the angle between the straight line PT1 and the X-axis passing through point P is defined as θv1, the angle between the optical axis of the camera 10 and the X-axis passing through point P is defined as θV2, and the angle between the straight line PT2 and the X-axis passing through point P is defined as θV3. In this case, it is desirable to arrange the observation device 100 so that θv1≦θV2≦θV3 is satisfied. In addition, the observation device 100 is arranged so that at least one of θV2-θa≦θv1 and θV3≦θV2+θa is satisfied.

[0049] Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the placement of the observation device 100, and shows a schematic diagram (bird's-eye view) of an intersection monitoring system as seen from above the road surface. Fig. 8 shows a situation in which the observation device 100 is placed near an intersection, and a vehicle 300 within a detection target area 500 is traveling straight toward the intersection.

[0050] In Fig. 8, observation device 100 (not shown) is placed at point P. More specifically, camera 10 is placed so that its optical center is at point P. Here, the upward direction in Fig. 8 is the X-axis direction, and the leftward direction in Fig. 8, which is perpendicular to the X-axis, is the Y-axis direction. That is, Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram on an XY plane (on a map plane).

[0051] In this case, the detection target area 500 can be expressed as a rectangle on the XY plane. The detection target area 500 does not necessarily have to be a rectangle, and may be an area surrounded by curves. The detection target area 500 may also be a wide area that extends to infinity in the X-axis direction. Straight lines that pass through point P and circumscribe the detection target area 500 are designated as PT3 and PT4.

[0052] Here, the angle between the line PT3 and the X-axis passing through point P is θh1, the angle between the optical axis of the camera 10 and the X-axis passing through point P is θh2, and the angle between the line PT4 and the X-axis passing through point P is θh3. In this case, it is desirable to arrange the observation device 100 so that θh1≦θh2≦θh3 is satisfied. In addition, the observation device 100 is arranged so that at least one of θh2-θa≦θh1 and θh3≦θh2+θa is satisfied.

[0053] As shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, by arranging the observation device 100 so that the detection target area 500 is included within the range of the half angle of view θa from the optical axis of the camera 10, the detection target area 500 can be imaged using the high resolution area of ​​the camera 10, and an object can be detected with high accuracy. Also, by imaging with a wide angle of view up to the half angle of view θmax, the situation in the vicinity of the observation device 100 can be grasped. Note that the entire detection target area 500 does not necessarily have to be included in the high resolution area. For example, the observation device 100 may be arranged so that a part of the detection target area 500 is included in the high resolution area. Even in such a case, an object can be detected with high accuracy in the high resolution area, and object detection can be performed using the low resolution area.

[0054] In this embodiment, an intersection monitoring system has been described as an image processing system, but the present invention is not limited to this. The image processing system of the present invention may be a stationary mobile object monitoring system that captures an image of a moving object and detects the object. For example, the moving object to be captured is not limited to a vehicle or a person, but may be a train, a ship, an airplane, a robot, a drone, an animal, or the like. The situation in which the image is captured does not have to be an intersection, may be a straight road or a curved road, or may not be a roadway. It may be a space such as an indoor corridor, a warehouse, the sea, or an airway. Even in this case, by arranging the high-resolution area of ​​the camera 10 so that it overlaps with the attention area (detection target area), it is possible to capture an image with a wide angle of view while maintaining the detection accuracy of the attention area.

[0055] In this embodiment, the optical system 11 has a special projection characteristic to generate an image having a high resolution region and a low resolution region, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the same effect can be obtained by generating a high resolution region by varying the pixel density of the image sensor.

[0056] In addition, in this embodiment, the position calculation unit 23 acquires the object position in another coordinate system from the object position on the detected image, but it is not necessary to acquire the position in another coordinate system. Acquiring the position is one of the effective application examples when an object is detected with high accuracy. The object detection result may be transmitted directly to an external device, or the detection result may be analyzed and used for another purpose. Even in this case, the object position on the image can be detected with high accuracy by using the high-resolution area of ​​the camera 10 for object detection.

[0057] In this embodiment, the detection target area 500 and the attention area are the same (not distinguished), but the detection target area in which the observation device 100 performs object detection and the attention area do not have to be the same. As described above, the attention area is an area that is desired to be detected more accurately when detecting a moving object. In other words, it is an area where it is important to perform detection as an image processing system. For example, a system is conceivable in which the entire area of ​​a captured image is treated as the detection target area and the detection results are used. Even in this case, by arranging the attention area so that it is included in the high-resolution area of ​​the camera 10, it is possible to obtain an image with a wide angle of view while detecting objects with high accuracy.

[0058] The relationship between the placement of the observation device 100 and the area of ​​interest will be described below. For example, a moving object often travels along a fixed route. In other words, the (predicted) path of the moving object may be considered as the area of ​​interest, and the observation device 100 may be placed there. For example, the area of ​​interest may be a roadway on which a vehicle travels, or a pedestrian flow path such as a corridor. It may also be the flight path of an airplane or the path of a robot in a warehouse.

[0059] Furthermore, even if a moving object is on the same route, the pixel size of the moving object far from the camera 10 becomes smaller on the captured image, and the detection accuracy decreases. Therefore, by setting the distant area on the moving object's route as the attention area and arranging the camera 10 so that the attention area is included in the high-resolution area, it is possible to obtain an image with a wide angle of view while detecting the object with high accuracy. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the observation device 100 is arranged near an intersection and an image is taken of a route (road) along the X-axis, the distant area of ​​the route on the image captured by the camera 10, preferably the infinite position of the route on the image (the vanishing point of the route), should be included in the high-resolution area. This allows the moving object in the distance to be detected with high accuracy.

[0060] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configuration. (Configuration 1) An imaging unit that is installed near an intersection and captures an image of a moving object; a detection unit that detects a position of the moving object in an image generated by the imaging unit, the image includes a high-resolution region and a low-resolution region having a lower resolution than the high-resolution region; The image processing system according to the present invention, wherein the imaging unit is installed so as to be able to image a predetermined area as the high-resolution area. (Configuration 2) the imaging unit includes an optical system that forms an optical image, and generates the image by capturing the optical image; The image processing system according to configuration 1, characterized in that the optical image includes a high-resolution region corresponding to an angle of view smaller than a predetermined angle of view, and a low-resolution region corresponding to an angle of view larger than the predetermined angle of view and having a lower resolution than the high-resolution region. (Configuration 3) The image processing system according to configuration 2, characterized in that a projection characteristic representing a relationship between a half angle of view of the optical system and an image height on an image plane in the high resolution region is set so that the image height for each half angle of view is greater than a product of a focal length of the optical system and the half angle of view, and is different from the projection characteristic in the low resolution region. (Configuration 4) A half angle of view of the optical system is θ, a projection characteristic expressing a relationship between the half angle of view and an image height on an image plane is y(θ), a maximum half angle of view of the optical system is θmax, a focal length of the optical system is f, and a predetermined constant is A. JPEG2025069580000003.jpg39148

[0061] 4. The image processing system according to configuration 2 or 3, wherein the following conditional expression is satisfied: (Configuration 5) the imaging unit includes an optical system that forms an optical image, and an imaging element that captures the optical image to generate the image; The image processing system according to any one of configurations 1 to 4, wherein the optical system and the image sensor are arranged such that the optical axis of the optical system and the center of the image sensor are shifted. (Configuration 6) 6. The image processing system according to any one of configurations 1 to 5, wherein the imaging unit is disposed so that at least a part of an area detected by the detection unit is included in the high resolution area. (Configuration 7) 7. The image processing system according to configuration 6, wherein at least a part of the area detected by the detection unit is a part on a path of the moving object. (Configuration 8) 8. The image processing system according to configuration 6 or 7, wherein at least a part of the area detected by the detection unit is an area farther from the imaging unit on the path of the moving object. (Configuration 9) 9. The image processing system according to any one of configurations 1 to 8, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires information using a position of the moving object. (Configuration 10) 10. The image processing system according to claim 9, wherein the acquisition unit acquires position information of the moving object in another coordinate system by using the position of the moving object. (Configuration 11) The image processing system according to any one of configurations 1 to 10, wherein the image processing system is a stationary moving object monitoring system in which the imaging unit is fixed so as to image the moving object.

[0062] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10 Camera (imaging unit) 22 Detection unit 510 First area (high resolution area) 511 Second area (low resolution area)

Claims

1. An imaging unit that is installed near an intersection and captures an image of a moving object; a detection unit that detects a position of the moving object in an image generated by the imaging unit, the image includes a high-resolution region and a low-resolution region having a lower resolution than the high-resolution region; The image processing system according to the present invention, wherein the imaging unit is installed so as to be able to image a predetermined area as the high-resolution area.

2. the imaging unit includes an optical system that forms an optical image, and generates the image by capturing the optical image; 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the optical image includes a high-resolution area corresponding to an angle of view smaller than a predetermined angle of view, and a low-resolution area corresponding to an angle of view larger than the predetermined angle of view and having a lower resolution than the high-resolution area.

3. 3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein a projection characteristic representing a relationship between a half angle of view of the optical system in the high resolution region and an image height on an image plane is set so that the image height for each half angle of view is greater than the product of the focal length of the optical system and the half angle of view, and is different from the projection characteristic in the low resolution region.

4. A half angle of view of the optical system is θ, a projection characteristic expressing a relationship between the half angle of view and an image height on an image plane is y(θ), a maximum half angle of view of the optical system is θmax, a focal length of the optical system is f, and a predetermined constant is A.

4. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the following condition is satisfied:

5. the imaging unit includes an optical system that forms an optical image, and an imaging element that captures the optical image to generate the image; 4. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the optical system and the image sensor are arranged such that an optical axis of the optical system and a center of the image sensor are shifted from each other.

6. 4. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the imaging section is disposed so that at least a part of an area detected by the detection section is included in the high resolution area.

7. 7. The image processing system according to claim 6, wherein at least a part of the area detected by the detection unit is a part on a route of the moving object.

8. 7. The image processing system according to claim 6, wherein at least a part of the area detected by the detection unit is an area farther from the imaging unit on the path of the moving object.

9. 4. The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising an acquisition unit that acquires information using a position of the moving object.

10. 10. The image processing system according to claim 9, wherein the acquisition unit acquires position information of the moving object in another coordinate system by using the position of the moving object.

11. 4. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing system is a mobile object monitoring system.

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