Image control device

Abstract

To provide an image control device capable of intuitively performing control operation when reproducing a travel image.SOLUTION: A control unit displays on a display unit a travel image captured by an on-vehicle camera and recorded in a memory. At this time, the control unit fast-forwards the travel image when receiving an operation of swiping or flicking away from a reference point P2 on the screen of the display unit, but rewinds the travel image when receiving an operation of swiping or flicking toward the reference point P2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a video control device, a video control method, and a program for executing the video control method.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, touch panel type display devices such as smartphones and tablets have become widespread. In such touch panel type display devices, it is known to display buttons and seek bars on the screen and perform fast forward and rewind operations by operating these buttons and seek bars. However, it is difficult to perform intuitive video control operations by operating buttons and seek bars.

[0003] Therefore, an image playback method is known in which a subject is detected from a video, and when the screen is flicked in the same direction as the moving direction of the subject, fast forward is performed until the subject goes out of the frame, and when the screen is flicked in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the subject, rewind is performed until the subject comes into the frame (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, this image playback method is premised on the fact that a video in which a person (subject) crosses in front of the camera is being played back, and as an example, there is a problem that a sense of incongruity occurs when applied to the playback of a driving video taken by a camera mounted on a vehicle such as a drive recorder.

[0006] The present invention aims to address such problems. That is, for example, an object of the present invention is to provide a video control device capable of intuitively performing control operations when playing back driving videos.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the video control device according to claim 1 is characterized by including a display unit that displays a video, a reception unit that receives a user operation based on a reference point, and a control unit that controls the video displayed on the display unit according to the user operation received by the reception unit.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 8

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, a video control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The video control device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a display unit that displays video, a reception unit that receives a user operation based on a reference point, and a control unit that controls the video displayed on the display unit according to the user operation received by the reception unit.

[0010] In the driving video, the background (stationary objects) flows radially around the vanishing point. For example, by determining a reference point at a position on the display unit corresponding to the vanishing point of this driving video and controlling the video displayed on the display unit according to the user operation based on this reference point, the video can be intuitively controlled when playing the driving video.

[0011] Also, the reference point may be determined at a position near the center or corresponding to near the center of the video displayed on the display unit. Thereby, the reference point can be determined at or near the vanishing point of the driving video.

[0012] Also, the reference point may be determined based on the vanishing point of the video displayed on the display unit. Thereby, the reference point can be determined at or near the vanishing point of the driving video.

[0013] Also, the user operation may include an operation to move away from the reference point or an operation to approach the reference point. Thereby, the video control operation can be intuitively performed when playing the driving video.

[0014] Also, when the reception unit receives an operation to move away from the reference point, the control unit may perform either forward or backward movement of the video, and when the reception unit receives an operation to approach the reference point, the control unit may perform the other of forward or backward movement of the video. Thereby, the forward or backward movement operation of the video can be intuitively performed when playing the driving video.

[0015] In addition, when the reception unit receives an additional operation following an operation that moves away from the reference point, the control unit may perform either forward or backward movement of the video. When the reception unit receives an additional operation following an operation that approaches the reference point, the control unit may perform either forward or backward movement of the video. As a result, forward and backward movement can be switched when an additional operation is performed. For example, when a running video of the vehicle backing up is being displayed, if an additional operation is performed, it is possible to intuitively perform a forward or backward movement operation on the running video even when the vehicle is backing up.

[0016] In addition, the control unit may change the control time of the video according to the user operation according to the length from the start point to the end point in the operation of moving away from the reference point or approaching the reference point. As a result, it is possible to intuitively perform a control operation of the control time.

[0017] In addition, when the reception unit receives an operation that stops at the end point in the operation of moving away from the reference point or approaching the reference point, the control unit may end the control of the video according to the user operation and pause the video. As a result, it is possible to intuitively perform a control operation of pausing the video.

[0018] In addition, when the reception unit receives an additional operation following a user operation based on the reference point, the control unit may control the video. As a result, it is possible to intuitively perform a control operation of the video when playing the running video.

[0019] In addition, the user operation includes an operation that crosses the reference point. When the reception unit receives an operation that crosses the reference point, the control unit may switch the viewpoint of the video. As a result, it is possible to easily switch the viewpoint of the video.

[0020] In addition, in another embodiment of the present invention, in the display control method, it includes a reception step of receiving a user operation based on a reference point, and a control step of controlling the video displayed on the display unit according to the user operation received in the reception step. As a result, it is possible to intuitively perform a control operation of the video when playing the running video.

[0021] In another embodiment of the present invention, a program executed by a computer functions as a reception unit that receives a user operation based on a reference point, and a control unit that controls the video displayed on the display unit according to the user operation received by the reception unit, thereby causing the computer to function. This program is preferably recorded on a recording medium. As a result, it is possible to intuitively perform video control operations when playing back the driving video.

Example

[0022] (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a navigation device as a video control device of the present invention in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a navigation device as a video control device of the present invention.

[0023] The navigation device 1 of this embodiment is mounted on a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 1 can reproduce a driving video captured by the camera 11 recorded in the memory unit 12 in addition to route guidance.

[0024] The navigation device 1 includes a camera 11, a memory unit 12, a GPS reception unit 13, an operation unit 14, a display unit 15, a touch panel 16 as a contact sensor, an audio output unit 17, and a control unit 18 (reception unit).

[0025] The camera 11 is mounted on the vehicle and captures the front or rear of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the camera 11 is described below as capturing the front of the vehicle. The memory unit 12 records the driving video and the like captured by the camera 11. The memory unit 12 is composed of a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk or an SD card, and is read and written under the control of the control unit 18 described later.

[0026] The GPS receiver unit 13 receives radio waves oscillated from a plurality of GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites as is well known, determines the current position information, and outputs it to the control unit 18. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the GPS receiver unit 13 is integrally provided in the navigation device 1. However, the GPS receiver unit 13 may be configured as a separate unit and be detachable from the navigation device 1.

[0027] The operation unit 14 is composed of an input unit such as a button and a voice input unit such as a microphone. The operation unit 14 performs various input operations of the navigation device 1 and outputs an operation signal indicating the input operation to the control unit 18.

[0028] The display unit 15 is composed of a liquid crystal display and a driver circuit for controlling the liquid crystal display. The touch panel 16 is arranged on the display screen of the display unit 15, detects contact of a human finger or a touch pen, etc., and outputs the detection signal to the control unit 18.

[0029] The voice output unit 17 is composed of a speaker and an amplifier for driving the speaker, etc., and voice is output under the control of the control unit 18.

[0030] The control unit 18 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) having memories such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory), and controls the entire navigation device 1. The RAM is a memory capable of erasing and rewriting data, and is a memory for temporarily storing data generated during the processing of the CPU. The ROM is a memory that cannot be erased or rewritten, and stores processing programs executed by the CPU, etc.

[0031] The CPU of the control unit 18 (hereinafter simply abbreviated as the control unit 18) controls the display unit 15 and the audio output unit 17 described later according to the program written in the ROM, and in addition to the route guidance process for guiding the route to the destination, controls the camera 11 and the memory unit 12 to record the driving video captured by the camera 11 in the memory unit 12, and executes the playback process of displaying the driving video recorded in the memory unit 12 on the display unit 15.

[0032] Next, the features of the driving video captured by the camera 11 that captures the front of the vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a driving video captured by the camera 11 shown in FIG. 1 when the vehicle is moving forward. FIG. 2(A) is the video at time t, and FIG. 2(B) is the driving video at time t+Δt.

[0033] As shown in the figure, in the driving video that captures the front of the vehicle, static objects such as the white line 2 of the road on which the vehicle travels, signboards, and buildings are reflected as the background 3. In such a driving video, a plurality of straight lines parallel to each other, such as a plurality of white lines 2, intersect at the vanishing point P1 and disappear. When this driving video is played back or fast-forwarded, since the vehicle and the background 3 approach each other, the background 3 moves in a radial direction centered on the vanishing point P1 and away from the vanishing point P1. On the other hand, when this driving video is rewound, since the vehicle and the background 3 move away from each other, the background 3 moves in a radial direction centered on the vanishing point P1 and approaches the vanishing point P1.

[0034] This embodiment focuses on this point. The control unit 18 determines a reference point P2 on the touch panel 16 provided on the display unit 15 (hereinafter simply abbreviated as "on the display unit 15") based on the vanishing point P1, and controls the driving video displayed on the display unit 15 according to the user operation based on the reference point P2. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 3(A), when the control unit 18 receives an operation (operation away from the reference point) of swiping or flicking the user's finger 6 in a radial direction centered on the reference point P2 and in a direction away from the reference point P2, the driving video is fast-forwarded. As shown in Fig. 3(B), when the control unit 18 receives an operation (operation approaching the reference point) of swiping or flicking the user's finger 6 in a radial direction centered on the reference point P2 and in a direction approaching the reference point P2, the driving video is rewound.

[0035] Note that "swipe" refers to an operation of sliding a finger in a predetermined direction while touching the screen. Also, "flick" refers to an operation of moving a finger so as to lightly swipe the screen in a predetermined direction. Also, the finger 6 in Fig. 3 does not represent what is displayed on the display unit 15, but represents the actual finger of the user touching on the display unit 15. The arrows in Fig. 3 also do not represent what is displayed on the display unit 15, but represent the trajectory on the display unit 15 when the user flicks or swipes. The same applies to Figs. 5, 6, and 8 described later. The round mark representing the reference point P2 is not displayed on the display unit 15 in this embodiment either, but it may be displayed.

[0036] Regarding the detailed operation of the navigation device 1 described in the above outline, reference is made to Fig. 4 for explanation. When the control unit 18 is switched to the playback mode of the driving video captured by the camera 11 according to an operation of the operation unit 14 or the touch panel 16, for example, the control unit 18 performs a playback process. In the playback process, the control unit 18 first sets the reference point P2 on the touch panel 16 (step S1).

[0037] As for the setting of the reference point P2, it is conceivable to read out and set the reference point P2 stored in the memory unit 12 in advance from the memory unit 12. The above vanishing point P1 can be obtained in advance from the mounting position of the camera 11 or the like. For example, when the optical axis of the camera 11 is mounted horizontally with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, the center or near the center of the display screen of the display unit 15 becomes the vanishing point P1 of the traveling video. Therefore, the reference point P2 is determined in advance at the center or near the center of the display unit 15 and stored in the memory unit 12. In this way, the reference point P2 can be determined at or near the vanishing point P1. Further, the traveling video captured by the camera 11 and recorded in the memory unit 12 may be analyzed to obtain the vanishing point P1, and the reference point P2 may be determined at or near the obtained vanishing point P1.

[0038] Next, when the control unit 18 receives a playback operation such as an operation of a playback button provided on the operation unit 14 or an operation of a playback button displayed on the touch panel 16 (Y in step S2), it plays back the traveling video captured by the camera 11 and stored in the memory unit 12 (step S3). Further, when the control unit 18 receives a pause operation such as an operation of a pause button provided on the operation unit 14 or an operation of a pause button displayed on the touch panel 16 (Y in step S4), it pauses the playing traveling video (step S5).

[0039] When the control unit 18 receives a swipe or flick operation away from the reference point P2 on the display unit 15 (Y in step S6), it fast-forwards the playing traveling video (step S7). Further, when the control unit 18 receives a swipe or flick operation approaching the reference point P2 on the display unit 15 (Y in step S8), it rewinds the playing traveling video (step S9).

[0040] The traveling image has the background 3 flowing radially around the vanishing point P1. In the case of a traveling image that captures the front of the vehicle as in the first embodiment, during playback or fast-forwarding, the background 3 flows away from the vanishing point P1. On the other hand, during rewind, the background 3 flows towards the vanishing point P1. Therefore, when an operation to move away from the reference point P2 determined based on the vanishing point P1 as described above is received, fast-forwarding is performed, and when an operation to approach the reference point P2 is received, rewind is performed, so that during playback of the traveling image, fast-forwarding and rewind operations of the traveling image can be intuitively performed.

[0041] (Second Embodiment) In the first embodiment described above, fast-forwarding was performed when a swipe or flick operation away from the reference point P2 was received, and rewind was performed when a swipe or flick operation approaching the reference point P2 was received, but it is not limited to this. As explained in the first embodiment, in the traveling image that captures the front of the vehicle, the background 3 flows away from the vanishing point P1 during playback or fast-forwarding, and the background 3 flows towards the vanishing point P1 during rewind, but this is based on the premise that the vehicle is moving forward. If the vehicle is backing up, it is the opposite, and the background 3 flows towards the vanishing point P1 during playback or fast-forwarding, and the background 3 flows away from the vanishing point P1 during rewind.

[0042] Therefore, when the finger 6 is swiped or flicked along the direction in which the background 3 flows during playback of the traveling image in front of the vehicle when the vehicle is backing up, fast-forwarding and rewind are reversed. That is, since the background 3 flows towards the vanishing point P1 in the traveling image when the vehicle is backing up, if the user tries to fast-forward and swipes or flicks the finger 6 in the direction approaching the reference point P2, it will result in rewind. Conversely, if the user tries to rewind and swipes the finger 6 in the direction away from the reference point P2, it will result in fast-forwarding.

[0043] Therefore, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3(A), when the control unit 18 receives only an operation of swiping or flicking the finger 6 in a direction away from the reference point P2, it fast-forwards the traveling video. As shown in FIG. 5, after an operation of swiping the finger 6 in a direction away from the reference point P2, when an operation of subsequently swiping the finger 6 so as to draw a circle (hereinafter, may also be referred to as an "additional operation") is received, it rewinds. Further, as shown in FIG. 3(B), when the control unit 18 receives only an operation of swiping or flicking the finger 6 in a direction approaching the reference point P2, it rewinds the traveling video. As shown in FIG. 6, after an operation of swiping the finger 6 in a direction approaching the reference point P2, when an operation of subsequently swiping the finger so as to draw a circle is received, it fast-forwards the traveling video. As the direction of drawing the circle, as shown in FIGS. 5(A) and 6(A), it may be clockwise, or as shown in FIGS. 5(B) and 6(B), it may be counterclockwise.

[0044] The detailed operation of the navigation device 1 described in the above outline will be described with reference to FIG. 7. In the same figure, steps having the same operations as those of the flowchart shown in FIG. 1 already described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and their detailed description is omitted. When the control unit 18 is switched to the playback mode of the traveling video captured by the camera 11 in response to an operation of the operation unit 14 or the touch panel 16, for example, it performs a playback process. Steps S1 to S5 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

[0045] When the control unit 18 receives only an operation of swiping or flicking in a direction away from the reference point P2 on the display unit 15 and there is no additional operation (Y in step S10), it fast-forwards the currently-played traveling video (step S11). When the control unit 18 swipes in a direction approaching the reference point P2 on the display unit 15 and subsequently receives an additional operation (Y in step S12) as well, it fast-forwards the currently-played traveling video (step S11).

[0046] In contrast, the control unit 18 accepts only an operation of swiping or flicking in a direction approaching the reference point P2 on the display unit 15. When there is no additional operation (Y in step S13), the currently playing driving video is rewound (step S14). Further, when the control unit 18 accepts an additional operation after swiping in a direction away from the reference point P2 on the display unit 15 (Y in step S15), the currently playing driving video is rewound (step S14).

[0047] According to the second embodiment described above, when an additional operation is performed, forward and reverse operations can be switched. Thus, for example, when an additional operation is performed while a driving video when the vehicle is backing is being displayed, it is possible to intuitively perform a fast-forward operation or a rewind operation even on a driving video when the vehicle is backing.

[0048] (Third Embodiment) In the first embodiment described above, when the control unit 18 accepts an operation of swiping or flicking the user's finger 6 in a direction away from the reference point P2 or in a direction approaching the reference point P2, it fast-forwards or rewinds, but this is not the only case. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when the control unit 18 accepts an operation (additional operation) of swiping the finger 6 in a direction away from the reference point P2 on the display unit 15 and then continuously swiping the finger 6 so as to draw a circle, it fast-forwards. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, when the control unit 18 accepts an operation of swiping the finger 6 in a direction approaching the reference point P2 on the display unit 15 and then continuously swiping the finger 6 so as to draw a circle, it rewinds.

[0049] That is, in the third embodiment, unlike in the first embodiment, when moving away from the reference point P2 on the display unit 15 Simply swiping the finger 6 in the direction toward the reference point P2 or in the direction toward the reference point P2 does not perform fast forward or rewind, and fast forward or rewind is performed only when an operation of swiping the finger 6 in a circular motion is subsequently received. That is, the control of fast forwarding or rewinding the traveling video is confirmed by the additional operation. Therefore, even if the user swipes or flicks on the display unit 15 by mistake, fast forward or rewind is not performed, so erroneous operation can be prevented.

[0050] In the second and third embodiments, the additional operation performed after the swipe is swiped with the finger 6 in a circular motion, but this is not limited to this. The additional operation may be any operation that can be distinguished from a swipe, such as a double tap.

[0051] (Fourth Example) In the first to third embodiments, a swipe or a flick approaching or moving away from the reference point P2 is used. When a swipe or flick operation is performed, fast forwarding or rewinding continues until another operation such as a play operation or a pause operation is performed thereafter, but this is not limited to this. In the fourth embodiment, when a swipe or flick operation is performed to approach or move away from the reference point P2, fast forwarding or rewinding is performed for a predetermined control time, and after the control time has elapsed, rewinding or fast forwarding may be terminated, and playback may begin from the end point, or playback may be paused at the end point.

[0052] At this time, the control time may be changed according to the length from the start point to the end point of a swipe or flick operation approaching or moving away from the reference point P2. That is, the control time may be lengthened as the length from the start point to the end point of a swipe or flick operation becomes longer, thereby lengthening the rewind or fast-forward time.

[0053] According to the above-described fourth embodiment, the rewind or fast-forward time control operation can be performed intuitively.

[0054] (Fifth Example) In the fifth embodiment, when an operation to stop the finger 6 at the end point in a swipe operation approaching or moving away from the reference point P2 is received, fast-forwarding or rewinding may be terminated and the traveling video may be temporarily stopped. That is, while the swipe operation is being performed, the control unit 18 performs fast-forwarding or rewinding, and when the finger 6 is stopped at the end point of the swipe operation, the fast-forwarding or rewinding of the traveling video is terminated and temporarily stopped at that point. Also, when the finger 6 is immediately released without stopping at the end point of the swipe operation, the fast-forwarding or rewinding of the traveling video continues.

[0055] (Sixth Embodiment) In recent years, as the camera 11, for example, a wide-angle camera capable of 360° shooting has also been on the market. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8(A), when a swipe operation across the reference point P2 is received, as shown in FIG. 8(B), the viewpoint may be changed. For example, when the viewpoint is moved to the right, the background 3 such as a building moves to the left. Therefore, when a swipe operation across the reference point P2 is received, a traveling video with the viewpoint moved in the direction opposite to the swipe direction is displayed. Thereby, the background 3 moves in the same direction as the swipe direction, and an intuitive viewpoint change operation can be performed.

[0056] In the first to sixth embodiments described above, fast-forwarding or rewinding is performed when an operation of moving away from or approaching the reference point P2 is received, but this is not the only case. For example, when an operation of moving away from or approaching the reference point P2 is received during temporary stop, frame-by-frame forward or frame-by-frame reverse may be performed.

[0057] Also, in the above-described first to sixth embodiments, the camera 11 was installed facing the front of the vehicle and reproduced the video captured of the front of the vehicle. However, this is not the only case. The camera 11 may be installed facing the rear of the vehicle and reproduce the driving video captured of the rear of the vehicle. The video captured of the rear of the vehicle is the opposite of the video captured of the front of the vehicle, and during playback or fast forward, the background flows in a direction approaching the vanishing point P1. Also, during rewind, the background flows in a direction away from the vanishing point P1. Therefore, when reproducing the video captured of the rear of the vehicle, contrary to the first embodiment, when an operation in a direction approaching the reference point P2 is received, it may be set to fast forward, and when an operation in a direction away from the reference point P2 is received, it may be set to rewind.

[0058] Also, in the above-described first to sixth embodiments, the control unit 18 performed fast forward or rewind at a constant speed regardless of the speed of the swipe or flick operation. However, this is not the only case. The speed of fast forward or rewind may be increased as the speed of the swipe or flick operation increases.

[0059] Also, in the above-described first to sixth embodiments, a navigation device was used as the video control device. However, this is not the only case. For example, the video control device may be any device that can reproduce video, such as a drive recorder with a display unit, a smartphone, a tablet, or the like.

[0060] Also, in the above-described first to sixth embodiments, the driving video was displayed on the entire screen of the display unit 15, and the reference point P2 was determined at the center or near the center of the display screen of the display unit 15. However, this is not the only case. For example, the navigation video may be displayed on the entire screen of the display unit 15, and a window in which the driving video is displayed may be superimposed on this navigation video. In that case, the reference point P2 is determined at a position on the display unit 15 corresponding to near the center or near the vicinity of the center of the driving video, that is, at the center or near the center of the window.

[0061] In addition, in the above-described first to sixth embodiments, the touch panel 16 is provided on the display unit 15, and the video can be controlled by operating on the display unit 15. However, this is not the only case. The touch panel 16 may be provided at a location different from the display unit 15, and the video of the display unit 15 can be controlled according to a user operation based on a reference point P2 determined at the center or near the center of the touch panel 16. This may also be the case.

[0062] In addition, the above-described embodiments merely show typical forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. That is, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0063] 1 Navigation device (video control device) 15 Display unit 18 Control unit (reception unit) P1 Vanishing point P2 Reference point

Claims

【Claim 1】 A display unit that displays an image, a reception unit that receives a user operation based on a reference point, and a control unit that controls the image displayed on the display unit according to the user operation received by the reception unit. An image control device characterized by comprising the above components.

Images