Monitoring system and monitoring system control method

Abstract

To provide a technology for automatically setting desired pan-tilt speed on the basis of a size of a monitoring target included in video.SOLUTION: A monitoring system comprises an imaging apparatus, and a management server for managing the imaging apparatus. The imaging apparatus can perform revolving control including panning-tilting. The management server includes a revolving speed calculation section for setting revolving speed of the imaging apparatus on the basis of a size of a monitoring target in video imaged by the imaging apparatus.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring system and a method for controlling a monitoring system. [Background technology]

[0002] In conventional surveillance systems, the imaging device can continuously track the subject by controlling the pan and tilt (horizontal and vertical) rotation through the surveillance person's operation.

[0003] Furthermore, in controlling a surveillance camera, in addition to the pan / tilt and zoom operations, the speed of the pan / tilt is also controlled by the operator. For example, a surveillance camera has a function that allows the operator to select the pan / tilt rotation speed; for a wide angle of view, the pan / tilt rotation speed is set to be fast, and for a zoomed-in angle of view that captures a narrow range, the rotation speed is changed and set to be slow. This makes it possible to prevent the tracking of the monitoring target from being lost due to an excessive turning speed when the monitoring target is captured in a large area.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that "in a camera unit having a lens control means 42 that controls the zoom state of a zoom lens 41, a pan drive means 51 that changes the shooting direction of the camera 4 to the horizontal direction, and a tilt drive means 43 that changes the shooting direction of the camera to the vertical direction, a control means 53 is provided that varies the operating speed of the pan drive means 51 and the tilt drive means 43 according to the zoom state of the zoom lens. When a subject is displayed enlarged on the screen, the pan / tilt rotation speed is slow, and when a subject is displayed reduced, the pan / tilt rotation speed is fast, so that an appropriate pan / tilt operating speed can be set according to the zoom state of the screen." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-208659 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, with the technology in Patent Document 1, when an operator wants to change the pan / tilt speed, they must first interrupt the pan / tilt / zoom operation, set the pan / tilt speed, and then resume the pan / tilt / zoom operation, which poses a problem of making it temporarily impossible to continue capturing the target of surveillance.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology for automatically setting a desired pan / tilt speed based on the size of a monitoring target included in an image. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, one of the surveillance systems of the present invention comprises an imaging device and a management server that manages the imaging device, wherein the imaging device is capable of rotation control including pan and tilt, and the management server includes a rotation speed calculation unit that sets the rotation speed of the imaging device based on the size of a monitored object in the image captured by the imaging device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for automatically setting a desired pan / tilt speed based on the size of a monitoring target included in an image. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a monitoring system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a user interface displayed on the display unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of a process for changing the pan / tilt speed of the imaging device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of the process of sequence S103 in FIG. 3 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a monitoring system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a turning speed table stored in the turning speed determination unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a zoom speed table stored in the rotation speed determination unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of the process of sequence S103 in FIG. 3 according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In addition, in the description of the drawings, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals. When there are multiple components with the same or similar functions, they may be described using the same reference numeral with different subscripts. When there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted. Furthermore, although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used to describe various elements or components in this disclosure, it will be understood that these elements or components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element or component from another. Thus, a first element or component discussed below could also be referred to as a second element or component without departing from the teachings of the inventive concept. In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings.

[0012] In this disclosure, the term "swivel speed" refers to the pan / tilt speed of the imaging device of the surveillance system.

[0013] [First embodiment] First, an overview of a monitoring system 100 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a monitoring system 100 according to the first embodiment. The monitoring system 100 includes an imaging device 10, a management server 20, and an operation terminal 30. Furthermore, in the surveillance system 100, an operator can operate the operation terminal 30 to control the pan, tilt, and zoom of the imaging device 10, thereby capturing a moving surveillance target. The imaging device 10 is connected to a management server 20, and the operation terminal 30 is connected to the management server 20 in the same manner.

[0014] The following description will be given on the assumption that there is one imaging device 10, but there may be multiple imaging devices 10. For example, when there are two imaging devices 10, the imaging device 10 to be operated can be switched using the management server 20 or the operation terminal 30, so that each imaging device can be controlled in the same way as when there is one imaging device 10.

[0015] <Imaging device> The imaging device 10 is connected to a management server 20, and transmits captured images of a monitoring target to the management server 20, and the pan-tilt-zoom operations can be changed by an operator.

[0016] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the imaging device 10 uses optical zoom as the zoom function, but may also use digital zoom.

[0017] <Administration Server> The management server 20 includes a control unit 21, a monitored object detection unit 22, a monitored object comparison unit 23, a rotation speed calculation unit 24, and an operation command receiving unit 25, and is capable of detecting the monitored object from the image captured by the imaging device 10 at a predetermined period and calculating the rotation speed based on the change in size of the detected monitored object.

[0018] <<Control Unit>> The control unit 21 is a functional unit that controls the management server 20 . Therefore, the control unit 21 is connected to the imaging device 10 and the monitoring target detection unit 22 , and can transmit the video captured by the imaging device 10 to the monitoring target detection unit 22 . The operation terminal 30 is also connected to a display unit 31, which will be described later, and can display the video captured by the imaging device 10 to the operator who operates the operation terminal 30. Furthermore, the operation command receiving unit 25 is also connected, and can transmit a control signal to the imaging device 10 in accordance with an operation performed by an operator on the operation terminal 30.

[0019] <<Monitoring target detection section>> The monitoring target detection unit 22 is a functional unit that detects a monitoring target from the video captured by the imaging device 10 and calculates its size. Therefore, the monitoring target detection unit 22 is connected to the control unit 21, and can detect the monitoring target from the video captured by the imaging device 10 at a predetermined cycle and calculate the size of the monitoring target. The monitoring target detection unit 22 is also connected to the monitoring target comparison unit 23, and can transmit the detected size of the monitoring target to the monitoring target comparison unit 23.

[0020] Specifically, the monitoring target detection unit 22 selects one of the frames of the video captured by the imaging device 10 at a predetermined cycle. Next, the monitoring target detection unit 22 performs image recognition processing to detect the monitoring target included in the selected frame. In this case, the image recognition process can use, for example, pattern matching technology, and in addition, AI processing can be used. Note that in the image recognition process, other processing methods can also be used as long as they can detect the monitoring target.

[0021] The monitoring target detection unit 22 can also determine the type of the detected monitoring target. For example, if the monitoring target is a person, it can recognize the monitoring target as a person and send the recognized type of monitoring target to the monitoring target comparison unit 23.

[0022] Next, the monitoring target detection unit 22 uses the selected frame as the display screen, calculates the size of the detected monitoring target on the display screen, and transmits it to the monitoring target comparison unit 23. Here, the size of the monitored object is typically indicated by the number of pixels occupied by the monitored object on the display screen of the captured image or the proportion of the number of pixels occupied by the monitored object (hereinafter referred to as "screen occupancy rate").

[0023] Specifically, the number of pixels occupied by the monitoring target indicates, for example, the absolute value of the pixels in which the monitoring target is displayed in the frame selected by the monitoring target detection unit 22. Furthermore, the screen occupancy rate indicates, for example, the proportion of the captured video that is occupied by the monitoring target on the display screen.

[0024] The size of the monitoring target may be indicated by other methods. The number of pixels occupied by the monitoring target is not limited to the number that covers the entire image captured by the image capturing device 10. For example, the target may be a portion of the area in the frame selected by the monitoring target detection unit 22. In other words, the number of pixels in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction may be counted instead of the total number of pixels occupied by the monitoring target. Alternatively, the number of pixels may be measured using another measurement method. Furthermore, the screen occupancy rate can be defined in various ways depending on the method for calculating the number of pixels occupied by the monitoring target.

[0025] In the following description, the size of the monitored object will be described as the screen occupancy rate, but other methods may be used, such as the number of pixels occupied by the monitored object on the display screen of the captured image as described above.

[0026] <<Monitoring target comparison section>> The monitoring target comparison unit 23 is a functional unit that calculates the size of the monitoring target detected by the monitoring target detection unit 22 previously stored and the change in size of the monitoring target detected by the monitoring target detection unit 22. For this reason, the monitored object comparison unit 23 is connected to the monitored object detection unit 22, and can compare the size of the monitored object received from the monitored object detection unit 22 with the size of the monitored object previously detected by the monitored object detection unit 22, and calculate the comparison result of the change in the size of the monitored object. Information about the size of the monitoring target detected by the previous monitoring target detection unit 22 may be stored in the monitoring target detection unit 22 or may be stored in another storage device. The monitored object comparison unit 23 is also connected to the turning speed calculation unit 24 and can transmit the comparison result to the turning speed calculation unit 24 .

[0027] Furthermore, the size of the monitoring target detected by the previous monitoring target detection unit 22 and stored in the monitoring target comparison unit 23 is preferably the size of the monitoring target detected by the monitoring target detection unit 22 in the immediately preceding processing, but may be any other size.

[0028] The comparison result sent by the monitoring target comparison unit 23 may be any one of "increase," "decrease," or "same level."

[0029] The comparison result of "increase" is when the size of the monitored object detected by the monitored object detection unit 22 has increased compared to the size of the monitored object previously detected by the monitored object detection unit 22, and the comparison result of "decrease" is when the size of the monitored object detected by the monitored object detection unit 22 has decreased compared to the size of the monitored object previously detected by the monitored object detection unit 22.

[0030] Similarly, the comparison result is "same level" when the size of the monitoring target previously detected by the monitoring target detection unit 22 and the size of the monitoring target detected by the monitoring target detection unit 22 are about the same level. Furthermore, the comparison result being "similar" can be determined as "similar" if the comparison result is within a predetermined range, regardless of whether the comparison result is an increase or decrease, since the change in magnitude is considered to be unchanged. As a result, even if the monitoring target detection unit 22 sensitively detects the size of the monitoring target, the monitoring target comparison unit 23 can calculate a comparison result of a stable change in the size of the monitoring target, thereby stabilizing the control of the rotation speed.

[0031] Furthermore, the monitoring target comparison unit 23 may be configured to be able to transmit the type of monitoring target received from the monitoring target detection unit 22 in addition to the comparison result to be transmitted.

[0032] <<Turning speed calculation section>> The rotation speed calculation unit 24 is a functional unit that determines a change in the size of the monitoring target based on the comparison result of the size of the monitoring target, and calculates the rotation speed. Therefore, the turning speed calculation unit 24 is connected to the monitoring target comparison unit 23 and can receive the comparison result from the monitoring target comparison unit 23. It is also connected to the operation command receiving unit 25, and is able to transmit the calculated turning speed.

[0033] Specifically, the rotation speed calculation unit 24 calculates the rotation speed for changing the pan / tilt speed within the settable range of pan / tilt speeds that can be set by the imaging device 10, based on the comparison result of the size of the monitored object. For example, if the comparison result is "increase," the rotation speed calculation unit 24 can set the rotation speed so as to slow down the pan / tilt by one reference value. Similarly, if the comparison result is "decreased," the rotation speed calculation unit 24 can set the rotation speed so as to increase the pan / tilt speed by one reference value. Furthermore, if the comparison result is "same," the rotation speed calculation unit 24 can set the rotation speed so that the pan / tilt speed is not changed. In this case, one reference speed is, for example, 1 degree / second, but may be another value.

[0034] Even if the comparison result of the size of the monitored object is "increased," if the set pan / tilt speed is already the minimum speed within the settable range of pan / tilt speeds that can be set by the imaging device 10, the rotation speed calculation unit 24 can set the rotation speed so as not to change the pan / tilt speed, just as when the comparison result is "same." Similarly, even if the comparison result is "decreased," if the pan / tilt speed that has already been set is the maximum pan / tilt speed that can be set by the imaging device 10, the rotation speed calculation unit 24 can set the rotation speed so as not to change the pan / tilt speed, just as when the comparison result is "same."

[0035] Furthermore, when the turning speed calculation unit 24 receives the type of the detected monitoring target from the monitoring target comparison unit 23, the turning speed calculation unit 24 may change the reference speed for changing the turning speed according to the type of the monitoring target. For example, if the detected monitoring object is a person, one reference speed is 1 degree / second, but if the detected monitoring object is a car, one reference speed can be 10 degrees / second, etc.

[0036] This allows the turning speed calculation unit 24 to set an appropriate turning speed depending on the type of the detected monitoring target.

[0037] <<Operation command receiver>> The operation command receiving unit 25 is connected to the turning speed calculation unit 24 and the operation command transmitting unit 32 described later, receives the operation command transmitted by the operation command transmitting unit 32, and transmits to the control unit 21 a control that reflects the turning speed calculated by the turning speed calculation unit 24.

[0038] Furthermore, even if the imaging device 10 is made up of multiple models, the operation command receiving unit 25 can appropriately convert the signal from the operation command transmitting unit 32 so that the same operation on the operation terminal 30 will perform the same operation for each of the multiple models.

[0039] <Operation terminal> The operation terminal 30 includes a display unit 31 and an operation command transmission unit 32, and is a terminal for operating the imaging device 10. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the monitoring system 100 is described on the assumption that the imaging device 10 is operated by selecting a GUI (graphical user interface) displayed on the operation terminal 30, but the imaging device 10 may also be operated by other operating methods other than the GUI. For example, the operation may be performed using a physical interface such as a joystick.

[0040] <<Display section>> The display unit 31 is a functional unit that displays the video captured by the imaging device 10. Therefore, the display unit 31 is connected to the control unit 21 and can display a user interface 400 for operating the imaging device 10, as shown in FIG. 2, which will be described later.

[0041] This allows the operator to operate the operation terminal 30 while checking the video captured by the imaging device 10.

[0042] <<Operation command transmitter>> The operation command transmission unit 32 is a functional unit that transmits control commands for controlling the imaging device 10 . For this reason, the operation command transmitting unit 32 is connected to the operation command receiving unit 25, and can generate a control command corresponding to the operation selected by the operator on the user interface 400 displayed by the display unit 31, and transmit the control command to the operation command receiving unit 25.

[0043] <User interface for operating the imaging device> Next, a user interface 400 for operating the imaging device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a user interface 400 displayed on the display unit 31. As shown in FIG. The user interface 400 includes a video display section 41 , an operation button section 42 , a pan / tilt speed display section 43 , a zoom speed display section 44 , and a screen occupancy display section 45 .

[0044] <<Video display section>> The video display section 41 is a window that displays the video captured by the imaging device 10. Therefore, the video display unit 41 displays the video captured by the imaging device 10 in the window, allowing the operator to check the monitoring target captured by the imaging device 10.

[0045] <<Operation buttons>> The operation button section 42 is a set of buttons for operating the imaging device 10, including an up button 421, a right button 422, a down button 423, a left button 424, a zoom-in button 425, and a zoom-out button 426.

[0046] At this time, when the up button 421 is selected, the imaging device 10 performs a tilt operation in the upward direction. Similarly, when the right button 422 is selected, the imaging device 10 pans to the right, when the down button 423 is selected, the imaging device 10 tilts downward, and when the left button 424 is selected, the imaging device 10 pans to the left.

[0047] Furthermore, when the zoom-in button 425 is selected, the imaging device 10 performs a zoom-in operation, and similarly, when the zoom-out button 426 is selected, the imaging device 10 performs a zoom-out operation. That is, the imaging device 10 pans and tilts in the direction selected by the operation button section 42.

[0048] <<Pan / tilt speed display>> The pan / tilt speed display section 43 can display the pan / tilt operation speed, that is, the rotation speed, of the imaging device 10 when the operation button section 42 is selected. At this time, the pan / tilt speed is displayed by the position of the first slider 431. For example, the closer the first slider 431 is to the right end of the pan / tilt speed display section 43, which indicates a high-speed operation, the faster the pan / tilt speed will be. Conversely, the closer the first slider 431 is to the left end of the pan / tilt speed display section 43, which indicates a low-speed operation, the slower the pan / tilt speed will be. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the pan and tilt speeds are displayed by the common first slider 431, but it is also possible to display the pan and tilt speeds independently.

[0049] <<Zoom speed display section>> The zoom speed display section 44 can display the zoom speed of the imaging device 10 when the zoom-in button 425 and the zoom-out button 426 of the operation button section 42 are operated. At this time, the zoom speed is displayed by the position of the second slider 441. For example, the closer the second slider 441 is to the right end, the faster the zoom speed will be. Conversely, the closer the second slider 441 is to the left end, the slower the zoom speed will be.

[0050] The position of the first slider 431 in the pan / tilt speed display section 43 is automatically changed based on the pan / tilt speed calculated as described below, but may be changed by other methods. The zoom speed may also be changed automatically.

[0051] For example, the pan / tilt speed may be changed by manually changing the position of the first slider 431, and the zoom speed may be changed by manually changing the position of the second slider 441.

[0052] <<Screen occupancy display section>> The screen occupancy rate display unit 45 can display the screen occupancy rate. At this time, the screen occupancy rate is displayed at the position of the third slider 451. For example, the closer the third slider 451 is to the right end, which has a higher screen occupancy rate, the higher the screen occupancy rate. Also, the closer the third slider 451 is to the left end, the lower the screen occupancy rate.

[0053] <Pan / Tilt speed change processing> Next, the process of automatically changing the pan / tilt speed of the imaging device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of a process for changing the pan / tilt speed of the imaging device 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0054] (Sequence S101) In sequence S101, the imaging device 10 transmits the captured video to the management server 20.

[0055] (Sequence S102) In sequence S102, the imaging device 10 transmits the captured video to the operation terminal 30 via the management server 20, similar to sequence S101.

[0056] (Sequence S103) In sequence S103, the management server 20 performs a process of calculating the pan / tilt speed.

[0057] (Sequence S104) In sequence S104, the management server 20 transmits the calculated pan / tilt speed to the operation terminal 30.

[0058] (Sequence S105) In sequence S105, the operation terminal 30 displays the transmitted pan / tilt speed on the display unit 31 so that the operator can confirm the speed.

[0059] (Sequence S106) In sequence S106, the operation terminal 30 transmits the operation content to the management server 20 if an input operation exists.

[0060] (Sequence S107) In sequence S107, the management server 20 transmits to the imaging device 10 a control command that reflects the pan / tilt speed.

[0061] <Automatic pan / tilt speed change processing> Next, the process of automatically changing the pan / tilt speed by the management server 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram of the process of sequence S103 in FIG. 3 according to the first embodiment.

[0062] (Sequence S201) In sequence S201, the control unit 21 transmits the video received from the imaging device 10 to the monitoring target detection unit 22.

[0063] (Sequence S202) In sequence S202, the monitoring target detection unit 22 selects one of the frames of the video captured by the imaging device 10, and calculates the size of the monitoring target through image recognition processing.

[0064] (Sequence S203) In sequence S203, the monitoring target detection unit 22 transmits the calculated size of the monitoring target to the monitoring target comparison unit .

[0065] (Sequence S204) In sequence S204, the monitored object comparison unit 23 calculates a comparison result between the size of the previous monitored object stored in the monitored object comparison unit 23 and the change in size of the monitored object detected by the monitored object detection unit 22, which is either "increase," "decrease," or "same level."

[0066] (Sequence S205) In sequence S205, the monitoring target comparison unit 23 transmits the calculated comparison result to the turning speed calculation unit 24.

[0067] (Sequence S206) In sequence S206, the turning speed calculation unit 24 calculates the turning speed based on the comparison result. If the change in size of the monitored object is an "increase," the calculated rotation speed will be one reference speed slower than the current pan / tilt speed. Similarly, if the change in size of the monitored object is "decreasing," the speed will be one reference speed faster than the current pan / tilt speed. Also, if the change in size of the monitored object is "same level," the speed will be set to the same level as the current pan / tilt speed.

[0068] (Sequence S207) In sequence S207, the turning speed calculation unit 24 transmits the calculated turning speed to the operation command receiving unit 25.

[0069] <Actions and Effects> The monitoring system 100 of the present disclosure has been described above. The monitoring system 100 of the present disclosure mainly comprises a monitoring target detection unit 22, a monitoring target comparison unit 23, and a rotation speed calculation unit 24, and is capable of changing the pan / tilt speed of the imaging device 10 according to the screen occupancy rate of the monitoring target on the display screen. This makes it possible to appropriately set a desired pan / tilt speed depending on the size of the monitoring target displayed on the screen, regardless of the zoom position of the imaging device 10.

[0070] For example, if the monitored object is captured in a zoomed-in state but is small in the captured image, setting the camera rotation speed based on the conventional zoom state will result in the camera rotation speed being set slow because of the zoomed-in state. However, if the captured monitored object is small, there is no need to set the camera rotation speed slow. Also, if the monitored object is captured in a zoomed-out state but is large because it is nearby, setting the camera rotation speed based on the conventional zoom state will result in the camera rotation speed being set fast because of the zoomed-out state. However, if the captured monitored object is large, there is no need to set the camera rotation speed fast, and setting the rotation speed fast may result in failure to track the monitored object. In this regard, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to set the rotation speed of the imaging device based on the size of the monitoring target in the captured image, making it possible to set an appropriate pan / tilt speed suitable for capturing and tracking the monitoring target. Furthermore, even when the rotation speed of the imaging device is changed, the pan / tilt speed can be set automatically without interrupting the pan / tilt operation, making it possible to track the monitored object without losing sight of it.

[0071] Furthermore, the surveillance system 100 of the present disclosure can calculate an appropriate pan-tilt speed even when the target to be monitored suddenly enters the frame at a position considerably closer than the zoom conditions of the imaging device 10 allow. For example, if a monitoring target suddenly enters the frame at a position considerably closer than the zoom condition of the imaging device 10, the monitoring target may be excessively enlarged, and the entire monitoring target may not be captured in the captured image, resulting in an image in which only a portion of the monitoring target occupies the majority of the captured image. In such a case, if the camera rotation speed is set based on the conventional zoom state, the camera will zoom out suddenly, resulting in the camera rotation speed being set to a suddenly fast speed. This sudden change in rotation speed may make it difficult to capture or track the monitoring target.

[0072] In this regard, according to the monitoring system 100 of the present disclosure, the rotation speed is determined based on the size of the monitoring target in the captured video, making it possible to set an appropriate rotation speed according to the monitoring target. In other words, if the monitoring target suddenly comes into the frame at close range, causing a 40% image of the monitoring target to occupy 60% of the screen, and then zooming out causes a 100% image of the monitoring target to occupy 60% of the screen, according to the monitoring system 100 of the present disclosure, the screen occupancy rate does not change, so the rotation speed of the imaging device does not change, and the monitoring target can be stably captured and tracked.

[0073] [Second embodiment] Next, the monitoring system of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a monitoring system 200 according to the second embodiment. The monitoring system 200 according to the second embodiment differs in that the management server 20 includes a turning speed determination unit 26 instead of the monitoring target comparison unit 23.

[0074] The components of the monitoring system 200 will be explained below one by one. Note that components that are the same as or equivalent to those in the first embodiment described above are given the same reference numerals, and their description will be simplified or omitted. <<Turning speed determination section>> The rotation speed determination unit 26 is a functional unit that includes a rotation speed table 510 (described later) and, if necessary, a zoom speed table 520, and determines the rotation speed of the image capture device 10 based on the size of the monitoring target. For this reason, the turning speed determination unit 26 is connected to the monitoring target detection unit 22 and can receive the size of the monitoring target. It is also connected to the turning speed calculation unit 24, and can determine the turning speed etc. described in the turning speed table 510 etc.

[0075] Furthermore, in addition to the rotation speed table 510 and the zoom speed table 520, the rotation speed determination unit 26 may also record model information of the image capture device 10 (setting values ​​set in the image capture device 10).

[0076] <Structure of the rotation speed table> Next, the turning speed table 510 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a turning speed table 510 stored in the turning speed determination unit 26. As shown in FIG.

[0077] The rotation speed table 510 is a table that stores pan and tilt speeds, and includes a first row 511 that indicates the range of screen occupancy, a second row 512 that indicates the pan speed, and a third row 513 that indicates the tilt speed. In addition, in the rotation speed table 510, the screen occupancy rate based on the size of the monitoring target transmitted to the rotation speed determination unit 26 is searched from the first row 511, and the pan speed corresponding to the screen occupancy rate is identified from the second row 512. Similarly, the tilt speed corresponding to the screen occupancy rate is identified from the third row 513. In this embodiment, the rotation speed table 510 is configured with 16 stages, but may be configured with any other stages as long as the number of stages is two or more. For example, it may be configured with 255 stages. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the pan speed and tilt speed for each screen occupancy rate are the same value, but the pan speed and tilt speed do not necessarily have to be the same value.

[0078] <Zoom speed table structure> Next, the zoom speed table 520 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the zoom speed table 520 stored in the rotation speed determination unit 26. As shown in FIG. Zoom speed table 520 is a table that stores zoom speeds, and includes a fourth row 521 that indicates a range of focal lengths, and a fifth row 522 that indicates a range of screen occupancy rates. In addition, in the zoom speed table 520, the range of focal lengths of the lens of the imaging device 10 can be searched from the fourth row 521, and the zoom speed can be determined from the column corresponding to that focal length range and the screen occupancy rate based on the size of the monitored object transmitted to the rotation speed determination unit 26.

[0079] <Automatic pan / tilt speed change processing> Next, automatic change of the pan / tilt speed by the management server 20 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of the process of sequence S103 in the second embodiment. Sequences S201 and S202 are the same as those in FIG. 4 described in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0080] (Sequence S301) In sequence S301, the monitoring target detection unit 22 transmits the calculated size of the monitoring target to the turning speed determination unit .

[0081] (Sequence S302) In sequence S302, the rotation speed determination unit 26 refers to the rotation speed table 510 and determines the pan / tilt speed based on the size of the monitoring target transmitted from the monitoring target detection unit 22.

[0082] (Sequence S303) Then, in sequence S303, the rotation speed determination unit 26 transmits the determined pan / tilt speed to the rotation speed calculation unit 24.

[0083] <Actions and Effects> The monitoring system 200 of the present disclosure has been described above. The monitoring system 200 of the present disclosure mainly has a monitoring target detection unit 22, a rotation speed determination unit 26, and a rotation speed calculation unit 24, and is able to change the pan / tilt speed of the imaging device 10 in accordance with the screen occupancy rate of the monitoring target detected by the monitoring target detection unit 22, without needing the size of the monitoring target previously detected by the monitoring target detection unit 22. This makes it possible to set a desired pan / tilt speed based only on the size of the monitoring target detected by the monitoring target detection unit 22. In the second embodiment, the rotation speed table 510 has been described as a table corresponding to the screen occupancy rate, but it is also possible to change the rotation speed table 510 to a table corresponding to the number of pixels occupied by the monitoring target. In this case, information regarding the number of pixels occupied by the monitoring target is obtained from the monitoring target detection unit 22, and the pan / tilt speed is determined by referring to the rotation speed table 510 corresponding to the screen occupancy rate. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, it is also possible to automatically calculate and set the zoom speed for each focal length according to the number of pixels or screen occupancy of the monitored object, which is the size of the monitored object, as shown in Fig. 7. The method for setting the zoom speed in this case is almost the same as the method for determining the pan / tilt speed in the second embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0084] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. The present disclosure includes the following aspects.

[0085] (Aspect 1) A monitoring system including an imaging device and a management server that manages the imaging device, The imaging device is capable of rotation control including pan and tilt, The management server a rotation speed calculation unit that sets a rotation speed of the imaging device based on the size of the monitoring target in the video captured by the imaging device; A monitoring system characterized by:

[0086] (Aspect 2) In the monitoring system according to aspect 1, The turning speed calculation unit determines a change in size of the monitoring target at a predetermined cycle, When the size of the monitored object increases, the rotation speed is set to a slower value, When the size of the monitored object decreases, the turning speed is set to be faster. A monitoring system characterized by:

[0087] (Aspect 3) In the monitoring system according to aspect 2, The turning speed calculation unit sets the turning speed unchanged when the change in size of the monitored object is within a predetermined range. A monitoring system characterized by:

[0088] (Aspect 4) In the monitoring system according to aspect 2 or 3, The size of the monitoring target is the number of pixels that the monitoring target occupies on the display screen of the captured image or the ratio of the number of pixels that the monitoring target occupies (hereinafter referred to as "screen occupancy rate") A monitoring system characterized by:

[0089] (Aspect 5) In the monitoring system according to aspect 4, a rotation speed determination unit that determines the rotation speed based on the number of pixels occupied by the monitoring target or the screen occupancy rate. A monitoring system characterized by:

[0090] (Aspect 6) In the monitoring system according to aspect 5, The turning speed determination unit has a turning speed table set in 2 to 255 stages. A monitoring system characterized by:

[0091] (Aspect 7) In the monitoring system according to any one of aspects 4 to 6, the monitoring system includes an operation terminal for operating the imaging device, The operation terminal displays the number of pixels occupied by the monitored object or the screen occupancy rate and the turning speed. A monitoring system characterized by:

[0092] (Aspect 8) In the monitoring system according to aspect 7, The operation terminal is capable of changing the turning speed calculated by the turning speed calculation unit. A monitoring system characterized by:

[0093] (Aspect 9) A monitoring system including an imaging device and a management server that manages the imaging device, The management server Detecting a monitoring target from the video captured by the imaging device at a predetermined cycle; Calculating a change in size of the monitoring target imaged at the predetermined period; calculating a rotation speed of the imaging device based on a change in size of the monitoring target; Controlling the rotation of the imaging device, including panning and tilting A method for controlling a monitoring system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0094] 100, 200 monitoring system 10. Imaging device 20 Management Server 21 Control section 22 Monitoring target detection unit 23 Monitoring target comparison section 24 Turning speed calculation section 25 Operation command receiver 26 Turning speed determination unit 30 Operation terminal 31 Display section 32 Operation command transmitter 400 User Interface 41 Video display section 42 Operation buttons 421 Up button 422 Right button 423 Down button 424 Left Button 425 Zoom in button 426 Zoom out button 43 Pan / tilt speed display 431 First Slider 44 Zoom speed display 441 Second Slider 45 Screen occupancy display area 451 Third Slider 510 Turning Speed ​​Table 520 Zoom Speed ​​Table

Claims

1. A monitoring system including an imaging device and a management server that manages the imaging device, The imaging device is capable of rotation control including pan and tilt, The management server a rotation speed calculation unit that sets a rotation speed of the imaging device based on the size of the monitoring target in the video captured by the imaging device; A monitoring system characterized by:

2. 2. The monitoring system according to claim 1, The turning speed calculation unit determines a change in size of the monitoring target at a predetermined cycle, When the size of the monitored object increases, the rotation speed is set to a slower value, When the size of the monitored object decreases, the turning speed is set to be faster. A monitoring system characterized by:

3. 3. The monitoring system according to claim 2, The turning speed calculation unit sets the turning speed unchanged when the change in size of the monitored object is within a predetermined range. A monitoring system characterized by:

4. 3. The monitoring system according to claim 2, The size of the monitoring target is the number of pixels that the monitoring target occupies on the display screen of the captured image or the ratio of the number of pixels that the monitoring target occupies (hereinafter referred to as "screen occupancy") A monitoring system characterized by:

5. 5. The monitoring system according to claim 4, a rotation speed determination unit that determines the rotation speed based on the number of pixels occupied by the monitoring target or the screen occupancy rate. A monitoring system characterized by:

6. 6. The monitoring system according to claim 5, The turning speed determination unit has a turning speed table set in 2 to 255 stages. A monitoring system characterized by:

7. 5. The monitoring system according to claim 4, the monitoring system includes an operation terminal for operating the imaging device, The operation terminal displays the number of pixels occupied by the monitored object or the screen occupancy rate and the turning speed. A monitoring system characterized by:

8. 8. The monitoring system according to claim 7, The monitoring system is characterized in that the operation terminal is capable of changing the rotation speed calculated by the rotation speed calculation unit.

9. A monitoring system including an imaging device and a management server that manages the imaging device, The management server Detecting a monitoring target from the video captured by the imaging device at a predetermined cycle; Calculating a change in size of the monitoring target imaged at the predetermined period; calculating a rotation speed of the imaging device based on a change in size of the monitoring target; Controlling the rotation of the imaging device, including panning and tilting A method for controlling a monitoring system.

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