Drive recorder, vehicle recording control method, and program

Abstract

The present invention provides a drive recorder capable of acquiring appropriate images, a vehicle recording control method, and a program. [Solution] The drive recorder includes an image acquisition unit that acquires images of an area including the surroundings of the vehicle, an abnormality detection unit that detects abnormalities in the vehicle with a predetermined sensitivity, a recording control unit that records images in the recording unit when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit, and an external camera information acquisition unit that acquires information about an external camera installed outside the vehicle. The abnormality detection unit sets the sensitivity at which the abnormality detection unit detects abnormalities based on the information about the external camera acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a drive recorder, a vehicle recording control method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] When parking, in order to cope with the vehicle being hit or scratched, there is a drive recorder with a parking monitoring function that detects such abnormalities even during parking and records the video around the vehicle at that time.

[0003] The drive recorder detects the impact received by the vehicle body with an acceleration sensor to detect abnormalities. Usually, when the acceleration threshold for detecting abnormalities during driving is about 1G, for example, the acceleration threshold for detecting abnormalities during parking recording is as low as about 0.3G. Therefore, there are cases where the shaking of the vehicle body caused by wind during parking, the shaking of the ground when a large vehicle passes nearby, or the shaking of the vehicle body accompanying the shaking of the building in the parking lot is detected as an abnormality.

[0004] Since the ACC power supply of the vehicle is OFF during parking, the drive recorder with a parking monitoring function operates by receiving power supply from the battery during parking. Therefore, for example, if the shaking caused by wind or the like is detected as an abnormality each time, power is consumed, the battery runs out during parking, and it may become impossible to record the video due to the abnormalities that occur later.

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for suppressing the power consumption of the camera battery by continuously imaging when an unconfirmed monitoring target is detected and intermittently imaging when an unconfirmed monitoring target is not detected.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0007] However, in Patent Document 1, because imaging is performed intermittently, depending on the timing, it may not be possible to detect unidentified surveillance targets and therefore not be able to obtain the desired image.

[0008] This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its objective is to provide a drive recorder, a vehicle recording control method, and a program that can set the sensitivity for detecting abnormalities according to the situation and acquire and record appropriate images. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is a drive recorder comprising: an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of a range including the area around the vehicle; an abnormality detection unit that detects abnormalities in the vehicle with a predetermined sensitivity; a recording control unit that records an image in a recording unit when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit; and an external camera information acquisition unit that acquires information about an externally installed external camera. The abnormality detection unit sets the sensitivity at which the abnormality detection unit detects abnormalities based on the information about the external camera acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is a vehicle recording control method which includes an image acquisition step of acquiring an image of a range including the area around the vehicle, an abnormality detection step of detecting an abnormality in the vehicle with a predetermined sensitivity, a recording control step of recording the image in a recording unit when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection step, and an external camera information acquisition step of acquiring information about an external camera installed outside, wherein the abnormality detection step sets the sensitivity at which the abnormality detection step detects an abnormality based on the information about the external camera acquired by the external camera information acquisition step.

[0011] One aspect of the present invention is a program executable by a computer capable of exchanging information with an input / output device, which includes: an image acquisition step of acquiring an image of a range including the area around a vehicle; an abnormality detection step of detecting an abnormality in the vehicle with a predetermined sensitivity; a recording control step of recording an image in a recording unit when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection step; and an external camera information acquisition step of acquiring information about an externally installed external camera, wherein the abnormality detection step sets the sensitivity at which the abnormality detection step detects an abnormality based on the information about the external camera acquired by the external camera information acquisition step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, the sensitivity for detecting anomalies can be set according to the situation, and appropriate images can be acquired and recorded. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of how monitoring system 1 is used. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the drive recorder 12. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the sensitivity setting process performed by the drive recorder 12. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the image recording process performed by the drive recorder 12. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the drive recorder 12 in another embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] [One Embodiment] (Configuration of monitoring system 1) A monitoring system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the use of the monitoring system 1. The monitoring system 1 is composed of an external camera 11 and a drive recorder 12.

[0015] In this example, the external camera 11 is a security camera installed in a parking lot of, for example, a commercial facility, a home, or a workplace. The external camera 11 images and records the area including the parking area. In the example of FIG. 1, one external camera 11 is shown, but the number thereof is not limited.

[0016] The drive recorder 12 is a drive recorder with a parking monitoring function, which is installed in the vehicle V, detects an abnormality with respect to the vehicle at a predetermined sensitivity, and records an image of the surrounding of the vehicle when an abnormality is detected. Note that the drive recorder 12 may be a portable type that can be used in the vehicle in addition to being mounted on the vehicle. In the example of FIG. 1, one drive recorder 12 is mounted on one vehicle V, but a plurality of drive recorders 12 may be mounted on the vehicle V.

[0017] (Internal configuration of the drive recorder 12) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the drive recorder 12. The drive recorder 12 includes an imaging unit 21, a recording unit 22, an operation unit 23, a display unit 24, a communication unit 25, an acceleration sensor 26, and a control unit 27.

[0018] The imaging unit 21 is, for example, arranged in front of the interior of the vehicle and is a camera that images the surroundings of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the imaging unit 21 will be described as a camera capable of imaging 360° all-day circumference, but is not limited thereto, and may be a single camera facing one direction or a plurality of camera groups imaging each direction.

[0019] The recording unit 22 is, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a recording unit 22 such as a memory card. The recording unit 22 records the image captured by the imaging unit 21 based on the control of the control unit 27. Note that the recording unit 22 may be an external recording unit wirelessly connected via the communication unit 25 described later or a communication device not shown.

[0020] The operation unit 23 receives various operations on the drive recorder 12.

[0021] The display unit 24 is, for example, a display device unique to the drive recorder 12 or a display device shared with another system including a navigation system. The display unit 24 may be integrally formed with the operation unit 23.

[0022] The communication unit 25 communicates wirelessly with the external camera 11. The communication unit 25 performs short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The communication unit 25 may also perform wide-area wireless communication with the external camera 11 via the Internet or the like.

[0023] The acceleration sensor 26 is a sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the acceleration sensor 26 detects the acceleration as the value of the speed change of the vehicle. The acceleration sensor 26 outputs the detection result to the abnormality detection unit 39 of the control unit 27. The acceleration sensor 26 is, for example, a sensor that detects acceleration in three axial directions. The three axial directions are the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction of the vehicle.

[0024] ((Control unit 27)) The control unit 27 is, for example, an arithmetic processing unit (control device) composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like. The control unit 27 loads the stored program into the memory and executes the instructions included in the program. The control unit 27 includes an internal memory (not shown), and the internal memory is used for temporary storage of data in the control unit 27. The control unit 27 has an image acquisition unit 31, a buffer memory 32, an image processing unit 33, a recording control unit 34, a power supply information acquisition unit 35, an operation control unit 36, a display control unit 37, an external camera information acquisition unit 38, and an abnormality detection unit 39, which are connected to the bus 110.

[0025] The image acquisition unit 31 acquires an image of the surrounding of the vehicle. More specifically, the image acquisition unit 31 acquires the image output by the imaging unit 21 and outputs it to the buffer memory 32.

[0026] The buffer memory 32 is a memory that temporarily stores images acquired by the image acquisition unit 31 for a certain period of time, updating them as needed.

[0027] The image processing unit 33 converts the images temporarily stored in the buffer memory 32 into any file format, such as MP4, encoded using any codec, such as H.264 or MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Experts Group). The image processing unit 33 generates a file for a certain period of time from the images temporarily stored in the buffer memory 32. As a specific example, the image processing unit 33 generates a file of 60 seconds of images from the images temporarily stored in the buffer memory 32 in recording order. The image processing unit 33 outputs the generated image to the recording control unit 34. The image processing unit 33 also outputs the generated image to the display control unit 37. The period of the image generated as a file is 60 seconds as an example, but is not limited to this. The image referred to here may be data that includes sound in addition to the video captured by the imaging unit 21.

[0028] The recording control unit 34 controls the recording unit 22 to record the images that have been filed by the image processing unit 33. The recording control unit 34 performs loop recording processing and records the images that have been filed by the image processing unit 33 to the recording unit 22 as overwritable images. More specifically, the recording control unit 34 continues to record the images generated by the image processing unit 33 to the recording unit 22, and when the capacity of the recording unit 22 becomes full, it overwrites the oldest image with a new image.

[0029] When the abnormality detection unit 39 detects an abnormality, the recording control unit 34 records images from a predetermined period of time in the image generated by the image processing unit 33 as abnormal recorded images that are prohibited from being overwritten in the recording unit 22. For example, the recording control unit 34 records images from a predetermined period of about 10 seconds to 60 seconds after the abnormality is detected as abnormal recorded images.

[0030] The power information acquisition unit 35 acquires information on whether the vehicle's accessory power is ON or OFF, that is, whether the vehicle is parked or not, based on the power supplied to the drive recorder 12. The power information acquisition unit 35 outputs the acquired results to the external camera information acquisition unit 38.

[0031] The operation control unit 36 ​​acquires operation information for the operation received by the operation unit 23.

[0032] The display control unit 37 controls the display of the image in the display unit 24.

[0033] The external camera information acquisition unit 38, via the communication unit 25, acquires information about the external cameras 11 from the monitoring system 1, which includes the external cameras 11, specifically the number of external cameras 11 installed in the parking lot where the vehicle is parked.

[0034] The abnormality detection unit 39 detects abnormalities in the vehicle based on the detection results of the acceleration sensor 26. More specifically, the abnormality detection unit 39 detects an abnormality when the acceleration sensor 26 detects an acceleration above a predetermined threshold. Hereinafter, the threshold for acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 26 will be referred to as the "abnormality detection threshold."

[0035] The abnormality detection unit 39 sets the sensitivity for detecting abnormalities during parking based on the information about the external camera 11 acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit 38. For example, the abnormality detection unit 39 sets an abnormality detection threshold based on the information about the external camera 11 acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit 38. Specifically, for example, if the external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires information indicating the number of external cameras 11 installed in the parking lot where the vehicle is parked, the abnormality detection unit 39 sets the abnormality detection threshold to a high value and the sensitivity to low if the number of external cameras 11 is above a predetermined level. For example, if the number of external cameras 11 is 3 or more, the abnormality detection threshold is set to 0.4G and the sensitivity to low. On the other hand, for example, if the number of external cameras 11 is not above a predetermined level, the abnormality detection unit 39 sets the abnormality detection threshold to a low value and the sensitivity to high. For example, if the number of external cameras 11 is less than 2, the abnormality detection threshold is set to 0.2G and the sensitivity to high. In this case, it is preferable to further acquire information about the size of the parking lot and set the number of external cameras 11 accordingly.

[0036] (Sensitivity setting process) Next, the sensitivity setting process performed by the drive recorder 12 will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 3.

[0037] The sensitivity setting process is initiated, for example, when the vehicle stops. A vehicle stopping can occur when the shift position is set to "parking," the handbrake is applied, the vehicle speed is zero for a period of time, such as 5 seconds or more, or when the engine stops or the voltage supplied to the drive recorder 12 drops as a result of the engine stopping. Alternatively, the system may determine that the vehicle has stopped based on any trigger, such as user operation.

[0038] In step S11, the external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires information about the external camera 11 from a monitoring system, including the external camera 11 installed in the parking lot where the vehicle is parked, via the communication unit 25. For example, as information about the external camera 11, the external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires the number of external cameras 11, which indicates how many external cameras 11 are installed in the parking lot where the vehicle is parked.

[0039] In step S12, the anomaly detection unit 39 sets the sensitivity for detecting anomalies based on the information about the external cameras 11 acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit 38. For example, if the external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires information indicating the number of external cameras 11 installed in the parking lot where the vehicle is parked, the anomaly detection unit 39 sets the anomaly detection threshold to a high value and the sensitivity to low if the number of external cameras 11 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. On the other hand, the anomaly detection unit 39 sets the anomaly detection threshold to a low value and the sensitivity to high if the number of external cameras 11 is not greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

[0040] The process will then be completed.

[0041] (Image recording processing) Next, the image recording process performed by the drive recorder 12 will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 4.

[0042] Image recording processing is initiated, for example, when the vehicle stops and enters a standby state in which power is supplied only to the acceleration sensor 26 and the anomaly detection unit 39, and only anomaly detection is performed.

[0043] In step S21, the abnormality detection unit 39 determines whether or not an abnormality has been detected in the vehicle. Specifically, the abnormality detection unit 39 determines whether or not the acceleration measured by the acceleration sensor 26 is greater than the abnormality detection threshold set by the sensitivity setting process described above. If it is determined in step S21 that the acceleration is not greater than or equal to the abnormality detection threshold (step S21: No), it is determined that no abnormality was detected and step S21 is repeated.

[0044] If, in step S21, it is determined that the abnormality detection threshold is exceeded, i.e., an abnormality has been detected (step S21: Yes), then in step S22, the imaging unit 21 starts imaging the area around the vehicle, and the recording control unit 34 records the images for a predetermined period of time in the images generated by the image processing unit 33 to the recording unit 22 as abnormal recorded images for which overwriting is prohibited.

[0045] The process then returns to step S21 and is repeated.

[0046] [Differentiation] (Distance from external camera 11) As described above, the external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquired information regarding the external cameras 11, specifically the number of external cameras 11 installed in the parking lot where the vehicle was parked. The anomaly detection unit 39 then set the anomaly detection threshold to a high value and low sensitivity when the number of external cameras 11 was above a predetermined value, and set the anomaly detection threshold to a low value and high sensitivity when the number of external cameras 11 was below a predetermined value.

[0047] However, the external camera information acquisition unit 38 may acquire information other than the number of cameras as information related to the external camera 11, and the anomaly detection unit 39 may set the sensitivity. For example, the anomaly detection unit 39 may set the sensitivity based on the distance between the external camera 11 and the vehicle. Details will be explained below.

[0048] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the drive recorder 112 when sensitivity is set based on the distance between the external camera 11 and the vehicle. Parts that have the same function as in Figure 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0049] The drive recorder 112 is configured, for example, with a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiving unit 121. The GNSS receiving unit 121 receives radio waves from GNSS satellites (not shown). The GNSS receiving unit 121 outputs the received radio wave signals to the position information acquisition unit 131 of the control unit.

[0050] The control unit 122 further includes a location information acquisition unit 131. The location information acquisition unit 131 calculates the vehicle's current location information by a known method based on the radio waves received by the GNSS receiver unit 121. For example, the location information acquisition unit 131 may calculate that "the vehicle has driven 30m straight after entering the parking lot" from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 31 and the detection value of the acceleration sensor 26, and acquire this as the vehicle's current location information.

[0051] The external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires location information of the external camera 11 as information related to the external camera 11. The location information of the external camera 11 may be GNSS latitude and longitude information, or it may be information registered for each external camera 11, such as "located near the parking lot entrance" or "located every 20m within the parking lot".

[0052] The anomaly detection unit 39 calculates the distance between the vehicle, the external camera 11, and the vehicle based on the location information of the external camera 11 acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit 38 and the location information of the vehicle acquired by the location information acquisition unit 131.

[0053] The method for calculating the distance between the external camera 11 and the vehicle will be explained. For example, if the external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires the GNSS latitude and longitude information of the external camera 11, the anomaly detection unit 39 calculates the distance between the external camera 11 and the vehicle based on the difference with the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 131. For example, if the external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires information such as "near the parking lot entrance" registered for each external camera 11, the anomaly detection unit 39 deduces from the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 131 that, for example, "the vehicle drove straight for 30m after entering the parking lot," and calculates the distance between the external camera 11 and the vehicle. The anomaly detection unit 39 may calculate the distance between the external camera 11 and the vehicle numerically, or it may make a graded evaluation such as "close" or "far."

[0054] The anomaly detection unit 39 sets the anomaly detection threshold to a high value and has low sensitivity when the distance between the vehicle and at least one external camera 11 is below a predetermined value, for example, when the distance to the external camera 11 is less than 10m. On the other hand, the anomaly detection unit 39 sets the anomaly detection threshold to a low value and has high sensitivity when the distance between the vehicle and at least one external camera 11 is not below a predetermined value, for example, when the distance to the external camera 11 is 10m or more.

[0055] The abnormality detection unit 39 may also set its sensitivity based on both the number of external cameras 11 and the distance information between the external cameras 11 and the vehicle.

[0056] (Number of external cameras 11) In the example shown in Figure 2, the external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquired information regarding the number of external cameras 11 installed in the parking lot where the vehicle is parked. However, this information does not necessarily have to be information indicating the number of external cameras 11 installed in the parking lot where the vehicle is parked.

[0057] For example, the quantity information may be information about the number of external cameras 11 located within a predetermined range from the vehicle. For example, as described above, the anomaly detection unit 39 can obtain the number of external cameras 11 located within a predetermined range from the vehicle by calculating the distance between the vehicle and the external cameras 11 based on the location information of the external cameras 11 acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit 38 and the location information of the vehicle acquired by the location information acquisition unit 131.

[0058] Furthermore, the quantity information may also refer to the number of external cameras 11 installed outside of the parking lot.

[0059] Furthermore, for example, the quantity information may be the number of cameras that the external camera information acquisition unit 38 can communicate with.

[0060] (Other examples of anomaly detection) As described above, the anomaly detection unit 39 determined that an anomaly had occurred when it detected an acceleration exceeding a threshold value in the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 26. However, the anomaly detection unit 39 may also detect anomalies using other anomaly detection techniques.

[0061] For example, the drive recorder 12 may have a proximity sensor for detecting nearby objects, and the anomaly detection unit 39 may determine that an anomaly has occurred when the distance to the object measured by the proximity sensor is below a threshold. In this case, the anomaly detection unit 39 may set a threshold for the measurement value of the proximity sensor based on information about the external camera 11.

[0062] Furthermore, for example, the drive recorder 12 may have a sound sensor that detects volume, and the anomaly detection unit 39 may determine that an anomaly has occurred when the volume measured by the sound sensor is above a threshold, that is, when an abnormal sound such as a collision sound or a scream is detected. In this case, the anomaly detection unit 39 may set a threshold for the measured value of the sound sensor based on information about the external camera 11. In addition, known technologies such as abnormal sound detection using speech recognition technology, motion detection using images, and suspicious person detection using image recognition technology may be used as anomaly detection technologies.

[0063] (Other examples of sensitivity setting processes) As mentioned above, the sensitivity setting process is assumed to start when the vehicle stops, but it is not limited to this and may start while the vehicle is in motion. For example, it may start when the vehicle enters a parking lot.

[0064] (Example of application of monitoring system 1) In the monitoring system 1, the cooperation between the external camera 11 and the drive recorder 12 described above may be further applied. For example, when the anomaly detection unit 39 detects an anomaly, the drive recorder 12 transmits the time of anomaly detection to the external camera 11 via the communication unit 25, so that the external camera 11 can save images from around the time of anomaly detection for a longer period of time, prioritizing them over images that are normally recorded.

[0065] Normally, the external camera 11 has limited storage capacity, so images captured by the external camera 11 are deleted in order from oldest to newest. Therefore, even if the user of the drive recorder 12 wishes to obtain images from the external camera 11 when an anomaly is detected, it may not be possible to obtain them depending on the timing.

[0066] Therefore, by prioritizing the long-term storage of images from around the time the external camera 11 detects an anomaly over images normally recorded, the likelihood of acquiring images from the external camera 11 with its wide imaging range can be increased. In addition, since the external camera 11 can usually record longer video than the drive recorder 12, the user can acquire long video footage from around the time the anomaly is detected.

[0067] [Supplementary explanation of the embodiment] The embodiments described above are all preferred examples of the present invention. The numerical values, components, arrangement positions and connection configurations of the components, and processing order in the flowcharts shown in the following embodiments are examples only and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the figures are not necessarily strictly illustrative.

[0068] The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or by software. When the series of processes are executed by software, the programs that make up the software are installed from a program storage medium onto a computer that is built into dedicated hardware, or onto a general-purpose personal computer, for example, which can perform various functions by installing various programs.

[0069] The programs executed by the computer may be programs that are processed chronologically in the order described herein, or they may be programs that are processed in parallel or at necessary times, such as when a call is made. [Note] The contents described in some of the embodiments above can be understood, for example, as follows:

[0070] (1) The above-mentioned drive recorder 12 (Figure 2, 5) An image acquisition unit 31 acquires an image of the area including the surroundings of the vehicle, An abnormality detection unit 39 detects abnormalities in the vehicle with a predetermined sensitivity, A recording control unit 34 records an image in the recording unit 22 when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit 39, An external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires information about an external camera 11 installed on an external surface. Equipped with, The anomaly detection unit 39 sets the sensitivity for detecting anomalies based on the information about the external camera 11 acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit 38.

[0071] Generally, if external cameras 11 are not installed, or if the number of cameras is insufficient compared to the size of the parking lot, there is a higher possibility of hit-and-run incidents, and therefore a greater need for monitoring. On the other hand, in places where many external cameras 11 are installed and thus considered safer, the crime deterrent effect of the external cameras 11 reduces the likelihood of hit-and-run incidents, and thus the need for monitoring by a drive recorder 12 while parked is also reduced.

[0072] Therefore, the anomaly detection unit 39 sets the sensitivity for detecting anomalies based on the information from the external camera 11 received by the communication unit 25. This allows the detection of vibrations caused by wind, etc., as anomalies to be suppressed by lowering the sensitivity when there are many external cameras 11, thereby reducing the power consumption of the drive recorder 12. Since recording is being performed by the external camera 11, even if the drive recorder 12 is not recording, the recorded images from the external camera 11 can be used.

[0073] Furthermore, for example, if the number of external cameras 11 is small, increasing the sensitivity will allow even minor anomalies to be detected and recorded without fail. In this way, the anomaly detection unit 39 can acquire appropriate images by setting the sensitivity for detecting anomalies based on the information from the external cameras 11.

[0074] (2) Number of external cameras 11 The abnormality detection unit 39 can lower its sensitivity for detecting abnormalities when the number of external cameras 11 acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit 38 exceeds a predetermined value.

[0075] With this configuration, as described above, it is possible to obtain appropriate images.

[0076] (3) Distance between the external camera 11 and the vehicle Location information acquisition unit 131 that acquires vehicle location information, It is further equipped with (Figure 5), The external camera information acquisition unit 38 acquires location information of the external camera 11 as information related to the external camera 11. The abnormality detection unit 39 can lower its sensitivity for detecting abnormalities when the distance between the vehicle and at least one external camera 11 is below a predetermined level.

[0077] By lowering the sensitivity when the distance to the external camera 11 is below a predetermined level, the power consumption of the drive recorder 112 can be reduced. Also, if the external camera 11 is nearby, there is a high probability that the video including the parked vehicle is being recorded by the external camera 11. Therefore, even if the drive recorder 112 is unable to record because the abnormality detection unit 39 has lowered the sensitivity to detect abnormalities, there is a possibility that the situation is being recorded by the nearby external camera 11, and the user can obtain appropriate images. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0078] 1. Monitoring System 11 External Camera 12 Dashcams 21 Imaging Department 22 Records Section 23 Control section 24 Display section 25 Communications Department 26 Accelerometer 27 Control Unit 31 Image acquisition unit 32 buffer memory 33 Image Processing Unit 34 Recording Control Unit 35 Power supply information acquisition section 36 Operation Control Unit 37 Display Control Unit 38 External camera information acquisition unit 39 Anomaly detection unit 110 Bus 112 Dashcam 121 GNSS receiver 122 Control Unit 131 Location information acquisition unit

Claims

1. An image acquisition unit that acquires an image of the area including the surroundings of the vehicle, An abnormality detection unit that detects abnormalities in the vehicle with a predetermined sensitivity, A recording control unit records the image in the recording unit when the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit, External camera information acquisition unit that acquires information about external cameras installed on the outside, Equipped with, The abnormality detection unit sets the sensitivity for detecting the abnormality based on the information about the external camera acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit. A dashcam characterized by the following features.

2. A drive recorder according to claim 1, The abnormality detection unit lowers the sensitivity for detecting the abnormality when the number of external cameras acquired by the external camera information acquisition unit exceeds a predetermined value. A dashcam characterized by the following features.

3. A drive recorder according to claim 1 or 2, The system further includes a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of the aforementioned vehicle, The external camera information acquisition unit acquires the location information of the external camera as information related to the external camera, The abnormality detection unit lowers the sensitivity for detecting the abnormality when the distance between the vehicle and at least one of the external cameras is below a predetermined value. A dashcam characterized by the following features.

4. An image acquisition step to acquire an image that captures an area including the surroundings of the vehicle, An abnormality detection step that detects an abnormality in the vehicle with a predetermined sensitivity, A recording control step in which, if the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection step, the image is recorded in the recording unit, An external camera information acquisition step to acquire information about an external camera installed on an external surface, and Includes, The anomaly detection step sets the sensitivity at which the anomaly detection step detects the anomaly, based on the information about the external camera acquired by the external camera information acquisition step. A vehicle recording control method characterized by the following:

5. In a program that can be executed by a computer capable of exchanging information with an input / output device, An image acquisition step to acquire an image that captures an area including the surroundings of the vehicle, An abnormality detection step that detects an abnormality in the vehicle with a predetermined sensitivity, A recording control step in which, if the abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection step, the image is recorded in the recording unit, An external camera information acquisition step to acquire information about an external camera installed on an external surface, and Includes, The anomaly detection step sets the sensitivity at which the anomaly detection step detects the anomaly, based on the information about the external camera acquired by the external camera information acquisition step. A program that causes a computer to perform a process, characterized by the following features.

Images