IMAGING SYSTEM, IMAGING SYSTEM OPERATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Abstract

To provide an imaging system, an operation method of the imaging system and a program which acquire information about an angle of view necessary when using first and second imaging apparatuses with different focal distances of an optical system in coordination with each other.SOLUTION: An imaging system includes a processor, a first imaging apparatus including a first optical system, and a second imaging apparatus including a second optical system. A focal length of the first optical system is longer than a focal length of the second optical system. The processor performs registration between a first captured image obtained by imaging with the first imaging apparatus and a second captured image obtained by imaging with the second imaging apparatus, in at least two locations including an end part of an angle of view used for imaging with the imaging system, and acquires angle-of-view related information that is related to the angle of view based on a registration result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 19

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed herein relates to an imaging system, an operation method of the imaging system, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent No. 5610867 discloses an imaging device including a first imaging optical system and a second imaging optical system having a different angle of view from the first imaging optical system, and the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system each have a focus lens for focus adjustment. The imaging device described in Japanese Patent No. 5610867 includes a subject distance calculation means for calculating a distance to a main subject specified as a subject to be photographed by focusing operations of the focus lenses of the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system, and a control means for driving the focus lens to control focus adjustment based on the distance to the main subject calculated by the subject distance calculation means.

[0003] In the imaging device described in Japanese Patent No. 5610867, the control means performs control to drive the focus lenses of the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system to focus on the main subject based on the distance to the main subject calculated by the subject distance calculation means by the focusing operation of the first imaging optical system when the main subject is present within the angle of view of the first imaging optical system. Also, when the main subject is outside the angle of view of the first imaging optical system and is present within a determination area including a range equivalent to the angle of view of the second imaging optical system within the angle of view of the second imaging optical system, the control means performs control to drive the focus lenses of the first imaging optical system and the second imaging optical system to focus on the main subject based on the distance to the main subject calculated by the subject distance calculation means by the focusing operation of the second imaging optical system. Furthermore, when the main subject is outside the angle of view of the first imaging optical system and is present outside the determination area, the control means performs notification control to that effect.

[0004] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-081473 discloses an imaging device having multiple optical systems, the multiple optical systems including a first optical system with a relatively wide angle of view, a second optical system with a relatively narrow angle of view that is disposed at a distance from the first optical system, and a display means for displaying an image obtained by the first optical system. The imaging device having multiple optical systems described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-081473 includes a first operation means for inputting a desired angle of view, a display control means for cutting out and displaying an imaging area calculated from the desired angle of view inputted from the first operation means and the distance between the optical axes of the first optical system and the second optical system while taking into consideration parallax, from an image displayed on the display means, a second operation means for inputting an imaging instruction, and a storage means for storing an image obtained by the second optical system corresponding to the imaging area as a captured image in response to the imaging instruction inputted from the second operation means. Summary of the Invention

[0005] One embodiment of the present invention provides an imaging system, an operating method of the imaging system, and a program that can obtain information regarding the angle of view required when first and second imaging devices having optical systems with different focal lengths are used in cooperation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect of the technology of the present disclosure is an imaging system including a processor, a first imaging device having a first optical system, and a second imaging device having a second optical system, wherein the focal length of the first optical system is longer than the focal length of the second optical system, and the processor aligns a first captured image obtained by imaging with the first imaging device and a second captured image obtained by imaging with the second imaging device at at least two locations including ends of the angle of view used in imaging by the imaging system, and acquires angle-of-view-related information regarding the angle of view based on the alignment result.

[0007] A second aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system according to the first aspect, in which a processor acquires angle-of-view related information based on an end alignment result obtained by aligning a first end of the angle of view of a first imaging device or a center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with a second end of both ends of the angle of view of a second imaging device that is closer to the end of the angle of view of the first imaging device.

[0008] A third aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system related to the second aspect, in which a processor acquires angle-of-view related information based on a result of angle-of-view center alignment obtained by aligning the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with the center of the angle of view of the second imaging device.

[0009] A fourth aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system according to the third aspect, in which a processor derives a center alignment result of the angle of view and an end alignment result based on position identification information that identifies the positional relationship between the first imaging device and the second imaging device.

[0010] A fifth aspect according to the technique of the present disclosure is the imaging system according to the fourth aspect, in which the position specification information is information including an amount of deviation between the first imaging device and the second imaging device.

[0011] A sixth aspect according to the technique of the present disclosure is the imaging system according to the fourth or fifth aspect, in which the position specification information includes information on the difference in elevation between the first imaging device and the second imaging device.

[0012] A seventh aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system relating to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, in which a processor performs an angle of view center alignment process using position identification information to align the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with the center of the angle of view of the second imaging device when the first subject distance is less than a first threshold, and performs an end alignment process using position identification information to align the first end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with the second end when the second subject distance is less than a second threshold.

[0013] An eighth aspect of the technique of the present disclosure is the imaging system according to the seventh aspect, in which the processor derives at least one of the first object distance and the second object distance.

[0014] A ninth aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system according to the eighth aspect, in which the first imaging device has an autofocus function and is rotatably mounted on a swivel base, and when the processor derives at least one of the first and second subject distances, the autofocus function is used to derive the subject distance, and if the derivation of the subject distance using the autofocus function fails, the processor controls the swivel base based on the first captured image to align the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with a high-contrast subject near the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device, and then uses the autofocus function to derive the subject distance.

[0015] A tenth aspect of the technology of the present disclosure is an imaging system according to the eighth or ninth aspect, in which a processor causes the first imaging device to focus when the focal length of the first optical system is in the longest zone among a plurality of zones in which the focal length of the first optical system is defined in stages, and derives at least one of the first subject distance and the second subject distance based on the focusing result.

[0016] An eleventh aspect of the technology of the present disclosure is an imaging system according to the tenth aspect, in which a processor causes the first imaging device to focus when the focal length of the first optical system is at its longest, and derives at least one of the first object distance and the second object distance based on the focusing result.

[0017] A twelfth aspect of the technique of the present disclosure is an imaging system according to any one of the seventh to eleventh aspects, in which the processor performs an edge positioning process after performing a center positioning process of the angle of view.

[0018] A thirteenth aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system relating to any one of the seventh to twelfth aspects, in which a processor performs at least one of an angle of view center alignment process and an end alignment process using image analysis based on the first captured image and the second captured image.

[0019] A fourteenth aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system according to the thirteenth aspect, in which a processor, in the end alignment process, aligns the first end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with the second end based on the scale ratio between the first captured image and the second captured image used in the image analysis in the angle of view center alignment process.

[0020] A 15th aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system relating to any one of the 7th to 14th aspects, in which the processor further performs an opposite end alignment process to align a first opposite end located opposite a first end of the angle of view of the first imaging device or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with a second opposite end located opposite a second end of the angle of view of the second imaging device, and acquires the angle of view of the second imaging device as angle-related information based on at least one of a first result in which the end alignment process combines the position of the first end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with the position of the second end, and a second result in which the opposite end alignment process combines the position of the first opposite end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with the position of the second opposite end.

[0021] A 16th aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system related to the 15th aspect, in which when the position of the first opposite end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device is aligned with the position of the second opposite end under conditions where the third subject distance is equal to or greater than a third threshold, the processor acquires the angle of view of the second imaging device as angle-related information based on the second result.

[0022] A 17th aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an imaging system according to any one of the first to sixteenth aspects, in which optical information regarding the first optical system is known and optical information regarding the second optical system is unknown.

[0023] An 18th aspect of the technique of the present disclosure is an imaging system according to any one of the 1st to 17th aspects, in which the focal length of the first optical system is more than twice the focal length of the second optical system.

[0024] A 19th aspect of the technology of the present disclosure is an imaging system comprising a processor and a first imaging device having a first optical system and used in combination with a second imaging device having a second optical system, wherein a focal length of the first optical system is longer than a focal length of the second optical system, and the processor aligns a first captured image obtained by imaging with the first imaging device and a second captured image obtained by imaging with the second imaging device at at least two locations including the ends of the angle of view used for imaging by the imaging system, and acquires angle-of-view-related information regarding the angle of view based on the alignment result.

[0025] A twentieth aspect of the technique of the present disclosure is a method for operating an imaging system comprising a processor, a first imaging device having a first optical system, and a second imaging device having a second optical system, wherein the focal length of the first optical system is longer than the focal length of the second optical system, the method including aligning a first captured image obtained by imaging with the first imaging device and a second captured image obtained by imaging with the second imaging device at at least two locations including ends of the angle of view used in imaging by the imaging system, and acquiring angle-of-view-related information regarding the angle of view based on the alignment result.

[0026] A 21st aspect of the technology of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer applied to an imaging system comprising a processor, a first imaging device having a first optical system, and a second imaging device having a second optical system, in which the focal length of the first optical system is longer than the focal length of the second optical system, to execute processing including aligning a first captured image obtained by imaging with the first imaging device and a second captured image obtained by imaging with the second imaging device at at least two locations including the ends of the angle of view used in imaging by the imaging system, and acquiring angle-of-view-related information regarding the angle of view based on the alignment result. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an external configuration of an imaging system. [Diagram 2] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a telephoto camera, a wide-angle camera, and a two-axis swivel base included in an imaging system. [Diagram 3] 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an electrical system of a management device, a telephoto camera, a wide-angle camera, and a two-axis swivel base included in the imaging system. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an electrical system of a telephoto camera and a wide-angle camera included in the imaging system. [Diagram 5] 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a mode in which a CPU in the management device executes a registration process according to a registration process program. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functions of a CPU of the management device. [Figure 7] 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of processing contents in which a telephoto camera image and a wide-angle camera image obtained by capturing an image of an imaging target area with a telephoto camera and a wide-angle camera are displayed on a display. [Figure 8] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of processing performed by a view angle center position adjustment unit on a wide-angle camera and processing performed by a control unit. FIG. [Figure 9]11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of processing contents performed by a view angle center position adjustment unit for a telephoto camera and processing contents performed by a control unit. [Figure 10] 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for deriving a first object distance. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first turning angle. [Figure 12] 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for calculating a first turning angle. FIG. [Figure 13] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of processing performed by an end center alignment unit on a wide-angle camera and processing performed by a control unit. FIG. [Figure 14] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of processing contents performed by an end center alignment unit on a telephoto camera and processing contents performed by a control unit. FIG. [Figure 15] 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for deriving a second object distance. FIG. [Figure 16] 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a first rotation angle and a half angle of view. FIG. [Figure 17] 11 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a method for calculating a half angle of view. FIG. [Figure 18] 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of processing contents of an acquisition unit and a control unit. FIG. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a position alignment process. [Figure 20] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a view angle center alignment process. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an end position alignment process. [Figure 22A] 13 is a flowchart showing a first modified example of the flow of the end portion alignment process. [Figure 22B] This is a continuation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 22A. [Figure 23] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing a modified example of the processing content of the acquisition unit. [Figure 24] 13 is a flowchart showing a first modified example of the flow of the view angle center alignment process. [Diagram 25] 13 is a flowchart showing a second modified example of the flow of the end portion alignment process. [Figure 26] 13 is a flowchart showing a second modified example of the flow of the view angle center alignment process. [Figure 27] 13 is a flowchart showing a third modified example of the flow of the view angle center alignment process. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a method for performing alignment taking into account the difference in elevation between a telephoto camera and a wide-angle camera. [Figure 29] 13A and 13B are conceptual diagrams illustrating a modified example of a method for calculating a half angle of view. [Diagram 30] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a manner in which a registration processing program is installed into a computer of a management device from a storage medium on which the registration processing program is stored. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0028] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an imaging system, an operation method of the imaging system, and a program according to the technique of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0029] First, the terms used in the following description will be explained.

[0030] CPU is an abbreviation for "Central Processing Unit". RAM is an abbreviation for "Random Access Memory". DRAM is an abbreviation for "Dynamic Random Access Memory". SRAM is an abbreviation for "Static Random Access Memory". NVM is an abbreviation for "Non-Volatile Memory". SSD is an abbreviation for "Solid State Drive". HDD is an abbreviation for "Hard Disk Drive". EEPROM is an abbreviation for "Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory". USB is an abbreviation for "Universal Serial Bus". ASIC is an abbreviation for "Application Specific Integrated Circuit". PLD is an abbreviation for "Programmable Logic Device". FPGA is an abbreviation for "Field-Programmable Gate Array". SoC is an abbreviation for "System-on-a-chip". CMOS is an abbreviation for "Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor". CCD is an abbreviation for "Charge Coupled Device". EL is an abbreviation for "Electro-Luminescence". I / F is an abbreviation for "Interface". fps is an abbreviation for "frames per second". TOF is an abbreviation for "Time-of-Flight". AF is an abbreviation for "Auto Focus". For the sake of convenience, a CPU is exemplified below as an example of a "processor" according to the technology of the present disclosure, but the "processor" according to the technology of the present disclosure may be a combination of multiple processing devices such as a CPU and a GPU. When a combination of a CPU and a GPU is applied as an example of a "processor" according to the technology of the present disclosure, the GPU operates under the control of the CPU and is responsible for executing image processing.

[0031] In addition, in the description of this specification, "orthogonal" refers to orthogonal in the sense of including a completely orthogonal error that is generally acceptable in the technical field to which the technology of the present disclosure belongs and an error that is acceptable within a range that does not deviate from the technology of the present disclosure. In addition, in the description of this specification, "vertical" refers to vertical in the sense of including a completely orthogonal error that is generally acceptable in the technical field to which the technology of the present disclosure belongs and an error that is acceptable within a range that does not deviate from the technology of the present disclosure. In addition, in the description of this specification, "match" refers to match in the sense of including a completely orthogonal error that is generally acceptable in the technical field to which the technology of the present disclosure belongs and an error that is acceptable within a range that does not deviate from the technology of the present disclosure. In addition, in the following description, a numerical range expressed using "~" means a range that includes the numerical values ​​written before and after "~" as the lower limit and upper limit.

[0032] 1, as an example, an imaging system 10 includes a telephoto camera 12, a wide-angle camera 14, a two-axis swivel base 16, a two-axis swivel base 18, and a management device 20. Here, the telephoto camera 12 is an example of a "first imaging device" according to the technology of the present disclosure, the wide-angle camera 14 is an example of a "second imaging device" according to the technology of the present disclosure, and the two-axis swivel base 16 is an example of a "swivel base" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0033] The management device 20 manages the telephoto camera 12, the wide-angle camera 14, the two-axis swivel base 16, and the two-axis swivel base 18. In the following, for the sake of convenience, when there is no need to distinguish between the telephoto camera 12, the wide-angle camera 14, the two-axis swivel base 16, and the two-axis swivel base 18, they will also be referred to as "managed devices" without being given reference numerals.

[0034] The management device 20 includes a management device main body 22, a reception device 24, and a display 26. The management device main body 22 has a computer 104 (see FIG. 3) and controls the entire imaging system 10. The reception device 24 and the display 26 are connected to the management device main body 22. The reception device 24 receives various instructions from a user of the imaging system 10. Examples of the reception device 24 include a keyboard, a mouse, and / or a touch panel. The various instructions received by the reception device 24 are grasped by the management device main body 22. The display 26 displays various information (e.g., images and text) under the control of the management device main body 22. Examples of the display 26 include a liquid crystal display and an EL display.

[0035] The managed device is communicatively connected to the management device main body 22 and operates under the control of the management device main body 22. The managed device and the management device main body 22 may be connected by wire or wirelessly.

[0036] The telephoto camera 12 is also called a long focal length camera, and is a digital camera with a longer focal length than the wide-angle camera 14. The telephoto camera 12 is rotatably mounted on a two-axis swivel base 16. The management device 20 pans and tilts the telephoto camera 12 by operating the two-axis swivel base 16. The two-axis swivel base 16 has a pan axis PA1 and a tilt axis TA1, and under the control of the management device 20, the telephoto camera 12 is panned by rotating the telephoto camera 12 around the pan axis PA1, and the telephoto camera 12 is tilted by rotating the telephoto camera 12 around the tilt axis TA1.

[0037] Wide-angle camera 14 is a digital camera capable of capturing an image of a target area with a wider angle of view (see FIG. 7) than telephoto camera 12. Wide-angle camera 14 is rotatably mounted on two-axis swivel base 18. Management device 20 pans and tilts wide-angle camera 14 by operating two-axis swivel base 18. That is, two-axis swivel base 18 has a pan axis PA2 and a tilt axis TA2, and under the control of management device 20, panning of wide-angle camera 14 is realized by rotating wide-angle camera 14 about pan axis PA2, and tilting of wide-angle camera 14 is realized by rotating wide-angle camera 14 about tilt axis TA2.

[0038] The management device main body 22 acquires telephoto camera image data, which is image data obtained by capturing images using the telephoto camera 12, and acquires wide-angle camera image data, which is image data obtained by capturing images using the wide-angle camera .

[0039] 2, the telephoto camera 12 includes a lens barrel 28 and a telephoto camera body 30. A lens barrel side mount 32 is provided on the lens barrel 28, and a body side mount 34 is provided on the telephoto camera body 30. The lens barrel 28 is attached to the telephoto camera body 30 by the lens barrel side mount 32 and the body side mount 34. An imaging optical system 38 is built into the lens barrel 28, and an image sensor 36 is built into the telephoto camera body 30.

[0040] The imaging optical system 38 is an example of a "first optical system" according to the technology of the present disclosure. The imaging optical system 38 forms an image of subject light, which indicates a subject, on the image sensor 36. The imaging optical system 38 has a plurality of types of lenses. Specifically, the imaging optical system 38 has an objective lens 40, a focus lens 42, a zoom lens 44, and a master lens 46. Although simplified in the example shown in FIG. 2, each of the objective lens 40, the focus lens 42, the zoom lens 44, and the master lens 46 is actually a lens group formed by combining a plurality of lenses.

[0041] The objective lens 40, the focus lens 42, the zoom lens 44, and the master lens 46 are arranged in this order from the object side (subject side) to the image side (image sensor 36 side). The imaging optical system 38 also has an aperture 48. The aperture 48 is arranged between the zoom lens 44 and the master lens 46.

[0042] The lens barrel 28 is provided with a focus lens driving mechanism 50, a zoom lens driving mechanism 52, and an aperture driving mechanism 54. The focus lens driving mechanism 50 includes a focus cam ring (not shown) with a cam groove formed on its outer periphery, a focus motor (not shown), and the like. The focus lens driving mechanism 50 holds the focus lens 42. The focus cam ring rotates around the optical axis OA1 of the imaging optical system 38 by receiving power from the focus motor. The focus lens 42 moves along the optical axis OA1 by receiving a propulsive force in the direction of the optical axis OA1 that is generated by the rotation of the focus cam ring around the optical axis OA1.

[0043] The zoom lens drive mechanism 52 includes a zoom cam ring (not shown) with a cam groove formed on its outer periphery, a zoom motor (not shown), and the like. The zoom lens drive mechanism 52 holds the zoom lens 44. The zoom cam ring rotates about the optical axis OA1 by receiving power from the zoom motor. The zoom lens 44 moves along the optical axis OA1 by receiving a propulsive force in the direction of the optical axis OA1 that is generated by the rotation of the zoom cam ring about the optical axis OA1.

[0044] The aperture drive mechanism 54 includes an aperture motor (not shown) and the like. The aperture 48 has a plurality of blades that can be opened and closed. The plurality of blades open and close when power is received from the aperture motor.

[0045] The lens barrel mount 32 is provided with a lens barrel contact 56. The focus lens drive mechanism 50, the zoom lens drive mechanism 52, and the aperture drive mechanism 54 each incorporate electrical components such as the stepping motor described above. The electrical components of the focus lens drive mechanism 50, the zoom lens drive mechanism 52, and the aperture drive mechanism 54 are each connected to the lens barrel contact 56.

[0046] The body-side mount 34 is provided with a body-side contact 58. In the body-side mount 34, the body-side contact 58 is located at a position corresponding to the position of the lens barrel-side contact 56 in the lens barrel-side mount 32.

[0047] A control device 60 is built into the telephoto camera body 30, and the control device 60 is connected to a body-side contact 58. When the lens barrel 28 is attached to the telephoto camera body 30 via the lens barrel-side mount 32 and the body-side mount 34, the lens barrel-side contact 56 comes into contact with the body-side contact 58. This electrically connects the electric components of the focus lens driving mechanism 50, the zoom lens driving mechanism 52, and the aperture driving mechanism 54 to the control device 60.

[0048] The control device 60 controls the electrical components of the focus lens driving mechanism 50, the zoom lens driving mechanism 52, and the aperture driving mechanism .

[0049] The control device 60 monitors the drive amount of the focus motor and the drive amount of the zoom motor. The control device 60 derives the position of the focus lens 42 on the optical axis OA1 from the drive amount of the focus motor, and derives the position of the zoom lens 44 on the optical axis OA1 from the drive amount of the zoom motor.

[0050] In the telephoto camera 12, the focus position is adjusted by the focus lens 42. Therefore, the focus lens 42 moves along the optical axis OA1 direction, and the subject light is imaged on the light receiving surface 36A of the image sensor 36 at a focus position according to the distance to the subject. The "focus position" here refers to the position of the focus lens 42 on the optical axis OA1 when the subject is in focus. The focus position is derived by the control device 60 from the drive amount of the focus motor. The control device 60 controls the focus lens 42 to be aligned with the focus position by operating the focus lens drive mechanism 50. For convenience of explanation, the control for aligning the focus lens 42 with the focus position is also referred to as "AF control" below.

[0051] The image sensor 36 is disposed such that the center of the light receiving surface 36A coincides with the optical axis OA1 and the light receiving surface 36A is perpendicular to the optical axis OA1. Note that an example of the image sensor 36 is a CMOS image sensor or a CCD image sensor.

[0052] The image sensor 36 is driven under the control of the control device 60. The image sensor 36 captures an image of a subject at a default frame rate (e.g., 30 fps) in accordance with a timing signal supplied from the control device 60. The control device 60 acquires image data obtained by capturing an image of a subject by the image sensor 36, i.e., telephoto camera image data, from the image sensor 36.

[0053] 2 also shows an example of the configuration of the wide-angle camera 14. The wide-angle camera 14 includes a lens barrel 62 and a wide-angle camera body 64. The lens barrel 62 corresponds to the lens barrel 28 of the telephoto camera 12, and the wide-angle camera body 64 corresponds to the telephoto camera body 30 of the telephoto camera 12. The lens barrel 62 is provided with a lens barrel side mount 66, and the wide-angle camera body 64 is provided with a body side mount 68. In the wide-angle camera 14, the lens barrel side mount 66 corresponds to the lens barrel side mount 32 of the telephoto camera 12, and the body side mount 68 corresponds to the body side mount 34 of the telephoto camera 12. The lens barrel 62 includes an imaging optical system 72, and the wide-angle camera body 64 includes an image sensor 70. In the wide-angle camera 14, the image sensor 70 corresponds to the image sensor 36 of the telephoto camera 12. The image sensor 70 has a light receiving surface 70A formed thereon. In the wide-angle camera 14, the light receiving surface 70A corresponds to the light receiving surface 36A of the telephoto camera 12.

[0054] The basic configuration of wide-angle camera 14 is the same as that of telephoto camera 12, except for the focal length. Here, "different focal length" refers to the fact that the focal length of imaging optical system 38 of telephoto camera 12 is longer than the focal length of imaging optical system 72 of wide-angle camera 14. That the focal length of imaging optical system 38 of telephoto camera 12 is longer than the focal length of imaging optical system 72 of wide-angle camera 14 means that the magnitude relationship between the focal lengths of telephoto camera 12 and wide-angle camera 14 is "focal length of imaging optical system 38 of telephoto camera 12≧focal length of imaging optical system 72 of wide-angle camera 14×2."

[0055] On the premise that the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is at least twice the focal length of the imaging optical system 72 of the wide-angle camera 14, the actual focal length of the imaging optical system 72 of the wide-angle camera 14 is preferably 6 mm to 20 mm, and the actual focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is preferably 12.5 mm to 2000 mm. In addition, the focal length ratio (= (focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12) / (focal length of the imaging optical system 72 of the wide-angle camera 14)) is preferably 2 to 333.

[0056] The imaging optical system 72 is an example of a “second optical system” according to the technology of the present disclosure, and has an optical axis OA2, an objective lens 74, a focus lens 76, a master lens 80, and an aperture 82. In the wide-angle camera 14, the optical axis OA2 corresponds to the optical axis OA1 of the telephoto camera 12. In the wide-angle camera 14, the objective lens 74 corresponds to the objective lens 40 of the telephoto camera 12. In the wide-angle camera 14, the focus lens 76 corresponds to the focus lens 42 of the telephoto camera 12. In the wide-angle camera 14, the master lens 80 corresponds to the master lens 46 of the telephoto camera 12. In the wide-angle camera 14, the aperture 82 corresponds to the aperture 48 of the telephoto camera 12.

[0057] Lens barrel 62 is provided with a focus lens drive mechanism 84, a zoom lens drive mechanism 86, and an aperture drive mechanism 88. In wide-angle camera 14, focus lens drive mechanism 84 corresponds to focus lens drive mechanism 50 of telephoto camera 12. In wide-angle camera 14, zoom lens drive mechanism 86 corresponds to zoom lens drive mechanism 52 of telephoto camera 12. In wide-angle camera 14, aperture drive mechanism 88 corresponds to aperture drive mechanism 54 of telephoto camera 12.

[0058] The lens barrel side mount 66 is provided with a lens barrel side contact 90. The body side mount 68 is provided with a body side contact 92. In the wide-angle camera 14, the lens barrel side contact 90 corresponds to the lens barrel side contact 56 of the telephoto camera 12. In the wide-angle camera 14, the body side contact 92 corresponds to the body side contact 58 of the telephoto camera 12.

[0059] A control device 94 is built into the wide-angle camera body 64. In the wide-angle camera 14, the control device 94 corresponds to the control device 60 of the telephoto camera body 30. The control device 94 acquires image data obtained by capturing an image of a subject with the image sensor 70, i.e., wide-angle camera image data, from the image sensor 70.

[0060] The two-axis swivel base 16 is equipped with a pan mechanism 96 and a tilt mechanism 98. The pan mechanism 96 has a telephoto camera side pan motor 96A. The telephoto camera side pan motor 96A is driven under the control of the management device 20 (see FIG. 1). When the telephoto camera 12 is installed on the two-axis swivel base 16, the pan mechanism 96 transmits the driving force of the telephoto camera side pan motor 96A to the telephoto camera 12 as power about the pan axis PA1 (see FIG. 1) to pan the telephoto camera 12. The tilt mechanism 98 has a telephoto camera side tilt motor 96B. The telephoto camera side tilt motor 96B is driven under the control of the management device 20 (see FIG. 1). When the telephoto camera 12 is installed on the two-axis swivel base 16, the tilt mechanism 98 tilts the telephoto camera 12 by transmitting the driving force of the telephoto camera side tilt motor 96B to the telephoto camera 12 as power around the tilt axis TA1 (see Figure 1).

[0061] The two-axis swivel base 18 is equipped with a pan mechanism 100 and a tilt mechanism 102. The pan mechanism 100 has a wide-angle camera side pan motor 100A. The wide-angle camera side pan motor 100A is driven under the control of the management device 20 (see FIG. 1). When a wide-angle camera 14 is installed on the two-axis swivel base 18, the pan mechanism 100 transmits the driving force of the wide-angle camera side pan motor 100A to the wide-angle camera 14 as power about a pan axis PA2 (see FIG. 1) to pan the wide-angle camera 14. The tilt mechanism 102 has a wide-angle camera side tilt motor 100B. The wide-angle camera side tilt motor 100B is driven under the control of the management device 20 (see FIG. 1). When the wide-angle camera 14 is installed on the two-axis swivel base 16, the tilt mechanism 102 tilts the wide-angle camera 14 by transmitting the driving force of the wide-angle camera side tilt motor 100B to the wide-angle camera 14 as power around the tilt axis TA2 (see Figure 1).

[0062] 3, the management device main body 22 includes a computer 104. The management device main body 22 also includes communication I / Fs 106, 108, 110A, 110B, 112A, and 112B.

[0063] The computer 104 includes a CPU 116, an NVM 118, and a RAM 120. The computer 104 is an example of a "computer applied to an imaging system" according to the technology of the present disclosure, and the CPU 116 is an example of a "processor" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0064] The CPU 116, the NVM 118, and the RAM 120 are connected to the bus 114. In the example shown in Fig. 3, for convenience of illustration, one bus is shown as the bus 114, but multiple buses may be used. The bus 114 may be a serial bus or a parallel bus including a data bus, an address bus, a control bus, and the like.

[0065] The NVM 118 stores various parameters and various programs. Here, examples of the NVM 118 include various non-volatile storage devices such as EEPROM, SSD, and / or HDD. The RAM 120 temporarily stores various information and is used as a work memory. Examples of the RAM 120 include DRAM and SRAM.

[0066] Various programs are stored in the NVM 118. The CPU 116 reads out necessary programs from the NVM 118 and executes the read programs on the RAM 120. The CPU 116 controls the entire imaging system 10 including the management device 20 according to the programs executed on the RAM 120.

[0067] The accepting device 24 and the display 26 are connected to the bus 114, and the CPU 116 grasps instructions accepted by the accepting device 24 and causes the display 26 to display various information.

[0068] The telephoto camera 12 includes a communication I / F 122, which is connected to the control device 60. The wide-angle camera 14 also includes a communication I / F 124, which is connected to the control device 94.

[0069] The two-axis swivel head 16 is equipped with communication I / Fs 126 and 128. The communication I / F 126 is connected to the pan mechanism 96, and the communication I / F 128 is connected to the tilt mechanism 98. The two-axis swivel head 18 also is equipped with communication I / Fs 130 and 132. The communication I / F 130 is connected to the pan mechanism 100, and the communication I / F 132 is connected to the tilt mechanism 102.

[0070] Communications I / Fs 106, 108, 110A, 110B, 112A, and 112B are connected to bus 114. Communications I / F 106 is connected to a communications I / F 122 of telephoto camera 12, and CPU 116 transmits and receives information to and from control device 60 via communications I / Fs 106 and 122. Communications I / F 108 is connected to a communications I / F 124 of wide-angle camera 14, and CPU 116 transmits and receives information to and from control device 94 via communications I / Fs 108 and 124.

[0071] The communication I / F 110A is connected to a communication I / F 126 of the two-axis rotating head 16, and the CPU 116 controls the electrical devices of the pan mechanism 96 (e.g., the telephoto camera side pan motor 96A, etc.) via the communication I / Fs 110A and 126. The communication I / F 112A is connected to a communication I / F 128 of the two-axis rotating head 16, and the CPU 116 controls the electrical devices of the tilt mechanism 98 (e.g., the telephoto camera side tilt motor 96B, etc.) via the communication I / Fs 112A and 128.

[0072] The communication I / F 110B is connected to a communication I / F 130 of the two-axis rotating table 18, and the CPU 116 controls the electrical devices of the pan mechanism 100 (e.g., the wide-angle camera side pan motor 100A, etc.) via the communication I / Fs 110B and 130. The communication I / F 112B is connected to a communication I / F 132 of the two-axis rotating table 18, and the CPU 116 controls the electrical devices of the tilt mechanism 102 (e.g., the wide-angle camera side tilt motor 100B, etc.) via the communication I / Fs 112B and 132.

[0073] 4 as an example, in the telephoto camera 12, the control device 60 includes a computer 134 and an image memory 136. The computer 134 includes a CPU 138, an NVM 140, and a RAM 142.

[0074] The CPU 138, the NVM 140, and the RAM 142 are connected to a bus 144. In the example shown in Fig. 4, for convenience of illustration, one bus is shown as the bus 144, but multiple buses may be used. The bus 114 may be a serial bus or a parallel bus including a data bus, an address bus, a control bus, and the like.

[0075] The NVM 140 stores various parameters and various programs. Here, examples of the NVM 140 include various non-volatile storage devices such as EEPROM, SSD, and / or HDD. The RAM 142 temporarily stores various information and is used as a work memory. Examples of the RAM 142 include DRAM and SRAM.

[0076] Various programs are stored in the NVM 140. The CPU 138 reads out necessary programs from the NVM 140 and executes the read programs on the RAM 142. The CPU 138 controls the entire telephoto camera 12 in accordance with the programs executed on the RAM 142.

[0077] The image sensor 36 and the image memory 136 are connected to the bus 144. The image memory 136 temporarily holds the telephoto camera image data. That is, the CPU 138 acquires the telephoto camera image data from the image sensor 36, and temporarily stores the acquired telephoto camera image data in the image memory 136. Then, the CPU 138 acquires the telephoto camera image data from the image memory 136 as necessary.

[0078] The electric devices of the focus lens driving mechanism 50, the zoom lens driving mechanism 52, and the aperture driving mechanism 54 are connected to the bus 144. The CPU 138 controls the electric devices of the focus lens driving mechanism 50, the zoom lens driving mechanism 52, and the aperture driving mechanism 54.

[0079] A communication I / F 122 is connected to the bus 144 , and the CPU 138 transmits and receives information to and from a computer 140 of the management apparatus 20 via the communication I / Fs 122 and 106 .

[0080] In the wide-angle camera 14, the control device 94 includes a computer 146 and an image memory 148. The computer 140 has a CPU 150, an NVM 152, and a RAM 154. In the wide-angle camera 14, the computer 140 corresponds to the computer 146 of the telephoto camera 12. That is, in the wide-angle camera 14, the CPU 150, the NVM 152, and the RAM 154 correspond to the CPU 138, the NVM 140, and the RAM 154 of the telephoto camera 12.

[0081] The wide-angle camera 14 includes a bus 156. In the wide-angle camera 14, the bus 156 corresponds to the bus 144 of the telephoto camera 12.

[0082] Image sensor 70 and image memory 148 are connected to bus 156. Image memory 148 temporarily holds wide-angle camera image data. That is, CPU 150 acquires wide-angle camera image data from image sensor 70, and stores the acquired wide-angle camera image data in image memory 148. Then, CPU 150 acquires wide-angle camera image data from image memory 148 as necessary.

[0083] The electric devices of the focus lens driving mechanism 84, the zoom lens driving mechanism 86, and the aperture driving mechanism 88 are connected to the bus 156. The CPU 150 controls the electric devices of the focus lens driving mechanism 84, the zoom lens driving mechanism 86, and the aperture driving mechanism 88.

[0084] A communication I / F 124 is connected to the bus 156 , and the CPU 150 transmits and receives information to and from the computer 104 of the management apparatus 20 via the communication I / Fs 124 and 108 .

[0085] Recently, a method of monitoring a monitored area using both a telephoto camera 12 and a wide-angle camera 14 in cooperation with each other (hereinafter, also referred to as a "telephoto / wide-angle camera cooperation monitoring method") has been considered as a method of monitoring a monitored area using surveillance cameras. In the telephoto / wide-angle camera cooperation monitoring method, a monitor can monitor a wide area through a wide-angle camera image shown by wide-angle camera image data, while also monitoring a distant subject through a telephoto camera image shown by telephoto camera image data. In addition, as a method of improving convenience for the monitor, a method has been considered in which the monitor specifies a location to be zoomed in on through the wide-angle camera image, thereby controlling the magnification ratio of the telephoto camera 12 and the rotation of the telephoto camera 12.

[0086] However, in order for the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14 to cooperate with each other, detailed optical information of the wide-angle camera 14 is also required in addition to detailed optical information of the telephoto camera 12. In order for the telephoto camera 12 to properly capture an image of a real space area specified through a wide-angle camera image, at least information on the angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 is required as detailed optical information of the wide-angle camera 14. In addition, when a close-range subject is captured by the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14, it is expected that the telephoto camera 12 will not be able to properly capture an image of the real space area specified by the observer through the wide-angle camera image due to parallax occurring between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14.

[0087] In view of such circumstances, the imaging system 10 executes alignment processing (see FIGS. 5 and 19). As an example, as shown in FIG. 5, the alignment processing is realized by the CPU 116 executing an alignment processing program 158. The alignment processing program 158 is an example of a "program" according to the technology of the present disclosure. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the alignment processing program 158 is stored in the NVM 118, and the CPU 116 reads out the alignment processing program 158 from the NVM 118 and executes it on the RAM 120. The CPU 116 executes the alignment processing in accordance with the alignment processing program 158 executed on the RAM 120.

[0088] By performing the alignment process, CPU 116 first aligns the telephoto camera image captured by telephoto camera 12 with the wide-angle camera image captured by wide-angle camera 14 at least two locations including the ends of the angle of view used in imaging by imaging system 10. Then, CPU 116 acquires angle-of-view related information regarding the angle of view used in imaging by imaging system 10 based on the alignment result. The contents of the alignment process will be described in more detail below.

[0089] 6, the CPU 116 operates as a position alignment unit 116A, a control unit 116B, and an acquisition unit 116C by executing the position alignment processing program 158. The position alignment unit 116A includes a view angle center position alignment unit 116A1 and an end portion position alignment unit 116A2.

[0090] 7 as an example, in this embodiment, optical information regarding the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is known, and optical information regarding the imaging optical system 72 of the wide-angle camera 14 is unknown. For example, the angle of view of the telephoto camera 12 (hereinafter also referred to as the "telephoto camera angle of view") is a known angle of view, and the angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 (hereinafter also referred to as the "wide-angle camera angle of view") is an unknown angle of view. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the wide-angle camera angle of view is derived by performing a positioning process by the CPU 116, and information including the derived wide-angle camera angle of view is acquired as angle-of-view related information by the control unit 116B and the acquisition unit 116C (see FIGS. 6 and 18).

[0091] The control unit 116B acquires telephoto camera image data from the telephoto camera 12, and causes the display 26 to display the telephoto camera image represented by the acquired telephoto camera image data as a live view image. The control unit 116B also acquires wide-angle camera image data from the wide-angle camera 14, and causes the display 26 to display the wide-angle camera image represented by the acquired wide-angle camera image data as a live view image. The display 26 displays the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image on separate screens. In the example shown in Fig. 7, of the two screens arranged side by side in the front view of the display 26, the telephoto camera image is displayed on the left screen as seen from the front, and the wide-angle camera image is displayed on the right screen as seen from the front.

[0092] In addition, although an example in which a telephoto camera image and a wide-angle camera image are displayed on the display 26 as live view images is given here, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and an image other than a live view image may be displayed. An example of an image other than a live view image is a post view image.

[0093] As an example, as shown in FIG. 8, control unit 116B performs control to superimpose and display reticle 160 at the center of the wide-angle camera image on display 26. View angle center alignment unit 116A1 performs AF control on wide-angle camera 14. That is, wide-angle camera 14 has an AF function, and view angle center alignment unit 116A1 activates the AF function of wide-angle camera 14 to focus on the center of the wide-angle camera view angle. Here, the center of the wide-angle camera view angle corresponds to the center of the wide-angle camera image. Therefore, a wide-angle camera image obtained by capturing an image by wide-angle camera 14 with the focus adjusted to the center of the wide-angle camera view angle is displayed on display 26.

[0094] Moreover, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 stores in the RAM 120 wide-angle camera image data obtained by capturing an image with the wide-angle camera 14 in focus at the center of the wide-angle camera view angle. The wide-angle camera image data stored in the RAM 120 is updated every time one frame of image capturing is performed.

[0095] As an example, as shown in FIG. 9, control unit 116B performs control to superimpose and display reticle 162 at the center of the telephoto camera image on display 26. View angle center positioning unit 116A1 performs AF control on telephoto camera 12. That is, telephoto camera 12 has an AF function, and view angle center positioning unit 116A1 activates the AF function of telephoto camera 12 to focus on the center of the telephoto camera's view angle. Here, the center of the telephoto camera's view angle corresponds to the center of the telephoto camera image. Therefore, a telephoto camera image obtained by capturing an image with telephoto camera 12 in focus at the center of the telephoto camera's view angle is displayed on display 26.

[0096] The angle-of-view center alignment unit 116A1 acquires, from the telephoto camera 12, telephoto camera image data obtained by capturing an image with the telephoto camera 12 in a state where the focus is adjusted on the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view. The angle-of-view center alignment unit 116A1 also acquires wide-angle camera image data from the RAM 120. The angle-of-view center alignment unit 116A1 then uses image analysis based on the telephoto camera image data acquired from the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera image data acquired from the RAM 120 to align the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view with the center of the wide-angle camera's angle of view.

[0097] In this case, the angle of view center positioning unit 116A1 first calculates the rotation direction and amount of rotation of the telephoto camera 12 by performing image analysis on the telephoto camera image data acquired from the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera image data acquired from the RAM 120. Here, the rotation direction and amount of rotation of the telephoto camera 12 refer to the rotation direction and amount of rotation required to match the centers of the wide-angle camera image and the telephoto camera image. Specifically, the angle of view center positioning unit 116A1 calculates the rotation direction and amount of rotation required to align the center of the telephoto camera image with an object (e.g., a point image) located at the center of the wide-angle camera image (e.g., align the center of the reticle 160 shown in FIG. 8 with the center of the reticle 162 shown in FIG. 9) as the rotation direction and amount of rotation of the telephoto camera 12. Note that, for convenience of explanation, the following explanation is based on the premise that "rotation" means panning unless otherwise specified. That is, the rotation direction refers to the pan direction, and the rotation amount refers to the pan amount.

[0098] Next, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 performs rotation control on the two-axis swivel base 16 based on the calculated rotation direction and amount of rotation. That is, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 pans the telephoto camera 12 by operating the two-axis swivel base 16 in the calculated rotation direction and amount of rotation.

[0099] The angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 derives the subject distance by utilizing the AF function of the telephoto camera 12. To this end, the angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 acquires the in-focus position and telephoto camera characteristic information from the telephoto camera 12. The in-focus position is acquired by the angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 every time AF control is performed. The telephoto camera characteristic information is information indicating the characteristics of the telephoto camera 12, and refers to information required to derive the subject distance. Examples of information required to derive the subject distance include information regarding the specifications of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 and information regarding the specifications of the image sensor 36.

[0100] As an example, as shown in FIG. 10, the NVM 118 stores a subject distance derivation table 164. The subject distance derivation table 164 is provided for each of a plurality of different telephoto camera characteristic information. The subject distance derivation table 164 for each of the plurality of telephoto camera characteristic information is a table in which a focus position and a subject distance are associated with each other. The angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 acquires the subject distance derivation table 164 corresponding to the telephoto camera characteristic information acquired from the telephoto camera 12 from the NVM 118. Then, the angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 derives the subject distance corresponding to the focus position acquired from the telephoto camera 12 from the subject distance derivation table 164 acquired from the NVM 118. The subject distance derived by the angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 in this manner is an example of the "first subject distance" according to the technology of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the subject distance derived by the angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 will also be referred to as the “first subject distance.” Note that, although an example in which the first subject distance is derived from the subject distance derivation table 164 has been described here, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the first subject distance may be calculated according to an arithmetic expression in which the telephoto camera characteristic information and the focus position are independent variables and the first subject distance is a dependent variable.

[0101] As an example, as shown in FIG. 11, the NVM 118 is provided with a default value storage area 118A and a view angle center alignment storage area 118B. The default value storage area 118A stores a default value, which is an example of "position specification information" according to the technology of the present disclosure. The default value is a value that specifies the positional relationship between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14. Examples of the default value include a horizontal deviation amount and a depth deviation amount. Here, the horizontal deviation amount refers to the horizontal deviation amount between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14. Furthermore, the depth deviation amount refers to the forward / rearward direction between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14, that is, the depth deviation amount between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14. Note that the horizontal deviation amount and the depth deviation amount are examples of "deviation amount between the first imaging device and the second imaging device" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0102] The angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 determines whether the first object distance is equal to or greater than a first threshold value. Here, the first threshold value is a fixed value obtained in advance by a test using an actual device and / or a computer simulation as an object distance at which the telephoto camera 12 cannot properly capture an image of a real space area designated by a user or the like through a wide-angle camera image due to parallax based on the horizontal and depth-direction shift amounts. Note that, although a fixed value is exemplified as the first threshold value here, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the first threshold value may be a variable value that is changed by an externally provided instruction and / or an image capturing condition or the like.

[0103] When the first subject distance is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 overwrites and saves the current rotation angle in the view angle center alignment storage area 118B. Here, the current rotation angle refers to the rotation angle of the telephoto camera 12 rotated by the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 performing the rotation control shown in FIG. 9 on the two-axis rotating base 16. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the rotation angle of the telephoto camera 12 is "θ C ". That is, the telephoto camera 12 is The angle between a parallel line PL (a line parallel to the optical axis OA2) that coincides with the optical axis OA1 when the telephoto camera 12 is in the arm position (the initial state before the telephoto camera 12 is rotated) and the optical axis OA1 after the telephoto camera 12 is rotated is the rotation angle θ C It is.

[0104] The view angle center alignment unit 116A1 performs a view angle center alignment process when the first subject distance is less than a first threshold value. Here, the view angle center alignment process refers to a process of aligning the center of the telephoto camera view angle with the center of the wide-angle camera view angle using a default value. Here, aligning the center of the telephoto camera view angle with the center of the wide-angle camera view angle means adjusting the rotation angle θ required to match the center of the telephoto camera view angle with the center of the wide-angle camera view angle using a default value. C Calculate the calculated turning angle θ C The image is overwritten and saved in the field of view center alignment storage area 118B. That is, the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 performs the view angle center alignment process to adjust the rotation angle θ C Calculate the calculated turning angle θ C is overwritten and saved in the field of view center positioning storage area 118B.

[0105] In the following description, for convenience of explanation, the rotation angle overwritten and saved in the view angle center positioning storage area 118B by the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 is also referred to as a "first rotation angle."

[0106] As an example, as shown in FIG. 12, the first object distance is set to “d target1 " and the horizontal displacement is "d X ", the turning angle θ C is calculated by the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 from the following formula (1). C is stored as the first rotation angle in the field of view center positioning memory area 118B. The first rotation angle is an example of "a result of aligning the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device and the center of the angle of view of the second imaging device" according to the technology disclosed herein.

[0107]

number

[0108] After the view angle center alignment process is performed by the view angle center alignment section 116A1 in this manner, the end portion alignment process is then performed by the end portion alignment section 116A2, which will be described in detail below.

[0109] As an example, as shown in FIG. 13, control unit 116B performs control to superimpose and display reticle 160 on one end of the wide-angle camera image on display 26 (in the example shown in FIG. 13, the center of the left end of the wide-angle camera image in the front view on display 26). End positioning unit 116A2 performs AF control on wide-angle camera 14. That is, end positioning unit 116A2 activates the AF function of wide-angle camera 14 to focus on one end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view. Here, one end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view corresponds to one end of the wide-angle camera image. Therefore, the wide-angle camera image obtained by capturing an image by wide-angle camera 14 with the focus adjusted on one end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view is displayed on display 26.

[0110] Furthermore, end position alignment unit 116A2 stores in RAM 120 wide-angle camera image data obtained by capturing an image with wide-angle camera 14 in a state where one end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view is focused. Note that the wide-angle camera image data stored in RAM 120 is updated every time one frame's worth of image is captured.

[0111] As an example, as shown in FIG. 14, control unit 116B performs control to superimpose and display reticle 162 on one end of the telephoto camera image on display 26 (in the example shown in FIG. 14, the center of the left end of the telephoto camera image in the front view on display 26). End position alignment unit 116A2 performs AF control on telephoto camera 12. That is, end position alignment unit 116A2 activates the AF function of telephoto camera 12 to focus on one end of the telephoto camera's angle of view. Here, one end of the telephoto camera's angle of view corresponds to one end of the telephoto camera image. Therefore, the telephoto camera image obtained by imaging by telephoto camera 12 with the focus adjusted on one end of the telephoto camera's angle of view is displayed on display 26.

[0112] The end positioning unit 116A2 acquires telephoto camera image data from the telephoto camera 12, which is obtained by capturing an image by the telephoto camera 12 in a state where one end of the telephoto camera's angle of view is focused on. The end positioning unit 116A2 also acquires wide-angle camera image data from the RAM 120. The end positioning unit 116A2 then aligns one end of the telephoto camera's angle of view with one end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view by using image analysis based on the telephoto camera image data acquired from the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera image data acquired from the RAM 120. Here, the one end of the telephoto camera's angle of view is an example of a "first end of the angle of view of the first imaging device" according to the technology of the present disclosure, and the one end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view is an example of a "second end on the end side of the angle of view of the first imaging device among both ends of the angle of view of the second imaging device" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0113] When aligning one end of the telephoto camera angle of view with one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view, first, the end position alignment unit 116A2 calculates the rotation direction and rotation amount of the telephoto camera 12 by performing image analysis on the telephoto camera image data acquired from the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera image data acquired from the RAM 120. Here, the rotation direction and rotation amount of the telephoto camera 12 refer to the rotation direction and rotation amount required to match the ends of the wide-angle camera image and the telephoto camera image. Specifically, the end position alignment unit 116A2 calculates, as the rotation direction and rotation amount of the telephoto camera 12, the rotation direction and rotation amount required to align the center of one end of the telephoto camera image with an object (e.g., a point image) located at the center of one end of the wide-angle camera image (e.g., align the center of the reticle 160 shown in FIG. 13 with the center of the reticle 162 shown in FIG. 14).

[0114] Next, the end position alignment unit 116A2 performs rotation control on the two-axis swivel base 16 based on the calculated rotation direction and amount of rotation. That is, the end position alignment unit 116A2 pans the telephoto camera 12 by operating the two-axis swivel base 16 in the calculated rotation direction and amount of rotation.

[0115] The end position alignment unit 116A2 derives the subject distance by utilizing the AF function of the telephoto camera 12. To this end, the end position alignment unit 116A2 acquires the in-focus position and telephoto camera characteristic information from the telephoto camera 12. The in-focus position is acquired by the end position alignment unit 116A2 every time AF control is performed.

[0116] As an example, as shown in FIG. 15, the end position alignment unit 116A2 acquires from the NVM 118 the object distance derivation table 164 corresponding to the telephoto camera characteristic information acquired from the telephoto camera 12. Then, the end position alignment unit 116A2 derives the object distance corresponding to the focus position acquired from the telephoto camera 12 from the object distance derivation table 164 acquired from the NVM 118. The object distance derived by the end position alignment unit 116A2 in this manner is an example of the "second object distance" according to the technology of the present disclosure. In addition, for convenience of explanation, the object distance derived by the end position alignment unit 116A2 will also be referred to as the "second object distance" below. Note that, here, an example in which the second object distance is derived from the object distance derivation table 164 has been described, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the second object distance may be calculated according to an arithmetic expression in which the telephoto camera characteristic information and the focus position are independent variables and the second object distance is a dependent variable.

[0117] 16, an end position alignment storage area 118C is provided in the NVM 118. In the end position alignment storage area 118C, a second rotation angle described below and a half angle of view (hereinafter also simply referred to as a "half angle of view") that is half the angle of view of the wide-angle camera are individually overwritten and saved.

[0118] The end position alignment unit 116A2 determines whether the second object distance is equal to or greater than a second threshold. Here, the second threshold is a fixed value obtained in advance by a test using an actual device and / or a computer simulation as an object distance at which the telephoto camera 12 cannot properly capture an area of ​​real space designated by a user or the like through a wide-angle camera image due to parallax based on the horizontal shift amount and the depth shift amount. Note that, although a fixed value is exemplified as the second threshold here, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the second threshold may be a variable value that is changed by an externally provided instruction and / or an imaging condition or the like.

[0119] When the second object distance is equal to or greater than the second threshold, the end position alignment unit 116A2 overwrites and saves the current rotation angle in the end position alignment storage area 118C. Here, the current rotation angle refers to the angle obtained by adding the rotation angle of the telephoto camera 12 rotated by the end position alignment unit 116A2 performing the rotation control shown in FIG. 14 on the two-axis rotating base 16 to the first rotation angle (see FIG. 11). In the example shown in FIG. 16, the rotation angle of the telephoto camera 12 is "θ e1 " is shown.

[0120] In the following, for the sake of convenience, the turning angle θ e1 is also called the "second turning angle."

[0121] When the second subject distance is less than a second threshold, the end position alignment unit 116A2 performs an end position alignment process. Here, the end position alignment process refers to a process of aligning one end of the telephoto camera angle of view with one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view using a default value.

[0122] Here, the alignment between one end of the telephoto camera's angle of view and one end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view is performed by adjusting the current rotation angle (in the example shown in FIG. 16, the rotation angle θ e1 ) and a default value, and overwrites and saves the calculated half angle of view in end positioning storage area 118C. That is, end positioning unit 116A2 calculates the half angle of view by performing end positioning processing, and overwrites and saves the calculated half angle of view in end positioning storage area 118C.

[0123] As an example, as shown in FIG. 17, the second object distance is set to “d target2 " and the horizontal displacement is "d X " and the depth direction shift is "d y ", the half angle of view θ e2 is the end The half angle of view θ calculated by the end position alignment unit 116A2 is expressed by the following formula (2). e2is overwritten and saved in the end positioning storage area 118C. e2 and the second turning angle (turning angle θ e1 ) is an example of "an end alignment result obtained by aligning a first end of the angle of view of a first imaging device with a second end that is closer to the end of the angle of view of the first imaging device among both ends of the angle of view of the second imaging device" related to the technology disclosed herein.

[0124]

number

[0125] As an example, as shown in FIG. 18, the acquisition unit 116A3 acquires a half angle of view from the end positioning unit 116A2. The half angle of view is an angle derived based on a result obtained by aligning the center of the wide-angle camera angle of view with the center of the telephoto camera angle of view, and a result obtained by aligning an end of the wide-angle camera angle of view with an end of the telephoto camera angle of view. The acquisition unit 116A3 acquires a wide-angle camera angle of view based on the half angle of view acquired from the end positioning unit 116A2. That is, the acquisition unit 116A3 calculates a wide-angle camera angle of view by doubling the half angle of view acquired from the end positioning unit 116A2. The wide-angle camera angle of view is an example of "angle of view related information" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0126] The control unit 116B causes the display 26 to display the telephoto camera image indicated by the telephoto camera image data and the wide-angle camera image indicated by the wide-angle camera image data. In addition, the control unit 116B causes the display 26 to display angle-of-view related information while the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image are being displayed. The control unit 116B acquires telephoto camera characteristic information from the telephoto camera 12. The telephoto camera characteristic information is information including the telephoto camera angle of view. The control unit 116B causes the display 26 to display information including the wide-angle camera angle of view, the telephoto camera angle of view, and the difference between the wide-angle camera angle of view and the telephoto camera angle of view (for example, a value obtained by subtracting the telephoto camera angle of view from the wide-angle camera angle of view) as angle-of-view related information. In addition, the control unit 116B performs control to superimpose a mark (in the example shown in FIG. 18, a dashed rectangular frame) indicating which area in the wide-angle camera image corresponds to the telephoto camera image on the wide-angle camera image.

[0127] Next, the operation of the imaging system 10 according to the technology of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 19 to Fig. 21. Fig. 19 shows an example of the flow of alignment processing executed by the CPU 116 when a preset timing arrives (for example, when a predetermined time arrives, or when an instruction to start alignment processing is given from outside). The flow of alignment processing shown in Fig. 19 is an example of an "operation method of the imaging system" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0128] In the positioning process shown in FIG. 19, first, in step ST100, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 performs the view angle center positioning process shown in FIG. 20 as an example.

[0129] In the view angle center positioning process shown in FIG. 20, first, in step ST100A, view angle center positioning section 116A1 acquires telephoto camera image data from telephoto camera 12 and acquires wide-angle camera image data from wide-angle camera 14.

[0130] In the next step ST100B, the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 performs image analysis on the telephoto camera image data and wide-angle camera image data acquired in step ST100A, and rotates the telephoto camera 12 so that the center of the telephoto camera view angle is aligned with the center of the wide-angle camera view angle.

[0131] In the next step ST100C, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 performs AF control on the telephoto camera 12 to focus on the center of the telephoto camera's view angle.

[0132] In the next step ST100D, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 acquires the focus position and telephoto camera characteristic information from the telephoto camera 12.

[0133] In the next step ST100E, the angle of view center positioning unit 116A1 acquires the object distance derivation table 164 corresponding to the telephoto camera characteristic information acquired in step ST100D from the NVM 118. Then, the angle of view center positioning unit 116A1 derives the object distance corresponding to the focus position acquired in step ST100D as the first object distance from the object distance derivation table 164 acquired from the NVM 118.

[0134] In the next step ST100F, the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 determines whether the first object distance derived in step ST100E is less than the first threshold. If the first object distance is equal to or greater than the first threshold in step ST100F, the determination is negative, and the view angle center alignment process proceeds to step ST100G. If the first object distance is less than the first threshold in step ST100F, the determination is positive, and the view angle center alignment process proceeds to step ST100H.

[0135] In step ST100G, view angle center positioning section 116A1 overwrites and saves the current rotation angle as the first rotation angle in view angle center positioning storage area 118B, and then the view angle center positioning process ends.

[0136] In step ST100H, the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 calculates the first rotation angle from the default value stored in the default value storage area 118A and the first subject distance derived in step ST100E according to formula (1). Then, the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 overwrites and saves the calculated first rotation angle in the view angle center alignment storage area 118B, and then the view angle center alignment process ends.

[0137] In step ST102 shown in FIG. 19, the end portion alignment unit 116A2 executes an end portion alignment process shown in FIG. 21 as an example.

[0138] In the end position alignment process shown in FIG. 21, first, end position alignment section 116A2 acquires telephoto camera image data from telephoto camera 12 and acquires wide-angle camera image data from wide-angle camera 14 in step ST102A.

[0139] In the next step ST102B, the end position alignment unit 116A2 performs image analysis on the telephoto camera image data and wide-angle camera image data acquired in step ST102A, and rotates the telephoto camera 12 so as to align the end of the telephoto camera angle of view (e.g., one end of the telephoto camera angle of view) with the end of the wide-angle camera angle of view (e.g., one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view).

[0140] In the next step ST102C, end position alignment section 116A2 performs AF control on telephoto camera 12 to focus on the end of the telephoto camera's angle of view.

[0141] In the next step ST102D, the end position alignment unit 116A2 acquires the focusing position and telephoto camera characteristic information from the telephoto camera 12.

[0142] In the next step ST102E, end position alignment unit 116A2 acquires object distance derivation table 164 corresponding to the telephoto camera characteristic information acquired in step ST102D from NVM 118. Then, end position alignment unit 116A2 derives the object distance corresponding to the focus position acquired in step ST102D as the second object distance from object distance derivation table 164 acquired from NVM 118.

[0143] In the next step ST102F, the end position alignment unit 116A2 determines whether the second object distance derived in step ST102E is less than the second threshold. If the second object distance is equal to or greater than the second threshold in step ST102F, the determination is negative, and the end position alignment process proceeds to step ST102G. If the second object distance is less than the second threshold in step ST102F, the determination is positive, and the end position alignment process proceeds to step ST102H.

[0144] In step ST102G, end portion alignment section 116A2 overwrites end portion alignment storage area 118C with the current rotation angle as the second rotation angle and saves it, and then the end portion alignment process ends.

[0145] In step ST102H, end position alignment unit 116A2 calculates a half angle of view from the default value stored in default value storage area 118A, the first rotation angle stored in angle of view center alignment storage area 118B, and the first subject distance derived in step ST100E according to formula (2). Then, end position alignment unit 116A2 overwrites and saves the calculated half angle of view in end position alignment storage area 118C, and then the end position alignment process ends.

[0146] In step ST104 shown in Fig. 19, the acquisition unit 116C judges whether or not a half angle of view has been calculated by executing the edge alignment process. In step ST104, if the half angle of view has not been calculated by executing the edge alignment process, the judgment is negative, and the alignment process ends. In step ST104, if the half angle of view has been calculated by executing the edge alignment process, the judgment is positive, and the edge alignment process proceeds to step ST106.

[0147] In step ST106, the acquisition unit 116C calculates the wide-angle camera angle of view based on the half angle of view calculated by executing the edge alignment process. Then, the control unit 116B acquires information related to the angle of view including the wide-angle camera angle of view calculated by the acquisition unit 116C, and causes the display 26 to display the acquired information related to the angle of view, and then the alignment process ends.

[0148] As described above, in imaging system 10, alignment is performed between a telephoto camera image captured by telephoto camera 12 and a wide-angle camera image captured by wide-angle camera 14 at two locations, the center and end of the angle of view used in imaging by imaging system 10. Then, based on the alignment result, angle-of-view related information is acquired as information related to the angle of view used in imaging by imaging system 10. Therefore, with this configuration, information related to the angle of view required when telephoto camera 12 and wide-angle camera 14 are used in conjunction with each other (for example, the wide-angle camera angle of view, etc.) can be obtained.

[0149] In addition, in the imaging system 10, the wide-angle camera angle of view is acquired based on the result of aligning the center of the angle of view obtained by aligning the center of the angle of view of the telephoto camera with the center of the angle of view of the wide-angle camera, and the result of aligning the end of the angle of view obtained by aligning one end of the angle of view of the telephoto camera with one end of the angle of view of the wide-angle camera. Therefore, according to this configuration, even if the angle of view of the wide-angle camera is unknown, the angle of view of the wide-angle camera can be specified.

[0150] Furthermore, in the imaging system 10, the first rotation angle is calculated based on the horizontal shift amount, and the half angle of view is calculated based on the horizontal shift amount and the depth shift amount. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to achieve highly accurate alignment between the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view and the center of the wide-angle camera's angle of view, and highly accurate alignment between the end of the telephoto camera's angle of view and the end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view, compared to a case in which neither the horizontal shift amount nor the depth shift amount is used. Furthermore, even if the positions of the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14 are misaligned, it is possible to obtain information regarding the angle of view required when the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14 are used in conjunction with each other.

[0151] Furthermore, in the imaging system 10, when the first object distance is less than the first threshold, the horizontal shift amount is used to perform the center positioning process of the angle of view, and when the second object distance is less than the second threshold, the horizontal shift amount and the depth shift amount are used to perform the end positioning process. Therefore, with this configuration, even if the object distance becomes shorter and the camera becomes more susceptible to the effects of parallax, it is possible to obtain information about the angle of view required when the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14 are used in cooperation.

[0152] In the imaging system 10, the first object distance is derived by the angle of view center alignment unit 116A1, and the second object distance is derived by the end alignment unit 116A2. Therefore, according to this configuration, the object distance used for alignment can be obtained more quickly than when the user performs an operation to give the object distance to the imaging system 10.

[0153] Furthermore, in imaging system 10, an end portion alignment process (step ST102 shown in FIG. 19) is performed after an angle of view center alignment process (step ST100 shown in FIG. 19). Therefore, according to this configuration, highly accurate information can be obtained as information on the angle of view required when telephoto camera 12 and wide-angle camera 14 are used in cooperation, compared to a case where an end portion alignment process is performed without performing an angle of view center alignment process (see steps ST100 and ST102).

[0154] Furthermore, in the imaging system 10, the view angle center positioning process and the edge positioning process are performed using image analysis based on the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image. Therefore, according to this configuration, more accurate positioning can be performed than when the processes equivalent to the view angle center positioning process and the edge positioning process are performed manually. Note that either the view angle center positioning process or the edge positioning process may be performed using image analysis based on the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image.

[0155] In addition, in the imaging system 10, optical information regarding the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is known, but optical information regarding the imaging optical system 72 of the wide-angle camera 14 is unknown. Therefore, according to this configuration, even if optical information regarding the imaging optical system 72 of the wide-angle camera 14 is unknown, the wide-angle camera angle of view can be identified.

[0156] Furthermore, in the imaging system 10, the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is more than twice the focal length of the imaging optical system 72 of the wide-angle camera 14. Therefore, according to this configuration, even if the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is more than twice the focal length of the imaging optical system 72 of the wide-angle camera 14, it is possible to obtain information about the angle of view required when the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14 are used in cooperation.

[0157] In the above embodiment, in the end positioning process, the end positioning unit 116A2 performs positioning between one end of the telephoto camera angle of view and one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. The end positioning unit 116A2 may perform an opposite end positioning process in addition to positioning between one end of the telephoto camera angle of view and one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view. The opposite end positioning process refers to a process of performing positioning between the other end of the telephoto camera angle of view and the other end of the wide-angle camera angle of view. Here, the other end of the telephoto camera angle of view is an example of a "first opposite end end located on the opposite side of the first end of the two ends of the angle of view of the first imaging device" according to the technology of the present disclosure, and the other end of the wide-angle camera angle of view is an example of a "second opposite end end located on the opposite side of the second end of the two ends of the angle of view of the second imaging device" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0158] In this manner, when the end alignment process and the opposite side end alignment process are performed by the end alignment unit 116A2, the acquisition unit 116C may acquire the wide-angle camera angle of view based on a first result (e.g., one half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14) obtained by aligning one end of the telephoto camera angle of view with one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view in the end alignment process, and a second result (e.g., the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14) obtained by aligning the other end of the telephoto camera angle of view with the other end of the wide-angle camera angle of view in the opposite side end alignment process.

[0159] In this case, for example, the end position alignment process shown in Figures 22A and 22B is executed by the CPU 116. The flowchart shown in Figures 22A and 22B differs from the flowchart shown in Figure 21 only in that it includes steps ST102H to ST102N, and therefore, hereinafter, steps different from the flowchart shown in Figure 21 will be described.

[0160] In step ST102H1 shown in FIG. 22A, the end position alignment unit 116A2 performs image analysis on the telephoto camera image data and wide-angle camera image data acquired in step ST102A, and rotates the telephoto camera 12 so as to align the opposite end of the telephoto camera angle of view (e.g., the other end of the telephoto camera angle of view) with the opposite end of the wide-angle camera angle of view (e.g., the other end of the wide-angle camera angle of view).

[0161] In the next step ST102I, end position alignment section 116A2 performs AF control on telephoto camera 12 to focus on the opposite end of the telephoto camera's angle of view.

[0162] In the next step ST102J, the end position alignment unit 116A2 acquires the focusing position and telephoto camera characteristic information from the telephoto camera 12.

[0163] In the next step ST102K, end position alignment unit 116A2 acquires from NVM 118 object distance derivation table 164 corresponding to the telephoto camera characteristic information acquired in step ST102J. Then, end position alignment unit 116A2 derives the object distance corresponding to the focus position acquired in step ST102J as the third object distance from object distance derivation table 164 acquired from NVM 118. Note that, although an example in which the third object distance is derived from object distance derivation table 164 has been described here, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the third object distance may be calculated according to an arithmetic expression in which the telephoto camera characteristic information and the focus position are independent variables and the third object distance is a dependent variable.

[0164] In the next step ST102L, the end position alignment unit 116A2 determines whether the third object distance derived in step ST102K is less than a third threshold value. The third threshold value may be, for example, the same value as the second threshold value described above. In step ST102L, if the third object distance is equal to or greater than the third threshold value, the determination is negative, and the end position alignment process proceeds to step ST102M. In step ST102L, if the third object distance is less than the third threshold value, the determination is positive, and the end position alignment process proceeds to step ST102N.

[0165] In step ST102M, end portion alignment section 116A2 overwrites end portion alignment storage area 118C with the current rotation angle as the third rotation angle and saves it, and then the end portion alignment process ends.

[0166] In step ST102N, the end position alignment unit 116A2 calculates a half angle of view according to the formula (2) from the default value stored in the default value storage area 118A, the first rotation angle stored in the view angle center position alignment storage area 118B, and the third object distance derived in step ST100K. Here, the half angle of view refers to a half angle of view that is paired with the half angle of view calculated in step ST102H. That is, the half angle of view calculated in step ST102H is one half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14, whereas the half angle of view calculated in step ST102N is the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14. Note that the half angle of view calculated in step ST102H is an example of a "first result" according to the technology of the present disclosure, and the half angle of view calculated in step ST102N is an example of a "second result" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0167] Then, in step ST102N, end position alignment section 116A2 overwrites and saves the calculated half angle of view in end position alignment storage area 118C, and then the end position alignment process ends.

[0168] 22A and 22B, one half angle of view of wide-angle camera 14 and the other half angle of view of wide-angle camera 14 are calculated, so that acquisition unit 116C may acquire the wide-angle camera angle of view by calculating the sum of one half angle of view of wide-angle camera 14 and the other half angle of view of wide-angle camera 14. This makes it possible to identify the wide-angle camera angle of view even if the wide-angle camera angle of view is unknown.

[0169] Here, the acquisition unit 116C calculates the sum of one half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 and the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, when the position of the other end of the telephoto camera angle of view and the position of the other end of the wide-angle camera angle of view are aligned under the condition that the third subject distance is equal to or greater than the third threshold value, the end position alignment unit 116A2 may calculate the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14, and as an example, as shown in FIG. 23, the acquisition unit 116C may acquire the wide-angle camera angle of view based only on the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14. Here, "acquiring the wide-angle camera angle of view based only on the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14" means, for example, acquiring a value obtained by multiplying the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 by two as the wide-angle camera angle of view.

[0170] The reason why the acquisition unit 116C acquires the wide-angle camera angle of view based only on the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 in this manner is that, under the assumption that "the second threshold value=the third threshold value," the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 when the other end position of the telephoto camera angle of view and the other end position of the wide-angle camera angle of view are aligned under the condition that the second object distance is less than the second threshold value is more accurate than the one half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 when the one end position of the telephoto camera angle of view and the one end position of the wide-angle camera angle of view are aligned under the condition that the second object distance is less than the second threshold value. In other words, the third object distance is longer than the second object distance, and the other half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 is less susceptible to the influence of parallax caused by the positional deviation between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14 than the one half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14. Therefore, according to this configuration, when the position of the other end of the telephoto camera angle of view and the position of the other end of the wide-angle camera angle of view are aligned under the condition that the third subject distance is equal to or greater than the third threshold value, a highly accurate angle of view can be identified as the wide-angle camera angle of view, compared to when the wide-angle camera angle of view is calculated based on only one half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14.

[0171] In the above embodiment, an example was given of an embodiment in which the edge alignment process is performed without taking into account the scale ratio between the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and in the edge alignment process, the edge alignment unit 116A2 may align one end of the telephoto camera angle of view with one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view based on the scale ratio between the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image used in the image analysis in the angle of view center alignment process.

[0172] In this case, the view angle center alignment process shown in Fig. 24 is executed by the CPU 116, and the end portion alignment process shown in Fig. 25 is executed by the CPU 116. The flowchart shown in Fig. 24 differs from the flowchart shown in Fig. 20 in that it includes step ST200, and the flowchart shown in Fig. 25 differs from the flowchart shown in Fig. 21 in that it includes step ST202, so here, steps different from the flowcharts shown in Figs. 20 and 21 will be described.

[0173] 24, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 calculates a scale ratio between the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image based on the telephoto camera image data and the wide-angle camera image data acquired in step ST100A. Here, the scale ratio refers to, for example, the ratio of the area of ​​the image area in the wide-angle camera image to the area of ​​the image area in the telephoto camera image for a specific subject included in the imaging target area (see FIG. 7).

[0174] In step ST202 shown in Fig. 25, the end positioning unit 116A2 performs positioning between one end of the telephoto camera angle of view and one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view based on the scale ratio calculated in step ST200 shown in Fig. 24. In this case, for example, the end positioning unit 116A2 calculates the rotation angle of the telephoto camera 12 according to a rotation angle calculation formula in which the scale ratio is an independent variable and the rotation angle of the telephoto camera 12 is a dependent variable, and rotates the telephoto camera 12 by the calculated rotation angle. This makes it possible to bring one end of the telephoto camera angle of view closer to or to match one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view before the process of step ST102B is executed, and as a result, it is possible to shorten the time required for the end positioning process compared to when the scale ratio is not used.

[0175] In the above embodiment, the description has been given on the assumption that the derivation of the first object distance using the AF function is successful in the field angle center positioning process, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, when the derivation of the first object distance using the AF function fails, the field angle center positioning unit 116A1 may control the two-axis rotating table 16 based on the telephoto camera image to align the center of the telephoto camera field angle with a high-contrast object (hereinafter also referred to as a "high-contrast object") near the center of the telephoto camera field angle, and then derive the first object distance using the AF function.

[0176] In this case, for example, the view angle center alignment process shown in Fig. 26 is executed by the CPU 116. The flowchart shown in Fig. 26 differs from the flowchart shown in Fig. 20 in that it includes steps ST300 to ST312 instead of step ST100C. Therefore, here, steps different from the flowchart shown in Fig. 20 will be described.

[0177] 26, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 executes contrast AF on the center of the telephoto camera view angle. Here, contrast AF refers to a process of adjusting the focus so that the contrast of a specific point in the captured image (here, a point corresponding to the center of the telephoto camera view angle in the telephoto camera image) is maximized.

[0178] In step ST302, the angle-of-view center positioning unit 116A1 determines whether the contrast AF executed in step ST300 has failed. The failure of the contrast AF refers to, for example, an event in which the focus cannot be adjusted because high-frequency components equal to or higher than a predetermined value cannot be detected from a specific point in the captured image (here, a point corresponding to the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view in the telephoto camera image).

[0179] In step ST302, if the contrast AF has not failed, the determination is negative and the process of aligning the center of the angle of view proceeds to step ST100D. In step ST302, if the contrast AF has failed, the determination is positive and the process of aligning the center of the angle of view proceeds to step ST304.

[0180] In step ST304, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 searches for a high-contrast object near the center of the telephoto camera view angle by analyzing the telephoto camera image data acquired in step ST100A. Here, a high-contrast object near the center of the telephoto camera view angle refers to, for example, a high-contrast object closest to the center of the telephoto camera view angle. Here, a high-contrast object refers to an object that has a contrast that can be used for contrast AF.

[0181] In step ST306, the angle-of-view center alignment unit 116A1 determines whether or not a high-contrast subject exists near the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view. In step ST306, if a high-contrast subject does not exist near the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view, the determination is negative, and the angle-of-view center alignment process proceeds to step ST308. In step ST306, if a high-contrast subject exists near the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view, the determination is positive, and the angle-of-view center alignment process proceeds to step ST310.

[0182] In step ST308, the view angle center alignment unit 116A1 executes error processing, and then the alignment processing ends. Here, the error processing refers to processing such as displaying messages such as "Autofocus failed," "Alignment not possible," and / or "Change the subject to be positioned at the center of the view angle" on the display 26, or outputting a similar message by voice from a speaker (not shown).

[0183] In step ST310, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 rotates the telephoto camera 12 so as to align the center of the telephoto camera's view angle with the high contrast object found by executing the process of step ST304.

[0184] In step ST312, the view angle center positioning unit 116A1 executes contrast AF so as to focus on a high-contrast subject positioned at the center of the view angle of the telephoto camera.

[0185] 26 is performed, it becomes possible to perform contrast AF successfully even if a high-contrast subject does not exist at the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view. If contrast AF is successful, the angle-of-view center alignment unit 116A1 can obtain the in-focus position from the telephoto camera 12, and it is also possible to derive the first subject distance based on the in-focus position.

[0186] Therefore, with this configuration, the first subject distance can be derived with high accuracy even when a high-contrast subject is not present in the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view, compared to a case in which the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view is aligned with a high-contrast subject located farther away than the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view and then the subject distance is derived using the AF function.

[0187] Here, an example has been described in which contrast AF is performed again after rotating telephoto camera 12, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, when contrast AF is performed on the close side, contrast AF may be performed again while zooming out to the wide-angle side until the range is in focus.

[0188] Also, here, a modified example in which the processing of steps ST300 to ST312 (see FIG. 26) is applied to the angle of view center alignment processing shown in FIG. 20 has been described, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and processing equivalent to the processing of steps ST300 to ST312 may be applied to the end portion alignment processing. In this case, it is possible to contribute to highly accurate derivation of the second subject distance.

[0189] 26 has been described with reference to an example embodiment in which the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view and the center of the wide-angle camera's angle of view are aligned regardless of the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the angle of view center alignment unit 116A1 may cause the telephoto camera 12 to perform focusing when the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is at its longest, and derive the first subject distance based on the focusing result (for example, the in-focus position).

[0190] In this case, for example, instead of the view angle center alignment process shown in Fig. 26, the view angle center alignment process shown in Fig. 27 is executed by the CPU 116. The flowchart shown in Fig. 27 differs from the flowchart shown in Fig. 26 in that it includes step ST400, and therefore steps different from the flowchart shown in Fig. 26 will be described here.

[0191] In step ST400 shown in FIG. 27, the angle of view center positioning unit 116A1 controls the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 (specifically, for example, the zoom lens 44) so ​​that the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is the longest. This allows the angle of view center positioning unit 116A1 to focus the telephoto camera 12 in a state where the depth of field is shallower than when the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is the shortest. In addition, when there is a possibility that the subject distance to the subject to be aligned is shorter than the shortest subject distance at the telephoto end, focusing may be performed while gradually changing the focal length to the wide-angle side. Therefore, according to this configuration, the first subject distance can be derived with high accuracy based on the result of focusing, compared to when focusing is performed on the telephoto camera 12 in a state where the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is the shortest. Note that the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and a process equivalent to the process of step ST400 may be applied to the end positioning process. In this case, it is possible to contribute to highly accurate derivation of the second object distance.

[0192] In the above, an example of the embodiment in which the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is controlled so that the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is the longest has been described, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, as shown in step ST400 of Fig. 27, the angle of view center positioning unit 116A1 may control the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 (specifically, for example, the zoom lens 44) so ​​that the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is in the longest zone among a plurality of zones in which the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is divided into stages. In this case, too, the first subject distance can be derived with high accuracy based on the result of focusing, compared to a case in which the telephoto camera 12 is focused in a state in which the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 is the shortest.

[0193] The technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and a process equivalent to the process of step ST400 (a process of controlling the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 so that the focal length of the imaging optical system 38 of the telephoto camera 12 falls within the longest zone) may be applied to the end position alignment process. In this case, it is possible to contribute to highly accurate derivation of the second subject distance.

[0194] In the above embodiment, the horizontal shift amount and the depth shift amount are exemplified as the default values ​​stored in the default value memory area 118A, but the technology disclosed herein is not limited to this, and information regarding the elevation difference between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14 (for example, the elevation difference itself) may also be applied as the default value.

[0195] For example, as shown in FIG. 28, when alignment processing is performed for the pan direction (horizontal viewing angle) of telephoto camera 12 in a situation where there is a difference in elevation between telephoto camera 12 and wide-angle camera 14, if the tilt angle when telephoto camera 12 is tilted to align the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view with a specific subject is defined as "θ", the distance from telephoto camera 12 to the specific subject is defined as "Sd1", and the distance from wide-angle camera 14 to the specific subject is defined as "Sd2", alignment unit 116A derives "Sd1" according to the formula "Sd1=Sd2 / cosθ" and performs alignment processing for the pan direction (horizontal viewing angle) of telephoto camera 12 by using the derived "Sd1". In this way, by performing alignment processing for the pan direction (horizontal field of view) of telephoto camera 12 taking into account the elevation difference between telephoto camera 12 and wide-angle camera 14, information regarding the angle of view required when using telephoto camera 12 and wide-angle camera 14 in conjunction can be obtained even if there is an elevation difference between telephoto camera 12 and wide-angle camera 14.

[0196] In addition, in the technology disclosed herein, alignment processing that takes into account the difference in elevation between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14 is not essential, and alignment processing may be performed while ignoring the difference in elevation between the telephoto camera 12 and the wide-angle camera 14.

[0197] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which one end of the telephoto camera angle of view is aligned with one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view by executing the edge positioning process by the CPU 116, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, one end of the telephoto camera angle of view may be aligned with one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view.

[0198] Here, one end of the angle of view refers to a location other than the center of the angle of view. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 29, the half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 is calculated by using coordinates (hereinafter also referred to as "pixel coordinates") that identify the position of a pixel in a pixel row in a direction corresponding to the pan direction of the telephoto camera 12, among a group of pixels included in the image sensor 70 of the wide-angle camera 14. Specifically, the half angle of view of the wide-angle camera 14 is defined as "θ e2" and the distance to a specific subject located in a position other than the center of the angle of view (second subject distance) is "d target2 " and the rotation angle of the telephoto camera 12 from the home position is "θ e3 ", the pixel coordinate corresponding to one end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view is "0 (origin)", the pixel coordinate corresponding to the position of a specific subject in real space is "x1", the pixel coordinate corresponding to the center of the wide-angle camera's angle of view is "x2", and the horizontal displacement is "d X " and the depth direction shift is "d y ", the end position alignment portion 116A2 is as follows: According to formula (3), the half angle of view θ e2 Calculate.

[0199]

number

[0200] In this way, the locations where the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image are aligned are not limited to the center and ends of the angle of view, but may be locations other than the center of the wide-angle camera's angle of view. The half angle of view of wide-angle camera 14 can be determined by aligning the telephoto camera image and the wide-angle camera image at at least two locations, namely, one location other than the center of the wide-angle camera's angle of view and another location within the wide-angle camera's angle of view.

[0201] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the first object distance and the second object distance are calculated based on the focus position by the CPU 116, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, either the first object distance or the second object distance may be accepted by the accepting device 24 or the like, or may be obtained by performing distance measurement by a distance measuring device using a phase difference AF method or a TOF method.

[0202] In the above embodiment, panning is exemplified as "rotation", but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the technology of the present disclosure can also be applied to tilting. In this case, the CPU 116 may execute a process equivalent to the alignment process described in the above embodiment for the angle of view (vertical viewing angle) in the tilt direction.

[0203] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the alignment process is executed by CPU 116 regardless of the change in the scale ratio between the wide-angle camera image and the telephoto camera image, but the alignment process may be executed by CPU 116 taking the change in scale ratio into consideration. In this case, for example, if optical information about wide-angle camera 14 (e.g., the specifications and focal length of image sensor 70) is known, CPU 116 may use the optical information about wide-angle camera 14 to limit the change in scale ratio to some extent. good.

[0204] In the above embodiment, one end of the telephoto camera angle of view is aligned with one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view when edge alignment processing is performed, but the technology disclosed herein is not limited to this, and the center of the telephoto camera angle of view may be aligned with one end of the wide-angle camera angle of view when edge alignment processing is performed. In this case, image analysis for alignment (e.g., matching) may be performed using half of the wide-angle camera image and half of the telephoto camera image.

[0205] In addition, in step ST102H1 shown in Fig. 22A, the opposite end of the telephoto camera's angle of view is aligned with the opposite end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and in step ST102H1 shown in Fig. 22A, the center of the telephoto camera's angle of view may be aligned with the opposite end of the wide-angle camera's angle of view. In this case, too, the same effect as the example shown in Fig. 22A can be obtained.

[0206] In the above embodiment, an example was given of an embodiment in which the alignment process is performed by the computer 104 of the management device 20, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the alignment process may be performed by the control device 60 of the telephoto camera 12, or by the control device 94 of the wide-angle camera 14, or may be performed in a distributed manner by at least two of the computer 104 of the management device 20, the control device 60 of the telephoto camera 12, and the control device 94 of the wide-angle camera 14.

[0207] In addition, instead of computer 104, the alignment process may be performed by a device including an ASIC, an FPGA, and / or a PLD, or the alignment process may be realized by a combination of hardware and software configurations.

[0208] In the above embodiment, the alignment processing program 158 is stored in the NVM 118 (see FIG. 5), but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and as an example, the alignment processing program 158 may be stored in any portable storage medium 200 that is a non-transitory storage medium such as an SSD or a USB memory, as shown in FIG. 30. In this case, the alignment processing program 158 stored in the storage medium 200 is installed in the computer 104, and the CPU 116 executes the above-mentioned alignment processing in accordance with the alignment processing program 158.

[0209] Furthermore, the alignment processing program 158 may be stored in a storage device of another computer or a server device connected to the computer 104 via a communication network (not shown), and the alignment processing program 158 may be downloaded and installed in the computer 104 in response to a request from the management device 20. In this case, the alignment processing is executed by the computer 104 in accordance with the installed alignment processing program 158.

[0210] As the hardware resource for executing the above-mentioned alignment processing, various processors as shown below can be used. As the processor, for example, as described above, there is a CPU, which is a general-purpose processor that functions as a hardware resource for executing the alignment processing by executing software, i.e., the alignment processing program 158. As the processor, there is a dedicated electric circuit, which is a processor having a circuit configuration designed exclusively for executing a specific process, such as an FPGA, a PLD, or an ASIC. Each processor has a built-in or connected memory, and each processor executes the alignment processing by using the memory.

[0211] The hardware resource for executing the registration process may be one of these various processors, or may be a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (for example, a combination of multiple FPGAs, or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA). Also, the hardware resource for executing the registration process may be a single processor.

[0212] As an example of a configuration using one processor, first, there is a configuration in which one processor is configured by combining one or more CPUs and software, as typified by computers such as client and server, and this processor functions as a hardware resource that executes the alignment process. Second, there is a configuration in which a processor is used that realizes the functions of the entire system including multiple hardware resources that execute the alignment process in a single IC chip, as typified by SoC, etc. In this way, the alignment process is realized using one or more of the above various processors as hardware resources.

[0213] Furthermore, the hardware structure of these various processors can be, more specifically, an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0214] Furthermore, the above-described alignment process is merely an example, and it goes without saying that unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the order of processes may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0215] The above description and illustrations are detailed descriptions of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure, and are merely an example of the technology of the present disclosure. For example, the above description of the configuration, function, action, and effect is an example of the configuration, function, action, and effect of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure. Therefore, it goes without saying that unnecessary parts may be deleted, new elements may be added, or replacements may be made to the above description and illustrations, within the scope of the gist of the technology of the present disclosure. In addition, in order to avoid confusion and to facilitate understanding of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure, the above description and illustrations omit explanations of technical common sense that do not require explanation in order to enable the implementation of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0216] In this specification, "A and / or B" is synonymous with "at least one of A and B." In other words, "A and / or B" means that it may be only A, only B, or a combination of A and B. In addition, in this specification, the same idea as "A and / or B" is also applied when three or more things are expressed by connecting them with "and / or."

[0217] All publications, patent applications, and standards mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent application, or standard was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

Claims

1. A processor; a first imaging device having a first optical system; a second imaging device having a second optical system, The focal length of the first optical system is longer than the focal length of the second optical system, The processor, performing position alignment between a first captured image obtained by imaging using the first imaging device and a second captured image obtained by imaging using the second imaging device; Obtain information about the alignment result; outputting the first captured image, the second captured image, and the information to a display; acquiring information related to an angle of view used in imaging by the imaging system based on the alignment result; acquiring the angle-of-view related information based on an end position alignment result obtained by aligning a first end of the angle of view of the first imaging device or a center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with a second end of both ends of the angle of view of the second imaging device that is closer to the end of the angle of view of the first imaging device; acquiring the angle-of-view related information based on a result of aligning the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device and the center of the angle of view of the second imaging device; The image capturing apparatus includes: a first image capturing apparatus that captures an image of a subject; a second image capturing apparatus that captures an image of a subject; Imaging system.

2. The information includes information related to an angle of view used in imaging by the imaging system. The imaging system according to claim 1 .

3. The angle of view related information is A first angle of view that is an angle of view of the first imaging device; A second angle of view that is an angle of view of the second imaging device; difference information indicating a difference between the first angle of view and the second angle of view, The first angle of view is known. The imaging system according to claim 2 .

4. The processor displays a mark in a superimposed manner in a region of the second captured image that corresponds to the first captured image. The imaging system according to claim 1 .

5. The imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the position specifying information includes a horizontal displacement amount and a depth displacement amount between the first imaging device and the second imaging device.

6. The imaging system according to claim 5 , wherein the position specifying information includes information regarding a difference in elevation between the first imaging device and the second imaging device.

7. The processor uses the location information when a first object distance is less than a first threshold. and, when a second subject distance is less than a second threshold, performing an end positioning process that aligns the first end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with the second end by utilizing the position identification information.

8. The imaging system of claim 7 , wherein the processor derives at least one of the first object distance and the second object distance.

9. The first imaging device is It has an autofocus function, and It is installed on a swivel base so that it can rotate. The processor, When deriving at least one of the first object distance and the second object distance, the object distance is derived by utilizing the autofocus function; 9. The imaging system according to claim 8, wherein, when derivation of the subject distance using the autofocus function fails, the swivel table is controlled based on the first captured image to align the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with a high-contrast subject near the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device, and then the subject distance is derived using the autofocus function.

10. 10. The imaging system according to claim 8, wherein the processor causes the first imaging device to perform focusing when the focal length of the first optical system is in the longest zone among a plurality of zones in which the focal length of the first optical system is defined in stages, and derives at least one of the first subject distance and the second subject distance based on the result of the focusing.

11. The imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the processor causes the first imaging device to perform focusing when the focal length of the first optical system is at its longest, and derives at least one of the first subject distance and the second subject distance based on a result of the focusing.

12. The imaging system according to claim 7 , wherein the processor performs the edge positioning process after performing the view angle center positioning process.

13. The imaging system according to claim 7 , wherein the processor performs at least one of the angle of view center alignment process and the end position alignment process by using image analysis based on the first captured image and the second captured image.

14. The imaging system according to claim 13, wherein the processor, in the edge alignment process, aligns the first edge or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with the second edge based on a scale ratio between the first captured image and the second captured image used in the image analysis in the angle of view center alignment process.

15. The processor, further performing an opposite end end positioning process for performing positioning between a first opposite end end located on the opposite side of the first end of the angle of view of the first imaging device or a center of the angle of view of the first imaging device and a second opposite end end located on the opposite side of the second end of the angle of view of the second imaging device; A first result of aligning the position of the first end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device and the position of the second end in the end position alignment process, and a first result of aligning the position of the first opposite end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device and the position of the second opposite end in the opposite end position alignment process. The imaging system according to claim 7 , wherein the angle of view of the second imaging device is acquired as the angle-of-view related information based on at least one of the second combined results.

16. 16. The imaging system according to claim 15, wherein when the position of the first opposite end or the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device is aligned with the position of the second opposite end under a condition where a third subject distance is equal to or greater than a third threshold, the processor acquires the angle of view of the second imaging device as the angle of view related information based on the second result.

17. Optical information regarding the first optical system is known; The imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein optical information regarding the second optical system is unknown.

18. 18. The imaging system according to claim 1, wherein a focal length of the first optical system is at least twice as long as a focal length of the second optical system.

19. A processor; An imaging system including a first imaging device having a first optical system and used in combination with a second imaging device having a second optical system, The focal length of the first optical system is longer than the focal length of the second optical system, The processor, performing position alignment between a first captured image obtained by imaging using the first imaging device and a second captured image obtained by imaging using the second imaging device; Obtain information about the alignment result; outputting the first captured image, the second captured image, and the information to a display; acquiring information related to an angle of view used in imaging by the imaging system based on the alignment result; acquiring the angle-of-view related information based on an end position alignment result obtained by aligning a first end of the angle of view of the first imaging device or a center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with a second end of both ends of the angle of view of the second imaging device that is closer to the end of the angle of view of the first imaging device; acquiring the angle-of-view related information based on a result of aligning the center of the angle of view of the first imaging device and the center of the angle of view of the second imaging device; The image capturing apparatus includes: a first image capturing apparatus that captures an image of a subject; a second image capturing apparatus that captures an image of a subject; Imaging system.

20. 1. A method of operating an imaging system comprising: a processor; a first imaging device having a first optical system; and a second imaging device having a second optical system, wherein a focal length of the first optical system is longer than a focal length of the second optical system, comprising: performing position alignment between a first captured image obtained by imaging using the first imaging device and a second captured image obtained by imaging using the second imaging device; Obtaining information regarding the alignment result; outputting the first captured image, the second captured image, and the information to a display; acquiring information related to an angle of view used in imaging by the imaging system based on the alignment result; acquiring the angle-of-view related information based on an end position alignment result obtained by aligning a first end of an angle of view of the first imaging device or a center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with a second end of both ends of the angle of view of the second imaging device that is closer to the end of the angle of view of the first imaging device; acquiring the angle-of-view related information based on a result of aligning a center of an angle of view of the first imaging device and a center of an angle of view of the second imaging device; and and deriving the center alignment result of the angle of view and the edge alignment result based on position specifying information that specifies a positional relationship between the first imaging device and the second imaging device. A method of operation of an imaging system.

21. A computer that is applied to an imaging system including a processor, a first imaging device having a first optical system, and a second imaging device having a second optical system, wherein a focal length of the first optical system is longer than a focal length of the second optical system, performing position alignment between a first captured image obtained by imaging using the first imaging device and a second captured image obtained by imaging using the second imaging device; Obtaining information regarding the alignment result; outputting the first captured image, the second captured image, and the information to a display; acquiring information related to an angle of view used in imaging by the imaging system based on the alignment result; acquiring the angle-of-view related information based on an end position alignment result obtained by aligning a first end of an angle of view of the first imaging device or a center of the angle of view of the first imaging device with a second end of both ends of the angle of view of the second imaging device that is closer to the end of the angle of view of the first imaging device; acquiring the angle-of-view related information based on a result of aligning a center of an angle of view of the first imaging device and a center of an angle of view of the second imaging device; and A program for executing a process including deriving the angle of view center alignment result and the end alignment result based on position identification information that identifies a positional relationship between the first imaging device and the second imaging device.

Images