Information processing device, information processing system, and information processing method

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus which can efficiently cache even image data where metadata is given to a lot of partial image data.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus includes: identification means which identifies partial metadata corresponding to partial image data, in which image data is divided for each area, from metadata of the image data; display means which displays the partial image data and the partial metadata in association with each other; and cache means which caches the partial image data based on metadata characteristics identified as the partial metadata out of attributes described in the metadata.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, and an information processing method for caching divided partial image data. [Background technology]

[0002] In an information processing device that acquires and displays image data from a server or the like, it is common to cache the acquired image data. When image data is cached, it can be displayed at high speed. When the cached image data reaches the upper limit of the cache size, it is deleted in sequence. The cache data to be deleted is determined by a method such as deleting the oldest data first.

[0003] Also, large image data is divided into tiles (rectangular regions) of multiple resolutions to generate partial image data, which are then acquired by an information processing device in units of partial image data. For example, when checking deformation data in an image of a structure, or checking landmarks in a satellite image, the image of the structure or the satellite image becomes one large piece of image data. Such image data is divided into multiple partial image data, and the information processing device can display the data quickly by acquiring only the partial image data that corresponds to the image range and zoom ratio of the display area. Methods of dividing image data into multiple partial image data for processing include JPEG2000 and DeepZoom.

[0004] When acquiring and displaying image data in partial image data units, image data is acquired one after another every time the user changes the image range or the zoom ratio of the display area, which can cause a problem that the cache does not work effectively. To address this problem, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for determining cache data to be deleted based on the partial image data to be the display area and whether or not metadata is added to the partial image data, thereby making the cache of partial image data work effectively. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-145759 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when metadata is added to many partial image data, efficient caching is not possible based solely on the presence or absence of metadata. For example, when checking deformation data in an image of a structure, the deformation area may be added to the entire image. In this case, if cache data is determined based solely on the presence or absence of metadata, the entire image will be cached, which is not efficient. When checking landmarks in satellite images, the landmarks to which metadata is added may be added to the entire image, making efficient caching impossible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that can efficiently cache image data in which metadata is added to many partial image data.

[0008] As one means for achieving the above-mentioned object, the information processing device is characterized in having an identification means for identifying partial metadata corresponding to partial image data obtained by dividing image data into regions from the metadata of image data, a display means for displaying the partial image data in association with the partial metadata, and a cache means for caching the partial image data based on metadata characteristics identified as partial metadata from among attributes described in the metadata. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention having the above configuration, the information processing device caches partial image data based on the characteristics of the metadata for each partial image data, which makes it possible to efficiently cache image data in which metadata is added to many partial image data. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device and an image processing server. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information processing apparatus and an image processing server. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of partial image data. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information managed in a cache unit of an information processing apparatus. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information managed by an importance level determination unit of the information processing apparatus. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information processing system. [Figure 8] An example of metadata. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing a cache addition process. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between a display area and a modified area. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart showing a cache deletion process. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a display unit of an information processing apparatus. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart showing a partial image data specifying process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] In the following embodiment, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to an information processing device for displaying images of structures in association with deformation data as metadata, but the use of the information processing device according to the present embodiment is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to other uses, such as an information processing device for displaying satellite images in association with landmark data and route information as metadata.

[0013] In addition, in the following embodiment, an example is described in which DeepZoom is used as a method for dividing image data into multiple partial image data for processing, but this does not limit the method of dividing image data of the information processing device related to this embodiment.

[0014] Furthermore, the configurations shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations shown in the drawings.

[0015] <Embodiment 1> An example of the configuration of an information processing system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

[0016] The information processing system is composed of an information processing device 101 and an image processing server 102. The information processing device 101 and the image processing server 102 can communicate with each other via a network 103. The network 103 may be connected as the same network such as a LAN, or may be connected as an external network such as the Internet, or may be a combination of these. Furthermore, the information processing device 101 and the image processing server 102 may each be composed of a plurality of devices. Furthermore, the information processing device 101 and the image processing server 102 may be the same computer.

[0017] An example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device 101 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

[0018] The information processing device 101 includes at least a CPU 201 , a RAM 202 , a ROM 203 , a network interface 204 , an external storage device 205 , a display device 206 , and an input device 207 .

[0019] The CPU 201 controls the operation of each unit constituting the information processing device 101, and is a main body that executes various processes described below as being performed by the information processing device 101. The RAM 202 is a memory that temporarily stores data and control information, and serves as a work area used by the CPU 201 when executing various processes.

[0020] The ROM 203 stores fixed operating parameters, operating programs, and the like of the information processing device 101.

[0021] The network interface 204 provides a function for connecting to and communicating with the network 103. The network interface 204 enables the information processing device 101 to transmit and receive data to and from external devices.

[0022] The external storage device 205 is a device that stores data, and has an interface that accepts I / O commands for reading and writing data. The external storage device 205 may be a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an optical disk drive, a semiconductor storage device, or other storage devices. The external storage device 205 stores computer programs and data for causing the CPU 201 to execute each process, which will be described later as being performed by the information processing device 101.

[0023] The display device 206 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and displays necessary information to the user.

[0024] The input device 207 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and receives necessary input from the user.

[0025] The hardware configuration of the image processing server 102 according to this embodiment is similar to the hardware configuration of the information processing device 101.

[0026] An example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 101 and the image processing server 102 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

[0027] The information processing device 101 is a device that acquires image data and its metadata from the image processing server 102, and displays the image data in association with the metadata. Functionally, the device includes an input unit 301, a display unit 302, a cache unit 303, an acquisition unit 304, a specification unit 305, an importance determination unit 306, and a display suitability determination unit 307. The input unit 301 accepts input image data from a user and transmits the input image data to the image processing server 102. The display unit 302 accepts a designation of a display area of ​​the image data from the user, associates partial metadata corresponding to the partial image data specified by the specification unit 305 with the partial image data acquired by the acquisition unit 304, and displays the partial image data on the display device 207. The acquisition unit 304 acquires the metadata of the input image data and the partial image data corresponding to the display area specified by the display unit 302 from the image processing server 102. As described above, the partial image data is obtained by dividing the input image data into tiles of a plurality of resolutions. The data structure of the partial image data will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0028] The specification unit 305 specifies partial image data corresponding to the display area specified by the user from the partial image data acquired by the acquisition unit 304. Also, the specification unit 305 specifies partial metadata corresponding to the partial image data from the metadata acquired by the acquisition unit 304. The importance determination unit 306 determines the importance based on the partial metadata specified by the specification unit 305. The display suitability determination unit 307 determines the display suitability of the partial image data from the display area specified by the user and the metadata area based on the partial metadata specified by the specification unit 305. The cache unit 303 determines and caches the cache priority of the partial image data based on the importance based on the partial metadata determined by the importance determination unit 306 and the display suitability for the metadata area determined by the display suitability determination unit 307. The cache priority is used by the cache unit 303 to determine the target to be deleted when deleting cache data.

[0029] The image processing server 102 is a server that analyzes input image data received from the information processing device 101 to generate metadata. Also, the image processing server 102 divides the received input image data to generate partial image data. Functionally, the image processing server 102 includes a receiving unit 308, an image analysis unit 309, an image division unit 310, and a distribution unit 311. The receiving unit 308 receives input image data from the information processing device 101. The image analysis unit 309 analyzes the input image data received by the receiving unit 308 to generate metadata. The image division unit 310 divides the input image data received by the receiving unit 308 into a plurality of tiles to generate partial image data. The distribution unit 311 distributes the metadata generated by the image analysis unit 309 and the partial image data generated by the image division unit 310 to the information processing device 101.

[0030] FIG. 4 shows an example of the data structure of partial image data generated by the image processing server 102 and acquired, displayed, and cached in the information processing device 101. For example, an input image 402 obtained by photographing a part of a pier of a structure 401, which is a bridge, is shown. An example is shown in which partial image data divided into tiles for each of a plurality of resolution levels 1 to 4 (403 to 406) is generated for the input image 402 obtained by photographing the structure 401. One tile is defined as 256×256 pixels (px), and the image is divided into one tile at resolution level 1 (403), four tiles at resolution level 2 (404), 16 tiles at resolution level 3 (405), and 64 tiles at resolution level 4 (406). As a result, the overall image size at each resolution level is 256×256 pixels at resolution level 1 (403), and 512×512 pixels at resolution level 2 (404). Furthermore, resolution level 3 (405) has 1024 x 1024 pixels, and resolution level 4 (406) has 2048 x 2048 pixels. Here, an example has been shown in which the number of pixels in one tile is fixed and the number of tiles varies for each resolution level, but the number of tiles may be fixed and the number of pixels in one tile may vary for each resolution level.

[0031] FIG. 5 is an example of cache data managed by the cache unit 303 of the information processing device 101. An input image file name 502, a resolution level 503, a tile ID 504, a cache priority 505, and an acquisition date and time 506 are stored in association with a partial image file name 501. The partial image file name 501 is a file name that uniquely identifies the partial image data. The input image file name 502 is the input image file name that is the source of the partial image data. The resolution level 503 is the resolution level described with reference to FIG. 4, and the tile ID 504 is the tile number in that resolution level. The cache priority 505 is a priority order used to determine the target to be deleted when deleting cache data. Here, an example is shown in which there are two priorities, "high" and "low", but the priority may be defined in other formats such as numerical values. The acquisition date and time 506 is the date and time when the partial image data is acquired and cached.

[0032] FIG. 6(a) is an example of importance data managed by the importance determination unit 306. In the cache process of partial image data described later, cache priority is determined based on the importance data. In the importance data, importance 602 is defined in association with metadata characteristics 601, and is stored in advance in the importance determination unit 306. The metadata characteristics 601 are numerical values ​​or conditional expressions used to determine the importance of any attribute described in the metadata. In this embodiment, the metadata is deformation data associated with an image of a structure, and an example is shown in which cracks, which are a deformation characteristic included in the deformation data, are handled. As a specific example, a plurality of conditional expressions are defined with crack width as an attribute for cracks in a concrete bridge pier, which is a deformation characteristic. The importance of the metadata is defined according to the crack width treated as a metadata characteristic. Here, an example is shown in which there are two importance levels, "high" and "low", but the priority may be defined in other formats such as numerical values. Note that the metadata to be handled is not limited to deformation data, but can also be applied to other data such as landmark data and route information associated with satellite images.

[0033] Next, the operations of the information processing device 101 and the image processing server 102 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0034] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information processing device 101 and the image processing server 102 according to this embodiment. First, when a user inputs input image data to the input unit 301 of the information processing device 101, the input image data is transmitted to the image processing server 102 (step S701). At this time, an instruction to handle crack data, which is a type of deformation data, as metadata is input together with the input image data. The transmitted input image data is received by the receiving unit 308 of the image processing server 102 (step S702). The received input image data is divided into tiles of a plurality of resolutions by the image dividing unit 310, and partial image data is generated (step S703). In addition, the input image data is subjected to image analysis by the image analyzing unit 309, and metadata designated by the user's instruction is generated (step S704). The metadata generated by the image analyzing unit 309 is transmitted to the information processing device 101 by the transmitting unit 311 (step S705). The transmitted metadata is received by the acquiring unit 304 of the information processing device 101 (step S706).

[0035] FIG. 8 is an example of metadata. Here, an example is shown in which crack data, which is a type of deformation data of a structure, is handled as metadata, as described above. The image analysis unit 309 detects cracks in a concrete pier from input image data using a known image processing technique, and generates crack data for each detected crack location. In the metadata file 1001 in CSV format, a crack width 1003, which is an attribute treated as a metadata characteristic, is described in association with a crack ID 1002 that uniquely identifies the crack data. Furthermore, as crack data, an x ​​coordinate 1004 and a y coordinate 1005 of a point constituting a polyline of the crack are described. The x coordinate 1004 and the y coordinate 1005 are values ​​indicating coordinates on the input image data, and for example, in the input image 402 shown in FIG. 4, they are coordinates with the lower left corner as the origin. The x coordinate 1004 and the y coordinate 1005 are described as many as the number of points constituting the polyline.

[0036] The same applies when dealing with other metadata such as landmark data and route information associated with satellite images. In this way, for any attribute described in the metadata, values ​​indicating coordinates in the input image and metadata characteristics used to determine importance, as described below, are described. Also, while an example in which partial image data and metadata are separate files has been shown here, the metadata may be passed as part of image data such as Exif.

[0037] Returning to FIG. 7, when the acquisition unit 304 of the information processing device 101 receives the metadata, the display unit 302 accepts the designation of the display area of ​​the input image data from the user via the input unit 301 (step S707). The designation of the display area is performed by designating the range of the display area that the user wants to display and the enlargement / reduction ratio. For example, the x and y coordinates of the origin of the rectangular area and the number of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions may be input, or the rectangular area may be designated by the cursor on the display device 207. When the designation of the display area is accepted, the specification unit 305 specifies partial image data corresponding to the display area (step S708). Furthermore, by referring to the specified partial image data and the metadata defined in the metadata file 1001 shown in FIG. 8, a crack ID that includes the coordinate value of a crack within the coordinate range of the partial image data is extracted. The extracted crack ID is specified as partial metadata and associated with the partial image data (step S708). The partial metadata is not limited to an identifier (ID), and may be any information as long as it can specify an attribute to be treated as a metadata characteristic among any attribute described in the metadata.

[0038] When the partial image data is specified, the display unit 302 checks whether the partial image data is cached in the cache unit 303 (step S709). If the partial image data is cached, the display unit 302 associates the partial metadata with the partial image data and displays it (step S715). That is, the display unit 302 refers to the metadata file 1001 shown in Fig. 8 from the crack ID of the partial metadata associated with the partial image data, acquires coordinate values ​​as crack data, and displays the partial image data including the crack.

[0039] If the partial image data is not cached, the acquisition unit 304 transmits an acquisition request for the partial image data to the image processing server 102 (step S710). The transmitted acquisition request for the partial image data is received by the distribution unit 311 of the image processing server 102 (step S711). The distribution unit 311 transmits the partial image data corresponding to the acquisition request to the information processing device 101 (step S712). The acquisition request includes the display area and the enlargement / reduction ratio designated by the user, and all tiles of the designated display area are transmitted. The transmitted partial image data is received by the acquisition unit 304 of the information processing device 101 (step S713). The display unit 302 stores the received partial image data in the cache unit 303 and adds the cache (step S714). The cache addition process will be described later with reference to FIG. 9. Then, the display unit 302 displays the partial image data in association with the partial metadata (step S715). After that, when the image range of the display area or the enlargement / reduction ratio is changed by the user (step S716), the process returns to step S707. When the user selects to end the display (step S717), the process ends.

[0040] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the cache addition process of partial image data performed by the information processing device 101.

[0041] First, the importance determination unit 306 determines the importance of the partial metadata (step S801). The importance is determined by referring to the metadata from the partial metadata corresponding to the partial image data, and based on the attributes described in the metadata that are treated as metadata characteristics, using the importance data managed by the importance determination unit 306. Specifically, from the crack ID included in the partial metadata, the metadata file 1001 shown in Fig. 8 is referenced to identify the crack width to be treated as the metadata characteristic. Next, the importance data shown in Fig. 6 is referenced to determine the importance 602 according to the crack width defined in the metadata characteristic 601.

[0042] The cache unit 303 checks whether the determined importance is "high" (step S802), and if it is not "high", caches the partial metadata with a cache priority of "low" (step S806). If the importance is "high", the display suitability determination unit 307 determines the display suitability of the partial image data for the partial metadata area (step S803). Details of the method of determining the display suitability will be described later with reference to FIG. 10. The cache unit 303 checks whether the display suitability is "high" (step S804), and if it is not "high", caches the partial metadata with a cache priority of "low" (step S806). If the display suitability is "high", caches the partial metadata with a cache priority of "high" (step S805). Note that, in this example, the importance, display suitability, and cache priority of the partial metadata are expressed by two values, "high" and "low", respectively, but they may be defined in other formats such as numerical values.

[0043] Figure 10 is an example showing the relationship between the display area and the metadata area. Here, an example is shown in which crack data, which is a type of deformation data associated with an image of a structure, is handled as metadata. Note that the metadata handled can also be applied to other data, such as landmark data and route information associated with satellite images.

[0044] For each of the multiple resolution levels shown in FIG. 4, the display area 1101 specified by the user is represented by a thick line area. The curved line in the center of the image area represents a crack in the bridge pier, and represents the crack 1102 defined by the metadata shown in FIG. 8. Here, a crack determined to be of "high" importance is displayed. For the metadata characteristics specified in the partial metadata, a rectangular area including the coordinates defined by the metadata is set as the metadata area. In this example, it is about 75×75 pixels on the image of resolution level 1 (403) and about 150×150 pixels on the image of resolution level 2 (404). It is also about 300×300 pixels on the image of resolution level 3 (405), and about 600×600 pixels on the image of resolution level 4 (406).

[0045] 10(a) shows the relationship between the display area and the metadata area when the display area (area in bold lines) specified by the user is 512 x 512 pixels. Among the resolution levels that can include the entire metadata area within the display area, resolution level 3, which has the highest resolution, is determined by the display suitability determination unit 307 to have the highest display suitability. Therefore, among the partial image data of resolution level 3 (405), tiles 6-7 and 10-11, which are metadata areas, are determined to have a high cache priority. Note that tiles 1-4, 5, 8, 9, 12, and 13-16, which are peripheral areas of the metadata area, may also have a high cache priority.

[0046] FIG. 10B shows the relationship between the display area and the metadata area when the display area specified by the user is 1024×1024 pixels. The display suitability determination unit 307 determines that the resolution level 4, which is the highest resolution among the resolution levels that can include the entire metadata area within the display area, has the highest display suitability. Therefore, among the partial image data of the resolution level 4 (406), tiles 19-22, 27-30, 35-38, and 43-46, which are metadata areas, are determined to have a high cache priority. Note that tiles 10-15, 18, 23, 26, 31, 34, 39, 42, 47, and 50-55, which are peripheral areas of the metadata area, may also have a high cache priority. Alternatively, only tiles 19, 20, 28, 29, 37, 45, and 46, which are associated with partial metadata, may be determined to have a high priority.

[0047] In addition, when crack data is treated as metadata, the crack width may be used to determine the display suitability. For example, the crack width is 1 pixel on an image of resolution level 1, 2 pixels on an image of resolution level 2, 4 pixels on an image of resolution level 3, and 8 pixels on an image of resolution level 4. If the display suitability of the crack width is 10 pixels, regardless of the size of the display area, the resolution level 4 is determined to have the highest display suitability. Therefore, when the display area is 512 x 512 pixels, tiles 19-22, 27-30, 35-38, and 43-46, which are metadata areas, of the partial image data of the resolution level 4 (406) in FIG. 10(a) are determined to have a high cache priority. Similarly, when the display area is 1024 x 1024 pixels, tiles 19-22, 27-30, 35-38, and 43-46, which are metadata areas, of the partial image data of the resolution level 4 in FIG. 10(b) are determined to have a high cache priority.

[0048] Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing a cache deletion process of partial image data performed by the information processing device 101. The cache deletion process may be performed according to the remaining cache capacity when adding cache data in step S714 in Fig. 7, or may be performed by periodic batch processing.

[0049] First, the cache unit 303 checks the cache acquisition date and time 506 (step S901). It determines whether a first period has passed since the cache acquisition date and time (step S902), and if not, ends the process. If it has passed, it checks the cache priority 505 (step S903). If the cache priority is not "high", it deletes the cache (step S906). If the cache priority is "high", it determines whether a second period has passed since the acquisition date and time (step S905), and if not, ends the process. If it has passed, it deletes the cache (step S906).

[0050] 12 is an example of a screen displayed by the display unit 302 of the information processing device 101. Here, an example is shown in which crack data, which is a type of deformation data of a structure, is handled as metadata.

[0051] Screen 1201 has a display area 1202, and displays partial image data 1203 corresponding to the display area and a crack 1204 identified by referring to the metadata from a crack ID included in the partial metadata in association with each other. It also has a display area movement button 1205, which allows the range of the image to be displayed to be changed. It also has a display area zoom button 1206, which allows the zoom ratio of the image to be displayed to be changed.

[0052] In this way, the information processing device according to the present embodiment caches partial image data based on the importance of the metadata and the display suitability for the metadata area, so that efficient caching can be performed even for image data in which metadata is added to many partial image data.

[0053] <Embodiment 2> In the first embodiment, an example is shown in which the information processing device 101 determines the importance of metadata based on a correspondence table between metadata characteristics and importance. In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the importance of metadata is determined based on a user's tendency to use partial image data.

[0054] FIG. 6(b) is an example of importance data managed by the importance determination unit 306 of the information processing device 101 according to this embodiment. A detailed confirmation rate 603 is stored in advance as a usage tendency in association with a metadata characteristic 601. Here, an example is shown in which crack data, which is a type of deformation data of a structure, is handled as metadata. The rate at which users have confirmed it in the past is managed according to the crack width handled as a metadata characteristic. If the detailed confirmation rate 603 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the importance determination unit 306 determines the importance of metadata having that metadata characteristic to be "high."

[0055] In this way, according to the information processing device according to the present embodiment, the importance of metadata is determined based on the usage trends of the user, and therefore caching can be performed efficiently in consideration of the usage trends of the user.

[0056] <Embodiment 3> In the first embodiment, an example is shown in which partial image data is acquired and displayed in accordance with a display area specified by a user in the information processing device 101. In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which cached partial image data is preferentially displayed.

[0057] Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing a process of identifying partial image data to be displayed, which is performed by the information processing device 101. In step S707 in Fig. 7, the display unit 302 judges whether the change in the display area is due to enlargement or reduction (step S1301). If it is not due to enlargement or reduction, the display unit 302 identifies the partial image data as usual (step S1305). If it is due to enlargement or reduction, the identifying unit 305 checks whether partial image data of each resolution level for enlargement or reduction is cached in step S708 in Fig. 7 (step S1302). If there is no cache, the identifying unit 305 identifies the partial image data as usual (step S1305). If there is a cache, the cached partial image data is identified as the partial image data corresponding to the display utilization area (step S1304).

[0058] In this way, according to the information processing device of the present embodiment, when the display area is enlarged or reduced, the cached partial image data is preferentially displayed, and therefore the cached partial image data can be used efficiently.

[0059] <Other embodiments> Although the embodiments have been described above in detail, the present invention can be embodied as, for example, a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, or a recording medium (storage medium), etc. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of multiple devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, an imaging device, a Web application, etc.), or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

[0060] Needless to say, the object of the present invention can be achieved by the following: That is, a recording medium (or storage medium) on which is recorded a program code (computer program) of software that realizes the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments is supplied to a system or device. The storage medium is, of course, a computer-readable storage medium. Then, a computer (or a CPU or MPU) of the system or device reads and executes the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1001 Metadata File 1002 Crack ID 1003 Crack width 1004 x coordinate 1005 y coordinate

Claims

1. An information processing device that associates metadata with image data and displays the metadata, A specifying means for specifying partial metadata corresponding to partial image data obtained by dividing the image data into regions from the metadata of the image data; a display means for displaying the partial metadata in association with the partial image data; an importance determining means for determining an importance level defined in accordance with a metadata characteristic identified as the partial metadata; a cache unit that caches the partial image data based on the importance and the metadata characteristics specified as the partial metadata among the attributes described in the metadata, The information processing device is characterized in that the importance determination means pre-stores importance data that defines a usage trend of the partial image data in association with the metadata characteristics, and determines the importance based on the usage trend of the partial image data for which the partial metadata has been identified by the identification means.

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the importance determination means prestores importance data in which importance is defined in association with the metadata characteristics, and determines the importance based on the metadata characteristics identified as the partial metadata by the identification means.

3. a suitability determination unit that determines a suitability of the partial image data associated with the partial metadata for display in a display area of ​​the display unit; 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said cache means caches said partial image data based on said importance and said display suitability.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3, characterized in that the compatibility determination means determines the display compatibility for the metadata characteristics specified in the partial metadata based on a rectangular area containing coordinates defined in the metadata and a display area of ​​the display means specified by a user.

5. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cache means stores a cache priority together with the partial image data based on the importance and the display suitability, and performs a deletion process based on the cache priority.

6. The metadata is deformation data of a structure included in the image data, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the metadata characteristics are characteristics of the abnormality included in the abnormality data.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the partial metadata includes an identifier for identifying a characteristic of the anomaly included in the anomaly data, among attributes described in the metadata.

8. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays the partial image data cached in the cache means with priority.

9. An information processing system including an information processing device that associates metadata with input image data and displays the metadata, and an image processing server that analyzes the metadata of the input image data, The image processing server includes: A receiving unit that receives the input image data; an image dividing unit that divides the input image data into regions to generate partial image data; an image analysis unit that analyzes metadata included in the input image data; a distribution unit that distributes the partial image data and the metadata; having The information processing device includes: an input unit that transmits the input image data to the image processing server; an acquisition unit that acquires the partial image data and the metadata from the image processing server; An identification unit that identifies partial metadata corresponding to the partial image data; a display unit that displays the partial metadata in association with the partial image data; an importance determining means for determining an importance level defined in accordance with a metadata characteristic identified as the partial metadata; a cache unit that caches the partial image data based on the importance and the metadata characteristic specified as the partial metadata among the attributes described in the metadata, The information processing system is characterized in that the importance determination means pre-stores importance data that defines the usage tendency of the partial image data in association with the metadata characteristics, and determines the importance based on the usage tendency of the partial image data for which the partial metadata has been identified by the identification unit.

10. An information processing method for displaying image data in association with metadata, comprising: a specifying step of specifying partial metadata corresponding to partial image data obtained by dividing the image data into regions from metadata of the image data; a display step of displaying the partial metadata in association with the partial image data; an importance determination step of determining an importance level defined according to a metadata characteristic identified as the partial metadata; a caching step of caching the partial image data based on the importance and the metadata characteristics identified as the partial metadata among the attributes described in the metadata; Equipped with An information processing method characterized in that in the importance determination step, importance data that defines a usage tendency of the partial image data in association with the metadata characteristics is stored in advance, and the importance is determined based on the usage tendency of the partial image data for which the partial metadata has been identified in the identification step.

11. A program for causing a computer to function as the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images